One of the main goals of our blogs is to make sure that everyone knows that the insurance company isn’t necessarily there to help you. Often, we find them to be the biggest obstacle that keeps injured parties from getting the compensation that they deserve. They have many different ways they go about doing this. In prior blogs, we’ve gone through different techniques that they may use. That being said, they always have more tactics, there’s always something else they can do. In this blog, we’ll go over some other tactics we’ve seen them use as well as how our Los Angeles injury attorneys can help you to overcome them.
Have you heard the phrase “arguing in bad faith?” It can mean a lot of different things, but in the case of dealing with insurance companies, it’s important to remember that they often do this. In this context, it means that the person from the insurance company making an argument against you doesn’t really believe it or mean it. They’re just trying to win. They just want to make sure that you get as little compensation as possible for your injury. That’s why you need attorneys on your side who know how to deal with this kind of thing. We can handle any arguments they make, whether in bad faith or not to make sure that you get as much compensation as possible.
One tactic we’ve seen more and more is that they focus on you having a pre-existing medical condition. In fact, they base quite a bit on this condition, and lean on it as the reason for your injuries and not the accident that you were just in. It’s important to note that they probably don’t actually believe this argument: they just see it as a way to potentially win the case. If they can put any kind of blame on a pre-existing condition you may have, then they can hopefully (in their eyes) lessen the compensation that you get for having been in the accident. A pre-existing condition you may have can take some of the blame for the accident off of the party who actually caused the accident.
Imagine that you hurt your shoulder when you were a child. It’s not the kind of thing that hurts all the time, but every now and then, you have to deal with some pain resulting from it. Then, you’re in an auto accident. You suffer some injuries to your chest and head. Naturally, you deserve to be compensated for this. However, the insurance company and their team of attorneys argue that you really weren’t hurt that badly by the accident. Instead, they claim that you’re just feeling the pain that results from that lingering, old shoulder injury you had. They go on to say that the accident wasn’t that bad, your shoulder was just that weak.
Through this argument, they want to be able to say that you weren’t hurt that badly, and the accident wasn’t that terrible. In a very clear way, it’s blaming the victim for the accident. It’s a roundabout way of saying “it’s your fault,” even though that’s very much not what happened. You were just in an accident. It’s not like you asked to be in the accident or chose to be injured. By shifting the blame on to you, they hope to shift the blame away from their client and ultimately, save themselves money in compensation. We’re here to make sure that doesn’t happen.
By that same token, it’s not easy for a regular person to take apart this argument. It’s one more reason why you need lawyers experienced with personal injury cases on your side. We’ve seen these arguments before from insurance companies. Over the years, we’ve found how to counteract these arguments as well as many others. We have a team of professionals who can show the truth exactly as it happened. When the insurance company erroneously blames an accident on your pre-existing conditions, we can be there to help.
One of the hardest parts about taking on an insurance company yourself (or going with a small, inexperienced law firm) is that you don’t have the resources that the insurance company does. They’re able to bring in the best of investigators, attorneys and everything else. A small law firm can’t match the investigators, examiners or more, so it makes the case for their clients that much weaker if not outright ineffective. It’s basically impossible for a regular person to take on an insurance company. Not only do they know so much more about how these cases work, the injured party has to deal with recovering from their injury at the same time.
When you sign with the LA Injury Group, we have the resources to go toe to toe with the insurance company. We can take them on, matching them investigation for investigation, expert for expert. So, when they claim that your pre-existing condition caused the accident when it very clearly did not, we can bring in a member of our team medical experts who can clearly point out that’s not the case. On top of that, our investigators can investigate the scene of the accident and show definitively that you (and by extension, your medical condition) weren’t at fault for the accident, the other party was. Those are just a few of the ways that we can help to make your case that much more compelling.
At the end of it all, beneath everything the insurance company does, the goal is always to make sure that you get as little money as possible. Each of the arguments, each tactic, all of the calls, paperwork and more is done with this goal in mind. Once you internalize that, it makes everything that much clearer. So, when the insurance company calls you and offers a settlement, it’s always with the goal of making sure that you get less than what you could for the case. That’s not to say that every settlement from the insurance company is a low ball offer, but rather that the first offer they make is almost sure to be a low one.
That’s why we always stress in these blogs (in fact, it’s possible that we mention it in every blog) that you should have attorneys look at an offer from the insurance company before you sign it. There’s literally no downside to it. The worst thing you’ll lose is a few hours at most. If it’s a great deal, we’ll let you know. Of course, the first deal from the insurance company never is. Perhaps this is the one time, the first sign that the insurance company does give that first great deal, but it never does. Our attorneys can let you know if it’s a good deal or not.
The insurance company wants to reach out and get someone to sign a deal quickly because they assume you’ll be looking for money fast. The period after an accident can be one of the most trying times in a person’s life. It’s natural to feel completely discombobulated, like everything is spinning out of control. An amount of money from them, no matter how small, can feel like an absolute godsend. Of course, you deserve to get all of the money that you should for what you’ve had to go through. That’s what we can help with.
The LA Injury Group
When you’re hurt in an accident, our law firm knows how to get you your due compensation. Whether the case has to go to trial, or whether it happens in settlements, we can do it. All you have to do is schedule a free consultation by calling us at (818) 240-1800 or going to our site.