Common Tactics Insurance Adjusters Use to Limit Personal Injury Claims

Insurance companies enter into personal injury claims with one main goal: to pay out the least amount of money possible to the injured party. The bottom line for an insurance company revolves around protecting its financial interests. 

Understanding the strategies which insurance companies attempt to employ against injury victims is key to proceeding confidently into your personal injury case. Anthony C. Gagliano, III, Esquire, P.C. knows how to guide clients going through a contentious personal injury case. Contact our office today for a free case review. 

Handing a circumstance where the insurance company blames you for the accident

Blame shifting is a common tactic utilized by insurance companies in order to pay out the least in compensation as possible in a given circumstance. The more doubt you have about the strength of your case, the less likely you are to commit yourself to taking your case to a trial. 

Consider a situation where you were injured in a car accident. The insurance company for the driver who caused the accident may attempt to shift blame, at least partially, onto your shoulders. This is simple enough to do. An insurance company can argue that you were speeding, texting, or performing some other action that takes your eyes and concentration off the road. 

A Philadelphia personal injury attorney is particularly useful when an insurance company attempts to shift the blame of an accident onto you. An insurance adjuster understands how to use legal terminology and phrasing to intimidate an honest, injured person. Anthony C. Gagliano, III, Esquire, P.C., can help you fight for your rights even when an insurance adjuster is trying to push you around. 

Confusing an injury victim with insurance policy language

It is no secret that insurance policies tend to be complex and difficult to understand. Most people going to a grocery store or driving on the highway do not have a thorough understanding of how to read these complicated documents. 

Insurance adjusters use the complexity of an insurance policy to their advantage. Injury victims have rights under the law, as much as an adjuster may like to try to convince you otherwise. On top of the complicated jargon utilized by insurance adjusters, the sheer volume of paperwork, phone calls, and possible examinations can be overwhelming. All of this is done to try to convince an unsuspecting injury victim that it is not worth the effort to pursue a claim for damages. 

The end result of these insurance adjuster tactics is that a person injured in a slip and fall or car accident may accept a settlement offer that is less than appropriate for their level of damages. Fatigue of the insurance claim process is a real concern for people who are simultaneously going through physical rehabilitation for their injuries. 

Purposely underestimating the significance of your injuries

Even if the insurance company accepts fault for the accident, one of the methods adjusters will employ to reduce the impact on their bottom line is to underestimate the severity of your injuries purposefully. This is often done by an “in-house” medical expert who assesses your medical records and identifies little to no limitations on your daily activities. 

Neck and back injuries are common in car accidents. Rear-end accidents, especially, tend to result in these types of injuries. Anything short of a fractured vertebrae can be termed as a “soft tissue” injury by an insurance company. These are the types of injuries that are thought of as bruising, muscle soreness, or strains. 

In reality, these neck and back injuries can be debilitating. Most of the time, an accident victim does not have an endless amount of time to recuperate from their injuries. Real people in the real world have responsibilities- a job, children, a spouse, and a home to provide for. Missing an endless amount of time from work to stay home and attend rehabilitation or therapy is not an option. Even going back to work quickly after an accident can be used by an insurance adjuster to downplay your injuries and reduce a settlement offer. 

Playing fast and loose with the terms of an insurance policy

Insurance adjusters prey on accident victims and their lack of knowledge about the policy under which their claim has been filed. For instance, if you have been injured in a car accident, then there is no requirement that the insurance adjuster provide you with a copy of the at-fault driver’s insurance policy. Rather, you spend a significant amount of time negotiating against a policy that is just out of reach. 

A consequence of never being able to view an insurance policy’s language is that the insurance adjuster may continually make you low settlement offers. Their justification for doing so may be that their insured’s policy does not allow them to make higher offers. Being told that an adjuster cannot go any higher in their settlement offer may be enough for an injury victim to accept a settlement offer well below the actual “value” of the claim. 

A Philadelphia personal injury attorney advocates for the rights of their clients in a variety of ways. Beginning with determining the policy limits on the at-fault party’s insurance. Once the policy limit is determined, an attorney can advise their client on where to go from there in terms of accepting or countering an offer. Speak with Anthony C. Gagliano, III, Esquire, P.C. today to learn more about how to proceed in a complex personal injury case. 

Contact Anthony C. Gagliano, III, Esquire, P.C. for a free case review

The legal team with Anthony C. Gagliano, III, Esquire, P.C. fights for the rights of our clients. We do not allow insurance adjusters to take advantage of an injury victim’s circumstances. Our clients know that we are diligent, proactive, and highly skilled at earning the best in compensation.  Contact our office today to learn more about how we can help you.