As a specialist in personal injury law, I’m very surprised by how often people are willing to trust the insurance company for the driver that caused the car accident before they will trust a lawyer that they hire. Or, to be more specific, they refuse to consider even hiring a lawyer and instead try to handle the case on their own and talk directly to the insurance company that is against them.
Now, let’s be very clear. I understand I am a personal injury lawyer. I understand that all I do is help people who are hurt. I therefore recognize the fact that I have a “bias” when I talk about the need to trust a personal injury lawyer before trusting the insurance company for the other side.
On the other hand, this is not about me and it’s not about my firm. Sure, we take great pride in the fight that we put up to help our clients. Yes, we know we are straightforward with our clients and we are honest with them so that they know what they are facing. We also have the experience to know how to protect our clients from making mistakes that will jeopardize their claim when they have every right to recover. However, it is not about our firm but about hiring any good, experienced, top-level personal injury lawyer before talking to the adverse insurance company. This is especially true with serious personal injury cases.
The adverse insurance company is not on your side. They are not supposed to be on your side. There are shareholders that are in effect owners of that insurance company that expect that insurance company to do whatever they can to save money. The money they save is at the expense of the person who has a very serious personal injury case. As a result, it is a mistake to expect the insurance company to be “fair” when that is not the job they are paid to do.
We strongly encourage anybody who has a serious personal injury or auto accident claim to talk to a good, honest personal injury lawyer before they talk to the insurance company. The insurance company may twist your words against you. The insurance company may claim you said things that you never said. What we know for sure, even if the insurance company is not dishonest in any way, is that they do not have your interest at heart. They are concerned with their money not your rights.
Talk to a good lawyer. Get your questions answered. Then, and only then, consider whether it makes sense to talk to an insurance company that is likely to try to minimize the claim that you are making.