If you are injured by a reckless driver who ran a red light on Pennsylvania roads, you think that the last thing you have to worry about is paying for the damages they caused. After all, you pay your auto insurance premiums each month to make sure you get coverage in situations just like this.
Regardless of whether you have full or limited tort insurance, you deserve compensation after suffering a serious injury in a car accident. Your insurance company should support you. Unfortunately, insurance companies are not always on your side.
They will try to avoid paying you
Above all, most insurance companies are businesses. That means one of their primary goals is to minimize their own expenses and increase their profit. Therefore, they rarely want to pay you the compensation you deserve after an accident.
Insurance companies and adjusters will work to either diminish or deny your claim altogether – even if it is valid.
How can they do this?
You might wonder: is this legal? Unfortunately, insurance companies often use several undermining tactics to deny claims that are, in fact, legal. For example, they might:
- Call after you report the accident and try to get a recorded statement before you know the extent of your injuries;
- Delay contacting you in hopes you will become frustrated and either accept a low settlement offer or give up on your claim; and
- Offer a settlement that is far below what your claim is worth at first.
And that is only to name a few of the tactics they might use to deny your claim. Recent reports also found that life insurance companies even check social media accounts and posts for evidence to calculate premiums. Auto insurance companies could very well do the same thing to reduce your claim.
Is there reason to worry?
Hearing that the insurance companies are not always on your side can be both stressful and frightening – especially after suffering a serious injury in a car accident.
However, you should not have to worry. As long as you are aware of these tactics and understand your rights, you have options to recover the compensation you deserve. It is often beneficial to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney to understand all of the options available to you after an accident.
Contact A Skilled Personal Injury Attorney
At McDonald At Law, our knowledgeable team of personal injury lawyers fight to get injured people in Philadelphia, South Central and throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania their deserved compensation. In addition to his decades of experience, Attorney Michael McDonald is the only Lancaster County lawyer who is certified by the National Board for Trial Advocacy in Lancaster County. He will fight on your behalf and hold the negligent parties and their insurance providers accountable.
Call the firm’s Lancaster office now at 717-899-1907 or send us an email.