Why You Don’t Want to Give a Recorded Statement to the Insurance Company After an Accident
After an accident, you will more likely than not receive a call from the other driver’s insurance company. They want to record your statement as to how the accident happened and your injuries.
The insurance companies do not want to pay for the injuries their insured caused.
The insurance industry makes billions of dollars a year. If they can place blame on you or diminish your injuries, they won’t have to pay for the accident or pay less than you are owed.
Should I talk to the other driver’s insurance company adjuster?
No, don’t speak with their insurance company until you speak with the injury attorneys at Rice, Murtha, Psoras. You can call them at (410) 694-7291 to discuss your accident in Maryland.
Talk to our personal injury lawyers today to determine if you should give a recorded statement to the insurance company.
Recorded Statements Can Hurt Your Claim
Recorded statements can hurt your claim. Insurance companies go out of their way to encourage people to give them a recorded statement.
The insurance companies record your statement to try and reduce the amount of money they will have to pay in your case.
Most people think they will not hurt their case by giving the insurance adjuster a recorded statement. Or they believe that they have to give a recorded statement to get their car fixed or have the insurance company pay for their medical bill.
This is not true, and you don’t have to give a recorded statement to have any of your bills paid or your car fixed. If you do want to give a recorded statement, it should be done in the presence of your Baltimore personal injury lawyer.
Talk to a Personal Injury Lawyer Before a Recorded Statement
It is advisable that you get help from a lawyer if you plan on giving a statement to the insurance company. Why are recorded statements so dangerous to your accident claim?
The questions the insurance company asks you are designed to be used against you later.
They will ask you what injuries you received from the accident. If you omit or leave out one injury, they will later accuse you of lying.
For example, your back and leg make have been injured in the accident. If you tell the insurance company that only your knee is hurt and you leave out the leg injury, they will accuse you of lying at a later date.
They Will Make You Think the Accident Was Your Fault
In every recorded statement, the insurance adjuster will ask you how the accident happened. If you cannot explain a part of the accident, they will say you don’t how it happened, and they will later use this against you.
They can use your recorded statement in Court and accuse you of lying or making up some portion or all of the accident.
As an example, the insurance adjuster may ask you how fast was the other car going when it struck you. You may say the other vehicle was going 55 mph when in fact, the accident reconstruction shows the other car was traveling 25 miles per hour.
The insurance company can use this against you and say that you distorted or made up other facts about the accident.
The insurance company and their lawyers will create a plausible explanation of why their insured was not at fault since you cannot explain the speed and how you were so far off from the actual speed in the accident.
How Can the Recorded Statement Hurt Me?
Another example of how an insurance company can use your statement against you. Let’s say you were in a violent accident. You were rear-ended, or a car t-boned you.
You didn’t see the other vehicle until after the accident. You have no idea how the accident occurred. You don’t know where the other driver came from or how he came to strike your car.
Most people will imagine or come up with an idea of how the accident happened. This can be dangerous to your claim. If you tell the insurance company how you “think” the accident occurred, they can use that against you at trial or when your lawyer is attempting to settle your case.
The investigation may prove that the accident happened in a completely different manner than what you think. It is best to remain silent and let your lawyer and the facts you know help your claim.
Maryland Car Accident Lawyer for A Recorded Statement
The injury lawyers with Rice, Murtha & Psoras understand that after an accident, you may be confused. Recorded statements can be some of the most damaging evidence against your insurance and accident claim.
If you’ve been hurt in an accident, it’s best to remain silent and speak with a lawyer before you talk to any insurance company.
If you decide to speak with the other driver’s insurance company, you should only discuss property damage. After most accidents, the other driver’s insurance company will assign two adjusters to the claim. There will be a personal injury adjuster and a property adjuster.
Property vs. Personal Injury Adjuster
The personal injury adjuster is assigned to handle the medical cost, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Do not speak to the personal injury adjuster for the other driver’s insurance company.
The other adjuster assigned to the case, the property adjuster, is someone that you can talk to.
If the other insurance company is accepting liability, then they will try to repair or replace your vehicle.
The property adjuster may have you take your vehicle to a repair shop or schedule a time estimator can come to your home or work and examine your vehicle.
In addition, the property adjuster may offer the use of a rental vehicle while your vehicle is being repaired or replaced.
If you’ve been injured in a car accident in Baltimore or Maryland, contact Rice, Murtha & Psoras today to speak with one of their injury attorneys and get help with questions about recorded statements.