INSURANCE COMPANY TRICKS

 The insurance company for the at-fault driver will do everything in its power to keep you from hiring a competent personal injury lawyer.  If you fall for this, they will string you along, promising that they will pay your medical bills and lost wages, only to low-ball you into taking an unfair settlement amount after you have delayed and hindered your chances at trial.  They expect that if they can get you to delay hiring an attorney for long enough, that problems will develop in your case and no attorney will want to take your matter on.

The insurance claim representative will sometimes try to get you to settle immediately, before you seek counsel.  You do not ever want to settle your personal injury case before you know exactly what is wrong with you and that you are 100% well or as good as you are going to get.  If your case results in a permanent injury, you need to know that before you sign a release with an insurance company.  Once you sign a release, you are saying that you will never sue them or the at-fault driver ever again about the incident.  If the insurance company can trick you into giving up your rights before you finish your medical treatment, then they have done themselves a big favor. They will often dangle some quick money in front of you to try to get you to sign a release before a possible serious injury can be diagnosed.

The recorded statement is another common ploy used by insurers before the person hurt in a car accident hires an attorney.  The idea is to get a statement from you, in which you admit to or leave out some fact that they will later use against you at trial. You do not want to give a recorded statement EVER! You should always talk with an attorney first, then carefully think through what exactly the critical facts and legalities are in your case.