If there is one thing that all accident victims need to understand, it is that insurance companies are not on their side. Insurance companies are a business, so their only concern is making money. If they can get out of paying a fair claim or even paying less than a fair claim, they have done their job.
Unfortunately, that often means they will play dirty and use a range of tricks to get out of paying. This is especially troublesome in the state of Florida, where they leverage our complicated no-fault system to avoid paying the full value of the claim.
Here are some tricks they use to diminish the value of your claim:Use Your Health History Against You
Insurance companies will often obtain your entire medical history. They will look at every medical incident you have ever had and try to find a way to connect it to your current injuries. Let’s say you broke your shoulder five years ago in a sporting accident. If you file a claim for a shoulder injury due to a recent accident, they will argue that your condition is a result of the previous instance and that they are not liable to pay for it.
Use Gaps In Treatment As Proof You Are Not Injured
If you are injured and you missed a doctor’s appointment or chose not to take a specific prescribed medication, the insurance companies will take that into account. They will say if you were seriously injured, you would not have any gaps in care. And if you were truly in pain, you would follow every doctor’s order and never miss an appointment. They will use your own legal duty of care against you and say either the injuries are not severe or you made them worse by not following doctor’s orders.
Review Your Emergency Records For Inconsistencies
One of the troubling things about accidents is that some of the worst injuries like TBI, back injuries, and whiplash often take weeks to show symptoms. So when you initially see the doctor, you may not report those issues because you have not yet noticed them. Insurance companies will review your emergency room records and argue that you are trying to commit fraud. They will say that the delayed injuries you are experiencing are not real; otherwise, they would have been reported the day of the accident.
Blow Discrepancies Out Of Proportion
They will review all your medical records and look for any sort of inconsistency. For example, if you mention to your care provider that you are experiencing hip pain at one appointment but don’t at the next few, they will use that against you. They will say you are making up your injuries and you can’t keep your story straight. They might also argue that you have just made up injuries like hip pain as an excuse to see the doctor so you can get a larger payout.
Hire Medical Experts
Insurance companies have a contracted staff of medical experts they pay to testify on their behalf. Those professionals provide testimony for every case assigned to them, regardless of the actual details. Even though they were only hired to undermine your credibility, they are still medical experts and can damage your case.
Those are just some of the many ways that insurance companies devalue your injuries. They will also use the no-fault system to further attack you, saying you had a responsibility in the accident.
Fortunately for you, The St. Pete Lawyer, Michael Babboni, can help. He knows all the tricks the insurance companies pull, and they know him for his reputation of protecting his clients. Don’t face the insurance companies alone. Contact us at 1-727-381-9200 to learn how we will fight for you.
