Questions For the Adjuster That Simply Won't Get Answered #3

Columbus, Ohio. Personal injury trial lawyer, David A. Bressman, has over 20 years of experience representing injury victims. Over that time period, he has come across many who have pretty basic, fairly easy questions that they would like the insurance adjuster to honestly answer. In his experience, most adjusters either refuse to answer or provide misleading information. He presents to you a series of questions, and likely insurance company responses.

"QUESTION3: Why does the adjuster insist that I have to give a recorded statement when the adjuster can get information about the accident from the police report?

ANSWER: Because the insurance company will try to use your own statements against you! In most accidents a police report will be filed and the insurance company has easy access to this report (it just takes a written request and a small fee). So why is a recorded statement necessary? Most companies have written policies in place which require the adjuster to get
a recorded statement to see if there’s any information the accident victim might reveal which could be later used to either deny the claim or pay out less money when settlement occurs.

For instance, let's say that you are contacted by the adjuster the day after the accident. You have some aches and pains but, you think, nothing too serious.The adjuster puts you on tape agreeing that you have little or no injury but, lo and behold, you wake up the next day with excruciating neck and back pain. You are now in serious trouble since you have now gone "on record" as minimizing your own injury. In effect, you have now become your own worst enemy! These recorded statements are, mostly, done to pin you down to a point in time when you might not be aware of the full extent of your injuries. They are also, mostly, done without an attorney present to advise you on what are fair, and unfair, topics.

My usual approach to requests for these types of statements -- denied!