Car Accident Lawyer
Insurance companies use marketing techniques of amusing advertisements and charming spokespeople to entice consumers to buy their products. However, if you have to file a claim with another driver’s insurance company because of an injury that occurred while the other driver was drunk, you are likely to find the company anything but relaxed and friendly.
Insurance companies are always looking to minimize their payout. The company knows that the odds are stacked against it in a drunk driving case because its client was clearly at fault. Therefore, they are likely to be even more aggressive in trying to convince you to agree to less than what you deserve. That means that you need to be even more diligent in defending your rights.
What the Insurance Company Will Try To Do
The insurance company knows that the more time that elapses between the drunk driving injury and the resolution of your case, the stronger your negotiating position becomes. Therefore, it will contact you soon after the accident and try to get you to agree to a settlement, which is almost certainly less than what you really deserve. At the same time, the adjuster will try to o lull you into a false sense of security, hoping you will let your guard down and say something it can use against you.
Insurance companies always offer settlements soon after a case in the hopes that you will be happy to have the matter settled. In a drunk driving case, the insurance company may apply extra pressure because it knows that if its client is convicted of drunk driving, it will only strengthen your case. If you accept the first settlement offer, you must sign a release of liability that prevents you from bringing further legal action against either the at-fault party or the insurance company.
What You Should Do in Response
It is in your interest to wait to talk to the insurance company until after the at-fault party goes to trial for drunk driving. If he or she is convicted, it will probably grant you sympathy from a jury. The insurance company would prefer that the case not go to trial and so may offer a better settlement.
The extra time also allows your condition to stabilize and you to gain a more accurate picture of the losses you have sustained and the damages you deserve as a result. You should save all your bills and medical records to produce as evidence.
Don’t be fooled by insurance companies’ marketing techniques. Contact a law office to speak with a car accident lawyer, like from The Law Firm of Frederick J. Brynn, P.C., who can be your advocate in negotiation and/or litigation.
