Georgia Car Accident Lawyers Review More Sharp Practices Used by Insurance Companies to Limit Car Accident Settlements or Judgments
This post is the second installment in our two-part blog series reviewing strategies employed by insurance carriers to limit the amount paid out to auto accident victims struck by negligent drivers. Our experienced car accident lawyers are familiar with these strategies designed to deny or minimize the amount paid out on claims.
Surveillance and Monitoring of Social Networks: Many car accident victims presume they have certain privacy rights that prevent insurance companies from placing them under surveillance or monitoring their social network websites. However, insurance companies, although rarely, do hire private investigators to engage in the gathering of evidence by way of surveillance, video, photographs, and social network monitoring. A growing number of people provide intimate details of their life on social network websites. Insurance companies are aware of this practice and often monitor an injury victim’s social media page for admissions that compromise the car accident lawsuit. These admissions can include disclosures, such as the fact that you were not wearing your seatbelt when the accident occurred. Many car accident lawsuits are derailed when pictures emerge of a disabled car accident victim dancing the limbo, engaging in extreme sports, or otherwise engaging in conduct that is inconsistent with a serious injury. Private investigators conducting surveillance might take these pictures, or they might be lifted from a car accident victim’s social network website.
Challenging the Existence or Severity of Injuries: Sometimes liability in a car accident lawsuit is fairly clear, so the insurance company will aggressively dispute damages. The insurance company will look for ways to argue that your injuries are either faked, exaggerated, or caused by other factors. Insurance companies routinely request disclosure of any prior injuries or illnesses and attempt to determine whether any of your current injuries can be characterized as pre-existing. If you do not seek immediate diagnostic analysis and treatment, or you do not follow through on the full course of treatment following a car accident, an insurance company may contend that your injuries are related to some activity or traumatic event that occurred after the car accident.
Requests to Sign Documents: It is not uncommon for the other driver’s insurance company to ask you to sign legal documents. Two common documents that you may be asked to sign are an authorization for the release of personal or confidential information and a general release of liability. An authorization for release of information can enable the insurance company to conduct a fishing expedition by seeking your employment records, medical records, criminal records, and many other types of documents and information. You should never sign an authorization providing consent to release such information without first consulting an attorney at Montlick & Associates because it permits the insurance company to seek information that may otherwise be protected by confidentiality, privilege, or privacy rights. Car accident victims that sign a general release of liability might also waive all future claims for liability, including those that are unknown.
Put Our Law Firm’s Years of Legal Experience to Work For Your Case! These are a few of the ways that insurance companies attempt to lure auto accident victims into compromising their car accident lawsuit.
