006 Should I File an Insurance Claim If I’m Not at Fault?

:00                                            ANNOUNCER:  Welcome to Lawyers in the House with Montlick.

Wish you had a lawyer in the family? Now you do. Here’s your host, Veronica Waters.

 

0:20                                         VERONICA: Come on in to the house. This is Lawyers in the House with Montlick and with me, your host, Veronica Waters. And when I tell you that I have learned so much in these early days of Lawyers in the House, I am not kidding. Like, I’ve learned how to make sure that my insurance is protecting me a little bit better. I’ve learned about that Montlick accident checklist to keep in my glove compartment, just in case. I know what to do if I get hurt on the job, but today you guys have really dropped a new one on me, something I’ve never heard about. Talking about traps. Now I’ve heard of mouse traps and bear traps and booby traps and tourist traps and honey traps. But I have never heard of insurance company traps, which is what we’re talking about today. Insurance company traps. Apparently this is a real thing and I’ve got two awesome folks here to help navigate us to insurance trap safety.

 

First up is Jennifer Fleming, who’s been practicing law since 2007, and before and after joining Montlick in 2013, was racking up recognitions on Top 10 and Rising Star lists in the law. She is a litigator, which means she is going to battle for you in court. She’s got compassion, she’s got integrity, and a deep desire to find justice for her clients. And that compassion leads Jennifer to volunteering a lot of her time with women’s shelters and people with housing insecurity.  Little known fact about Jennifer: she sang and danced on Broadway.

 

JENNIFER: That is true.

 

1:59                                         VERONICA: And I’m not going to put an asterisk next to that little fact, like my next guest would have me do. Mr. Perfect Pitch over here. Nathan Kratzert, who graduated law school in 2008, and is also a trial attorney with a relentless work ethic. One that serves him very well when he too is in the courtroom battling for folks who have been very badly injured. Nathan’s name too, has graced quite a lot of rising star lists. He’s been an attorney whose name probably has been in legal circles for quite a while. He joined Montlick in 2012; but before that he spent years as an assistant district attorney and argued quite a number of successful appeals. And Nathan has an aspiring dream to be a standup comic.

 

NATHAN: I dreamed to bomb on a stage someday.

 

VERONICA: Well, you know what? You’re not gonna bomb on this stage today. You’re going to shine because you’ve gotta help us learn about this stuff. Nathan, Jennifer, thank you so much for being in the house. I wanna ask you, Jennifer, what led you to law in the first place?

 

JENNIFER: Thank you for having us Veronica.

 

VERONICA: Yeah, girl.

 

3:11                                         JENNIFER: I grew up in a house where my mom was a teacher. My dad worked in nonprofits his whole life. And so, service was very important to my parents and they instilled that in me, which I thank them for endlessly. So in second grade I decided I wanted to become a lawyer. And then the only other question left was what kind of of lawyer? Being a personal injury attorney though, you’re able to help people when they’re at their absolute worst and I’m able to do that as a job, and so it just kind of made sense for me. People really need you. They need someone to advocate for them and they’re at their lowest point, and it just seemed like the answer for what I was looking for.

 

3:57                                         VERONICA: I love it. Nathan, you were, as I said, a prosecutor for quite a while, successful appellate attorney. What surprised you the most after you moved into personal injury law?

 

4:09                                         NATHAN: I think what surprised me the most was just how similar the two fields were because ultimately at the end of the day, you’re dealing with someone that is really a victim. They’re hurt. They need help and they have a ton of questions; you’re really their guide through that whole process. It’s very similar to what we did when I was an assistant D.A. We would oftentimes have meetings with victims, talk them through the process. What was justice gonna look like for them? How they were gonna get through the process, what they were gonna have to testify to. And it’s very similar to what Jen and I do on a daily basis. So at first I was a little bit nervous making that transition, but as I did it, I found so many similarities that I felt like I was like, well this isn’t that big of a jump.

 

VERONICA: Really? Not that big of a jump? Because you’re still helping victims.

 

NATHAN: Exactly, and most of the time you’re really just helping them guide through a process they’ve never been through before and -to steal a line I think from one of my colleagues here-, it’s like, you know, “You just don’t know what you don’t know.” And that’s what they’re looking for. They’re looking for answers and that’s what you’re there to provide them.

 

VERONICA: We are going to get some answers today, talking about insurance company traps here on Lawyers in the House. Once again, you guys, thanks for being here. And I’m gonna have a lot of questions for you because this is so new for me. Dealing with the aftermath of an accident, which is what we talk about a lot. We’re talking about injuries, right? And a lot of times it’s a car accident or something. The aftermath of that surely is a traumatic one to begin with. But I can only imagine that apparently it’s getting kind of tricky sometimes. When folks are stepping into this space and they have to deal with insurance companies and there are these traps that they want you to- they’re hoping that you’re gonna sort of -boop- fall into. So who wants to start us off? Tell me what’s one of the most common insurance company traps? You got the floor.

 

JENNIFER: I’ll start with one- a recorded statement.

 

VERONICA:  Everybody is- wait a minute! I’m on- every time I call my cable company-

 

JENNIFER: That’s right.

 

VERONICA: It says, you know, “This call may be recorded.”

 

JENNIFER: Yup.

 

VERONICA: Okay. So what’s the big deal with it?

 

JENNIFER: So it sounds so innocuous. So anytime you call an insurance company, pretty much, it says, “This call will be recorded for quality assurance.” Just like you said. So that in and of itself is not an actual recorded statement. That’s just your conversation being recorded. A recorded statement is a formal statement that an insurance adjuster will say, “Do I have your permission to take a recorded statement?” They ask that question- that way you know what’s coming. During that recorded statement, they can ask you all sorts of questions and you may think to yourself, “Okay, of course they need the information so that we can get this settled or this claim moving or get my car repaired,” or a host of things that you would need done. The problem is that when you do that and you don’t have representation, they are gonna ask you all sorts of questions. And that record statement can be used against you later on in a deposition at trial. Any other time, they can use that statement and it is a recording so it’s documented.

 

VERONICA: So what are they asking me?

 

JENNIFER: They may ask you, how the accident happened? What the impact was like? Are you injured? Which is kind of a trap question also. So if you call the insurance company and they wanna take a recorded statement of you the day that you have an accident, you may not think you’re injured at that point. You may still be in shock. Sometimes injuries aren’t felt for a day or two. Doctors say that all the time. I’m not a doctor, obviously, but just dealing with clients-

 

VERONICA: Been there girl.

 

JENNIFER:  Yeah.

 

VERONICA: I’ve been there.

 

JENNIFER: The next day you wake up and you feel worse than you do the first day ’cause it’s set in. So you might say, “No, I’m not injured,” and then later on your case goes to trial and the attorney says to you, “Well, didn’t you tell the insurance company the day of the accident that you weren’t injured and wouldn’t it be in your memory best then? It’s fresh, it’s new. You would know. So are you lying today or were you lying then?” And obviously you’re not lying. It’s how you felt at the time. But then later on you were injured or you felt injured or you sustained injuries. So those kind of questions are very tricky. You wanna make sure you have representation if you’re gonna give a recorded statement.

 

VERONICA: Are they gonna say like “So, hey Veronica, we are recording this statement now. You know how you feeling today?”

 

JENNIFER: They will tell you it’s being recorded. And then yes, they might say, how are you feeling today? I mean, no adjuster says the exact same thing. I think they may or may not get a list of questions that they’re told to ask. And every insurance company is different, obviously. They’re all their own businesses, and they’re just doing stuff to document their file. But again, they’re in the business of insurance, so they need to protect their business and they want a recorded statement from you as soon as possible. But if you call 1-800-LAW-NEED and have one of our attorneys represent you, we can at least guide that conversation. We will clarify questions, make sure they’re more narrow. They’re not asking you broad, general questions.

 

VERONICA: Would you be talking to them at the same time? If I have you on my side, I’ve got somebody. ‘Cause I’m just thinking, they’ll say, “How you feeling today, V?” and I’m like, “I’m fine.” ‘Cause that’s what we say. Right?

 

JENNIFER: Right. Exactly. Even when you’re having a terrible day, someone says, “How are you?” And you say, “I’m okay, great. How are you?”

 

VERONICA: Yeah. “Great. How are you?” “I’m fine. How are you?” And then it’s like, “Oh, but you said you were fine.” You know, this is so crazy. It seems like such an innocuous thing to say, right? Or to ask. Or to ask.

 

JENNIFER: Right. So yes, we would be with our client or on the phone with them so that we are there to guide the conversation. And like I said, clarify questions, make sure they’re narrow, not overly broad. So you’re not just talking. I mean, we have a tendency as people to give more information than people ask sometimes. And you don’t always wanna do that. You wanna answer just the question they’re asking you and not give as much information as they wanna get. So that’s our job is to protect you and protect your rights. And it’s important, like I said, to have someone on the phone that can do that.

 

VERONICA:  Make sure you zip your lip when you’re not.

 

JENNIFER: Exactly. Exactly. So if an adjuster says, can I take your recorded statement? You at that point, then need to think to yourself. “Okay. Do I wanna get an attorney?” Because now is the time to do it before I give that statement. I do have people call me after they’ve given one. And of course, we can still take their case most of the time, but it’s just- if you are going to hire an attorney, I would evaluate it at that point.

 

VERONICA:  Nathan, what’s another big trap? I think Jennifer has given us a great primer on being afraid to get on the phone now, after that. But what’s another big trap?

 

NATHAN: I think one of the biggest things that I see on a daily basis is that people will call us oftentimes right there after the accident. They’ve already spoken to the insurance carrier and they’ve already said, “Yes, I feel fine.” They call the next day and they say they’re concerned. “Well, I told them I was okay, but now I’m not feeling that great.” And as Jen stated, like, you know, a lot of times they will utilize that against them but what I tell them is, “Listen, they’re gonna try to convince you that you aren’t hurt. If you’re feeling something, then go see the doctor.”

 

11:23                                        VERONICA:  Excuse me.

 

NATHAN: Exactly. I mean the point, you know, as a former athlete, one of the things that I can relate most to in this is that it doesn’t hurt the day of. Football doesn’t hurt that day. The morning you wake up afterwards, you can’t get outta bed ’cause you could feel like you got hit by a truck. That’s the issue and a lot of times clients become afraid then they say, “Well, they are gonna think that I’m faking this. They’ll think that I’m not really injured,” but in reality they are. And then they get concerned that the insurance company’s not gonna pay for the medical costs, even though they are responsible. And a lot of times when they do speak to the insurance company without us, the insurance companies will often tell them, “Well, we’ll set aside a certain amount of dollars for your medical side,” but that may not necessarily be enough because the insurance carrier may tell them, “Well, this isn’t something that, you know, should require more than this.” But nobody really knows because everybody’s different.

 

12:18                                        VERONICA: Right. I’m just thinking, I know my body better than anybody else. Exactly. Right?

 

NATHAN and JENNIFER: Exactly.

 

12:23                                        VERONICA: So how can you tell me that I’m not really hurt? Or is it just more sort of this, “Well, it’s really, it’s probably really not that bad. You’ll feel better in a day or two. Your headache will go away,” or something. I don’t know if that’s the kind of thing that we’re talking about here.

 

NATHAN: Pretty much. That’s exactly my point is what they’ll usually say something to that effect, and oftentimes, you know, from the client’s perspective, then they’re gonna want to acquiesce to that. They’re gonna want to agree to that because they don’t wanna seem, be seen as, you know, like they are taking advantage. And they’re not taking advantage. They’re really hurt. They need help. And the most important thing they can do is call us at 1-800-LAW-NEED and ask those questions and then we can help them and say, “Okay, it sounds like you’re really hurt. You probably do need to see a physician.”

 

13:07                                        VERONICA: It sounds like, this is leading me into my next question which has to do with talking about the actual money that is at stake here. And we’re gonna get into that coming up on Lawyers in the House- The difference that a lawyer can make when dealing with an insurance company in dollars and cents. Spoiler alert: it is a huge amount. That’s next. I’m with Jennifer Fleming and Nathan Kratzert. I’m Veronica Waters. This is Lawyers in the House on WSB.

 

 

13:38                                        VERONICA: We are back. So welcome back to Lawyers in the House with Montlick and with me, Veronica Waters, here with Nathan Kratzert and Jennifer Fleming who are helming us through the journey of insurance company traps. Who knew this was a thing? I did not, but now I am better educated, and I know that you are too. We’ve heard that insurance companies will call you. They’ll ask for a recorded statement. And a lot of people might be tempted to sort of get it over with. This is a hard time for me. This is a hassle. I’m hurt. I need something for these medical bills. It’s tempting to get it over with. I’m gonna tell you about a statistic that I have found that said a study, one study, of personal injury cases that resulted in a payout, or a recovery, for the client found that the average person who settled directly with the insurance company received $17,500. But someone who was represented, somebody who had a lawyer, received an average payout of $77,600. Now I know- listen, let me just go on the record and say, Jennifer and Nathan, I know you can’t ever tell a client. You can’t promise an outcome. You can’t say how much a case is worth. There’s so many -right- factors at play. But I can say that based on this study, $60,000 is a lot of money. That’s a huge difference, 17 to $77,000. So tell me a little bit about this dollars and cents thing.

 

15:05                                        NATHAN: I think the biggest thing that I read in that statistic, ’cause I think sometimes statistics can be a little bit innocuous, but the difference is, is that when you have the attorney and you are represented properly, is that the attorney is making sure that everything is done the right way. They’re making sure that the insurance company is actually compensating you fairly for what you are supposed to receive. Making sure that, for example, a lot of times, if you have health insurance, in Georgia, an insurance company is not allowed to discount what you get in your settlement, just because you had health insurance help offset some of your costs. That’s something called a collateral source. Sometimes an insurance company won’t tell you that you might have something called Med-Pay under your own car insurance policy. And that’s a coverage that is only there, regardless of who’s at fault, just to help offset some of your medical bills. All of those things play a role. And that’s why it’s so important to call someone like Jennifer and I at 1-800-LAW-NEED in order to get and make sure that you’re properly represented and making sure that everything is being done in the right way.

 

VERONICA: I wanna talk to you, Jennifer too, coming up about this low ball offer thing that you and I were discussing off air because apparently it’s a real thing.

 

JENNIFER: Yes.

 

VERONICA:  And I’m thinking that the insurance company is looking out for me and saying, “Hey, I’m gonna make you a good faith offer. Here’s $5,500 for your car damage. I think your car’s probably fine. I think your headache’s gonna go away. Why don’t we just, let me give you this check. You know, help you out.” And I’m thinking I’m good to go, but maybe the answer is not so much.

Still to come, as we find our way through recognizing and getting around insurance company traps. This is Nathan Kratzert and Jennifer Fleming.

 

16:51                                        VERONICA: I’m Veronica Waters. This is Lawyers in the House. Welcome back to Lawyers in the House, friends and family. I’m Veronica Waters here with Nathan Kratzert and Jennifer Fleming. Montlick injury attorneys talking about insurance company traps. Today, I have learned so much. Don’t forget if you want more than just the Cliff’s Notes of me telling you how great this first half of the show was you can find us on social @montlicklaw. Please check us out on lawyersinthehouse.com. You can get this show and all of the ones from before. Really great information there and also submit a question if you’ve got one for us, ‘cause we wanna get you in on this discussion too.

Now talking about insurance company traps. And we have learned a little bit about the beginning stuff like right after the accident, this sort of initial reach out, right? But sometimes with that reach out, Jennifer and Nathan, comes an offer of a check.

 

JENNIFER: Yes.

 

NATHAN: Correct.

 

VERONICA: Yeah?

 

JENNIFER: Yes. So sometimes you call an insurance company and within the first few weeks they offer you a settlement and you think to yourself, “Great, I need this money. I’m not working or I’m injured, and I need this for my medical bills.” And so a client might think, “This would be great. I take the money now. The case is settled. I have some money.” The problem with doing that is you don’t know what your medical care looks like long term. You don’t know if in a year from now you’re gonna need a surgery or you have a permanent injury or there’s a medical procedure that you need done and you can’t afford it then later on because your case has already been settled. You also don’t know what your pain and suffering’s gonna be like for the next few years. So if you accept that offer your case is settled. That’s it. You’re done unfortunately. And a lot of-

 

VERONICA: Have you ever, I’m sorry. Have you ever had somebody who called and said, “I took this check, but it’s not enough. Can you help me?”

 

JENNIFER: Yes.

 

VERONICA: “Oh, my and could you help me?”

 

NATHAN: It happens more often than we’d like to hear honestly.

 

JENNIFER: Yeah, it does. And honestly -And if that release is signed and that check is cashed, unfortunately your case is likely settled. Now every case is different. I would have to hear the specifics of course – a little caveat there, but-

 

VERONICA: But I’m up the creek without a paddle?

 

JENNIFER: Yes, unfortunately. And so that’s why it’s important if they do make an offer to you right away, also call us. I mean, call and ask our thoughts and we will more likely than not say I wouldn’t recommend taking a settlement right now. Especially if you actively are treating with doctors or again, you’re not sure what your injuries are gonna look like. There’s no rush. I mean, there are a statute of limitations for things, but-

 

VERONICA: It feels like a rush if I’m in pain.

 

19:37                                        JENNIFER:  It does.

 

VERONICA: And the bills are coming in.

 

JENNIFER:  And you’re not working because you’re injured. So yeah, you need the money. But in the long run, it’s not the best option for you. I have had a client call me and say, “They offered me 5,000 in pain and suffering and 25,000 in future medical costs.” And I said, “The problem is, they’re not telling you the restrictions on that 25,000. They’re not telling you that they’re only gonna pay that if it’s a quote, ‘reasonable and customary bill’, and if they deem it related to the accident and if they deem it as reasonable and customary. So they’re saying you could probably get up to that. They’re not saying they’re gonna write you a check for $25,000 and hand it to you, and then you can go treat with any doctor you want.” And that’s confusing to people because the adjuster doesn’t tell them that.

 

VERONICA: Yes. That seems like a lot of information to leave out. Nathan?

 

NATHAN: Well, essentially what it is is that it’s keeping the carrier, insurance carrier in control. Whereas when you hire an attorney, you call 1-800-LAW-NEED and you speak to Jennifer or I or one of our other attorneys, it gives the client a lot more control over what their situation is and how to handle it. They’re getting advice as far as should they take a settlement right now? Is this the right option? And as Jen said, every single case is different. There are certain times where taking a check early on is the right move. It’s not usually, but sometimes it is. Other times, you know, it’s very often I’ll get phone calls and from potential clients and they’ll say, “I’ve got an offer. They sent me a check. I have this document to sign. What should I do?” And then when I talk to them more in depth, I find out that they have a much more serious injury. Somebody might- I’ve had several times where people have had to have neck surgery, shoulder surgery, back surgery, and they – two months into the accident- were ready to take a check for five, $10,000.

 

VERONICA: Wow. That’s not –

 

NATHAN: And later that result was much different. The outcome was much different and, you know, those are the cases where, you know, you get a hug from that client at the end and they’re so thankful they say, “Thank you for not letting me do that.” They don’t realize at the outset what the outcome’s really gonna be. We don’t know.

 

VERONICA: You don’t know. I’m thinking that you’ve got this situation again. I just keep thinking about how scared I would probably be. And let’s be honest, I think we were talking to these insurance companies make me believe that they’re on my side. ‘Cause I need to ask you this. Are we talking about the other guy’s insurance company or my insurance company? ‘Cause it’s like, I’m told that I’ve got a good neighbor or you know it’s a cute little gecko or-

 

JENNIFER: Exactly.

 

VERONICA: I’m in good hands, right?

 

NATHAN:  Yeah. The commercials they make us feel warm and fuzzy when they watch the commercials on TV. They’ve got a lot of money. They spend a lot of money on advertising. They spend a lot of money on celebrities to advertise for them. Usually we’re talking about both carriers actually, because sometimes you have a situation where the other person’s insurance company’s limits of their coverage, which is like the maximum amount that they will pay is not enough. And it doesn’t really cover what your injury is actually worth or what your medical bills are actually gonna be worth.

 

VERONICA: So then my insurance company is gonna step in and help.

 

JENNIFER:  Potentially.

 

NATHAN: Potentially, yes.

 

22:56                                        VERONICA: But you’re saying they might not.

 

JENNIFER: Right. It depends on the coverage. Everyone has different coverage options. And so some people elect to have underinsured or uninsured motorist coverage. Some people elect not to have it. More often than not, people don’t even know they’ve been given the choice and they’ve signed that right away and they don’t elect to have it. But it is important, especially if someone hits you and they don’t have any insurance as well. But as Nathan was saying, the loyalty aspect of it is usually your insurance company. You think, “I’ve been with this company for X number of years, they’re gonna do right by me. I know they will.”

 

23:30                                        VERONICA: Yeah. You know what your parents said to you?

 

JENNIFER: Yeah. My parents had an insurance company for 30 years. They got into an accident. The other driver had no insurance and they said, “Well, we’ve been with this insurance company for 30 years.” And they found out they had no rental car coverage. And so they had to pay out of pocket for a rental car. And they were like, “Nobody told us this. Why didn’t they tell us this?” And I said, “They have no loyalty to you.”

And again, they’re not bad people. It’s a business. But they don’t think about you as being a loyal customer. You’re just an insured to them.

 

NATHAN: They’re not in the business of just handing out money. They’re in the business of growing to profit, doing well, growing their business. Jen’s right. I mean, we have calls like that all the time from clients when they have something called uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. And I’m just gonna echo the point that I think Alyssa spoke about in one of the previous shows where it’s really important for people to look at what insurance coverage they have.

 

VERONICA: I am telling you, we have heard about U.M on every- I’m so skilled, I can call it U.M now.

 

24:28                                        JENNIFER: It’s so important.

 

NATHAN: It’s so important because it’s not that expensive, you know, to add onto your current insurance coverage and it can make a world of difference for you. And when clients call me and they say, “Nathan, I’ve been with this company, they’ve been with me through my lifetime. Now my former agent’s son is now my agent.” And I tell them all the time- I say, “What do you mean by that? What is loyal?” “They’ve just done, they’ve done right by me.” I was like, “What have they done for you?” And they just, there’s a long pause, and I say, “I mean, did they buy you- Did they buy a birthday cake? Did they send you on a trip to Cabo?” I mean, “Or did they just take your money every month on the same day every month? If so, I will be very loyal to you and I will take your money every single month at the same time, just gimme your bank account number.”

 

VERONICA: Okay.

 

NATHAN:  And then they start to see, “Oh, they’re really just making money.” Yes, exactly. And that’s your money. You paid-

 

VERONICA: But then they’re like, oh, they got me a new roof.

 

25:32                                        NATHAN: That’s what they’re supposed to do. Right? That’s the job.

 

JENNIFER: That’s their job.

 

NATHAN: You paid for that coverage. You paid for them to make sure that if something happened that you were taken care of.

 

25:43                                        VERONICA: All right, time out. I want to… Listen- I love my insurance agent. I can call him or text him anytime he is a super cool dude. Right. He supports me in my fundraisers, everything. So he’s like –  we have this divine nine connection going on. He’s really a great guy. And I don’t want to give the impression that every insurance adjuster is some super villain. We’ve all seen The Incredibles, if we have good taste in movies. And we know that sometimes, like Bob would get in to trouble.

 

NATHAN: Well, Bob.

 

26:12                                        VERONICA: Exactly. He would get, he’d get in trouble ’cause he wanted do the right thing by his client right? And he lost his job or whatever -got in trouble. So there are good adjusters out there. This is just a business, guys. They probably train like SWAT negotiators to be as skilled with you as they are but…

 

NATHAN: The two biggest misconceptions that we have are that the insurance company is evil or the personal injury attorney is evil, and neither are true. Both of us, we’re trying to make sure that we’re doing our jobs correctly. The insurance adjusters, they are trained to do a certain job, and usually they’re trained very well. And the attorney is there to represent that client and make sure that they’re adequately protected, and that the insurance carrier is doing the right thing. Sometimes the insurance carrier doesn’t do the right thing and that’s even more important why we’re there to make sure that that does not occur. And the important distinction also is agents versus adjusters. Agents are there to sell you the policy. That’s why you would never have, that would have no bearing on the relationship whatsoever. The adjuster is there to determine whether or not something should be paid for or not. The agent has nothing to do with it.

 

VERONICA:  Gotcha.

 

JENNIFER: Yeah.

 

VERONICA:  Okay. I gotcha. And who’s got my best interest at heart, Jennifer?

 

JENNIFER: It’s us. I mean that’s our job. Our job is to protect the client and advocate on their behalf. It is not the insurance company’s job to advocate for their insured. So that’s something that’s really important. That’s why you wanna have an attorney on your side. We are there to protect you, to fight for you, and get you what you deserve. And it’s just important to really know that. Even though you may feel loyalty to that insurance company, as we just explained, it doesn’t really exist. Our job is actually to be loyal to the client and to protect them. That is our job.

 

VERONICA:  And it’s their job to- Listen, it’s a business.

JENNIFER: Right.

 

27:57                                        VERONICA: It is a business, right, and we hope that we never need to use our insurance-

 

JENNIFER: Of course.

 

VERONICA: But it is their job, maybe not to give you, like you said, what this case actually is worth because it’s their job to protect my boss’s profits.

 

28:11                                        JENNIFER: Right. It’s a business. Yes.

 

NATHAN: Exactly.

 

VERONICA:  Yeah, it’s a business. I want to know whether or not there’s this good faith or bad faith thing I’ve heard about. What is that all about? Is that something that I need to know about?

 

NATHAN: Sure. So in terms of bad faith, what bad faith really is, is essentially where an insurance carrier doesn’t do the right thing when they’re making- they’re responding to settlement offers or how they’re handling the claim from the outset in terms of sometimes it can do with property damage. Sometimes it can have something to do with the actual injury claim itself. And when those things occur, there’s different penalties for each one of those situations.

 

28:51                                        VERONICA: Oh wow.

 

NATHAN: And penalties is probably not the right word, but there are consequences really for the insurance carrier at that time and-

 

VERONICA: Do I know when that stuff is happening? Do I know if I’m in the middle of a bad faith?

 

NATHAN: Very rarely. No. I have had a couple situations where a client has called me and they’ve explained the situation and I recognized immediately there was a bad faith situation happening right then and there and what the initial outcome was going to be dramatically changed as a result. And I’ll be honest with you. I think Jen and I could probably spend another two or three hours and I don’t want to belabor the points too much. But essentially what it is, is that’s why it’s so important to call 1-800-LAW-NEED to make sure that you do talk to an attorney like myself, Jennifer, or any of the others at our firm to make sure that if that situation is occurring, it’s being handled properly. And that the outcome could be very different.

 

VERONICA: It’s a case in which we often hear, like, “see something,

say something,” but this is kind of like a take on that-like, don’t say something, don’t sign anything right away, don’t say anything right away. Watch what you say and do and make sure that you are going into this thing with your eyes wide open.

 

NATHAN: Absolutely.

 

VERONICA: And maybe don’t try to go it alone. Thanks a lot guys. Coming up, the Montlick closing argument and maybe if we have time, we can give Nathan a shot at open mic and see if he’s got a good joke for it. The would-be Broadway star and the would-be standup comic. This is Lawyers in the House with Nathan and Jennifer and Montlick on WSB.

 

 

30:22                                        VERONICA: We are back. You are back. You and I here with Nathan Kratzert and Jennifer Fleming on Lawyers in the House with Montlick. I’m your host Veronica Waters. Don’t forget to find us on social @montlicklaw, tweet us, Facebook us, TikTok us, whatever you wanna do with us. We are going to be here for you. Check out our smiling faces on YouTube or on lawyersinthehouse.com. Today, it’s what you’ve been waiting for all hour long. The Montlick closing argument, Nathan and Jennifer you’ve got the floor.

 

30:53                                        JENNIFER: So I think we just wanna reiterate recorded statements. Earlier I talked about them, and they can come from your insurance company. They can be requested by the other person’s insurance company. If they are requested by your insurance company, more oftentimes than not, it is a contractual obligation for you to give one. Meaning, it is in your insurance contract that you sign every year that you will cooperate with them and provide them with recorded statement if asked. That’s your own. It’s not a hundred percent of the time, but it’s more likely than not. The other insurance company is the person that hits you. And if they request one, that’s the one that you need to be careful with. And I would suggest speaking to an attorney before giving a recorded statement, call us at 1-800-LAW-NEED. We’re happy to talk to you about it. You wanna make sure you’re protecting yourself, but also call us if your insurance company is requesting one too, because again, it is a document. It is recorded. It can be used against you later on. So just be very careful when someone asks for a recorded statement. Make sure you speak to an attorney first so that you’re protecting yourself and you’re protecting your rights and we can help you with that.

 

32:05                                        NATHAN: I am just gonna echo what Jen said, because ultimately, even if a recorded statement actually is contractually required, it’s not an immediate thing that has to happen. You have the right to speak to an attorney. That attorney can be there for you on that recorded statement. It’s not uncommon where Jen and I have filed cases together. We filed a lawsuit in those cases and we’ve had to read those recorded statements and we’ve had to speak to our client. “Well, you said this this date. Let’s talk about that. We’re gonna need to explain that.” And it’s not going to completely detrimentally destroy a case. It’s something that we can deal with, but it’s something that is important that we try to stay in control of and be ahead of.

 

VERONICA: Can you help somebody?

 

JENNIFER: Absolutely.

 

NATHAN: Of course.

 

JENNIFER: That’s our job. We’re happy to do so.

 

VERONICA: After a recorded statement?

 

32:51                                        NATHAN: Absolutely, yes.

 

JENNIFER: Yes.

 

NATHAN: Again, lawyers, no matter what the facts are, are not magicians, we can’t just pull a rabbit outta the hat.

 

32:58                                        VERONICA: What?

 

NATHAN: We’re best at- we have to deal with facts as they’re given to us and we are going to do the best we can with the facts that were given to us. And we’re gonna advocate for them as best we can.

 

VERONICA:  I think that if it came to the magic of dealing with insurance company traps, I probably couldn’t find two better magician attorneys than Nathan Kratzert and Jennifer Fleming, the would-be Broadway star, the would-be standup comic slash professional hockey player. I am so glad that I got a chance to meet you and sit down and talk with you about these guys. Thank you so much for navigating us through this. This is Lawyers in the House with Montlick, I’m Veronica Waters, and we will see you next time.