When you are injured in an accident, you may be contacted by the insurance company for a recorded statement. In most cases, these interviews are carefully scripted to ensure the insurance adjuster gathers information in a way that will help protect the defendant in court. They may even ask you to read aloud some legal words or prompt you to make a statement that goes in their favor.
When you are injured in an accident, you may be contacted by the insurance company for a recorded statement. In most cases, these interviews are carefully scripted to ensure the insurance adjuster gathers information in a way that will help protect the defendant in court. They may even ask you to read aloud some legal words or prompt you to make a statement that goes in their favor.
Providing a statement to the insurer before consulting with an experienced New York City personal injury attorney can compromise your ability to recover full compensation for your injuries and damages. The aftermath of an accident can be stressful and overwhelming. Seeking legal help to avoid making statements that could devalue your claim or cause the insurance company to deny it is essential to recover compensation for your injuries.
The personal injury attorneys at Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff, LLP can help you navigate the legal system and provide you with the support and information you need to make informed decisions about your case.
Why Do Insurance Companies Want Recorded Statements?
After you have been injured in a car accident, the other driver’s insurer will likely contact you and ask for a recorded statement to investigate the claim. They want to hear your descriptions of what led up to the accident and what happened immediately following the injury.
The insurance company may use certain tactics to gather evidence against you during the conversation. One of the tactics is to lead you to construct damaging statements that make you sound fully or partially at fault, inconsistent or less truthful than you actually are. If you say anything to indicate your negligence, they may use it to claim there was no fault of the other party, or you were partly to blame for your own injuries.
Why Should You Avoid Providing a Recorded Statement?
Every state has legal requirements for asking the details from accident participants. In New York, no law requires you to provide a statement, whether a recorded or written one, to the negligent party’s insurance company. You may feel that offering up a statement shows that you have nothing to hide, but any wrong information may work against your own interest. Here’s how your words can be misconstrued.
Inconsistency
Different parts of your story will be compared to your recorded statements. You are expected to go over previous statements in great detail with your lawyer. It is essential that your statements are consistent. If a discrepancy is found, it could cause serious problems for your case. If you can’t remember something exactly as you did before, explain that in writing to your attorney.
The Severity of Your Injury
Remember that there are two sides to every accident injury case. The other driver’s insurance company will want to decide whether you are a risk and how much to offer you. You may be asked about the severity of your injuries, where you felt pain, or what parts of your body hit the interior of the vehicle. The insurance company may later use your answers against you.
Too much Information
In most car accident cases, the claims adjuster will do some digging to confirm your injury, but they may also ask you some general questions that are irrelevant to your lawsuit. This is where you need to be careful of providing too much information. Many people don’t realize just how valuable their information is or how it could be used against them until it’s too late.
For example, while the insurance adjuster may innocently ask you if you’ve ever hurt your back before, a past injury to the spinal cord could be used to devalue a legitimate back injury you suffered in a recent car accident.
Insurance Adjuster May Trick You into Hurting Your Case
There are many ways adjusters force you to self-destruct during a recorded statement or deposition. You might be told that you will be compelled to answer despite your reluctance. You might find yourself being asked questions that have already been answered before, leading you to repeat yourself. The adjuster may shame you, degrade you, or use other subtle ways of making you feel guilty for not agreeing with them. They will more than likely talk over you and fail to clarify if you need it.
They are trained to ask leading questions, act sympathetic and make you say things that make you look less credible. It is possible that whatever you say to the adjuster will be used later to interpret the situation in a way that serves the company’s interests rather than your own. Though it is essential to be honest and upfront with the claims adjuster, knowing when they are trying to trick you is also be necessary.
Police Reports Contains All the Required Information
If you’re in a car accident and provide a recorded statement to the driver’s insurance company following the accident, the company will work hard to minimize their liability to you. This may mean that they offer you less money in an initial settlement or try to prevent you from getting any money by showing how your statement was incorrect or inaccurate.
However, you should know that the other driver’s insurance company does not need all of the details you may have learned about the accident. A police report will provide enough information for the other driver’s insurance company to settle a claim with you.
Possibility of Your Words Being Misinterpreted
When you are speaking to an insurance company or at a deposition, the substance of the question is as important as the tone in which you deliver your response. In a recorded statement, it is possible that a simple fact, like being late for work, can be used against you. If you tell them about your medical history, they may claim that your injuries are not related to the accident but are pre-existing conditions.
By contacting our experienced personal injury lawyers, you can ensure that your injuries are properly documented. We will communicate on your behalf with the insurance companies following the accident so that you won’t have to submit your medical records to multiple parties. This frees you up to focus on healing from your injuries while our attorneys deal with the legal aspects of the accident.
You May Have Incomplete Knowledge of Your Medical Condition
If you sustained significant injuries in a car accident, the chances are that your full medical diagnosis may not be complete. Even after several physical visits with your doctor, it can take time for a final diagnosis to be made. This can have a significant impact on the insurance claim process.
Because the insurance adjuster wants to get an idea of what the case’s value is likely to be as soon as possible, they will usually try to talk with you about the accident. Our injury attorneys work with you to delay this initial conversation as long as possible, giving you the time you need to make a sound, informed decision.
Insurance adjusters often have an idea of how much they can settle a claim for before they even speak to the plaintiff. If you talk to an adjuster without an attorney present, you could inadvertently give them misleading information that sets a low value on your claim, making it difficult to get a settlement that is better than what they offer. Such action could delay your claim indefinitely and could result in your loss of any compensation, should you lose the lawsuit.
What Can Be Said While Giving a Statement?
To ensure the effectiveness of your injury claim, there are specific rules that you need to follow. When talking with a potential insurance company, always ask them not to record anything. Then, when providing details of the accident and subsequent injuries, be concise, factual, and honest. Some elements will be irrelevant to the incident and could bias the other party against you; therefore, you should only provide details precise to the inquiry or question.
Also, do not exaggerate or minimize your injuries. This is perceived as lowering your credibility and impacts your chances of receiving compensation for damages suffered. Additionally, never agree to release your medical records by signing any forms without consulting a personal injury attorney first.
Consult Our Legal Team in New York City before Giving a Recorded Statement to the Insurer
After a car accident, you’re probably shaken up and likely dealing with physical pain. It’s never easy to tell what a car crash has done to your body, especially after the adrenaline wears off. That’s why we urge you not to give an official recorded statement, even if they request it. The insurance companies of the at-fault driver are trained to use their tactics on unsuspecting victims who are still in shock and hurting. If you allow them to get through, they will settle your case with a reduced amount.
Before you give a recorded statement, make sure you are prepared by speaking with one of our car accident lawyers in NYC to discuss your claim in detail. At Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff, LLP, we sit down with each client and go over their case in thorough detail. We then establish a legal strategy for how we will pursue your case for maximum compensation for your injuries from the at-fault party.
Get in touch with us at 212-344-1000 or contact us online.
