Why Is the Insurance Adjuster Doing Everything in Their Power to Limit My Recovery?

It is almost inevitable that any claim that one submits to an insurance company will be challenged either as to it validity or to how much the claim is worth in value, or in many instances as to both validity and value.  Insurance companies spend tons of money training their claims adjusters how to pay as little as possible on as few claims as possible. A claims adjuster’s job by nature it so work against your full financial recovery.   This is why it is of the utmost importance for an injured accident victim to have a lawyer with experience to negotiate with the insurance company. For numerous years, The Law Offices of Spencer M. Fein, P.C., located in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., has been helping accident victims throughout Westchester County and all areas of New York successfully negotiate with an insurance company claims adjuster.

The Insurance Company Is Denying Their Insured Was Liable, What Next?

The first avenue an insurance company may use to attack your claim is to just deny any responsibility. They will claim their insured (the defendant) is not legally liable for causing the accident. As such, they can claim that because of such they do not need to compensate you for your injuries. They will argue that they have undergone a vigorous investigation and determined that there was no fault by their insured. This tactic is many times taken in the hopes that an injured victim will just give up their claim. Their hope is that they either break you down or make you think that their insured is just not at fault. This is again why it is so important to have a legal adversary by your side. At the Law Offices of Spencer M. Fein, P.C., which fight for our clients and make sure they know they should not give in to an insurance companies strategies. We undergo our own investigations as to fault. If the insurance company still denies liability in cases that we determine the defendant is indeed at fault we will counsel our clients and advise them to file a lawsuit, thus allowing a Judge or jury to determine who is indeed liable for the accident. In some cases, the mere act of filing a lawsuit will cause the insurance company to accept liability.

The Insurance Company Is Limiting the Value of My Claim, What Next?

There are many tactics insurance companies use to reduce the value of a claim. The most popular strategy is to target those areas of compensation which are subjective, such as pain and suffering and other intangible losses. These losses are real and can vary in severity from each person. Some people have underlying conditions that make their recovery worse then others in their situation. Other people also sometimes have a lower pain threshold then others. However, claims adjuster rarely take such considerations into account when making an offer of compensation for pain and suffering. Worse, some insurance adjusters will claim that their defendants are not responsible for a pre-existing condition that made a person’s recovery worse.   Any lawyer will tell you that in the first day of tort class you learn about the “eggshell” principle. This theory is that a defendant must take a plaintiff as they find him. More simply put it means a defendant will be liable for any additional pain and suffering the plaintiff endured because of a condition that they had prior to the accident.  Insurance companies will always try and circumvent this theory and it is why it is so important to have a lawyer, such as the Law Offices of Spencer M. Fein, P.C. to represent your interests.

An additional strategy used by adjuster is to try and devalue any future costs by a plaintiff. If a defendant is found liable they are responsible for compensating a plaintiff all future monetary loses due to their liability.   This includes but is not limited to all future medical expenses, loss of future earnings and other costs. As you can well imagine it is hard to project the exact costs and expenses for the future. Insurance adjusters attack these future costs and try to limit the amounts that a plaintiff may be entitled. This is why it is so important to have a legal adversary by your side. At the Law Offices of Spencer M. Fein , P.C. we make sure to support the proper monetary projections with expert testimony or calculations. Medical experts may be required to testify about the surgeries, rehabilitative services, or other medical expenses which will be required over the years as a result of the accident. An injury victim may need to hire a vocational rehabilitationist to testify as to what type of job the injured person may find after their injuries and/or and economist who can testify about the wages he or she has lost and the projected decrease in earning potential over the victim’s lifetime. The Law Offices of Spencer M. Fein, P.C. has successfully represented numerous accident victims throughout Ossining, Yonkers, White Plains and many other municipalities in New York in their fight to get the full value for their future expenses.