Serious Injury Claims Basics
A person, company, or other legal entity that negligently causes you injury can be legally required to pay for your resulting financial losses and your pain and suffering. Injuries often result when negligence leads to an auto, motorcycle or bicycle accident, a dog bite, a defect in a product, a dangerous condition on public or private property, or other potentially harmful circumstances.
You or your attorney will need to make a timely claim against the responsible party, whose insurance company will generally defend against your claim. If the company does not compensate you promptly or adequately, you or your attorney must file and prosecute a court case within strict legal time limits, or you’ll lose your rights to payment.
Insurance companies have professional claims adjusters who aggressively defend their insureds even when their insureds are at fault. The adjusters will want to take recorded statements from you – not to help them fairly evaluate your case – but to use what you say to diminish their responsibility. They will photograph your car, photograph your person, contact your employer, and get you to sign medical authorizations, all in an attempt to minimize the value of your case. Their entire motivation is self-serving – to pay the least amount possible for your claim.