If you have submitted a personal injury claim to an insurance company, then you should expect to receive a call from one of the same company’s adjusters.
Preparing for the call
Get ready to demonstrate a calm attitude, along with evidence that you are pursuing an organized approach. Additionally, have paper and pencil by the phone.
Actions to take, upon receiving call
Ask for the name of the caller; also ask for the caller’s phone number. Learn the identity of the person that has chosen to employ the caller: Is the person on the other end of the line the adjuster?
What to share?
State your name, address and phone number. Feel free to provide information on the type of work that you do, and where you are employed. Personal Injury Lawyer in Halifax will ask you that you should not offer details on your work schedule, or on your income.
Possible request
You might be asked to give a statement, or you might get inquiries, regarding the nature of the accident. Feel comfortable with sharing facts about where and when the accident took place. Also provide information on the type of vehicle that you were driving.
Promise to share more facts in a demand letter.
–This approach prevents development of situation where you might forget to mention certain details.
–It also prevents problems, in the event that you were to discover that your injury was more serious than expected. In other words, this approach could be followed or adapted by someone that might have slow-appearing injuries.
What should be said about any injuries?
Do not offer any details about your injuries.Say that you are treating the injuries, and will explain their nature and severity in your demand letter.
Use the word “treating,” even if you are still undergoing a diagnosis of your condition. Insurance companies do not like to pay for diagnostic procedures, so it helps to use the word “treat.” Besides, you would be utilizing a treatment, if you had merely elected to take a few aspirin, in order to see if that would kill the pain.
Another advantage to offering only limited information on any injury relates to the chances for the appearance of new symptoms. By indicating the presence of a physiological change in the body, you open the door to the emergence of further changes.
Those facts would become especially important, if an accident victim were to have some discomfort, but remained unable to name a diagnosed problem. That same victim could have what doctors refer to as a slow-to-appear injury. The emergence of new symptoms might be mentioned in the demand letter, suggesting that the treating doctor had not ruled out the chances for a lengthening of the list of observed symptoms.
