Claimants should give an adjuster at least 28 days in which to respond to any demand letter.
Possible responses to a demand letter
• Denial of claimant’s right to request coverage of damages
• Request more information, before agreeing to grant coverage
• Produce a counteroffer of any size
• Accept the demand, and arrange for delivery of payoff
Any of the above could be acceptable, if the insurer had arranged for issuance of the response well before the deadline, as stated in the statute of limitations.
Rights of claimant, if no response, following the 28-day span of time
Any claimants in that situation have the right to file a lawsuit against the insurance company. Claimants increase their chances for winning such a lawsuit, when undertaking actions that follow the state’s rules about car accident law.
—That would include any laws about the deadline for filing, as given in the statute of limitations.
—A claimant’s chances would be close to 0, if the accident had taken place in a no-fault state, and had not resulted in a great deal of damages.
—Some rules apply in any state: A claimant’s chances for winning would be close to 0, if the same claimant had failed to seek medical help, immediately after the accident.
Rights of insurance company
It would have a right to demand presentation of proof that the same company had demonstrated a breach of faith. An unfounded allegation might qualify as evidence for a breach of faith. Yet few claimants could achieve success, when challenging the existence of verifiable evidence for a given allegation, such as one that charged the plaintiff with shared blame.
The insurance company could use its many lawyers, to seek out such evidence. That is why a smart claimant/victim should consult a lawyer, before posing a challenge to the insurance adjuster that has made the allegation.
A right not given to insurance company
It would not have the right to demand compliance with the statute of limitations, in the event that a minor had been riding in the vehicle that was hit by the defendant, as per Personal Injury Lawyer in Lower Sackville.
A lawyer might be able to help a plaintiff request an extension of the state’s deadline for filing a lawsuit. That added time might lead to the emergence of more symptoms, in a case where an injured party suffered from development of a slow-to-show condition.
Those new symptoms could become part of a package that might work to weaken the case posed by the other side. Still, that would only become possible if the plaintiff had made a point of hiring a personal injury lawyer.
