After filing a personal injury claim, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant was negligent, and that the same negligence caused the plaintiff’s injury. Insurance companies make it hard for plaintiffs to prove the existence of both of those elements.
Tactics that insurers use before placing a limit on a plaintiff’s payment
Denying the need for a payment: Claiming that the defendant did not have a duty of care towards the plaintiff. Insurers that use that defense typically allege that the plaintiff/claimant had assumed a known risk.
At times, plaintiffs can be charged with a certain amount of negligence. In this case, the plaintiff’s neglectful behavior must have aggravated, to some degree, the condition of the acquired injury. A failure on the part of the claimant/plaintiff to act properly might also trigger the placement of limitations on any awarded payment. For example, insurance companies always check to see if the plaintiff/claimant was wearing a seat belt on the day of the accident.
Methods used to limit a payment’s size
Insurance company points to an exclusion phrase in the client’s policy. Insurer claims that the same phrase applies to the claimant’s case. Insurers that use this particular method normally select rather vague phrases. Suggest that the declared injuries were not as severe as claimed: minimize the extent of those same injuries. Bring in an expert, in an effort to show that the reported accident could not have caused the sort of injury that has been mentioned in the plaintiff’s claim.
• Claim that all or part of the reported injuries existed before the day of the accident. A modification of that method could involve alleging that the plaintiff/victim should have been using some sort of protective device, due to the presence of a pre-existing injury.
• Allege that the plaintiff has failed to turn in a sufficient amount of evidence. The absence of a specific document in the report from the plaintiff’s physicians could cause cancelation of a scheduled payment.
Personal Injury Lawyer in Huntsville know that sometimes plaintiffs that did not bother to file a police report get denied the chance to receive a payment. Such a report could have functioned as a form of evidence. Ideally, the insurance company wants the injured victim to go after the police report and also seek help from a member of the medical profession. Victims are expected to visit either a doctor’s office, an emergency room or a medical clinic.
That visit should lead to issuance of a treatment plan. An insurer expects an injured claimant to follow that same treatment plan. Hence, the victim’s/patient’s medical report should make it obvious that the proposed treatment plan was followed. Otherwise, a claimant’s compensation might be reduced, or its delivery might somehow get delayed.