Six Ways Insurance Companies Try To Destroy Your Case

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Six Ways Insurance Companies Try To Destroy Your
Case
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Insurance companies are not charities, and if
youre injured in a car accident or another way,
the insurance company is always going to try to
minimize your claim.I worked defense for the
insurance companies for many years, thus I know
firsthand how insurance companies try to minimize
how much theyll eventually have to pay you
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1.Reporting InconsistenciesInsurance companies
will literally cross reference everything you say
at a discovery (a meeting where they ask you lots
of questions) against your doctors medical
reports in an effort to find inconsistencies.For
example, lets say you tell the insurance
companys lawyer that you had headaches since
your accident, however, your doctor failed to
write it down, thus its not in the reports.
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You certainly arent lying to anyone, but the
fact that its not mentioned in the medical
reports looks suspect nonetheless. This why I
tell my clients to not only report everything to
their doctor, but to ask their doctor to write it
down. When you are in the midst of a case, you
must let your doctor know the importance of
writing down every little thing. Too much
information is better than too little.
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2. Your Pre-Accident Medical Or Psychiatric
HistoryThis can be touchy. I tell my clients to
pretend that the insurance company already has
the answers to everything thats happened to you
available to them (for the most part, they
do.)They will go back around 3-5 years before
your accident and take a close look at both your
physical and psychiatric history. Is there
anything there that could decrease the amount of
earning potential you would have had before the
accident?
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This is tough because often clients will forget
about things that happened to them.Again, its
not a matter of lying, but sometimes we simply do
not wish to rehash painful issues.For example,
if a client suffered from depression due to a
rape, or perhaps drank a lot of alcohol in
school, the insurance company will bring these
issues up. Ditto for physical issues. If you hurt
your back in 2009, I want to hear it from you so
we can get ahead of it.
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Otherwise the insurance company who will say,
Well you didnt tell us you had back pain
before, so you could be lying now 3. Income
ReportingIf you claim you made 54k last year,
and the insurance company looks at your T4 and
finds out you only reported 35k, your case will
be in immediate jeopardy.This situation is not
as uncommon as it sounds.Many contractors get
paid in cash and dont always claim it. So if
they ask you if youre reported all of your
income to the CRA and you havent, youd better
speak up. To many, this sounds like out of the
frying pan and into the fire, but not so.
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The insurance company cant call revenue Canada
its improper and illegal, so in this case, the
truth doesnt hurt. Its better to be as up front
as possible (although admitting you lied to the
CRA is still going to hinder your credibility, so
really its just better to be honest with
everyone.)Continuity of TreatmentSometimes
people get caught up with their lives and dont
make time for medical treatments like
physiotherapy. This can be an issue.A defense
lawyer may say, Well, you only went to therapy
for three months so it couldnt have been THAT
bad.
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Of course, we know that it doesnt mean you only
had pain for only three months, but it does cast
a shadow over that certainty.If you have an
approved medical treatment that is recommended by
your doctor, you have to use it! There are times
where your healing will plateau so you may not
feel its worth the time and effort to go to
treatment, but thats up to you doctor to assess.
Until that happens, if you dont attend
treatment, it will raise questions about how
injured you really are.
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4. No Mention Of Injuries In The First
Responders ReportWhen you have an accident,
youre probably not thinking about calling a
lawyer or starting a case. Youre thinking about
yourself of course!But heres the thing,
ambulance attendants are really good at putting
down just one complaint. Its not fair to you
because youve just had an accident and are
probably too shocked and anxious to answer their
questions thoughtfully. Yet, if you they ask you
if your back hurts, for example, and you say
no, then they will mark off that its not a
problem.
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The ER physician will do the same. When your back
is in agony the next day, your insurance company
will look first to those initial reports and jump
on the fact that you didnt mention it at the
time and make the assumption that it couldnt
have been THAT bad if you didnt tell
anyone.What the first responders record is
important. You cant control what theyre going
to write, but the more you share the better.If
you didnt go to the hospital right after your
accident, make sure you see your family doctor
soon afterwards.
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The information provided in your medical records
will ultimately make or break your case so see
your doctor and tell them everything no matter
how insignificant at the time it may seem. 5.
Using Surveillance Against YouThis is a big one
that really freaks out my clients but I always
give the same advice As long as youre telling
the truth, let them use surveillance you have
nothing to hide.You have to be smart when youre
in the midst of a case. For example, if you say
youre unable to cut your grass, then dont cut
your grass.
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There may be a day where you give it a shot to
see if you can, and youre in pain when you do
it. Of course, that will be the day the insurance
company gets a video of you cutting your grass
and waving to your neighbour with a friendly
smile, five minutes before you gave up and
retreated back to the couch in pain. But the
damage is done.Another common example is when
you say you cant do your job, but post public
pictures of yourself on social media dancing at
you brothers wedding.
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Well, perhaps the injury that precludes you from
working has nothing to do with your ability to
dance, but the insurance company will present it
very differently.Be 100 honest and over
communicate.If you tried to cut the grass but
couldnt, report back to your doctor and to me
that you tried but you couldnt.
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Or, if you couldnt cut the grass but then tried
and found it was manageable, thats a change that
must be reported. Reporting these little things
will invalidate any surveillance the insurance
company presents. http//derekwilsonlaw.ca