Injured in a crash

Should I Talk to the Other Driver's Insurance Company?

Your phone rings the morning after the crash. A pleasant voice says she is calling from the other driver's insurance company, she is so sorry this happened to you, and she just needs a few quick details to get your claim moving. You are sore, you are tired, and she sounds like she wants to help. This article is about what that call really is and what to say before you hang up.

Why they call so fast and sound so friendly

The other driver's insurer knows something you may not: the best time to lower a claim is before the injured person knows how injured they are. That is why they call within hours or a day, before you have seen a doctor, before the stiffness has set in, and before you have talked to anyone.

The adjuster is not lying about being nice. Being nice is the method. You are not their customer. Their job is to close your claim for the smallest amount they can defend, and a relaxed, chatty phone call is the cheapest way to do it.

What a recorded statement is for

Early in the call they will ask if it is okay to record. It sounds routine. It is not.

A recorded statement is a permanent record of what you said on your worst day, before you had the facts. If you later say your back is injured, they will play the tape where you said you were "okay." If your memory of the crash sharpens after you see the photos, they will point to the version you gave from a hospital bed. The statement is not there to help pay your claim. It is there to give them something to hold against it.

You are never required to give the other driver's insurance company a recorded statement. Not in Florida, not in Arizona, not anywhere.

The questions that are designed to trap you

Most of the harmful questions sound like small talk. Watch for these:

• "How are you feeling?" The polite answer is "fine." That word goes in the file. Adrenaline hides injuries, and you may not know how you are yet.
• "How fast were you going?" A guess becomes a fact. If you were unsure and said "maybe 40," you just gave them a number to argue with.
• "Did you see the other car before it hit you?" If you say no, they will suggest you were not paying attention. If you say yes, they will ask why you did not avoid it.
• "Have you had any back or neck problems before?" This is the start of the argument that you were already injured.
• "Have you seen a doctor yet?" If you have not, they will note that you must not have been injured very badly.

None of these are questions you have to answer. Every one of them can lower what you are paid.

Your insurer and their insurer are not the same call

This is where people get confused, so here is the split.

Your own insurance company: you must cooperate. Your policy requires it, and in Florida your own PIP benefits depend on it. Call them soon after the crash, give them the basic facts, the time, the place, the crash report number, and who was involved. Stick to facts. You can still say you would rather not describe your injuries until you have seen a doctor.

The other driver's insurance company: you have no contract with them. You owe them nothing. You do not have to answer their calls, give a statement, or sign anything they send.

The quick check and the paper that comes with it

Sometimes the adjuster skips the questions and just offers money. A check, sent right away, to "help you out" while things are fresh.

Every quick check comes with a release. When you sign it, or in some cases when you cash the check, you give up the right to ask for anything more, ever. The offer is made before anyone knows whether your neck pain is a strain or a herniated disc, and before your bills have arrived. If the money runs out, that is your problem now, not theirs.

The same goes for the medical release form they may send. A broad one lets them pull your whole medical history and search it for anything they can call a pre-existing condition. Do not sign it without a lawyer reading it.

A short script for the call

You do not need to be rude, and you do not need to argue. Say this, or something close to it:

"Thank you for calling. I am still getting medical treatment and I am not ready to discuss the accident or my injuries. I will not be giving a recorded statement. Please put any questions in writing and send them to me."

If they push, repeat it once. Then end the call: "I have to go now. Goodbye." Hang up. You do not owe them a reason.

Write down the date, the time, the adjuster's name, and the claim number. That is all you take from the call.

When to let a lawyer take every call

Once you hire a personal injury lawyer, the other driver's insurer has to deal with the lawyer's office instead of you. The calls stop. You go to your appointments and get better.

Consider that when you were injured and are still treating after a week or two, when the adjuster keeps calling or has already made an offer, when they are questioning who caused the crash, or when the other driver was uninsured. Personal injury lawyers work on contingency, which means no fee unless they recover money for you, and the first conversation is free.

Call Clyne is a lawyer referral service, not a law firm. Stephen Clyne is not an attorney. This article is general information, not legal advice, and laws change. Talk to a licensed attorney in your state about your situation.