Beyond the injury itself, what are the main financial concerns for the victim of an auto accident? The biggest worries by far are always financial – paying for the high costs of necessary medical care and paying everyday bills, like car payments, rent payments, or a mortgage. We have had to defend clients from being evicted because they have been unable to work and now are behind on rent. Films and television shows often portray injured individuals as a caricature of a person either faking or exaggerating their injuries. Usually, they are sitting in a lawyer’s office with a neck brace, trying to get paid. What they should show is the person at home wanting to go back to work, but unable because they just had surgery to fix their shattered leg. They should show that person terrified as their medical bills surpass $100,000 and the landlord is taping an eviction notice to their door. We have had clients, especially clients with families, go back to work halfway through their physical therapy. For those clients, their financial situation often dictates that they do not have the luxury of reaching full recovery. Injuries and inability to work place a strain not only on the client, but on their entire family. The dirty truth is that insurance companies know this. They very often move slowly in resolving injury claims in the hopes that injured victims will take short money out of desperation. Often, medical bills will go to collection, because insurance companies will take months to review the bills – and even when they do, they often offer absurdly small sums based on what they believe is the reasonable cost. Unfortunately, hospitals, doctors and collection agencies do not care what anyone else thinks is reasonable. Again, I find that this is done to save money for insurance companies and to exert pressure on clients to take much less than the actual value of their claim. Many clients come to us and their first words are: “I never wanted to hire a lawyer, I just thought the other person’s insurance would take care of things.” But after an initial call where insurance companies promise to pay for all medical bills or repair car damage, they drag their feet and sometimes even stop communicating all together. That is why our firm always strives to resolve cases quickly and efficiently, while also securing the maximum compensation for our clients. What are the crucial factors to keep in mind when it comes to negotiating with insurance companies? Even though insurance companies tell you that they will take care of things, they are not on your side. As I touched upon earlier, I always remind clients that 60 LAWYER MONTHLY SEPTEMBER 2023 Injuries and inability to work place a strain not only on the client, but on their entire family. The dirty truth is that insurance companies know this.
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