You’ve been involved in an accident and now you’re injured. You’re irritated and uncertain about how you will pay for your medical bills, especially if you have to take time off of work. When the other party’s insurance adjuster reaches out to you, it seems like everything will be okay. They’re interested in helping you, and they even want to look at your medical records to see how much compensation you’re owed.
Once you’ve reached this point, the insurance company already has the information they need to reduce your settlement or eliminate it completely. You need an attorney on your side who’s committed to getting the compensation you are owed. Call Reeves & Mestayer at 228-300-2754 to set up a consultation now.
The Health Information Insurance Adjusters Need
In order to validate your statements about your injuries, the insurance company will need some access to your health records at some point. However, the information they need is limited in scope. They truly only need access to the medical records related to your accident and current injuries. This gives them a better understanding of how you were injured, how serious those injuries are, and how you have progressed in your healing process.
The Information They Ask for and How It Can Hurt You
It wouldn’t be a problem if insurance adjusters only asked for your accident-related medical records, but that’s not what they do. They ask you to sign paperwork allowing them full access to all of your medical records, including those that predate your accident.
Why? They are looking for preexisting injuries. Remember that insurance companies aren’t actually looking for how they can pay you a full and fair settlement. They are looking for information they can use to reduce what they pay you. If they can find any preexisting injury that they can tie to your current injuries, they will do so.
They may claim that your current injury only exists because of your preexisting injury, not because of their client’s actions. Unfortunately, they are very good at this. Even if your injuries seem completely unrelated, insurance adjusters seem to find a way to link them to preexisting injuries.
This doesn’t mean that you should hide preexisting injuries from the insurance adjuster. This information will likely still come out at some point, especially if the accident made preexisting injuries worse. However, you have to reveal that information appropriately and at the right time. That’s where an attorney can help.
What to Do When the Insurance Adjuster Reaches Out
At this point, you may be wondering what you should do when the other party’s insurance adjuster reaches out. If they’re only looking for information that they can use to hurt you, what can you say that’s safe?
Nothing. That’s right—you don’t want to say anything to the other party’s insurance company. Instead, you want to hire a personal injury attorney before you talk to the other party at all. You can talk to the insurance company if you choose, but the more you do, the more you risk saying something that works against you. When you hire an attorney right away, you can let them take over communication with the other party’s attorney.
Getting the Compensation that You Deserve
Having a preexisting injury or health condition doesn’t mean that you can’t get fair compensation for your accident. Almost everyone has been injured at some point in their life, and that certainly doesn’t absolve the other party of their negligence. You do need to hire an attorney if you want to avoid the insurance company’s tactics for reducing victims’ settlements.
The sooner you talk to a personal injury lawyer near you, the sooner they can start building your case. Make sure you are upfront and honest about any preexisting injuries, as this gives them the information that they need to negotiate with the insurance company.
Start Your Injury Claim with Reeves & Mestayer
The team at Reeves & Mestayer is here to help you get what you deserve after an accident. Don’t let someone else’s negligence sidetrack your life and your goals. Call us at 228-300-2754 or send us a message online to set up a consultation with our team right now.
