When someone runs a red light, or breaks some other rule of the road, and hits another vehicle or pedestrian, the person who ran the red light is financially responsible for the injuries and damages he or she caused. If that person has automobile insurance, he or she has a team of experienced professionals (adjusters and lawyers) who go to work right away to defend him or her. The insurance company’s adjuster has been trained to protect the driver and … most importantly … the insurance company’s money.
Insurance is a business. As a business, insurance companies make money by charging drivers premiums. They lose money every time the insurance company has to pay a claim, so the job of adjusters is to build a case against the victim, in order to pay the victim as little as possible. Insurance companies also have lawyers that are paid to defend the driver that caused the collision and build the case against the victim.
Generally, the insurance company will look for ways to put the blame for the collision on someone else, including the victim. This is because, under the law, a driver is only responsible for the percentage of the collision the driver caused. The adjuster will also look for ways to blame the victim’s injuries on something other than the collision. Prior collisions, work injuries, and sports injuries are some of the events an adjuster might argue is the reason for the injuries. It is not unusual for the adjuster to use what the victim says in a recorded statement to the adjuster to build the case against the victim. That is why it is almost never a good idea for the victim to speak directly with the other driver’s insurance company.
Your insurance company does not represent you when you are the victim of a collision caused by someone else. You are on your own, unless you hire an injury lawyer with experience in car accident case. Jim Penny represents victims of car accidents in Tucson, throughout Pima County, as well as Cochise County, Santa Cruz County, and Pinal County. His fee is a contingent fee, which means you do not pay by the hour. Instead, the fee is a percentage of the total recovery. This is important to know because you do not “save” money by waiting to hire him. Waiting could end up costing money, if the insurance company is able to build its case against you because you do not have a lawyer. As a result, you get the greatest value for the fee you pay by hiring Jim right away.