If you or a loved one has been injured in a serious Albuquerque accident, it is understandable if you have asked the following question to a serious injury attorney: “Can I trust the insurance adjuster and the insurance company’s offer?” If you have received an offer before talking it over with an attorney, know that the offer you have received is most likely less than you deserve. This is especially true concerning accidents that involve serious injuries since more money is at stake. As such, you need to choose the best serious injury attorney after an Albuquerque accident results in significant injuries.

Choosing Albuquerque’s best serious injury attorney can protect you from common insurance adjuster tactics that tempt injury victims to accept a lower offer than what is deserved. Here are a few key ways that your serious injury lawyer in Albuquerque ought to protect you from common adjuster tricks.

Your Lawyer Should Explain the Cost-Cutting Tactics Insurance Adjusters are Trained to Use

When you discuss the insurance company’s offer with your lawyer, your serious injury attorney should tell you precisely why that offer is lower than you deserve. Namely, the insurance company adjuster is, in most cases, an employee of the insurance company itself. While the adjuster will maintain a friendly demeanor, this does not mean the adjuster is your friend. Far from it, in fact, and the adjuster is certainly no friend to your legal claim.

Insurance companies are a business, after all, and some of their profitability stems from the fact that injured parties are paid less than they deserve. The adjuster plays an important role in making sure this happens, often by inducing you to provide information or answer questions in a way that harms your legal claim.

Tips for Avoiding Common Adjuster Strategies and Tactics

Successfully handling adjuster tactics really boils down to a single principle, which is that accident victims must not provide any extensive information that could be used to harm or otherwise prejudice the victim’s case and right to compensation. Common mistakes that your serious injury attorney can help you avoid include:

  • Providing the names of medical providers to the adjuster shortly after the accident
  • Providing additional information that the insurance company does not immediately need post-accident (prior injuries or criminal history, for example)
  • Signing medical authorization forms that allow the insurance company to access the injured party’s medical records, which are often  used to undermine a legal claim by sending blanket requests for medical records and billing from a number of providers in hopes of finding damaging medical information.
  • Making a voluntary recorded statement without your attorney present, which is only in the best interests of the insurance company.

Choose a Serious Injury Lawyer Who Knows How to Stand Up to the Insurance Company

The most important thing to remember about serious injury lawsuits is the financial compensation that is at stake for you and your loved ones. Serious accidents often result in injuries that require a lifetime of care, treatment and rehabilitation. As such, the insurance company has the most incentive to employ their most aggressive tactics against serious accident victims.

If the adjuster “accepts liability” for the accident or says they want to do the right thing by taking care of you, do not fall for these traps. Instead, seek out the right serious injury attorney who will advise you about all claims that you are legally entitled to make under New Mexico law as well as fight for the compensation you deserve.

As a former insurance attorney early in my career, I now use that knowledge to represent personal injury victims because I know the tricks adjusters use. I will not let those tactics undermine your legal claim, and I will instead fight for your right to the maximum compensation that is owed. Contact me online to speak with a serious injury attorney in Albuquerque and receive a free, no-obligation consultation regarding your Albuquerque accident claim.