Personal Injury - Auto Collision

SIMPLY STATED .... WHEN YOUR'E INJURED, THE INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE OUT TO CHEAT YOU!!!!!!

Did you ever wonder why your insurance company sends out those little brochures entitled "WHAT TO DO IN CASE OF AN ACCIDENT"?  And when you read it it tells you, never admit fault!  Why do you have to behave that way? You paid for insurance coverage to protect you when you're at fault.  Are they telling you NOT TO ACCEPT PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for your protection, or FOR THEIR OWN PROFIT?  The insurance company does not have the right to control your behavior in an anti-social manner, and it does not have the right to deny you the right to behave properly in our society by apologizing to the little old lady  with two little kids  who you just creamed with your SUV. 

Guess who your insurance company is protecting?  Not so much you, but their MONEY!  Didn't you think that when you paid for insurance, that the purpose  was to protect you, by assuring payment to others if you hurt them thoughtlessly?  Well that may have been the way it was in the past, but not anymore!  Like other disreputable businesses in today's world of corporate scandals, insurance companies strive to increase their profits by NOT PAYING CLAIMS, OR PAYING AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE ON A CLAIM, OR EVEN DENYING  LEGITIMATE CLAIMS, OR BY PAYING LESS THAN A CLAIM IS WORTH.  

In this modern age, life has become complicated and technical.  For example, AUTOMOBILE  INSURANCE POLICIES, and the PROCESS to recover for your injuries and to pursue AN INJURY CLAIM are all matters surrounded by a vast body of law which comes into play when you are injured in an auto collision. 

Many of us have never read our auto insurance policy, and don't know what steps to follow, or what rights we have under the other guys insurance policy, when we are injured.  We need guidance from an OBJECTIVE SOURCE.

The PROBLEM occurs when you do become involved in an auto collision.  You  need help PROMPTLY, and are not sure where to turn for that advice.

ASKING YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY whether to seek medical treatment / what doctor to go to / whether to make a recorded statement / whether to get a lawyer / whether to sign releases and medical authorizations / and how you can get a fair shake . . . is simply consulting the wrong source for the ANSWERS you need!  It's like putting the FOX in your HENHOUSE!  Your insurance company primarily has their OWN INTEREST and other insurance companies interests at heart.  The law says they do not have a FIDUCIARY relationship with you (a trust relationship).  Their relationship is one of contract, which is far different than a fiduciary relationship.  When you hire a lawyer to handle your injury case there is a FIDUCIARY RELATIONSHIP.  The lawyer on your case is REQUIRED to give you counsel that is in YOUR BEST INTERESTS. 

Will your own insurance company tell you . . . that? 

• When you buy MED PAY coverage there is a clause in your auto policy that says you have to pay them back out of your personal injury settlement!  That means you pay for the coverage, then you take money out of your own pocket which is designed to fairly compensate you for your injuries, and pay it to your own insurance company to whom you already paid a premium for the Med Pay coverage!  That's OUTRAGEOUS!

• YOUR OWN AUTO INSURANCE COMPANY has put a clause in your insurance policy which requires you to SUE YOUR OWN INSURANCE COMPANY to fully pursue your UNINSURED or UNDERINSURED motorist coverage?  THAT'S OUTRAGEOUS!  These disputes used to be handled by arbitration, but even your own insurance company has figured out that they can keep more of YOUR MONEY by requiring you to sue them in court!

OUTRAGEOUS INSURANCE COMPANY BEHAVIOR .........DID YOU KNOW ?

• Here's the latest.  This is happening here in Colorado, now in 2007.  State Farm has adopted the policy in Colorado requiring their own customers to sue State Farm in court rather than settling claims disputes by arbitration!  Then in some of those court cases State Farm has submitted to the court a bill for court costs, asking to be paid back for State Farm's court costs and expert witness fees, to be paid by their own customers. State Farm has obtained court judgments against their own customers ..... some for more than $20,000! Those injured customers then face the threat of having their wages garnished and their homes being foreclosed upon by State Farm's Special Collection Unit. Imagine that!  Foreclosure upon the houses of their own customers!  The injured person ends up not being compensated, but instead paying State Farm; possibly losing their home; possibly being forced to quit their job because of garnishment; and having no choice but to file bankruptcy.  State Farm's message to Colorado State Farm customers, take what we offer you, or else!  Most other major insurance companies doing business in Colorado have followed this example set by State Farm. 

• The insurance company is interested in closing your file ASAP,  to save themselves money!  They don't care that you haven't finished your medical treatment, haven't been released by the doctor, or haven't recovered from your injuries.   They have learned that auto collisions / injuries / being out of work as a result /  puts people in a financial bind, and often they can settle the case for much less than fair compensation because the victim is between a rock and a hard place!  THAT'S OUTRAGEOUS!

• The insurance company will try to show your medical treatment is not needed; that your  INJURIES ARE NOT FROM THE AUTO COLLISION;  THE INJURY WAS PRE-EXISTING; or that your doctor's treatment was EXCESSIVE;  will try to re-price the medical treatment you have received, asserting the amount they are liable for is not what you were charged, but a lesser amount!

• Allstate even has a campaign encouraging people NOT to hire a lawyer.  They have learned they can save money by under-compensating the accident victim!

• That the insurance industry has a long standing reputation of hiring doctors who provide work for them regularly.  Each doctor is often paid hundreds of thousands of dollars each year, and  consistently gives medical opinions favoring the insurance companies!  THAT'S OUTRAGEOUS!

Nationwide it is a well know fact that less that 25% of the people injured in an auto collision are properly compensated for their injuries.   Insurance companies increase your premiums, squeeze the injured victim's claim, and keep the profit from both ends.  This is where the profit comes from. 

DON'T LET THAT PROFIT BE AT YOUR EXPENSE!  SEEK AND OBTAIN COMPETENT LEGAL REPRESENTATION.