So today I had an all-too-familiar situation arise. A potential new client comes into the office and wants to talk to me about pursuing a personal injury case for complaints of neck and back pain they’ve been having since they were rear-ended. As I’m perusing their materials and asking all of the pertinent questions regarding their treatment and injuries, they inform me that they were sent a check for $600 by the insurance company of the car that struck them. Worse yet, that they signed documents and accepted the money.
Without realizing what had happened, this person completely threw away their personal injury case on their own. The paper they signed? A Bodily Injury release. By signing it and accepting the measly $600, they had released all of their claims for personal injury against the person that struck them.
This is an common practice among the insurance companies, whose sole purpose is to circumvent your rights and maneuver their way out of responsibility as quickly and inexpensively as possible. The liable party’s insurance company will find out where you work, call you and ask questions about your medical treatment, your injuries, etc., and then make you offer to resolve the case quickly with a check. While you think they may be helping you, they’re actually helping themselves, by absolving themselves of responsibility and buying out of lengthy litigation and a legitimate settlement quickly and cheaply by dealing with you directly before you’ve retained counsel.
You can do a couple things to help make sure this practice never robs you of your rights.
1 - Don’t ever speak to the other vehicle’s insurance company. They’re not asking you questions for their health, you’re on a recorded line, and they’re gathering the information they will use later to try to hurt your case. You have no responsibility to speak to the other driver’s insurance. Contact an attorney as soon as possible, who will speak on your behalf.
2 - Don’t ever sign anything or accept money without consulting a personal injury attorney. The insurance company is banking on you, as someone not familiar with the law or your rights, to waive your rights for a fast, but very small payout. By doing this, they are taking advantage of your ignorance of the legal process and litigation to benefit themselves at your expense. It’s NOT free money! It’s money in exchange for your rights, specifically your right to bring a lawsuit later on. Talk to an attorney to make sure you are not giving up your rights.
-Joe Siclari, Esq.