The Seattle Personal Injury Blog
Posted Friday, June 7, 2013 by
Chris Thayer
Claims representatives from insurance companies try several techniques to lowball claimants. Claims representatives often will tell people their claims are being decreased because they won’t pay taxes on the general damages being paid. A motorcycle accident attorney in Seattle can explain that the claims representative is taking credit for the fraction of taxes the claimant usually gets when earning money. Insurance company representatives also will try to use a dislike for attorneys against you. Then, the claimant will be offered a low settlement, knowing the claimant won’t try to discuss it with counsel.
You Only Get What You Ask For
A motorcycle accident attorney in Seattle can explain insurance companies don’t offer to pay anything that isn’t demanded by a claimant. But, if an insurer fails to disclose the insured person’s rights under the policy, they could be committing bad faith. Insurance industry practices and rules require insurers have a duty to let policyholders know all coverage they are entitled to following a claim.
A motorcycle accident lawyer in Seattle will warn that policyholders should never be left to guess about benefits. Claims representatives also may try to avoid paying a full cash settlement on a claim by offering a structured settlement, which means a person is paid over time instead of in one lump sum. A motorcycle accident attorney in Seattle can tell you it is beneficial to an insurance company because it doesn’t need to surrender all of the money at once.
Finally, insurance companies will try to play the diminutive value card. A motorcycle accident attorney in Seattle can add, a claims representative will refuse to pay this value of a claimant’s vehicle are repairs are completed. Sometimes, certain makes and models lose market value even if they are repaired because they are no longer the factory original. This happens more often with very expensive vehicles.
Contact a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer in Seattle for Legal Advice
Insurance company try many ways to get claimants to take reduced settlements. If you need legal assistance with your personal injury claim, call Chris Thayer, a motorcycle accident attorney in Seattle, at 206- 340-2008.
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Posted Thursday, May 30, 2013 by
Chris Thayer
A key component in any personal injury case is to identify the party that is actually liable for the injury. The insurance company will attempt to find a party other than the insured to place the blame on. In order to establish liability, you must be able to successfully demonstrate that the named party was the negligent cause of your accident. Your Seattle motorcycle accident lawyer can evaluate the information that you provide regarding your case to ensure that the proper party is named.
Investigators
If it is unclear who is responsible for your accident, your Seattle motorcycle accident attorney can hire an investigator who will attempt to find more evidence supporting your claim. The more information regarding your accident that you are able to provide to your Seattle motorcycle accident lawyer, the better leverage your Seattle motorcycle accident attorney will have when negotiating with the insurance company. It is important that you work with your Seattle motorcycle accident attorney to explain any gaps or holes in your story.
Liability
Another consideration that can have an effect on liability is the accident victim’s fault. Washington is a comparative negligence state. This means that if it found that a victim somehow contributed to their accident, they may still be entitled to some compensation. If the victim in some way contributed to the accident that caused the injury, then the amount of their compensation reward will be reduced by the percentage of which they contributed to the accident. Your Seattle motorcycle accident lawyer will work with you to determine whether you share liability in your case.
Contact Our Seattle Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
If you have been the victim of an accident caused by someone else’s negligent actions, contact experienced Seattle motorcycle accident lawyer Chris Thayer to discuss the details of your case. Our experienced Seattle motorcycle accident lawyer will evaluate the circumstances surrounding your accident and will help you determine whether or not you have a valid personal injury claim. Call our office at (206) 340-2008.
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Posted Thursday, May 30, 2013 by
Chris Thayer
Most personal injury victims are unaware of what Colossus is or how it works. Colossus is a widely used computer programming system that assists insurance adjusters in placing a value on your personal injury claim. Most Seattle injury lawyers do not believe that insurance adjusters can accurately gauge the extent of an accident victim’s injuries through the use of Colossus alone. For this reason, a Seattle injury lawyer will challenge the use of this system, especially if the case is valued well below what he estimates it is actually worth.
When employing a Seattle injury attorney, make sure that you find one who understands how the Colossus system works and how it is used by insurance adjusters. This knowledge will be vital determining whether or not a proposed settlement is worth considering.
Common Problems With Colossus
It is not surprising that most personal injury claims evaluated using Colossus are valued well below what they are worth. As your Seattle injury lawyer can tell you, one problem is that Colossus allows insurance adjusters to use their judgment to determine what medical expenses are necessary and reasonable. If an insurance adjuster believes that a certain treatment or procedure is not necessary given the nature of the victim’s injury, he or she will recommend that the insurance company not cover that medical expense.
While the use of Colossus can create a number of valuation errors in personal injury cases, the biggest problem that most Seattle injury lawyers have with the system is that it is just a computer, and a computer can never take the place of a human being. The law permits recovery in personal injury cases not only for injuries sustained as a result of the accident, but also for the emotional and mental suffering that many accident victims must endure. It is not possible for a computer system to measure the full extent of such injuries.
Contact a Seattle Injury Attorney
If you have been the victim of an accident, you may be entitled to compensation under the law. Contact Seattle injury lawyer Chris Thayer at (206) 340-2008 to schedule an initial consultation. We will evaluate the details of your case and inform you of your rights under the law.
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Posted Tuesday, May 28, 2013 by
Chris Thayer
Insurance adjusters will often try to convince accident victims that they do not need to hire a Seattle personal injury attorney. After all, the insurance company can provide the accident victim with all of the assistance needed—right? This claim is absolutely false. In order to ensure that your case is properly handled by the insurance adjusters, it is imperative that you retain a Seattle personal injury attorney who has experience negotiating with insurance companies. An experienced lawyer can make sure adjusters do not use manipulation tactics to convince you to settle for a settlement offer that is significantly lower than what you are entitled to under law.
Why Insurance Companies Don’t Want You to Retain an Attorney
There are a number of reasons why insurance adjusters do not want accident victims to retain the services of a Seattle personal injury attorney. One main reason is that once the insurance company learns that you are represented by counsel, they can no longer contact you directly. Any communication from that point forward must be made through your attorney. Also, once an insurance company learns that you are represented by a lawyer, they know that the value of your case automatically increases and it will be highly unlikely that they will be able to manipulate you out of money that you deserve.
Insurance companies also do not like for accident victims to be represented by counsel because it interferes with their ability to quickly work through cases. An experienced Seattle personal injury attorney will ensure that any offer made by the insurance company is fair and just under the law. If the amount offered is substantially lower than what the client is entitled to under the law, the Seattle personal injury attorney will likely recommend that the client refuse the settlement offer or take the case to litigation. This increases the amount of time that the insurance adjuster will be forced to spend on your case.
Contact Seattle Personal Injury Attorney
If you have been the victim of an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, contact Seattle personal injury lawyer Chris Thayer today at (206) 340-2008 to discuss the details of your case.
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Posted Tuesday, May 28, 2013 by
Chris Thayer
Insurance adjusters engage in a number of deceitful practices designed to weasel accident victims out of money they rightfully deserve. Insurance adjusters will often attempt to convince you that they are trying to be helpful and sympathize with our plight. The truth is that most insurance adjusters are not at all concerned about you or any hardships you may have faced as a result of your accident. They have one goal and one goal only: to find a way to pay you as little money as possible. An experienced Seattle slip and fall attorney will have experience working with insurance adjusters in the past and will know how to help shield clients from such deceitful practices.
How to Shield Yourself From Insurance Adjuster Tricks
In order to ensure that you do not become a victim of a deceitful insurance adjuster, it is in your best interests to hire an experienced Seattle slip and fall lawyer to represent you. In most jurisdictions, after an accident victim retains counsel, the insurance company will no longer be able to contact the victim directly, and will be forced to conduct all communications through the victim’s attorney. Insurance adjusters will be less likely to try to manipulate a seasoned lawyer. If you choose to retain the services of a Seattle slip and fall attorney, you can be confident that you will have a knowledgeable advocate on your side that will negotiate with insurance companies on your behalf.
Common Trick: Getting an Accident Victim to Sign a Medical Authorization Form
One common trick that insurance adjusters use to minimize the amount of payment to accident victims is to try to manipulate accident victims into signing an open-ended medical authorization form. These forms will give the insurance adjuster the right to look through your entire medical history. Many accident victims have told their Seattle slip and fall attorneys that they do not see a problem with signing this type of document. Most accident victims do not see the problem because they do not understand the underlying purpose of the document.
Once an accident victim signs an open-ended medical authorization form, the insurance adjuster will immediately start combing through their medical history attempting to find evidence of pre-existing medical conditions. While pre-existing medical conditions do not serve as a complete bar to recovery, they can lower the amount of money that an accident victim can receive. An experienced Seattle slip and fall attorney will immediately recognize this trick and will advise the client against signing a medical authorization form whose terms have not been examined by legal counsel.
Contact Us
If you have been injured in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence or careless actions, call Seattle slip and fall lawyer Chris Thayer today to discuss what compensation you may be entitled to: (206) 340-2008.
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