2 Common Insurance Stall Tactics

When you are injured in South Carolina, you may have a claim for compensation. This is true whether you are injured by a car accident, slip and fall, or a negligent healthcare provider. Whatever the injury, the insurance company responsible for paying your claim will likely use a number of tactics to get out of paying for your injury. At David Aylor Law Offices, we commonly encounter these strategies. Perhaps the most common strategies involving creating unnecessary delays. Here are just two of the most common stall tactics used by insurance companies.

#1 Wait for the Statute to Run

In South Carolina, there are strict statutes of limitations that apply to personal injury claims. These are essentially deadlines in place to give certainty to defendants. The law does not want people sitting on their rights for years, as this could create a situation where potential defendants would go years without knowing when they might be sued. Instead, the law gives injured South Carolinians just three years to file suit against a potential defendant for personal injuries. Knowing this, many insurance companies will pretend to care, all the while dragging the case along until the deadline is passed. Then they kindly deny your claim and move on.

Warning Signs:

• Adjuster keeps having you sign the same forms over and over again

• There has been yet another change of the adjuster handling your file

• You receive repeated requests for the same information you’ve already provided

#2 Starving the Plaintiff

Another frequent tactic is to choke or starve a plaintiff. Yes, this is metaphorical, although it can feel literal to someone going through serious financial pressures. After a serious injury, a person may be out of work, sitting at home and watching medical bills pile up. If a car accident is to blame, then the person may not have transportation. In many cases, personal injuries can lead to financial desperation or even bankruptcy. Knowing this, adjusters may just ignore communications, not return calls, and wait until an injured victim is desperate enough to take a low offer.  

Warning Signs:

• Adjuster won’t take or return calls and messages

• Adjuster sends a written offer that is thousands less than even your medical expenses

• Insurance company refuses to repair your vehicle, even though their driver is clearly at fault

Dealing With Insurance Stall Tactics

So, now that you know these two common strategies, the next step is to decide how you will deal with them if you encounter them in your own injury case. Generally, when you hire a skilled injury lawyer, this sends several messages to the insurance company:

• You will be advised on the reasonable value of your case, so lowball offers won’t be accepted

• You will have someone keeping track of the case and aggressively pursuing matters on your behalf

• You will not be bullied

• You are not desperate

• You will not ignore your case

• You will not miss the deadline

With an experienced Lowcountry personal injury attorney on your side, you level the playing field and make sure the insurance company knows right from the start that the only way to get rid of the claim is to pay for your injuries or risk a jury verdict. For help with your personal injury claim, call David Aylor Law Offices today.