Insurance companies have many excuses for not making fair settlement offers to victims in car accidents. These are the most common:
1. You were not wearing a seatbelt, and therefore you are the reason for your injuries.
2. Equipment defects in your car contributed to the accident.
3. Drugs or alcohol impaired your ability to drive.
4. You weren’t aware of the other car until impact, nor immediately before impact, and were therefore inattentive.
5. You exaggerated speed of the wrongdoer to the police and are therefore not credible.
6. You exceeded the speed limit and could have avoided the accident had you been slower.
7. You didn’t give a turn signal or stopped, and you made an unsafe lane switch.
8. You didn’t arrive at the intersection first.
9. There were no independent witnesses to support your account of the accident. The people in your car do not count.
10. According to our “book”, this impact could have not caused the injury that you are complaining about.
11. Your previous medical records show that injuries occurred before the accident.
12. The accident was so minor that it didn’t warrant police being summoned.
13. After the accident, you refused to go to the hospital.
14. You are complaining of pain at the same places in the emergency department that you went to following the accident.
15. There are no obvious signs of injury.
16. You waited too long before you saw a doctor.
17. You went to the wrong doctor.
18. Because your doctor has a reputation for over-treating accident victims to make money, it is not credible.
19. We are sure that your lawyer won’t go to trial.
20. There are other claims that you have made in the past ten years.
21. The accident did not result in any injuries to anyone else.
22. You were in a car that suffered very little damage.
23. (If you were walking, you could walk into the car.
24. If you were not able to provide a history of any injuries that you have suffered in the recent past, you should consult a doctor.
25. You were currently under the care and supervision of a physician in a previous accident at the time you were involved in the accident.
26. You reported strange or exaggerated complaints to the doctor.
27. Lawyer referred you to the current doctor.
28. Videotape surveillance shows you that you can perform many activities without feeling pain.
29. According to doctor’s records you were observed walking normally by him even though you did not realize he was watching you.
30. You were involved in a later (later) accident that is the true cause of your problems.
31. You were forced to see reports by your insurance company that you are not injured and do not need treatment.
32. Unrelated medical conditions such as arthritis, or other pre-existing health problems may be present.
33. While your doctor recommended that you not take time off from work, you still took time off.
34. You were not absent from work.
35. Before the accident, your attendance record was poor.
36. The claims you are making now about lost wages do not correspond with your prior tax returns or Social Security records.
37. You have never filed tax returns in your past.
38. Your case has been closed by the statute of limitations.
39. Early on, you made a statement to the insurance company stating that you were not hurt in the accident.
40. You are not a U.S. Citizen.
