Granite Mountain Insurance’s adjuster, I. M. Strong, is sitting at your kitchen table to try and settle your motor vehicle accident case.
Strong is all up in the air and ranting about how his injuries aren’t serious. His usual pitch is “Look, this has been my job for a while.” Over twenty years, I have spoken to people just like you every day. There are people who have been through the exact same thing as you and had the same type of claim. While you may have experienced some discomfort, your injuries were not serious. They aren’t worth it, I assure you.
You’re stunned. It’s hard to believe the tricks Strong is pulling. You can’t believe what Strong is trying to pull. Because of the pain in both my neck and back, there was no way I could return to work.
He shifts strongly and his face begins to move with a triumphant look. He predictably says, “Look, I can assure you, having handled thousands of cases similar to yours, that any discomfort you might have experienced, for a few days at most, were relatively minor.” They are not enough to make up for the three weeks of lost work and the disability that you and your doctor claim.
You’re now thunderstruck. He smiles at you and says, “I have seen thousands of cases similar to yours. I’ve also had more than my fair share of personal injury claims, examinations and doctor-talk. Recovery – all the nine yards. I have seen both the worst and the most severe forms of physical trauma. A judge or jury would have known, after hearing about your so-called “injuries”, that your physical problems were virtually non-existent.
After letting that sink in, he will try to convince you by saying he can prove that your work time was not related to the injury. He will mention some “independent information” that he allegedly gathered from your business and/or neighbors, which he claims indicates you have been engaged in “very active” activities since the accident.
After he has let that sink in, he will ramble on about Granite Mountain’s “independent exam” and tell you with unbelievable confidence that his doctor’s Medical Report found little to no problem with you. He’ll then try it on. “My doctor” is a professional. The only people he sees are those who have been in motor vehicle accidents. He does this all day, so he can check on personal injury claims similar to yours. He clearly stated that your physical problems were virtually non-existent.
As he watches the wonderment in your face, he hums a happy song to himself, and boom/boom/boom, declaring: “I gotcha! I gotcha!”
Strong will be able to downgrade your disability if he does that. To “prove” that what happened to you was not serious, he will describe your injuries using fancy medical language. Then he will compare them with the more severe personal injury conditions or problems he has dealt with in the past. Your injuries were clearly minor and of little value, if any.
He’ll then read your attending physician’s Medical Report. If it’s not properly read, he will insist that it proves, “You may be a little sore from an injury, but it clearly states that you didn’t have any severe physical problems.” You can bet every dollar that he has made this statement many thousand times.
It is clear that neither Adjuster I. M. Strong or his supervisors at Granite Mountain Insurance will be fair. They will take advantage of your money. They’re out to take advantage of you. Is this true? Answer: It is true. Dan, it’s true. I was there for thirty years.
You will then be completely silent. The listener is you. Let him babble on. You will finish his sentence by saying, “Your points regarding my injuries are very fascinating.” These are the things I would like to talk about with my doctor. Then, pause and add “We’ll close this for now while we consult with him.”
You should smile at him and point towards the door. If he refuses to answer, take a look at your watch and tell him that you are late for another appointment. He will have no other choice than to leave.
Here’s what you can do if you do this:
(1) The adjuster will have taken the bargaining “momentum and control” from you and, if he insists on it, he’ll never give them back.
(2) You served notice to him that you are now the one who is going to be the boss in the negotiations “Power Game” he has been playing.
(3) Tell the adjuster that you will negotiate the settlement and not his terms.
You might ask: Ok, I let the adjuster go and let him politely know that I don’t want to believe his lies. What do I have accomplished when all this happens?
I. M. Strong knows that you haven’t bought into his pitch, and in his heart he sees that reality. To those working in the home office, his instructions are to ensure that all information that was exchanged between you and him is included in the reports he continues to send. This includes any settlement talks he has been having with you. The fact that you don’t believe his story will be added to your file for review by the adjusters.
They’ll be able to see that you are not a pushover once they have done so.
Because you are right, Adjuster Smart’s Medical Report was valid. You will not change your mind. Both your “pain-and-suffering” and the time it takes to heal from your injuries have been stated.
Smart correctly assumes that you aren’t accepting his usual pitch filled with mumbo-jumbo, but which often works. Smart is beginning to realize that if he doesn’t change his tactics, he will hand your case over to an attorney. His superiors at Granite Mountain won’t be dancing for joy if that happens.
Wait for five to six weeks, then call Smart to ask him to return to the table to discuss more. You can be sure that the power will shift into your side the next time you meet him. He’ll no longer try to minimize your injuries. He’s often able to see that this happens because he has received a six-word, one-line memo from his supervisor at home, “Settle it and move on”.
Granite Mountain will be content to pay you and get rid of your money. Why? Because personal injury cases continue to pile up, clogging their incoming pipeline. They have a lot of unsuspecting prey they can trap and shoot, and it’s obvious that you are too smart, too tough, and too difficult to ignore.
