If you are seriously injured by the negligence or misconduct of a third party, it is likely that any amount of compensation that you receive for your injuries will be paid by an insurance company. This is both good and bad. When the party that injures you has insurance, it means that there should be available funds to compensate you for your injuries if you prove your claim. However, it also means that you may have to deal with the tactics used by insurance companies to avoid paying valid claims.
While from the perspective of a customer who pays premiums, you may conclude that the function of auto insurance companies is to cover the financial risk of loss when someone is liable for a collision. An insurance company function from the perspective of its stockholders and management is to increase profits, which is not accomplished by paying more claims and higher amounts of recovery. Insurance companies use a wide array of approaches to deny, delay and minimize meritorious insurance claims. We have provided an overview of some of the types of tactics and strategies that are frequently used by auto accident insurance companies:
Shifting Blame to the Victim: While many car accident victims know that the usual basis for imposing liability in a car accident is negligence, some victims do not realize that a court may determine that an accident victim is also liable for his or her own injures. Insurance companies commonly argue that a car accident victim in a Mississippi car accident failed to take responsibility for the victim’s own injuries. It is important to have an experienced Mississippi car accident attorney on your side that can defend you against the claim that your own negligence contributed to your injuries. If you are found to have had some role in causing your own injuries, your recovery may be reduced based on the amount of fault assigned to you.
Any Injuries Were Pre-Existing: While a distracted, drunk, or otherwise unsafe driver may be liable for exacerbating a pre-existing injury, insurance companies frequently argue that an injury allegedly suffered in a car accident was actually the result of an earlier trauma in an attempt to reduce the amount of recovery for the injury. Insurance companies often engage in extensive discovery and carefully scrutinize a Mississippi car accident victim’s medical records to make this claim.
Failure to Mitigate Damages: Although a careless driver or other negligent party may be liable for your injuries suffered in a car accident, the law imposes an obligation on accident victims to take appropriate steps to minimize any loss. An accident victim that fails to seek medical treatment or follow through on physical therapy may be vulnerable to a defense based on lack of mitigation of damages. This defense essentially provides that any additional harm that could have been reasonably avoided, but for the failure of the plaintiff to take reasonable steps to reduce his or her loss, should not be compensated.
War of Attrition: Mississippi car accident victims may have enormous medical bills and be unable to work for long periods of time. Sometimes the insurance company will drag out the claims process as long as possible to increase the financial pressure on an accident victim to settle for less than the value of the claim. An experienced Mississippi car accident attorney can counter such tactics and may even be able to advance certain amounts against the potential recovery depending on your case.
If you or a loved one is injured in a Mississippi car accident or a loved one dies, you may have a right to seek legal compensation for your injuries and loss. At the Barrett Law Offices PLLC, our experienced Mississippi personal injury lawyers represent injury victims throughout Mississippi. Our law firm has roots that reach back 75 years so contact us today for your free initial consultation at (662) 834-2376 to see how we can help.