If you or a loved one have been injured in a sudden accident, hiring an Alexandria personal injury lawyer can help you avoid common pitfalls to recovering maximum compensation. Insurance companies are not your friends. Place your trust in Bart Bernard, who had helped thousands of plaintiffs obtain millions of dollars over the past two decades. Named a “Top Lawyer” and “Top Law Firm” by the Times of Acadiana multiple years in a row, you know you are in good hands.
Avoid These Personal Injury Traps
The period following a sudden accident can be very confusing – especially as you begin receiving phone calls from insurance adjusters. The job of a claims adjuster is to minimize their company’s exposure for the claim. Unfortunately, that means tricking you out of money you may be legally owed. Common ploys include:
- Pressuring you to “provide a statement” – Not always standard protocol, the moment you make a statement about your injuries or damage, the more you open yourself up to admitting partial fault, downplaying your injuries, or making statements that work against your best interest.
- Offering to settle “as quickly as possible” – Claims adjusters appear to be our friends when they sympathize with our desire to get money in our pockets and return to normalcy as soon as possible. However, this might mean accepting a check for $10,000, when in reality you could hold out for a check worth $100,000 or more. You may receive a check to cover your property damage but get stuck footing the bill for your medical costs.
- Stalling – Often insurers will drag out the process by offering small appeasements along the way and assuring that “everything is getting handled.” They may call to check to see you’re alright, ask for more records to analyze, or explain the rationale for a delay on your claim. Meanwhile, the one-year statute of limitations deadline for filing a lawsuit runs out, thus negating your ability to pursue compensation through civil courts if necessary.
- Social media snooping – A new tactic in the Digital Age is to spy on victims’ social media accounts. Insurance companies look to see who you’re talking to about your accident and what you’re saying – to see if they can pin some of the liability on you. They’ll also look to see what you’re doing in your photos – to minimize the extent of your injuries or disability.
For these reasons, it is important to consult with an Alexandria personal injury attorney from Bart Bernard. We’ll not only help you deal with insurers, but also seek out the best doctors to treat your injuries, find experts to establish liability, cover the out-of-pocket costs of litigation, and fight hard for maximum compensation. After winning thousands of cases and millions of dollars, we have a good idea what your case is truly worth.
Free Consultations & Contingency Based Representation
It is a common misconception that only the rich can afford the best personal injury lawyer. In reality, we are so successful, we can afford to offer free consultations and representation on a contingency basis. This means, you only pay our legal fee IF we win. Repayment for our services is taken directly out of the settlement or jury award, and you receive the rest. In some cases, we can negotiate to have legal fees included in the total, so you receive top legal representation virtually free of charge. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by calling Bart Bernard to explore your options.
