Watch Your Mouth When Talking to the Insurance Agent After a Silver Spring Accident

Talking to an insurance adjuster can be as fun as getting your mouth washed out with soap. You have to be very careful about what you say, or it may haunt you later.

Insurance adjusters are typically looking for ways to save their company money, which means they may try to trap you into saying something — anything — that would cast doubt on the seriousness of your injury.

Check out these three questions insurance adjusters may ask, and how you should respond:

Whose fault was it really?

We understand that accidents happen in a matter of seconds, and exactly what led up to that fateful crash is likely a blur in your mind. Don’t let the insurance adjuster turn your scattered memory into a reason to deny you compensation.

It’s easy for people to wonder whether they could have done anything to prevent the accident, but that’s not something you want to tell the insurance adjuster. They could use that to argue that you were partially at fault.

In Maryland, a person who is even partially responsible for the accident will be ineligible for compensation for any injuries received in a Silver Spring accident.

Unless you know for certain that the accident was your fault and you won’t be getting any compensation anyway, it’s best to stick to the bare facts and never admit guilt.

Are you positive the injury is from the accident?

It’s common for a person involved in a serious Maryland auto accident to feel OK at the scene of the accident and start feeling pain days later. Unfortunately, insurance adjusters like to use this delay to argue that your injury was from something other than the accident.

Don’t tell the adjuster you’ve had physical problems for several years. They may try to use that to argue that the accident was not the cause of your injury, even if you are certain the accident exasperated an old injury.

Is your injury really that bad?

Insurance adjusters like to look for ways to decrease your compensation; one of the easiest ways is to downplay your injuries.

It’s OK to play the tough guy around family and friends, but when you’re talking to the insurance adjuster don’t pretend your injury is not all that bad when it really is. And whatever you do, don’t tell him you’re feeling better when you’re really not.

The insurance adjuster needs to know just how crummy you really feel so he understands the magnitude of your injury and get you the full compensation you deserve.

If you have additional questions on what to say – or not to say – to an adjuster following a Silver Spring car accident, talk to one of the experienced southern Maryland accident lawyers at Nickelsporn & Lundin.