Raleigh’s Car Accident Lawyers Warn About Tricks Insurance Companies Use Against You

If you’ve been in a car accident, a trucking collision, or hurt on a motorcycle or bicycle, you’re probably facing off against an insurance company.

As soon as you speak to the adjuster, you need to know you’re not on an even playing field.

Insurance companies train their adjusters to minimize your claim, and to try to get you to settle for less than you’re entitled to, or to walk away all together.  Sadly, North Carolina is one of the worst states in the U.S. for this, because our law does not recognize the claim of “third-party insurance bad faith.”  If you are dealing with any type of automobile claim for negligence, it’s considered to be a third-party claim (even if you are using your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage.) So you’re immediately at a disadvantage.

One trick insurance companies use is keeping you in the dark about how much time you have to settle your case. They suggest made-up timelines, such as when you have to get treatment, and when you have to stop. They also suggest your claim has to be resolved when THEY want to resolve it, which is, of course, untrue.

The worst trick that the law allows is that the adjuster may send you a letter stating that, since they haven’t heard from you in a while, they are “closing the file” on your claim.  The adjuster should close their mouth instead of claiming to “close the file.” The insurance company does NOT get to set the time limitations on your claim. The North Carolina General Assembly did that already.  For most personal injury claims, the statute of limitations is three years from the date of your injury. For a case in which someone is killed, the statute for a wrongful death claim is two years from the date of death, but not more than three years from the original injury itself.  There are exceptions to those rules, but they are exceptions created by the law, NOT by an insurance company.

The safest course of action with any personal injury claim is to contact an experienced lawyer you can trust.  Our lawyers have over 50 years of combined personal injury experience, and over 100 trials between them. Contact us today by clicking here or call us at 919-348-4361. We’ll provide you with a free, no-risk consultation, and we will only take your case if we think you can do better with us than without us.

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