When you get into a car accident, it’s only natural to assume that the insurance company will do the right thing and pay your accident claim. However, as time goes by and you haven’t heard anything about payment, you’ll start to worry. This is only natural. If you are notified that your claim has been denied, you should reach out to speak with one of our Carrollton accident lawyers right away. You only have a certain amount of time to appeal your denied claim. Since your attorney will need some time to prepare your appeal, you don’t want to wait until the last minute to retain our services.
We offer all new clients a free, initial consultation. We don’t want you to make any rash decisions and jeopardize your case. You can sit down with one of our seasoned attorneys and they can review your accident claim and make sure everything was filed properly. They can also look at the denial letter sent to you by the defendant’s attorney or the insurance company and find out why it was denied. Finally, they’re going to file an appeal on your behalf or, if necessary, file a personal injury lawsuit against the defendant and their insurance company.
The Other Driver’s Policy May Have Been Invalid or Canceled for Non-Payment
One of the more common reasons that accident claims are denied is because the policy was either invalid or had been canceled for non-payment. Nine times out of ten, if this is the reason your claim was denied, there’s nothing that your attorney will be able to do about it.
There is the rare instance in which the policy did not close until after the date of your accident. These are few and far between, so you don’t want to get your hopes up. In a situation like this, your Carrollton accident lawyer will file a personal injury lawsuit against the driver. Unfortunately, the kind of person who is willing to drive without insurance is probably the kind of person who has no assets to protect.
The Insurance Adjuster May Think You Were at Fault
One reason your accident claim may be denied is because the insurance adjuster thinks you were at fault. One thing we try to explain to our clients is that it is very rare for one driver to be 100% at fault in the crash. If the insurance adjuster believes you caused the accident, or were primarily at fault, they will deny your claim.
The good news is that your Carrollton injury lawyer can appeal the claim and try to negotiate a settlement. If this isn’t possible, they’ll gather whatever evidence you can provide them, and file suit personally against the defendant and name the insurance company as well.
Your Accident Claim is Very Large and the Insurer Thinks They Can Settle for Less
Many people don’t realize this, but if your accident claim is rather large, the insurance company may deny it so that they can settle for a lesser amount down the road. For example, imagine that you filed an insurance claim for $500,000. The insurance carrier is confident that their client was at fault for the crash. However, they know that most car accident lawsuits settle at some point. They feel that they will have a much better chance of settling for as little as half of the total amount down the road.
Do You Have a History of Filing Insurance Claims?
In some circumstances, your accident claim may be denied simply because you have a history of filing auto accident insurance claims. In the past, some of our Carrollton accident lawyers have met with clients who systematically got into accidents every year or two so that they could collect the insurance proceeds. If we detect that this is the case, we will not be willing to represent the accident victim in such circumstances.
It’s a Good Idea to Contact a Skilled Carrollton Injury Lawyer
If you or your loved one were injured in a recent car accident, then there’s a good chance that you will be entitled to compensation. As long as you can prove that the other driver was at fault, the insurance company should pay your accident claim in full. Of course, as our Carrollton injury lawyers are well aware, there’s always the chance that they may deny your accident claim. Sometimes they deny your claim for what seemed like legitimate reasons. Other times, it appears that they are simply trying to avoid paying your claim. By hiring a Carrollton accident lawyer, you’ll reduce the chances of the insurance company trying to take advantage of you. Since your lawyer knows how to negotiate a settlement of your claim, they should be able to get you a fair amount of compensation for your injuries.
We always recommend that an accident victim contact our office as soon as possible after their crash. The longer you wait to hire an attorney, the harder it will be for them to prepare your case in time. What you want to avoid is having the insurance company intimidate you or try to take advantage of you. They may deny your accident claim outright and hope that you walk away. Or they may offer you a really low settlement hoping that you’ll be desperate for the money and accept it. With a Carrollton injury lawyer by your side, they won’t be able to do this.
We do offer new clients a free, initial consultation. This gives you a chance to sit down with one of our attorneys and review your case. They can also answer any questions you may have and give you an idea of what your case might be worth. If you do decide to retain our services, we will send a letter of representation to the defendant’s attorney and the insurance company right away. This will put them on notice that you hired a Carrollton accident lawyer and all future correspondence and communication we’ll have to go through our office.
Since the consultation is free and since you don’t have to pay anything upfront, it’s in your best interest it’s a higher one of our skilled attorneys today.
