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Slip and fall accidents on private property can have lasting consequences. If the victim hits their head, fractures a bone, or otherwise sustains a serious injury, their life could turn upside-down in an instant as medical bills pile up, paychecks stop coming in, and physical pain turns into a daily companion. Thankfully, slip and fall victims in New York may have legal options to claim compensation for the accident.
What Happens When You File a Slip and Fall Claim?
When you file a slip and fall claim from an accident on private property, the property owner’s insurance company will assign an adjuster to investigate the accident, evaluate your claim, and determine compensation amounts.
The insurance agents may request an interview, access to your medical history, photographs of the accident scene, any witness contact information, and available surveillance footage. The issue is that insurance adjusters work to save money for the insurance company – not to get more money for you. This incentive means they will scour the evidence for every reason to reduce or deny your claim entirely.
Why Do Insurance Companies Often Deny Slip and Fall Claims?
As profit-focused businesses with financial incentives to minimize payouts, insurance companies train their adjusters to lower their potential financial burdens in several ways.
Based on your statements or what they uncover during an investigation, they may challenge the severity of your injuries and accuse you of fabricating or exaggerating how much harm you suffered because of your slip and fall. Or, if a doctor’s report can prove the extent of your pain, they may look for evidence of a pre-existing condition and reduce your claim accordingly.
Insurance representatives may also try to pin some or all of the blame on you by, for example, saying that you wore inappropriate footwear or arguing that you failed to look where you were going.
If all else fails, they may try to wage a war of attrition by prolonging the claims process and trying to force you to accept a lower settlement to get it all over with.
Should You Accept the First Settlement Offer?
Insurance companies typically extend their first settlement offer early in the claims process, often before you fully understand the full extent of your injuries. These initial offers almost always fall significantly below your claim’s actual value.
Plus, accepting a settlement early on waives your right to seek additional compensation later, even if your injuries worsen. By law, you have three years to file a personal injury lawsuit if the costs of your injuries exceed the amount that insurance can cover. Make sure you know precisely the amount you need before agreeing to any payment.
How Can an Attorney Help with Your Insurance Claim?
To identify any cases where an adjuster is trying to lower your payout – or even if they are engaging in bad faith practices – you will need an experienced personal injury attorney in New York to take a look at your correspondences and weigh them against the constraints of the law.
But if you proactively contact a slip and fall attorney in New York after your accident, they can protect you, your interests, and your rights from the outset. They can handle all communications with insurance adjusters, protect you from saying something that could harm your case, gather and preserve all vital evidence, obtain any testimony that you need for your claim, accurately calculate the full value of your damages, and leverage their knowledge of similar cases and applicable laws to help you demand the compensation you deserve.
Seek Help with Your Slip and Fall Claim at Michael LoGiudice, LLP
Trust a seasoned New York slip and fall attorney at Michael LoGiudice, LLP, to work diligently on your behalf and help you face the insurance companies confidently and effectively. Contact us today for a consultation to discuss your case and learn how we can help protect your rights throughout the claims process.