Common Reasons for Personal Injury Claim Denial

If you’ve been injured in an accident and the other driver was at fault, the at-fault driver’s insurance company will do everything it can to give you as little money as possible. Unfortunately, that’s just the way insurance companies work.

Here are some common reasons why insurance companies could try to deny your claims:

• The insurance company places you at fault for the accident – Even if you know you weren’t at fault, if there is no citation from police, then proving liability is made more difficult. If it’s your word against the other driver, then the insurance company will most likely deny your claim and maintain that you were the one to blame for the crash.

• The accident was not serious enough for bodily injury – Often, an insurance company will deny a claim because the insurance company alleges that the impact and the speed factors in the crash were too low for you to claim that you were hurt. In other words, they think you are exaggerating or lying about the extent of your injuries, particularly if your injury is a sprained neck or whiplash. When this happens, a special team of investigators is called in to try to find evidence that proves you have been dishonest so the insurance company can deny your claim. That’s why it’s so important for you to keep impeccable medical records and transcripts of conversations with doctors.

• The person who caused the crash was not a permitted driver on the insurance policy – Most insurance companies make drivers list on their policies the names of people who are authorized to drive the car. If someone who is not on the approved list of drivers causes a crash while driving, then the insurance company can try to deny the claim because the driver — even though he or she caused the accident — was not covered under the insurance policy.

• The person injured waited to seek medical treatment – It’s always a good idea to see a doctor after a car accident, and it’s best if you do it as soon as possible if you sustained an injury in the accident – no matter how minor it may seem at the time. If you wait months to see a doctor, the insurance company will try to attack your credibility and deny your claim based on the fact that you waited too long. In other words, the insurance company will, again, accuse you of lying.

There are many other reasons why insurance companies will deny your personal injury claims, which is why it is important to hire an experienced personal injury attorney like Robert Armstrong to stop the insurance companies from wrongfully denying your claim.

If you or someone you love has been injured in an accident, contact Robert Armstrong’s office today.