Once you retain The Law Offices of Allan S. Field, the insurance representative is prohibited from speaking with you. The sooner you retain us, the more protection your claim will receive. There is a very good reason the insurance representative, in any type of injury claim, is nice to you when they first contact you. They want to lock in the lowest claim value possible.
Usually, the representative assigned to your file will want to call you or make a personal visit to your home, depending on the severity of the accident, within a few days after the event which caused your injury. Many injury victims mistake these actions of the claim representative as concern for their well being. The actual reason for the contact is anything but that.
It is a medical fact, in all but the most catastrophic injuries, the body will actually mask pain in the days immediately following the accident. This means that you do not always feel the full extent of the injuries for several days after your accident. The insurance representative is not asking you specific questions out of concern.
The insurance company wants to get a recorded statement of the scope and extent of your injuries as soon as possible because it knows that as time goes by, both will increase in intensity. If the insurance representative can get you on record as saying that you feel fine or you "don't think you need a doctor," the value of your claim is instantly and permanently diminished, no matter how you feel down the road.
Having a qualified personal injury attorney from our office at your side from the inception of your claim ensures that you will not fall into the many traps which the insurance companies are experts in setting for the unwary injury victim.
After all, what does an attorney know about the value of my claim that I can't figure out for myself? Our staff at has settled several hundred personal injury cases over the years. Cases just like yours. For you, this means we have a level of familiarity with the insurance company representatives that will be on the opposite side of your claim. These insurance representatives know how tough we are and they know we never settle for anything less than top dollar on your claim.
As in any negotiation process, being familiar with the battle and having the tools to win will equal maximum results.
The problem with an injury victim attempting to settle their own claim is that they are typically not familiar with the process by which their injuries actually translate into dollars and cents. Often, a client knows what they would like to obtain in a settlement, but not what a case is really worth in today's dollars.
Who would you rather evaluate the worth of your claim:
Simple. We are able to take your claim as far as necessary in the process to ensure we arrive at the settlement you deserve. Another problem with the do-it-yourself settlement is that the insurance company knows the injury victim is not equipped to litigate the claim on their own.
As an unrepresented personal injury victim, you have no choice but to simply take the settlement the insurance company decides to dish out to you. Simply put, very few personal injury victims are able to arbitrate or litigate a claim on their own. The insurance companies have worked with us for years. They know we will take any case to arbitration or trial if we believe it's necessary to achieve your maximum settlement.
This is a typical myth that the insurance company wants you to believe. For the reasons set forth above, they simply don't want you to obtain an attorney at all because they know they will usually be on the hook for a lot more money to you. Simply put, our experience shows you will often receive several times the settlement you would otherwise receive trying to evaluate and negotiate your own settlement.