You are hurt in an accident. You contact the adjuster for the party at fault. Then, of course, you dutifully describe the accident and your injuries. “Don’t worry we accept full responsibility” says the adjuster for the bad actor. “Whew! you think….what a relief” you think. Not so fast.
Every personal injury case necessarily involves three questions:
- Is the act covered by insurance?
- Who is at fault?
- What are the damages?
When an opposing adjuster says something like “We accept full responsibility”, he most likely means that 1. Insurance coverage exists for this loss; and 2. Our guy is at fault… without admitting the extent of damages (3 above) caused by the accident.
That is why even though the other insurer admits fault, you still need an attorney. Insurers simply are not motivated to pay fair value to unrepresented injured persons. Without legal representation, insures face little chance of retribution for playing hard ball with low ball offers. It is the risk of potentially large verdict that motivates insures fairly value damages.
