When you’re injured in a dog attack, undergoing medical care and treating your injuries is your priority. Recovering these initial costs and future medical treatment expenditures requires filing a dog bite case with the dog owner’s insurance company.
Like many dog bite victims in a vulnerable position after an attack, you might believe the insurance company and their adjuster have your best interest in mind. However, their ultimate objective is to reduce any potential settlement. Your ability to pay for your medical care and receive damages for the pain and suffering experienced after the dog bite may hinge on the answers you provide to the insurance company in these initial stages.
Let’s explore how to protect your rights with a best practices guide for communicating with insurance companies after a dog bite.
Do Not Agree with the Insurance Adjuster’s Version of Events
The first phase of the negotiations will be to set an agreed version of how the injury occurred. At this stage, the adjuster will try to limit their client’s role in the dog attack and potentially apportion blame to you for your injuries. Ask for a copy of the insurance adjuster’s description of the attack and then review this description during a free consultation with a dog bite lawyer for accuracy.
During your free consultation, your dog bite lawyer can then:
Explain the insurance company’s process
Your dog bite lawyer will explain how the insurance company’s settlement negotiating process works. They’ll help you evaluate the written description of the attack and explain how the wording surrounding your actions and the dog owner’s actions can impact the case result.
Highlight the rules around provocation
An accusation of provocation from the insurance company is a well-known strategy to limit the compensation dog bite victims receive. While you may claim a settlement even if the insurance company proves you provoked the dog, your settlement would be lower under Pennsylvania’s modified comparative negligence rules to cover a small portion of your medical care.
Your dog bite attorney can help explain the rules around provocation and counter the insurance company’s version of your role expertly.
Assess evidence for the insurance company’s claims
If the insurance company is making claims regarding your actions after a dog bite, your lawyer will assess these claims individually. The lawyer will review, for example, whether there’s any video evidence of provocation or whether any witness statements indicate provocation was a factor. They will also analyze your doctor’s notes explaining your injuries as a foundation for negotiating your claim with the insurance company.
Do Not Over Explain Your Answers
Your insurance adjuster and their team will try various techniques to secure an admission of fault for your role in the attack. For example, they might call you while you’re about to leave for an appointment, and in your rush, you might mistakenly agree to take culpability.
The language that insurance companies use is deliberate and careful to minimize their client’s responsibility. Protect yourself by using the same level of care when communicating with the insurance firm.
What to Keep in Mind During Calls with the Insurance Adjuster
If you’ve chosen to hire a dog bite attorney at this stage, you should direct the insurance company to contact them directly. If you’re still deciding on the best attorney for your specific case, consider the following communication tips to respond to the insurance company in the meantime:
- Don’t mention current pain or activity level
The insurance adjuster will be looking to prove that your pain, and thus your injuries, are not as significant as your dog bite claim suggestions. Avoid discussing your current pain levels. Try to avoid discussing activities not related to the dog bite. Your insurance adjuster may claim that your injury is not severe, for example, if you’ve recently been helping someone move.
- Don’t accept their advice on what to do next
Your insurance adviser will try to give you advice on the next step to take to secure your settlement. Do not follow this guidance without first consulting a dog bite lawyer. For example, the insurance adjuster may say they will send you a settlement agreement and want you to sign it, and send it back. You do not have to comply with this request. You have the right to review the settlement and negotiate it.
- Don’t discuss previous medical issues
Your previous medical complaints have little impact on your dog bite case. But if your insurance company wishes to downplay the role of the bite in your current physical limitations, they may use any previous medical problems against you. Only add details of pre-existing medical issues where required by law on insurance documentation and within legal documents.
Learn How Insurance Adjusters are Trained
One of the best ways to protect your rights during dog bite cases is to analyze how insurance firms train their adjusters. There are three specific communications techniques firms train their adjusters to master. Knowing these techniques can help you through the dog bite settlement negotiation.
Adjusters train with the following principles:
- Your settlement cannot be negotiated
Many adjusters will try to convince you your settlement is non-negotiable. They’ll say they cannot adjust the offer nor consider any counteroffers. The adjuster does not want the case to go to trial. But they may cut off communications regarding settlement value to convince you they won’t negotiate.
- Offering below the authorized amount
Your claim will have an authorized dog bite settlement amount under the policy holder’s account. However, adjusters may offer an amount below that figure as a first offer to test your ability to negotiate. You should not accept this initial offer without speaking with a lawyer about its potential value.
- Saying they’re unable to do more for you
The insurance adjuster is the person who can control your settlement. They can usually offer you a far higher amount than their latest offer but may blame management within the insurance company for being unable to increase the amount.
Don’t Settle for Less from Your Dog Bite Case
Communicating with insurance companies is one of the more exhausting and legally challenging elements of winning a dog bite settlement for your injuries. Don’t go into this process alone.
Jeffrey H. Penneys has over 25 years of experience facing large insurance companies at the negotiating table and winning millions of dollars in settlements for victims throughout Pennsylvania. He offers a free case review for dog bite victims and their families. His legal services are on contingency, so you don’t pay any legal fees unless you win a settlement.
Start your dog bite claim negotiations today. Book your free, no-obligation call with leading Pennsylvania dog bite attorney Jeffrey Penneys via (215) 771-0430.