What is a liability dispute?
- A liability dispute occurs when an insurance company denies that there their insured is at-fault or responsible for an accident and wrongfully places fault on you.
Why should I hire a lawyer for a liability dispute?
- You should hire a personal injury lawyer for a liability dispute because we have the knowledge, experience, and expertise in handling these types of claims. This is what we do, day in and day out. And, as unfair as it is, insurance companies simply do not take unrepresented individuals as serious as they do a personal injury attorney. Furthermore, if the insurance company continues to deny liability, even after you have made the proper arguments to them, you’ll need to file a lawsuit in order prosecute your claim which is something a car accident lawyer can do on your behalf. Finally, we at Farah & Farah are experienced at negotiating medical bills on your behalf so that you are left with more of your settlement after your doctors are paid.
How do insurance adjusters determine fault?
- Insurance adjusters determine fault often by reviewing the information listed in the crash report. If the reporting officer finds you at fault or gives you a citation, more likely than not, the insurance adjuster is going to follow along. On the reverse side of that, we have situations where although the other driver was cited at-fault, the insurance company will still find our client responsible for causing the accident. The reason why is that the insurance company is not bound by the crash report, and so, if an insurance adjuster has information such as witness statements or other evidence that contradicts what is contained in the crash report, they will find you at-fault regardless.
Why is it important to dispute liability?
- It is important to dispute liability because the amount of money offered by the insurance company largely depends on the initial liability decision. In other words, insurance companies will offer you no money if they find you to be 100% at fault and only a fraction of what your claim is worth if you are determined to be partly at fault. For example, if you have a personal injury claim that is worth $10,000.00 given your outstanding bills, lost wages, and pain & suffering, and the insurance company finds you at fault, they may offer you nothing. If you are severely injured in an accident, hiring a personal injury attorney to dispute liability is the only way to avoid being left with thousands of dollars in outstanding medical bills.
What if I’m determined to be at fault?
- If you are determined to be at fault, you’ll first want to contact your insurance company to see if the other driver is making any sort of claim of against you. If they are, your insurance company should hopefully handle the claim and defend you if any lawsuit is brought. If you are injured and disagree with being at-fault, then you’ll want a car accident lawyer to bring a lawsuit on your behalf because the insurance company likely will not pay you anything or very much at all.
