What’s wrong with giving the liability insurance adjustor a statement?

No automobile injury attorney in Houston, TX will ever recommend that you give the liability insurance company adjustor a statement. Why? Insurance adjustors want to take your statement in order to lock in your story. It seems like that is fair, doesn’t it? You want to tell them so they can understand that the other person or company is at fault in causing your injury, don’t you? Well, regardless of how nice this adjustor seems, or how convincing they may sound that you must give the statement, you need to know that you are dealing with a person intent on securing only half of the truth. They are trained to put words in your mouth, and ask you to agree with it. They are trained to ask follow up questions in a manner that will insinuate that you could have done something to avoid the incident. They are trained to minimize the effect of your injuries, and trained to make you feel like you are a “wussy” if you are still hurting with these “sore muscles” and “soft tissue” injuries.

But you say, I am pretty smart, and I can deal with this situation. The problem is that you have not been trained in the methods the adjustor uses. Regardless of your answer, the adjustor will come back with follow up questions that help them achieve their goal to minimize the insurance company’s risk, or eliminate your claim. You expect to be as savvy in dealing with an adjustor just the same as someone could not be expected to do your job nearly as good as you can. A good lawyer will not allow you to give a statement (some of the guys you see on TV don’t follow these practices). There is no requirement that you give the statement to the third party insurance adjustor. Hopefully, the lawyer you hire will visit with you in great detail, will completely understand everything about the accident, and will be able to put things in context. He will provide the adjustor all the information they need to know, and most importantly will do it in a fashion, form, and manner that will protect you from the insurance adjustor’s unfair practices. If the case is tried to a jury, they will hear the truth, not the misleading statement the adjustor tricked you into giving them. Your chance of winning the case is much greater when the adjustor’s tricks cannot be used against you.