If you’re like most people, you’re probably a little unfamiliar with the workers’ compensation or personal injury system, and insurance companies thrive on the fact that the system confuses the Average Joe. They can take advantage of unsuspecting claimants and vastly underpay them, hoping they’ll be none the wiser. So how can you ensure your claim isn’t underpaid, and what should you do if you feel like you have been underpaid for certain expenses associated with your injury case? We answer those questions and more in today’s blog.
Underpaid Injury Claims
Insurance companies never like paying out claims, so if they can’t find a reason to deny a claim altogether, they will shift their focus to minimizing their liability and greatly reducing what they have to pay out. Most times, they try to do this by assuming the claimant won’t do their research or they hope that the claimant will just jump at the first offer they throw out there.
There are a number of different ways in which an insurance company can try to underpay the true value of your claim. For starters, they may try to interpret the medical exam differently, or they may not factor regular overtime into your weekly wages when paying out wage loss benefits. They may also try to deny payments for visits to certain specialists or for a variety of medical treatments, leaving the claimant on the hook for the bills.
Finally, one of the most common ways insurance companies underpay claimants is by offering them a low settlement offer. $25,000 may seem like a lot of money to you, but if your claim is actually worth six-figures, the insurance company will gladly hand over that $25,000 if you’re willing to settle so they don’t stand to lose much more if the case goes before a judge. A claimant likely doesn’t have a lot of experience determining how much their case is worth, and while they may be able to understand how much medical expenses they have, it’s tough for a non-professional to put a dollar amount to factors like pain, suffering and lifelong impairment.
For those reasons, it is absolutely imperative that you have an experienced workers compensation or personal injury lawyer by your side if you are pursuing a compensation claim. Aside from being able to handle all the complex paperwork and case development that goes into a claim, having a lawyer will allow you to sit back and focus on your health while the lawyer goes to bat for you. As we’ve explained in previous blogs, injury lawyers get paid a percentage of your claim winnings, so they have a vested interest in getting you the most money possible. If they know the insurance company is trying to pull a fast one on you, they’ll be more than happy to take the claim before a judge and get an award three, five or ten times the original amount offered by the insurance company.
So if you believe you have been mistakenly or intentionally underpaid, or you’re simply unsure if you are receiving a fair offer from the insurance company, pick up the phone and call Dean and the team at Margolis Law Office today. We’d be happy to sit down with you, pour over your case details and ensure you get paid what you deserve. For more information, give Dean Margolis and his team a call today at (952) 230-2700.
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