Should You Give a Recorded Statement to an Insurance Agent?

After an accident, you might receive a phone call from an insurance agent asking to record a statement. For example, you might have slipped and fallen inside a grocery store. The store’s insurer then contacts you to discuss what happened.

Do you have to give a recorded statement? The insurance adjuster might tell you that you do, even though no law requires it. Giving a recorded statement is risky, and you might end up compromising your claim. We encourage you instead to pick up the phone and call a Daytona Beach personal injury lawyer instead.

Why Insurers Want to Hear Your Side of the Story

There are legitimate reasons why insurers want to talk to you. After all, you saw the incident that injured you. You therefore have important information to share about what happened. Not all accidents are captured on video camera, so insurers rely on the memories of witnesses to determine liability. If you don’t talk, then an insurer might have no idea whether its insured is to blame.

However, there are other, less legitimate reasons why insurers want to record a statement. We deal with those in the next section.

What You Say Could Undermine Your Claim

One reason we encourage injured victims to be careful about what they say to an insurer is that your statements could be used to reduce or deny compensation.

For one thing, you might admit to being negligent and contributing to your accident. For example, the person interviewing you could slip in statements like “you weren’t paying attention to where you were going, right?” or “you were really tired and shouldn’t have been driving, I imagine.” It is very easy to just agree to these statements, even if they were not true. Under Florida law, your compensation can be reduced by your proportion of fault.

For another, the adjuster might try to minimize your injuries. This can directly reduce the amount of compensation you receive. Some adjusters say, “You weren’t in a great deal of pain” or “you’re better now, right?” to try and get you to agree.

Your Attorney Can Handle Communications for You

If you are suffering from serious injuries, you probably are in considerable pain and might not be sleeping well. It is easy to say things you don’t really mean when you are not feeling your best. For this reason, you should avoid giving a recorded statement. Instead, let your Daytona Beach personal injury attorney handle communications for you.

Your attorney can help you draft a summary of what happened and can make sure you don’t say anything that undercuts your claim. If necessary, your attorney can be in the room when you meet with an insurance adjuster to discuss the case.

Contact Bundza & Rodriguez Today

Our law firm represents those injured in all types of accidents, including truck crashes, auto wrecks, and slip and falls. If you have hurt yourself because of someone else’s carelessness, we can help. Our attorneys have spent years representing people like you and dealing with insurance companies. We can make sure your claim is submitted the correct way.

Contact us today at Bundza & Rodriguez, P.A. by calling 386-252-5170 or sending us an online message. We offer a free consultation.

Resource:

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0768/Sections/0768.81.html