After slipping and falling on someone else’s property in New York, you might assert a claim for compensation against the property owner’s homeowners or commercial property insurance provider. But how do insurance companies handle injured people’s slip and fall claims?
Investigation by the Insurance Company
When an insurance company receives a slip and fall accident claim, it will assign the claim to an insurance adjuster, whose role involves reviewing evidence submitted to the insurance, interviewing parties, and determining liability for the accident. Specifically, the adjuster will want to determine if the property owner knew or should have known about the hazard that caused the accident, whether the owner had sufficient opportunity to fix the hazard or warn visitors about its presence, and whether the law owed the accident victim a duty of care.
Adjusters will also investigate slip and fall accident claims to determine the nature and severity of the accident victim’s injuries and assess their financial losses, including medical expenses, long-term care costs, lost wages, lost earning potential, and pain and suffering.
Insurance adjusters will also thoroughly investigate the accident victim, including reviewing all available information about their medical history to identify potential pre-existing injuries or medical conditions that could have caused or contributed to their claimed injuries and assessing the condition of the victim’s injuries. Adjusters may monitor accident victims’ social media accounts for evidence that undermines the severity of their injury claims.
Common Tactics Used by Insurance Companies
Tactics that insurers frequently use to convince slip-and-fall accident victims to accept a smaller payout than they deserve to recover include:
- Delaying the claims process, including taking longer than necessary to respond to correspondence or spending an inordinate amount of time investigating the accident
- Offering a low settlement soon after the accident to trick injured claimants into accepting money upfront
- Challenging the severity of injuries despite objective medical evidence
- Asking for medical authorizations that allow the insurance company to conduct a fishing expedition into the claimant’s medical history
- Requesting recorded or written statements that the insurer can use out of context to undermine the claim
How New York’s Comparative Negligence Rule Affects Slip and Fall Claims
In New York, the comparative negligence rule may affect your right to compensation for your injuries from a slip and fall accident. New York employs a pure comparative negligence system, which permits an accident victim who bears partial fault for the accident to pursue a compensation claim, regardless of their share of responsibility. For example, suppose you bear 30 percent responsibility for a slip and fall accident that causes you to incur $100,000 in losses. In that case, the comparative negligence rule says you should recover $70,000, with $30,000 of your losses deducted to reflect your share of fault. As a result, the comparative negligence rule may give insurance companies a negotiating tool to offer you less than fair compensation by arguing that you bear some responsibility for the slip and fall accident that injured you.
Tips for Dealing with Insurance Companies
Best practices for dealing with insurance companies after slip and fall accidents in New York include:
- Do not agree to provide recorded or written statements to an insurance adjuster without first consulting legal counsel about the benefits and risks of doing so.
- Keep complete documentation of all your injuries and expenses to prove your compensation claim.
- Avoid discussing your accident or posting photos or videos on social media.
- Hire an experienced personal injury attorney to negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf and protect your rights throughout the insurance claims process.
Contact a Slip and Fall Accident Attorney Today
Contact McCann Legal, PC, today for a free, no-obligation consultation with a seasoned personal injury lawyer to learn more about the process of filing an insurance claim after a slip and fall accident in New York.