Attorney Elizabeth M. Allen

Author: Attorney Elizabeth Morrell Allen

You’ve been in an auto accident that wasn’t your fault. Within a few days, an adjuster for the insurance company of the guy who hit you calls on the telephone. The adjuster wants you to give a recorded statement telling her how the accident happened and also asks you to provide some personal information. She says she wants to help you, and you certainly need help. All she needs before she can pay you is a brief statement to “firm up liability”. She’s pleasant and seems so nice. You have nothing to hide, do you? And you want to be helpful. So what could be wrong with answering her questions on tape? Plenty!

As a general rule, you should not give a recorded statement concerning a motor vehicle accident to anyone without the advice of an attorney. You shouldn’t give an oral statement either. To understand why it is not in your best interest to make a statement, put yourself in the insurance company’s shoes. An insurance company is in business to make money for its shareholders. Every dollar it pays out in claims to people like you is a dollar lost to the insurance company’s bottom line. Therefore, job #1 for every insurance company employee is to reduce the amount paid out in claims, and that includes your claim.

To reduce claims paid, the insurance company must deny claims made. To do this, company employees will look for reasons to deny your claim. They may use your recorded statement for this purpose. How?

• Insurance company employees will compare the statement you gave them with other statements you have made, including statements you gave an investigating police officer or statements you made during your deposition in a lawsuit arising from the accident. Where they find inconsistencies in your multiple statements — and this is not unusual when someone tells the story of his accident more than once, sometimes weeks or months apart — the company will claim you lied. The company may deny your claim as a result.

• Insurance company employees will ask questions worded in such a way that they trap or trick you into responses that hurt your case. You may not even realize this is happening at the time. They may try to push or bully you into agreeing to facts you aren’t certain are completely accurate. You respond “I guess so” just to get the questioner off your back. Unfortunately, that “I guess so” can come back to haunt you later.

• Insurance company employees may lead you into making statements that you sound like you remember less than you really do. Before they even begin to record you, they may say things like “I guess it all happened really fast. It probably seemed like a blur. You probably were pretty shaken up afterwards. Makes it difficult to remember exactly what happened, doesn’t it?“ And then you may make statements that sound like you don’t really remember what happened.

• In a lawsuit, defense counsel can use your recorded statement to cross-examine you at trial or during your deposition. You may not remember exactly what you said in your statement. As a result, you may contradict yourself in some way. Although you think the discrepancy is inconsequential, the defendant’s lawyer will stress the importance of your misstatement to a jury and use it to convince the jury that your testimony is not believable.

The bottom line is that you should never give a recorded statement to an insurance company representative without the advice and guidance of an attorney. When you turn down the representative’s request, be courteous but firm. No matter how friendly and personable they may be when they’re talking to you, always keep in mind that they are employees of the insurance company and represent only its interests – not yours.

Editor’s Note: If by mistake you do give a recorded statement to the insurance company, you are entitled to a copy of it if you request it, under Virginia law. (Va. Code sec. 8.01-417).

About the Author: Elizabeth Morrell Allen has been engaged in the practice of personal injury law for over 30 years at the law firm Allen & Allen. From 1988 to 2004, Beth served as a branch manager of the firm’s Petersburg, Virginia office.

Attorney Malcolm P. McConnell

By Malcolm P. McConnell

I am often invited to speak to physicians and other professionals and laymen about medical malpractice issues. On such occasions, I share the same information I provide to every client who seeks my advice and assistance with a potential medical malpractice claim: I define “medical malpractice” for them. However, in my 21 years of experience, I have found that the best way to tell people what medical malpractice IS, is to tell them what medical malpractice is NOT.

Medical malpractice is NOT that a doctor made a mistake. Doctors are human. They are not all-knowing, they are not all-powerful, and they are not perfect. They are “allowed” to make mistakes.

Medical malpractice is NOT that the patient had a bad result — even if that bad result was unexpected. Every day in every hospital, patients suffer complications, setbacks, even death. Such things may occur without any negligence by physicians.

Medical malpractice is NOT that another doctor would have done things differently. On many occasions, doctors may disagree about the best approach to a patient problem. This does not mean one of the doctors is negligent. It does not even mean one of the doctors is wrong. If we expect medical science to advance and improve, we have to encourage doctors to disagree and to develop new approaches.

Rather than a mistake, a bad result, or a difference of opinion, medical malpractice (negligence) occurs when a doctor does something that is UNREASONABLE; something no reasonable doctor would have done under the circumstances. It may be either an action or an omission, but there will be no case of medical malpractice unless the doctor has behaved unreasonably.

If we can prove that the doctor’s behavior was unreasonable, we must also prove that the injury or death would not have occurred if the doctor had acted reasonably. This can be difficult to prove, especially since there is almost always an underlying disease or injury for which the doctor is not responsible.

Proof that the behavior was unreasonable and proof that the unreasonable behavior caused the injury or death is made through expert witnesses. Neither the patient nor the patient’s family may testify that a doctor has been negligent. At The Allen Law Firm, we strive to get the very best experts available, who are leaders in their field, to explain proper medical standards to a jury and to demonstrate how deviating from those standards has damaged our clients. We are proud of reputation of turning down frivolous and questionable cases and limiting our practice to cases of merit, supported by qualified and respected experts. We are proud of service to our clients and our results.

About the Author: Malcolm “Mic” McConnell heads the medical malpractice team at the personal injury law firm of Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen.

Chesterfield Office

The law firm of Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen is pleased to announce the relocation of the Chesterfield office to 6123 Harbourside Centre Loop, Midlothian, VA 23112. The newly constructed office is located west of Interstate 288 in the Harbourside Centre shopping plaza on Hull Street Road next to Glory Days Grill.

Almost 20 years ago, Allen & Allen opened its first Chesterfield branch on Route 360 near Courthouse Road in Rockwood Park. Since then, Allen & Allen attorneys and their experienced staff have handled over one thousand personal injury cases for residents of South Richmond and Chesterfield. As the years have passed, Chesterfield has become one of the fastest growing counties in the United States, and Metropolitan Richmond has also expanded into nearby Powhatan and Amelia Counties. To better serve the residents of this developing region in the 288 corridor and beyond, Allen & Allen has relocated to a new office near Swift Creek on Hull Street Road. The Rockwood Park branch is now closed.

Trent S. Kerns, one of the firm’s senior attorneys who has litigated personal injury cases for more than 23 years, will continue to serve as Managing Partner in the Chesterfield office. He and his skilled legal assistants look forward to welcoming both old and new clients to Allen & Allen’s new location.