18-Wheeler Insurance Company Deception

Michael Grossman, San Antonio Semi-Trailer Accident Lawyer, Discusses Deceptive Insurance Company Tactics

For the past twenty years, my firm has been investigating and litigating trucking accidents. We have helped hundreds of people seek justice after they have been hurt due to trucking company negligence.

As can be expected, over the years, I have dealt with every major insurance carrier across the nation. Over the past few years, however, insurance company tactics have begun to evolve into something much more insidious than what they have previously been. Few stories have affected me as much as the story of Jackie R.

Jackie was a woman married to her high school sweetheart Joe. She was a mother of three. One day, Joe stopped while driving to repair a flat tire. While Joe was working on his vehicle, an out of control 18 wheeler crashed into him, killing him instantly.

The trucking company that employed the driver knew of Joe’s death before Jackie did. Within minutes of the accident, they had sent a team of insurance adjusters, defense attorneys, and accident recreation specialists to build a case against Joe, trying to prove that the accident was his fault. But they quickly realized that Joe had done nothing wrong. The driver of the 18 wheeler was at fault for the accident.

The insurance company then changed tactics. As you can imagine, Jackie was completely devastated by the news of Joe’s death. While Jackie was at the morgue, identifying Joe’s body and seeing his body for the first time since the accident, she was approached by an insurance adjuster sent by the trucking company. Naturally, Jackie was furious with the insurance adjuster for approaching her so quickly. Though the adjuster was persistent, Jackie’s brother eventually forced him to leave.

I wish I could say that this is a one-time scenario, but the truth is that insurance companies operate this way all the time. They attempt to take advantage of people in their most vulnerable state, to get them to sign away their rights while they are not thinking clearly, while they are still overwhelmed with what has happened. This is not just a product of the insurance filing process. This is a deliberate tactic employed by these companies to cheat victims out of justice – and it often works.

Jackie did not know what to do. Her brother suggested that she sue the insurance company. However, she refused. Jackie stated that she was not “money-hungry” and just wanted to be fairly compensated so that she could get her life back in order as best she could. She was confident that the insurance company would treat her fairly in this and provide her family with the money they needed to keep going. This is only reasonable.

Over the next two weeks, Jackie received countless phone calls from insurance adjusters, both at her home and her relatives’ homes. She soon agreed to meet with an insurance adjuster. When the adjuster arrived at her home, she had settlement paperwork all ready for Jackie to sign. The insurance adjuster told Jackie that she should not bother suing since she could only receive compensation for Joe’s lost wages. This was a flat out lie, and the insurance adjuster knew it.

Once again, Jackie did not know what to do. She was terrified that she would not be able to support herself and her three children. She wanted to make sure that she received some form of compensation, and she was concerned that, if she did not sign this settlement, there might not be another opportunity. However, she was still hesitant, so she agreed to sign the settlement if an attorney would examine it and advise her. The insurance adjuster readily agreed to this proposition. Within minutes, a lawyer was at Jackie’s front door. The lawyer quickly browsed the settlement and told Jackie that it was an adequate offer, and the best one she was likely to receive. Jackie signed.

What Jackie did not know was that the lawyer was employed by the insurance company. The attorney did not care about Jackie and her family, and would have told her any settlement was a great offer. Note that this activity is grounds for disbarment, but this did not discourage the insurance company.

Jackie later realized what a mistake she had made, but it was too late to do anything about it. At some point in the future, she contacted my firm. Unfortunately, there was nothing we could do at this point. If she had reached out to an experienced trucking accident attorney sooner, she could have likely received compensation for her funeral expenses, lost potential income, as well as the mental and emotional suffering caused by the loss of her husband. She could have potentially received a settlement in excess of a million dollars, which is the very least she deserved for what she had been through.

Instead, she received a settlement that was worth only a few years of Joe’s income, which shrunk to $600 per month as soon as her children were adults. What did the insurance adjuster receive? In all likelihood, they received a bonus and a promotion.

The bottom line is this: no matter what an insurance adjuster might say, the insurance company cares only for their own profits. If you or someone you love has been hurt in a trucking accident, you need an experienced team of legal professionals to make sure that those responsible for your suffering are brought to justice. Seek help from an experienced trucking attorney as quickly as possible, and make sure that your family receives the compensation it deserves.