How Auto Insurance Companies Try to Deny or Minimize Bodily Injury Claims From Car Crashes in Massachusetts

If you’ve been injured in a car accident in Massachusetts, whether it’s on the MassPike, Route 9, or in communities like Framingham or Natick, don’t be surprised if the insurance company gives you a hard time. Even when the other driver is clearly at fault, insurance companies often use misleading tactics to deny bodily injury claims or push for lowball settlements.

In this article, I will discuss how insurance companies typically operate and certain tactics to be aware of. You’ll also learn why hiring an experienced Massachusetts car accident lawyer is essential and beneficial for protecting your rights and getting you the compensation you deserve.

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Fast, Low Settlement Offers - Before You Understand Your Injuries

Crashes along major roads and highways such as Route 9 or the MassPike often involve high speeds and can cause serious injuries, including whiplash, fractures, or internal damage. Insurance adjusters know this, however, they’ll pray on your financial hardship and move quickly to offer a low settlement, hoping you'll accept before you realize the long-term costs and damages of your injuries.

If you’ve been hurt in a car crash in Massachusetts, you should never accept any quick settlement offers from the insurance company without at least speaking to a lawyer first. These fast settlements rarely cover future medical needs, lost income, or your pain and suffering. Most injury lawyers offer free case evaluations like our Framingham car accident attorneys, who can review your case and let you know if any quick settlement offer from the insurance company is reasonable or fair.

Minimizing the Extent of Your Injuries

After an accident in the Boston or Metrowest area of Massachusetts, insurance adjusters may argue your injuries aren’t serious, or that you have pre-existing injuries or medical conditions. They often question the necessity of your treatment, how quickly you saw a doctor, and whether your pain is “real” or exaggerated.

This is especially common after soft tissue injuries or concussions from rear-end collisions, which frequently happen on congested roads like Route 30 and Route 126 in the Framingham, Natick area of Massachusetts. A skilled lawyer can gather medical evidence and fight back against efforts to downplay your suffering.

Also, to minimize their responsibility, the at-fault party’s insurance company may argue that your injuries are from a pre-existing condition or injury rather than the accident itself. The best way to protect your claim is through thorough medical documentation clearly linking your injuries to the car crash. Our Framingham car accident lawyers collaborate with a trusted network of medical and professional experts who can help counter these insurance tactics and support your case.

Trying to Shift Fault Onto You

Massachusetts law reduces or completely eliminate your ability to recover financial compensation if you're found to be at fault. Insurance companies know this and may attempt to shift blame – even partially – onto you. Trust us, we see this first-hand.

We’ve seen this tactic used after accidents at high-risk intersections, Route 9 in Natick, or Worcester Road in Framingham, where traffic patterns are complex and visibility is limited. An experienced accident attorney can help investigate the crash, interview witnesses, and use crash reconstruction experts, if needed, to refute false claims.

By way of an example, one of our clients was injured in a T-bone crash in Brockton, Massachusetts. The insurance company claimed that our client ran a red light. However, we were able to obtain video surveillance footage from a local store that captured the crash. This video was critical in overturning their denial of liability because it was clear that the other driver ran the red light and that our client was not at fault.

Using Delay Tactics to Wear You Down

Some adjusters will drag their feet, hoping that frustration, mounting bills, or time off work will make you desperate enough to settle. The insurance companies and their adjusters may claim your documents and claim are “in review” or they will advise that a new adjuster has been assigned to your claim and needs time to get up to speed on it. Or they will just ignore your claim for weeks.

Delays are especially harmful when you’re recovering from serious injuries after a crash, which can lead to prolonged recovery times and increased financial strain. A skilled and experienced car accident attorney will know how to keep the pressure on the adjusters and insurance companies to make sure your claim doesn’t stall.

Don’t Let the Insurance Company Undervalue Your Claim and Deny You the Compensation You Deserve

After being injured in a car crash in Massachusetts, you deserve full compensation – not games or unfair tactics. Having a skilled and experienced car crash lawyer can help you get the money you deserve. In fact, a study by the Insurance Research Council found that car accident victims who hired personal injury lawyers received settlements that were, on average, three and a half times larger than those who represented themselves – even after the lawyer was paid. These findings highlight the significant advantage of working with a personal injury attorney, a trend that continues to hold true today.

Our Framingham car accident attorneys have helped countless clients across Massachusetts stand up to insurance companies and recover what they’re owed. We offer a no deposit, no retainer contingent fee agreement, which means we don’t get paid unless you win.