Dealing with Insurance Companies

The motor vehicle collision lawyers at the Law Offices of John C. Manoog, III can haggle with insurance companies on your behalf so that you do not need to invest your energy in this process. We provide more than a century and a half of legal experience to help clients injured in car crashes get the compensation that they are entitled to obtain for their harm. Whether that means fighting a lawsuit in court or negotiating a settlement at the bargaining table, our firm has a strong track record of success for the people whom we represent. Our Cape Cod car accident attorneys offer clients the opportunity to focus on their recovery and wellbeing with the reassurance of knowing that we are working for them.

If you have been injured in a car accident in Massachusetts, you have the right to seek compensation from those responsible for the collision. That may be a negligent driver – and their employer, in some situations – as well as a faulty auto parts maker or a road construction crew that leaves a driving area in a hazardous condition. The compensation typically available for a person injured in a car accident includes money damages for property damage, doctors’ bills, loss of wages and earning capacity, and pain and suffering.

Insurance policies usually cover most auto accidents, whether you are at fault for the crash or not. That means that you may be required to go through your own insurer – and potentially another person or entity’s insurance provider – in order to get compensation for your injuries. The law surrounding car crash liability and establishing an insurer’s responsibility is complicated. Also, insurance companies do not always play by the rules. This is why it is vital that a person injured in a car accident seek the advice of an experienced personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.

State law imposes a duty of good faith and fair dealing on car insurance companies. The duty is read into each auto insurance contract as a matter of state law. They cannot defraud policy holders, and they are generally expected to pay out claims in a reasonable and timely manner. The insurance company owes this responsibility both to a driver whom it insures under a contract and to third parties, like other people injured in a crash. Disputes also may arise under an uninsured or underinsured provision of an insurance contract when a victim is struck by a driver who lacked adequate insurance.

The problem is that, in many cases, insurance companies try to slow down or avoid claim payments altogether. In other cases, they may try to rush a payment for pennies on the dollar by pressuring a person injured in an accident to settle the claim.

The good faith and fair dealing obligation is enforced on a negligence standard. When an insurer is accused by the person holding the policy of failing to adequately settle a claim, a court looks at whether a reasonable insurer would have failed to settle the case within the policy limits. In other words, you need to prove that you would have settled the claim within the policy limits if given the opportunity and that no reasonable insurer would have refused the offer, based on the circumstances. A third party injured in a crash caused by a distracted or otherwise careless driver, on the other hand, needs to show that the insurer failed to make a prompt, fair, and equitable settlement offer once liability became reasonably clear.

At the Law Offices of John C. Manoog, III, we are proud to help victims in Massachusetts with pursuing legal action to seek the compensation that they deserve after a motor vehicle collision. Our attorneys understand the pain and stress that often come with being injured in an accident. We work meticulously on behalf of each person whom we represent, building a comprehensive case for liability. Our lawyers provide free consultations at two offices on Cape Cod, and we are also available to meet with you elsewhere if you cannot make it to us. We generally do not charge a fee in our car accident cases unless we are successful in recovering damages for a victim or their family. Call us at 888-262-6664 or contact us online to schedule a free initial consultation. Nós Falamos Português.