10 Pitfalls To Avoid In Recorded Statements

The general rule of thumbs is you should not give a recorded statement to the insurance adjuster because one primary benefit is to elicit information from you to devalue or deny your claim. Notwithstanding, there are situations where there it may be useful for the victim to give a recorded statement for the purpose of determining liability and moving the claim forward through the settlement phase. For instance when the insurance adjuster for the at-fault driver is unable to find our speak with their insured or their insured has misinformed them on the facts of the accident, a recorded statement - especially when you have a corroborating witness - can be helpful towards the success of processing your personal injury claim.

That said, given it is mostly to the insurance company’s advantage if they have your statement, the adjuster will keep prodding to find anything in your statement to use against you by asking some of the following:

• Where you wearing your seatbelt?

• What was the posted speed limit?

• How fast where you driving?

• Where you changing lanes when you were hit?

• Do you normally wear glasses?

• Where you wearing your glasses or contacts?

• What was the color of the traffic light?

• How many lanes did the road have?

• What lane where you on?

• Where you using your phone?

The idea here is the adjuster is looking for any facts from you to show that you may have been partly at fault for the accident or that your injuries are minimal. This is very vital in a contributory negligence state like Maryland which means that if you are partly at fault in any way, your claim can be denied and you get nothing.

Hence, you should give direct answers to the questions asked of you only and do not volunteer information. 'Answer the question and no more' is the rule of thumbs. For these reasons, it is best to have a lawyer help you with your statement to avoid mistakes.