Insurance Companies are Refusing to Pay my Claims | Can I Take Legal Action?

Understanding Your Rights After an Insurance Company Refuses to Pay Your Claim: Bad Faith Insurance

There are many possible ways that you may suffer serious personal injuries after an accident. Personal Injuries can include a slip and fall or trip and fall, dog bite, motor vehicle accident, trucking wreck, or another type of accident caused by the reckless, careless, or outright negligent conduct of another person or business.

Fortunately, most victims who are injured in a personal injury action will be entitled to make a claim against the defendant’s insurance carrier. Most times, that insurance carrier honors their legal obligations to timely and fairly pay out a valid claim such as yours. However, our personal injury lawyers in Watertown, South Dakota, know that this does not always happen and is known as bad faith insurance.

Unfortunately, some insurance adjusters take an untenable position against your claim, either undermining your damages, shifting partial claim to you, or outright denying an otherwise valid claim. Sometimes this is done in bad faith, or other times this is done by an insurance adjuster who is undertrained, inexperienced, or who simply does not understand your claim and denies it.

If you or a loved one were seriously injured in a personal injury accident and an insurance company is refusing to pay your claim, call the Turbak Law Office, P.C. to schedule a FREE consultation to learn more about your rights to compensation under South Dakota law.

Can I Take Legal Action When an Insurance Company Refuses to Pay My Claim?

Generally, yes, if an insurance company refuses to pay your claim, you are entitled to seek your legal remedies in court.

When the Insurance Company Simply Disagrees With Your Claim or Valuation

While insurance companies are obligated to act in good faith, that does not mean that they have to pay out every claim. They may have a good-faith basis for denying your claim or offering you a lower award, such as a comparative fault or a pre-existing injury. These are two common examples that could result in a lower claim award.

In this situation, a court is needed to decide the arguments and evidence before it to determine who is right. This is often done at trial through a “trier of fact,” which is a judge or a jury that sits to hear the evidence and decide a claim against the law. Thus, in this situation, you would be commencing an action against the insured party, which could be the homeowner or property owner in a slip and fall or trip and fall, or the other driver or vehicle owner in a motor vehicle accident.

When the Insurance Company Makes Careless, Reckless, or Outright Bad Faith Arguments

While most insurance companies properly handle claims, sometimes, an insurance company does not operate in good faith but engages in conduct that is in bad faith. Sometimes an insurance adjuster is either making intentional arguments or taking intentional actions to use against you as a war of attrition to get you to accept a lower claim. This is an intentional act using the facts and circumstances against you, such as if you are out of work for several months and need to pay your monthly rent or mortgage, but the insurance carrier is offering you much less compensation than you truly deserve hoping you would just accept that lower amount to pay your immediate bills.

Other times an insurance adjuster is simply not well-trained and is making basic mistakes that violate statutory and regulatory law, meaning that an insurance adjuster is committing careless errors. These careless errors can result in a loss of time or money for a personal injury victim, often adding frustration and financial harm. In these situations, an injured victim may be entitled to commence an action against both the defendant but also against the insurance company for operating in bad faith.

Were You Injured in an Accident and an Insurance Company Will Not Pay Your Claim? Call Our Experienced Personal Injury lawyers in Watertown, South Dakota for Help.

If you or a loved one were seriously injured in any type of personal injury accident and the insurance carrier is not fairly paying your valid claim, call our experienced personal injury lawyers in Watertown, South Dakota, at the Turbak Law Office, P.C. to learn how we can help you. Our bodily injury law firm is dedicated to protecting the rights of victims and their loved ones throughout South Dakota against overly aggressive, negligent, or outright abusive insurance companies. We have a proven track record of success in helping victims of premises liability, motor vehicle accidents, and other types of claims, get the compensation they deserve for their injuries.

To learn more about bad faith insurance and how we can help you, please call 605-886-8361 or use our “contact us” box available here.