Insurance companies love to take “recorded statements” of people involved in situations where someone was injured. Even before a personal injury case is filed, adjusters and others at insurers will contact personal injury victims asking them if they would be willing to give a recorded statement on what happened. Before you give a recorded statement as the victim of an injury you need to think: who am I helping with this? While you may feel giving the responsible party’s insurance company a recorded statement of what happened will help your claim get resolved quicker or for more money, you are most likely incorrect. Any personal injury attorney will advise you that, in most situations, as a personal injury victim, giving a recorded statement to the responsible party’s insurance company without representation is not in your best interest. Personal injury lawyers know that insurance companies often use recorded statements against the people who gave them, regularly trying to say that the victim is changing their story or that based on a specific way the question was asked, they were not hurt how, or as badly, as they claim in a lawsuit (which they may have no choice but to pursue). If you are the victim of a car accident injury, slip and fall injury, or any other personal injury, and you are asked to give a recorded statement, you should check with an experienced injury attorney first to know if you should give the statement, and what your legal rights are. A lawyer you retain is there to protect you and your best interest.
