Insurance companies are not your friend

Everybody says they are your friend. The "high-powered" attorneys that these multi-billion dollar insurance companies hire are no different. "Get in a wreck"...they say... "no problem. Tell us everything and we promise we will take care of you." What they really mean is "Get in a wreck...that's your problem. Tell us everything and we will use it against you later to keep insurance money in the pockets of the insurance company." Just because they say it with a smile, does not make them any less of a snake.

Let me give you a real-life example: Typically, when you go the doctor your communications with the doctor and your medical records are private. When you make a claim against for your injuries caused by another person's negligence, the Oklahoma Discovery Code and Oklahoma case law state that you waive the physician-patient privilege for medical treatment related to the injuries you are claiming, and you must share those records and communications with the defendant. This means you have to tell the person who caused your injury all about your medical treatment. They get to read your records page by page.

Not only does the defendant get to see the records for treatment you had as direct result of the wreck defendant cause, he also gets to see records for any treatment you've ever had which may be relevant to the injuries you sustained because of this defendant or even which may lead to admissible evidence about the injuries you sustained.

But what does relevant mean? How far back can defendant look? Who can defendant talk to? Which doctors can they get records from? I can tell you this much....the insurance company will try to look at everything. They will engage in a fishing expedition to see every little bump, bruise or sickness you have ever had....ever! They do this in hopes to find something to use against you. And what's worse, if they can get away with it, they won't even tell you what records they've seen until the last minute, when they will surprise you with it, hoping you will panic and settle cheap.

Many plaintiff's attorneys don't properly protect their clients' information. They give the insurance company a blank form which allows defendant free reign to get whatever the insurance company wants to see about you. I will admit it. I used to be one of them.

But through experience, we at ADLOKC have learned the importance of protecting your privacy from the prying eyes of the insurance companies. At ADLOKC we will fight to keep your private life - private - so that the insurance company can't use it against you to stronghold you into settling for less than you deserve.

Jason HicksComment