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Michigan injury victims beware and be smart. Insurance companies act like your best friend in their funny little ads on TV but treat you like a criminal as soon as you make a claim and investigate your background more thoroughly than if you had actually committed a crime.
After an accident occurs or a claim is made, you can bet the insurance company will begin an aggressive investigation that includes researching vast databases where they have access to your criminal history, claim history, employment history, vehicle ownership history as well as the names of acquaintances, friends and fellow employees. More importantly, the insurance companies will hire a private investigator to follow you and take videos and pictures of all your activities. They will also exhaustively investigate your social media accounts and download all your public posts and pictures. They will then attempt to use this information to later persuade a judge to dismiss your case if anything you say or do seems to contradict the videos they have of you or the things you post on social media. Make no mistake, no matter how seriously you are injured, most insurance companies would rather pay a private investigator and their lawyers bundles of money than compensate you in any degree for the injuries you sustained.In many recent Michigan injury cases, surveillance and a thorough review of your social media accounts occurs almost immediately after you make a claim. We recently had a case where a client was run over by a car and by the time our client was released from the hospital, the insurance company had already interviewed all the client’s neighbors, the investigating police officer and our client’s employer in an attempt to somehow discredit the fact that their insured was negligent and ran him over. The insurance company then conducted surveillance on him 24 hours per day which continues to this daySo what do you do? First, you contact an experienced Detroit personal injury lawyer that knows how to combat these tactics and fight the insurance company. Then, when you are prepared for all the games the insurance companies will play, you conduct yourself knowing that you are being watched. This means be honest. Don’t overstate your injuries and claim you cannot perform certain tasks when the insurance company may have video of you doing those very same things. Next, shut down all social media until the your case is concluded. Defense attorneys and claim adjusters have a field day going through the pictures and posts you put on social media. By staying off social media for the short time your case is pending will increase the value of your case considerably.This post is not meant to scare you or encourage you not to file a valid claim if you are injured. This post is simply the reality of personal injury law in Detroit, Michigan and everywhere. Having a fearless, aggressive, personal injury attorney on your side every step of the way, will allow you to level the playing field against insurance companies that value money over the well-being of the honest people who pay their premiums. Call the Davis Law Center for a free consultation at (248) 865-7740.