The most common type of car crash is a rear end accident. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, these collisions account for almost 3 million car crashes per year, or approximately 1/3 of all total auto accidents. This is common sense to most Portland metro-area drivers, who encounter the telltale sign of rear end crash on an almost daily basis in the sight of two vehicles pulled off on the shoulder of the road with the drivers outside exchanging their respective insurance information.
It is presumed that the driver of the rear vehicle, or the vehicle in back, is at-fault for the crash in rear end accidents. This means that the at-fault driver’s insurance company should assume all liability for the car accident. However, this is not always the case and auto insurance companies have been known to try and blame the lead, or front vehicle, for the accident by claiming that the driver abruptly braked or quickly changed lanes, thereby causing the accident. It should not be assumed that simply because you were injured in a rear end collision that the other driver’s insurance company will accept responsibility and reasonably compensate you for your injuries. Insurance companies have become adept at defending rear end accident cases, which is why it is important to consult with a seasoned car accident attorney at Johnson Law, P.C. as soon as possible after you are injured.
A favorite insurance company strategy is to lull the injured victim into complacency by having their insurance adjusters act as though they want to provide reasonable compensation, but when the injured person goes to actually negotiate a settlement the insurance company suddenly claims that their crash was a “minor impact” and that they could not possibly have been as seriously injured as they are claiming. If the injury involved whiplash, the insurance company will claim that the person should have recovered more quickly, and thus imply that injured victim is exaggerating their injuries.
If the injured person did not immediately seek medical attention, or if it was irregular at first, the insurance company will also try and diminish its at-fault driver’s responsibility for the person’s injuries by saying that they must be caused by some other event than the car accident.
In addition to denying the car accident resulted in sufficient force to cause injury, insurance companies also try and deflect responsibility by arguing that the injured person suffered from a preexisting condition such as Degenerative Disk Disease, and because of this the car accident could not possibly be the result of the neck or back pain the person has experienced since the crash.
There are counter arguments, both medical and legal, to this insurance defense tactic, and the car accident attorneys at Johnson Law, P.C. are happy to advocate for you when insurance companies use these unscrupulous pseudoscientific arguments to minimize the injuries suffered by victims of car crashes.
If the insurance company is denying responsibility for your injuries caused by a rear end car accident, you need legal counsel who is committed to fighting until you get the justice you deserve. The attorneys at Johnson Law, P.C. have the expertise and knowledge to prove the true extent of your injuries in order to obtain compensation for the harms you have suffered.
