The accident was bad enough—the pain and the fear as their car struck you and you found yourself unable to move or to speak. Some of that has improved now, but moving is still painful at times, and the dreams haven’t stopped. Now it seems you will be learning the true meaning of adding insult to injury. Even though the other driver was squarely at fault, his insurance company has been refusing to pay. Your attorney is suggesting that the company is acting in bad faith and that now—on top of everything else you have gone through—you must take it to court to get the recovery you are entitled to.
You prepare yourself to head to court, then your attorney calls to inform you that the insurer is preparing to send you your payment finally, attempting to avoid the hassle of litigation. You could drop the case now or move ahead, and after all they have put you through, you decide to forge ahead. They had no right to draw out that process like they have. Your attorney agrees, and it is now in the hands of the judge to decide.
It’s a difficult situation you have found yourself in. Injured, seeking recovery from an insurance company for your injuries, then needing to fight to receive your entitled compensation. In the fight to obtain that compensation, the insurance company has prepared documents and files on your case, and you need those documents to show the judge that it was treating you wrongly. The insurance company will try to claim that those documents are protected by the attorney-client privilege and that you aren’t entitled to any of them. Luckily, in many jurisdictions, the courts do not agree with that position and will require the company to provide them to your attorney as you asked.
The idea the courts are following is that the documents are not protected by the umbrella of attorney-client privilege when an insurance company just involves an attorney in its process to try to gain this tactical advantage. An insurance company just having a lawyer work on the case, by itself, will not keep you from being able to obtain the documents you seek.
Having an experienced attorney working for you will make all the difference should you find yourself up against an insurance company that is trying to avoid providing you with proper compensation.
If someone you love was killed or injured in a crash, contact the Alexander Law Group, LLP today at 888.777.1776. We are a nationally-recognized and award-winning personal injury law firm with offices in San Jose and San Francisco. We are passionate about our clients and our community, and we stay current on all updates in California law. All calls are free and confidential.
