Low Speed Collision, No Property Damage, Insurance Denials and Denied Claims
The insurance industry created the argument years ago that low-speed collisions or accidents where the cars are not mangled cannot lead to significant injury, and have successfully argued that position to juries and judges, repeatedly, throughout the country.
Not all doctors think so. As attorney Eric T. Kirk will tell you, “It is wrong to assume that maximum neck injury occurs in a high-speed collision; it is the slow or moderate collision that causes maximum hyperextension of the cervical spine.”1 This abnormal extension of the spine is what tears the soft tissues in the neck and back. It is whiplash. “[R]ear-end impacts of as little as five mph can give rise to significant symptoms.” Tucker, supra.
The insurance company lawyers that argue to a jury that if the cars aren’t damaged, the people cannot be are not going to produce scientific evidence that says there must be more than “X” dollars in property damage before someone can be hurt.
Baltimore Injury Lawyer Tip: There isn’t any.
That same defense lawyer is not going to produce an engineer to testify that no one can be hurt if the cars are going less than “X” mph.
Baltimore Injury Lawyer Tip: There aren’t any.
But even without scientific support, the skilled lawyers that the insurance industry retains – or those that work for them outright as ‘in house” counsel- to raise these arguments are adept and sophisticated advocates. These seasoned attorneys have convinced thousands of judges and jurors that someone simply cannot be injured in a case where there is no significant property damage. The prudent, informed injured person, takes steps to counter the efforts of the insurance company to diminish and discount their claim.
When an insurance company is confronted with a lawsuit following a motor vehicle accident, it’s not their first rodeo. A goal? Minimize liability and preserve profitability—potentially by delaying, devaluing, or denying payouts and presenting strategic legal defenses. You may expect to see:
Stalling/investigative tactics
Fault-shifting defenses to reduce or eliminate liability
Targeting injury causation and damages through expert testimony
Leveraging procedural deadlines and duties
Strategically weighing settlement against trial costs
One of the very first steps insurers take is to defer timely resolution. Adjusters may drag out claims processing by requesting voluminous documentation, transferring the case between departments, or repeatedly reevaluating evidence. This delay can strain plaintiffs financially and emotionally, nudging them toward lower settlements just to close the matter. It has been posited, that any insurance company having settlement money, at interest, or invested, for just a few extra days, multiplied by the number of claims that insurer has, can realize a substantial return.
Often, insurers deploy defenses like comparative or contributory negligence, arguing the claimant shared some fault for the accident—even by a small margin. In states with contributory negligence -like Maryland- this alone can bar recovery entirely They may also assert assumption of risk or pinpoint other intervening causes to dilute their insured’s liability
Another common tactic focuses on disputing the connection between the accident and the injuries. Insurers often claim that injuries stem from pre-existing conditions, exaggeration, or that treatment was unnecessary or excessive. They hire doctors to use medical evidence to buttress these arguments.
Insurers hire really good lawyers to handle their cases. So should you. These skilled attorneys may use procedural defenses, such as invoking the statute of limitations, or spotlighting your failures in your duty to mitigate damages or cooperate—arguing, for instance, that the plaintiff worsened their condition by delaying treatment
Its no secret that denying a claim forces an injured person’s hand. File suit within the applicable time- or you get nothing. That’s where I come in. If liability or coverage is murky, sometimes when it is not, insurers may issue a reservation of rights letter or seek a declaratory judgment denying defense obligations—shifting costs or causing conflicts of interest.
If you’ve been injured, I’d be honored to personally meet with you to go through the specifics of your claim. This initial legal analysis, strategy session, and case evaluation is a complimentary service I offer to my prospective clients. Contact me today.
- Baltimore Personal Injury Trial Lawyer Eric T. Kirk
- Legal Analysis & Case Studies
- Baltimore Insurance Claims Denial Lawyer
For over three decades, I have battled against the nation’s largest insurance companies, always endeavoring to ensure my clients receive the compensation they deserve. As lead counsel in thousands of cases across Maryland, New York, and Florida, I have recovered millions for clients whose claims were wrongfully denied and delayed. Whether denying fair compensation for a personal injury victim or denying benefits to a homeowner, Insurance companies employ policy exclusions, technicalities, and lowball offers to deny and defeat claims. They also hire very good lawyers to fight you in court. So should you. When an insurance company unfairly rejects a claim, I stop them.
