Never admit fault, downplay injuries, give recorded statements without attorney approval, or accept early settlement offers after a bus accident. Insurance adjusters use your words against you to reduce or deny compensation.
Avoid Admitting Any Fault
Insurance adjusters ask leading questions designed to get you to accept partial blame for the accident. Statements like "I wasn't holding the handrail" or "maybe I should have seen it coming" give them grounds to reduce your settlement by your percentage of fault.
Stick to basic facts about what happened without analyzing who caused the accident. Describe what you observed such as "the bus braked suddenly" or "another car ran the red light" without adding opinions about fault. Liability determination requires investigation of driver logs, maintenance records, and witness statements.
Common Fault-Admission Traps
Adjusters ask "What could you have done differently?" or "Do you think you share any responsibility?" These questions have no good answers. Responding with any suggestion of your contribution to the accident reduces your settlement under comparative negligence laws.
Simply state "I was a passenger on the bus when the accident occurred" and provide no additional commentary about your actions or decisions. Direct all liability questions to your attorney who understands legal implications of fault allocation.
Never Downplay Your Injuries
Saying "I'm fine" or "it's just minor" when asked about your condition harms your claim even if you intend to be polite. Insurance companies record all conversations and use minimizing statements to argue your injuries are not serious.
Describe your symptoms accurately without exaggeration or understatement. State "I'm experiencing pain in my neck and back" rather than "I feel okay" or "I'm dying." Medical records will document injury severity, so honest symptom descriptions maintain credibility.
The Delayed Injury Problem
Many bus accident injuries including concussions, whiplash, and internal trauma show symptoms hours or days after the crash. Telling adjusters you feel fine on day one contradicts later injury claims when symptoms emerge.
Respond to injury questions with "I'm still being evaluated by doctors" or "my symptoms are developing" rather than providing premature assessments. This protects your right to claim compensation for all injuries that manifest during treatment.
Refuse Recorded Statement Requests
Insurance adjusters request recorded statements claiming they need your version of events. These recordings create permanent records that adjusters scrutinize for inconsistencies and statements reducing claim value. You have no legal obligation to provide recorded statements to the transit company's insurer.
Politely decline by stating "I prefer to provide information in writing after consulting my attorney." If the adjuster pressures you, repeat that you will cooperate fully through your legal representative. Transit accident attorneys in Los Angeles, Glendale, Burbank, Oceanside, Las Vegas, and Phoenix handle all insurer communications to prevent damaging statements.
Why Recorded Statements Are Dangerous
Adjusters ask complex questions about accident timing, vehicle positions, and your actions in confusing sequences. Honest mistakes in details give them ammunition to dispute your entire account. Stress and pain medication after accidents impair memory and judgment, making accurate recollections difficult.
Insurance companies employ trained interrogators skilled at extracting harmful admissions. They ask the same questions multiple ways looking for inconsistencies. Minor variations in your answers between conversations become "lies" they use to deny claims.
Don't Discuss Pre-Existing Conditions
Adjusters investigate your medical history seeking prior injuries they can blame for current symptoms. Volunteering information about old back pain, previous accidents, or chronic conditions gives them arguments that the bus accident did not cause your injuries.
Answer only questions asked without providing extra medical history. If adjusters ask about prior injuries, direct them to obtain medical records through proper legal channels. Your attorney will present medical evidence distinguishing new accident injuries from preexisting conditions.
Medical History Misuse
Insurance companies hire doctors to review records and attribute accident symptoms to prior conditions. They argue degenerative disc disease, not the bus crash, causes your back pain. Old sports injuries, not current trauma, explain your shoulder damage.
Your own doctors must connect accident forces to new injuries or aggravation of preexisting conditions. Let medical professionals make these determinations rather than discussing medical history with adjusters who lack qualifications to assess causation.
Reject Early Settlement Offers
Insurance adjusters offer quick settlements within days of accidents before you know injury severity or complete medical treatment. These lowball offers typically equal 20% to 40% of fair case value and require you to release all future claims.
Never accept settlement offers without attorney evaluation. Once you sign a release, you cannot seek additional compensation when complications arise or injuries worsen. Most bus accident injuries require weeks or months to fully manifest, making premature settlement acceptance costly.
Why Adjusters Rush Settlements
Insurance companies save money by settling before you discover injury extent or hire legal representation. Unrepresented claimants accept inadequate offers not knowing fair case values. Quick settlements also prevent lawyers from investigating liability and identifying multiple insurance policies.
Adjusters exploit financial stress from medical bills and lost wages. They present small offers as immediate relief when you face mounting expenses. This pressure tactic convinces desperate accident victims to settle for fractions of true claim values.
Limit Information About Your Life
Adjusters ask about your job, hobbies, family, and daily activities seeking information that contradicts injury claims. Mentioning you enjoy running, weightlifting, or active parenting gives them arguments that your injuries are not serious if you continue these activities.
Provide only information directly relevant to accident circumstances and injury impacts. Decline to discuss personal life details that have no bearing on claim evaluation. Adjusters use friendly conversation tactics to extract information they weaponize against your case.
Social Media Surveillance
Insurance companies monitor your social media accounts for posts contradicting injury claims. They save photos of you standing, walking, or smiling as evidence your injuries are exaggerated. Even innocent posts about daily activities undermine disability and pain and suffering claims.
Set all social accounts to maximum privacy and avoid posting anything about your life until your case resolves. Instruct friends and family not to tag you in photos or posts. Assume everything you post becomes evidence insurance companies will use against you.
Don't Sign Anything Without Attorney Review
Transit companies and insurers send medical authorization forms requesting permission to access your complete medical history. These overly broad releases allow them to obtain decades of unrelated medical records seeking evidence to devalue your claim.
Review all documents with your attorney before signing. Proper medical authorizations limit records to treatments related to accident injuries. Never sign blanket releases giving insurers unlimited access to your private health information.
Document Signing Risks
Settlement agreements and liability releases permanently waive your right to future compensation. Insurance companies bury unfavorable terms in complex legal language that nonlawyers struggle to understand. Signing without legal review may eliminate your ability to pursue additional damages.
Even innocent-seeming forms like accident reports can contain liability admissions or damage limitations. Attorneys identify problematic language and negotiate better terms protecting your interests.
The Right Way to Communicate With Insurers
Direct all insurance company communications through your attorney once you hire representation. Inform adjusters you have legal counsel and provide your lawyer's contact information. Attorneys handle all negotiations preventing you from making statements that harm your case.
If you must speak with adjusters before hiring a lawyer, stick to basic accident facts without discussing injuries, fault, or settlement. Provide only your name, contact information, and statement that the accident occurred. Save all detailed discussions for attorney-supervised conversations.
Michael Avanesian, the founder and driving force behind Avian Law Group, is a passionate and dedicated attorney with a strong background in personal injury law. As a partner at JT Legal Group, Michael led the growth of the personal injury practice from a single employee to a team of over ninety professionals, securing over $2 billion in settlements for clients in just three years.
