How should I handle a recorded statement with the workers’ comp adjuster?
The recorded statement is a dangerous scenario for an injured employee. It can help to clarify confusion created by an employer’s inaccurate report of the injury. Yet it also can be used by an underhanded adjuster to deny a legitimate claim.
The first thing to remember is, if you’re going to give a statement, get it recorded. Don’t do off the record phone calls and a recorded statement. Often the adjuster will take statements on the recording out of context that make more sense in light of what was discussed off the recording. Either do a recorded statement and discuss everything important on it, or don’t. Don’t mix and match.
The second thing is to consult with an attorney about what some potential traps might be, with your claim and in general. There are often issues you may not recognize that could be a reason o deny or limit your claim. Making sure that everything you want in the statement, makes it in the statement, is crucial. A key example is the full extent of the injury. If you had a serious injury, the adjuster may not ask detailed questions about all the body parts that are hurt. It’s obvious you hurt your leg because it’s fractured. But your shoulder hurts. And your ankle. And your neck. You don’t want to be a bother so you don’t mention them. The adjuster will use their omission from the statement as evidence against you.
If you choose to give a statement to the adjuster over the phone, don’t agree with the adjuster just to get along. You may not remember details and you may not be sure about how the adjuster words certain things, like when and how you may have reported the injury or how exactly you got hurt. Often the adjuster will ask “leading” questions that only ask for a yes or no answer. “You didn’t actually report the injury to your supervisor until a month and a half later, right?” This is the sort of thing designed to get you to admit that you didn’t report the injury in time, allowing the insurance to deny the claim. If you don’t remember, say you don’t remember. If the adjuster doesn’t quite get the details right of something, then correct it. Giving a statement is not the time to go along to get along.
Be truthful about prior medical conditions and injuries. Prior claims and injuries are a reality you and your doctors will have to deal with. Ignoring them won’t make them go away. Your doctors will ask about them and doctors will often see evidence of prior surgeries on MRI and X-ray films, even if they don’t review the records. Far better to get it out early than have to explain later why you hid the fact that you already had a back surgery.
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