Injury In Idaho

Personal Injury Clients Should Be Accurate in Describing their Physical Activity Levels

I recall one case I handled for an insurance company many years ago.  The claimant testified in a deposition that he was not doing any heavy lifting or bending because of severe back pain.  I hired an investigator on the case.  The investigator called the claimant’s phone number, and got a recorded message stating, “Hi, this is Joe’s firewood service.  Call me for specials on chords of wood for the winter season.”  The investigator ordered a cord of wood and videotaped the claimant chopping and loading the wood onto his truck.  The case was dropped.   (In addition to his fee, the investigator got a free cord of wood!)Believe me, you don’t want to put yourself in this situation.  Many claimants get caught in similar although less dramatic traps, not through lying but by simply being careless or forgetful.  Insurance adjusters and insurance attorneys sometimes set traps by asking questions in a black or white, yes or no fashion.  For example, in a recorded interview, the insurance adjuster will not ask “Have you generally given up gardening since the accident?”  Instead, she may ask “Have you done any gardening since the accident?”   Now, if you answer  “no” to that question, there may be a problem if you tried gardening just a day or two and then had to quit because of pain.  If an investigator videotaped you on that day, the insurance adjuster will use this information to try to prove you are a liar.

Very often, your recorded statement or deposition testimony will be taken after the videotape has already been recorded.  The insurance company’s goal is to see if you can be tricked into “lying” about your activity level.  If caught in an apparent lie, the monetary value of your case is severely diminished.

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