When you are hurt in a car accident, it’s really never a good idea to give a recorded statement to any insurance adjuster without being represented by counsel.

After a car accident, the pressure that insurance adjusters will put on you to make a recorded statement is horrendous. In some states, it is against the law for them to record you without your permission, and they likely will not do that. Nonetheless, some insurance carriers record ALL statements you make on the telephone, and justify it by telling you it is for ‘quality control’.

Let’s examine who is trying to get your statement and the purpose. Your insurance company will try to get your statement as part of its investigation into the accident. The adjuster will tell you it is your duty under the contract to cooperate with them and furnish the information. The other person’s company will try to get your statement under the ruse that it needs your version of the accident – just for their records – to confirm liability against their insured, and they need your medical information to make a fair settlement.

So, why not just cooperate and give the insurance companys a recorded statement so they can get on with it and settle your case? You don’t do that because of the unstated, real reasons both companies want your recorded statement. Interestingly, both adjusters, although they come from different perspectives in the case, seek to record you for precisely the same reasons. The recording is a great convenience for them. They don’t have to take the time to get a written statement from you, and you can simply give your version over the phone. When it is done, it is in the record, the case is documented, and they can move forward. It may be as innocent as that.

However, most of us are not prepared to give recorded statements at any time during our case, and most particularly at the outset, which is precisely when the statements are requested. Most of us do not think well on our feet under circumstances involving the pressure of answering questions for a recording. We tense up. We forget important things. We answer questions in a roundabout way or incompletely, and none of the information comes through in a precise and thorough manner as it will when you put it down in writing.

Another problem is that after you have made the recorded statement, it is absolutely impossible to correct or expand upon what you said in the recording. How can you change your story six months or a year later, when it was given with your full cooperation at the beginning? Are you now changing your story to suit your needs for continued treatment when your insurance company wants to cut you off after one of their insurance medical exams? Are you trying to gain an advantage for settlement with the other person’s insurance company by changing your story? They will not easily allow you to modify what you have already recorded.

Here are some of the techniques they will use against you: The first one is the casual, friendly technique. They will say it is for your benefit as well as theirs. They will say they are there to help you resolve the claim and to prove your claim. They will say they are going to help you pay your doctor bills, and your cooperation would be much appreciated.

Regardless of which insurance company it is, that voice on the other end of the line is not your friend, is not your good neighbor, and has his hand firmly planted on your wallet. He is your adversary. Treat her as such. She is also a trained adversary. Some insurance adjusters are excellent at getting you to say something which could be considered an admission of some fault on your part or – with respect to the degree of trauma incurred in the accident – something which would limit the seriousness of your injuries.

In addition, you cannot – at that early stage – have a complete understanding of all of your injuries. You may think that you understand your injuries within the first two or three weeks, but – believe me – if you have been involved in substantial trauma, your injuries will change and modify after the first two or three weeks. You may not even know it after the first week, but you might have suffered a low back strain when you were treated primarily for the acute cervical pain. When you hit your head on the side window, you may have suffered a jaw injury, and the first signs of that injury may not be recognizable by you even 10 days after the injury. When you leave that information off, you cannot come back and change it. The insurance adjuster wants you to give incomplete or inaccurate information because she is going to make you stick to it later on.

If your own carrier says that you have a duty to cooperate, and that giving a statement is part of that duty because otherwise they cannot pursue their subrogation against the third party, then what? Tell them that you will cooperate fully when the subrogation claim is ripe. You have no obligation to give a recorded statement. Tell him that you would be pleased to cooperate fully by giving a written statement as to how the accident occurred. Alternatively, ask him to wait until he sees your medical bills. Then, if he has any questions, he can ask a specific question and you can answer it in writing.

If he further insists that you are breaching your duty under the contract, call your state’s Insurance Commissioner and get her opinion about it.

Under first party claims, if there is an allegation of fraud, you can be required to participate in not just a recorded statement but also an examination under oath. Your continued receipt of benefits from the company can be conditioned upon your being examined under oath. However, this tends to be reserved for instances where fraud is suspected.

As we always say, make notes and document everything. That includes confirming your conversations with the adjusters on these and any other topics.