How Insurance Companies Will Fight Your Personal Injury Claim
If you’ve suffered a serious injury due to someone else’s negligence, you’re likely counting on an insurance settlement to help pay for your medical bills, lost wages, and other damages. But don’t be fooled—insurance companies are not on your side. Their goal is not to ensure justice or make you whole again. Their goal is to minimize payouts, protect their bottom line, and close your case for as little money as possible.
At Griss Law Group, PLLC, a leading Brooklyn Personal Injury Law Firm, we’ve seen it all. Insurance adjusters and defense attorneys will use every trick in the book to discredit your injuries, delay your claim, or deny it outright. That’s why having aggressive and experienced Injury Attorneys NYC in your corner is essential.
Below, we reveal exactly how insurance companies will fight your personal injury claim—and how you can fight back.
1. Disputing Liability
One of the first strategies insurance companies use is to deny liability altogether. Even in cases where fault seems obvious—like a rear-end collision or a clear-cut slip and fall—adjusters may argue that their policyholder wasn’t entirely responsible or claim you were partially to blame.
In New York, personal injury claims fall under comparative negligence. That means if you’re found partially responsible, your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault. Insurance companies exploit this by exaggerating your role in the accident, sometimes shifting enough blame to significantly reduce your payout.
How We Fight Back:
As trusted New York Personal Injury Lawyers, we launch a full-scale investigation. We collect surveillance footage, obtain eyewitness statements, hire accident reconstruction experts, and leverage every resource to build an ironclad liability case.
2. Downplaying the Severity of Your Injuries
Insurance adjusters often claim your injuries aren’t as serious as you say. They may argue that your pain is exaggerated, or worse—that your injuries are pre-existing and unrelated to the accident.
This tactic is common in soft-tissue injury claims, such as whiplash, back strains, or concussion-related trauma—where visible evidence like broken bones or lacerations isn’t present.
How We Fight Back:
Our legal team at Griss Law Group partners with top-tier medical experts in Brooklyn and throughout NYC. We document the full extent of your injuries with MRI scans, treatment plans, and testimony from your treating physicians to prove your condition is both real and directly linked to the accident.
3. Using Your Own Words Against You
From the moment you file a claim, the insurance company is watching and listening. They’ll record your phone calls, monitor your social media, and dig into your past medical records looking for inconsistencies.
Even a simple, polite response like “I’m doing okay” on a call with an adjuster can later be twisted as evidence that your injuries aren’t affecting your life.
How We Fight Back:
We advise all our clients to avoid speaking directly to insurance companies without legal representation. Once retained, all communications go through our Brooklyn Personal Injury Attorneys to protect you from making damaging statements.
4. Delaying the Claims Process
A common tactic is to drag out the claims process until the injured person becomes desperate. Insurance companies know that medical bills, rent, and lost income can create extreme financial stress, especially when you’re unable to work.
They use these delays to pressure you into accepting a lowball offer—just to get any money at all.
How We Fight Back:
We aggressively pursue all claims and track every delay tactic. If necessary, we file lawsuits and move cases into litigation to force the insurance company to take your claim seriously. Our injury attorneys in NYC are known for holding insurers accountable in court.
5. Offering Lowball Settlements
It’s common for insurance companies to make an initial settlement offer soon after an accident—often before the full extent of your injuries is known. These offers are typically far below what your case is worth.
Why? Because once you accept an offer and sign a release of liability, you cannot ask for more money—even if your condition worsens or you need future surgeries.
How We Fight Back:
We meticulously calculate the value of your claim based on current and projected medical expenses, lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, and more. We negotiate aggressively and won’t back down until you get the compensation you deserve.
6. Digging Into Your Medical History
Insurance companies will demand full access to your medical records—not just those related to the accident. They want to find any pre-existing conditions, past treatments, or injuries that they can use to blame your symptoms on something other than the incident.
How We Fight Back:
Our firm controls the flow of medical information and only provides relevant records. We work closely with your doctors to clarify how your current injuries are directly tied to the accident—not your past.
7. Claiming You Failed to Mitigate Damages
Insurers may claim you worsened your injuries by not following medical advice, skipping appointments, or returning to work too soon. This is called “failure to mitigate damages,” and it’s often used to justify reducing your compensation.
How We Fight Back:
Our legal team helps clients stay on top of all appointments, follow-up care, and recovery plans. We track everything to show your commitment to recovery and to eliminate any room for the insurer to claim negligence on your part.
8. Spying on Your Social Media
Believe it or not, insurance companies often hire investigators to monitor your social media accounts. A single photo of you smiling at a family BBQ—even if taken before your accident—can be used to argue you’re not in pain or limited by your injuries.
How We Fight Back:
We advise clients to pause all social media activity while their case is pending. A simple post can do serious damage. We also educate clients on how to protect their privacy and avoid surveillance traps.
9. Denying Claims Due to Technicalities
Some insurers look for procedural errors to deny valid claims. They may argue that you missed a filing deadline, failed to notify them properly, or submitted incomplete documentation.
How We Fight Back:
We manage all paperwork, ensure every deadline is met, and submit complete, timely evidence to keep your case on track. As a seasoned Brooklyn Personal Injury Law Firm, we eliminate technical missteps that insurers rely on to avoid paying.
10. Taking You to Trial to Intimidate You
In some cases, insurers will refuse to settle and push the case to trial—hoping you’ll back down or accept a lower settlement rather than face the stress and uncertainty of court.
How We Fight Back:
At Griss Law Group, we’re not afraid of the courtroom. In fact, we welcome it. Our trial lawyers are skilled litigators with a proven record of success. When insurance companies know we’re willing to take a case to verdict, they often come back to the table with serious offers.
Why You Need a Brooklyn Personal Injury Attorney
Every move the insurance company makes is calculated—and designed to protect them, not you. Without legal counsel, you’re walking into a battle unarmed. At Griss Law Group, our New York Personal Injury Lawyers fight back with evidence, strategy, and relentless advocacy.
We handle all types of personal injury claims, including:
What Makes Griss Law Group Different
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Aggressive Representation: We don’t accept lowball offers or back down from insurance bullies.
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Proven Results: Our Injury Attorneys NYC have recovered millions in settlements and verdicts.
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Client-Centered Service: You’ll always know where your case stands. We keep you informed every step of the way.
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No Fees Unless You Win: We work on a contingency fee basis—so you don’t pay us a penny unless we recover for you.
Speak with a Brooklyn Personal Injury Attorney Today
If you’ve been injured due to negligence, don’t deal with the insurance company alone. Let the experienced attorneys at Griss Law Group, PLLC protect your rights, maximize your compensation, and give you peace of mind.
Call Griss Law Group, PLLC today at (718) 561-1111 for a free, no-obligation consultation or fill out our online contact form to get started with a Free Case Evaluation. Let us stand by your side and fight for the full and fair compensation you deserve.
