What Is A Recorded Statement? And Why Does the Insurance Company Want One?

Recorded Statement
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What Is A Recorded Statement? And Why Does the Insurance Company Want One?

After a car accident you are supposed to file a claim with either your insurance company or the person who caused the crash. This is the first step that you need to do. Some people reach out and call a personal injury lawyer. After a short conversation, they might hire the lawyer to represent them. GAMESQ, has filed many claims on behalf of our clients. However, if you do this on your own you will need to call the insurance company. After the intake has been processed a claims professional will be assigned that adjuster will want to take your recorded statement. You must give your insurance company your statement, pursuant to your duty to cooperate. However, this statement can come back and harm your car accident case, if you are not prepared. We are going to discuss what a this statement is, why the insurance company wants one, mistakes avoid, and do you need to hire a Phoenix car accident lawyer?

What Is A Recorded Statement?

 This is a statement where your insurance company has the opportunity to ask you questions and gather information that can be used in the investigation of your car accident claim. This usually only happens if you file a claim for the damages done to your vehicle or suffered by you or your passengers. A recorded statement is used for the purpose of determining who was driving when a crash occurred. It can also be used to determine if the collision is your fault. This form of the claim can take between 10 to 30 minutes to complete. 

Why Do Insurance Companies Want A Recorded Statement?

 If you have decided to cooperate with your claims adjuster on a car accident case you should ask them what will be needed to prepare the statement. In some cases they ask you to sign a release that gives them full access to your phone and all the data stored on it. This is so the insurance company can get a more complete account of what happened, and what the person who caused the accident was doing. 

When to give your statement? It is best to give the statement as soon as you are medically able to do so. If you might have suffered a head injury as a result of the crash, then you should stall as long as you can from giving any type of statement to anyone. Moreover, you should contact an Arizona personal injury lawyer to represent you in your semi-trucking accident case.  Sometimes it can seem like your insurance company is harassing you to file a claim. This is often not the case, the adjusters have a job to do with very strict timelines, so they are very aggressive. Instead, if that gets to be too much, hire an attorney and those calls will stop. Usually the insurance company wants you to get a statement so they can contact the other person and get the full account of what happened. The police report or any witness statement will likely already give the full story.

Recorded Statement

What Mistakes Can Be Made When Giving A Recorded Statement?

A good statement is an important part of the car accident claim. It tells the truth, since there is a recording device. The recorded statement is basically a written statement on paper, but the audio file still exists. There are many things you need to know before giving a statement: You are not giving a written statement to give to the insurance company. It is an audio recording. A recording of your voice, at your house, at a public library, or in a bar. It is your statement of what happened in the car accident. So even if you do it at a public library, or at a bar, the information will be very specific and the recording will be your word against that of the other person. The main reason that the insurance company will want this is so they can interpret the information you are providing. So your car accident lawyer will want to protect that recorded statement. A number of things can happen when your statement is taken.

The claims professional can use this information to make decisions that could harm your case, if you say something inaccurate, or wrong. The argument is going to be made that the recording is closer in time to your crash and therefore, is more accurate than your memory two years later when you are sitting in a court room. You need to be precise and give lots of detail. Also, you need to be likable. The person who is asking you questions is doing their job. Do not be rude or act as this is inconvenient. You need to be professional, prepared, and polite. If you do those three things, you will give an excellent statement. 

Do I Need A Car Accident Lawyer?

If you are injured in a car accident, then you probably need a Phoenix car accident lawyer. The law entitles you to a duty to cooperate. Meaning you must tell the insurance company everything you know about the accident, in the form of a recorded statement. This can include everything from who was driving, to where the accident occurred. However, it can also include things like why you went home instead of reporting the accident. Having an experienced lawyer on your side will help you avoid a lot of traps and make the process much better. The lawyer should take time and create a plan of attack for the statement. They should work with you to make sure you do the best you are able to do. Remember, to be likable when giving your statement. 

Conclusion

So, here we have it. A recorded statement is an important part of your car accident case. If you have the right insurance companies representation you will need one. It can be one of the most important pieces of evidence that is taken before a judge in a car accident case. You will need to keep a written record of your statement and you need to make sure it does not get lost. If you make a mistake, you can look to be charged with not doing what you were supposed to.