Should I Give the Insurance Company a Recorded Statement After an Alabama Car Wreck?

Should I Give the Insurance Company a Recorded Statement After an Alabama Car Wreck?

You were injured in a car wreck, and a few days later an insurance adjuster calls.

The adjuster may sound friendly and professional.  “I just need to get your side of what happened.”  Then comes the question: “Do you mind if I record our conversation?”

Should you agree?

The answer depends in part upon whose insurance company is asking.

There is an important difference between giving a recorded statement to the insurance company for the driver who caused the wreck and providing information requested by your own automobile insurance company.

If the other driver’s liability insurance company is requesting the statement, you generally do not have the same contractual relationship with that insurer that you have with your own company.  Your own automobile policy, however, may contain provisions requiring you to cooperate with your insurer’s investigation, provide information, or even submit to a statement or examination under oath.

So the safest rule is not simply: “Never give a recorded statement.”  A better rule is:

Before giving a recorded statement after a serious Alabama car wreck, understand who is asking for it, why they want it, and whether you have a legal or contractual obligation to provide it.

Why Does the Insurance Adjuster Want a Recorded Statement?

An insurance company investigates a car wreck to determine what it believes happened and what it may be required to pay.  The adjuster may want information about:

• where the collision occurred;
• the direction each vehicle was traveling;
• traffic signals or signs;
• vehicle speeds;
• distances between vehicles;
• what you saw before impact;
• whether you applied your brakes;
• whether you took evasive action;
• what you said at the scene;
• your injuries;
• when your symptoms began;
• medical treatment;
• were you taking medications on the day of the accident;
• prior injuries or medical conditions;
• had you had anything to alcohol in the last 24 hours and
• whether you have returned to work.

Many of those are legitimate subjects of an insurance investigation.

The problem is that a recorded statement creates a permanent record of your answers—sometimes very early in the claim, before all of the facts or medical consequences are known.

Do I Have to Give a Recorded Statement to the Other Driver’s Insurance Company?

In the ordinary car wreck claim, the other driver’s liability insurance company does not have an insurance contract with you.  You are making a claim against its insured.  That is different from making a claim under your own insurance policy.

The liability adjuster may request a recorded statement as part of the company’s investigation. But the fact that their adjuster asks you to give one does not itself mean that you are contractually obligated to do so.

That does not mean you should refuse every conversation with every liability insurer.  It means you should understand the purpose and potential consequences before agreeing to a recorded interview, particularly when you have suffered a serious injury or fault is disputed.

Why Can a Recorded Statement About How the Wreck Happened Be Important?

Alabama’s contributory-negligence law makes statements about the collision particularly important.  An adjuster might ask:

“How fast were you going?”

“How far away was the other vehicle when you first saw it?”

“How many seconds passed before impact?”

“Could you have changed lanes?”

“Why didn’t you brake sooner?”

“Were you looking at your phone?”

“Did you see the other car before it entered the intersection?”

Those questions can bear directly on whether the insurance company later claims that you contributed to causing the wreck.

As we have discussed elsewhere in this series, Alabama follows the doctrine of contributory negligence. If the defendant establishes that an injured person’s own negligence proximately contributed to the injury, that can operate as a complete defense to an ordinary negligence claim.

That makes casual estimates potentially important.

Recommended Reading: The Insurance Company Says the Car Wreck Was Partly My Fault. Can I Still Recover in Alabama?

What If I Don’t Know How Fast I Was Going?

Then you should not guess.

The same principle applies to distances, times, and speeds.

People involved in sudden collisions frequently do not know:

• exactly how many feet separated two vehicles;
• precisely how fast either vehicle was traveling;
• how many seconds elapsed;
• the exact point at which braking began; or
• the precise sequence of every event.

There is nothing wrong with accurately saying that you do not know or do not remember something.  Guessing can create problems.  Suppose an adjuster asks:

“How far away was the other car when you first saw it?”

You really do not know, but you estimate:

“Maybe 100 feet.”

That estimate is now recorded.

Later, photographs, measurements, video, vehicle data, or accident reconstruction may establish a substantially different distance.  What began as an innocent guess can then be characterized as an inconsistency.

Why Can an Early Statement About My Injuries Cause Problems?

The medical questions may be even more important than the questions about the collision.  Suppose an adjuster calls you two days after the wreck and asks: “How are you feeling?”

You answer truthfully: “I’m sore, but I think I’ll be okay.”

At that point, you may believe exactly that.  But suppose your symptoms continue.

Your doctor orders an MRI.  The MRI reveals a significant injury.  You undergo injections and physical therapy, and eventually your physician recommends surgery.

The insurance company now has a recorded statement from two days after the wreck in which you said “I think I’ll be okay.”

That statement does not prove that you were not seriously injured, but it may become something the insurance company uses when disputing the severity, progression, or causation of your injuries.

What If I Don’t Know the Full Extent of My Injuries Yet?

Say so.

Many medical conditions cannot be fully evaluated immediately after a collision.  Symptoms can change.  Diagnostic testing may not yet have been performed.  A treating physician may not yet know whether an injury will resolve with conservative treatment or require surgery.  A patient may not know whether an injury will result in permanent restrictions.

This is why broad statements made immediately after a wreck can be problematic.

There is an important difference between saying “My back hurts right now” and saying “My only injury is a sore back.”

The first describes what you currently know.

The second may sound as though you are ruling out injuries that have not yet been diagnosed.

What If I Had Back or Neck Problems Before the Wreck?

Prior medical conditions are another area where recorded statements can become important.

An adjuster might ask: “Have you ever had back problems before?”

Someone may answer: “No.”

But perhaps ten years earlier that person saw a doctor for several episodes of back pain and simply forgot about them.  Or perhaps the person had prior back problems but had been functioning well until the collision caused substantially worse symptoms.

Those are very different situations.

An inaccurate answer—even an innocent one—can later be used to challenge credibility.

The better analysis usually requires comparing the person’s medical condition before the wreck with the condition after the wreck.

A preexisting condition does not automatically mean that a later collision caused no injury.

Recommended Reading: What If I Had a Preexisting Injury Before My Alabama Car Wreck?

Can My Recorded Statement Be Used Later?

Potentially, yes.

That is one reason a recorded statement should not be treated as an informal conversation that will disappear after the adjuster finishes the claim investigation.  Under Rule 801(d)(2) of the Alabama Rules of Evidence, a party’s own statement, when offered against that party, is treated as an admission of a party opponent and is not excluded as hearsay merely because it is an out-of-court statement.

Prior statements can also become important if they conflict with later testimony.

Suppose you say in a recorded statement: “I never saw the other vehicle before impact.”

Later, in a deposition, you testify: “I saw the vehicle approaching the intersection.”

The surrounding context may explain the difference, but the earlier statement still exists.

Recorded statements can therefore become important evidence when the parties later disagree about how the wreck happened, what symptoms existed, or what the injured person previously said.

Is Talking to My Own Insurance Company Different?

Yes.

This is the distinction that is often lost in generic advice telling injured people to “never talk to an insurance company.”  Your own insurance company has a contractual relationship with you.

Your automobile policy may require you to:

• promptly report the collision;
• cooperate with the insurer’s investigation;
• provide requested information or documents;
• assist in protecting the insurer’s rights; or
• submit to an examination or statement under circumstances specified by the policy.

The exact obligations depend upon the language of the insurance contract and the coverage involved.

The Alabama Supreme Court has recognized that insurance policies can make cooperation with the insurer’s investigation a contractual obligation.  In Nationwide Insurance Co. v. Nilsen, 745 So. 2d 264 (Ala. 1998), the Alabama Supreme Court addressed an insurance policy requiring the insured to submit to an examination under oath as part of the insurer’s investigation.

The Court held that compliance with that policy requirement was a condition precedent to recovery under the policy.

That case did not arise from an ordinary third-party liability adjuster’s request for a casual recorded telephone statement. But it illustrates the larger point: You should not assume that you can simply refuse every request for information from your own insurance company without first examining your policy and the coverage involved.

Why Would My Own Insurance Company Be Involved If the Other Driver Caused the Wreck?

There are several possibilities.

One of the most important is uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. Suppose the other driver caused the wreck but has no liability insurance.

Or suppose the driver has only $25,000 in bodily-injury coverage and your damages substantially exceed that amount.

You may then have a claim under the uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage provided by your own automobile policy, if applicable.  At that point, your insurer is no longer simply the company that insures your vehicle.  It may also be responsible for paying benefits based upon the injuries and damages you sustained in the collision.

That creates an unusual relationship.

You have contractual obligations under your insurance policy, but your insurer may also be investigating the same issues of liability, causation, and damages that determine how much it may ultimately have to pay.

Recommended Readings: What Is Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage in Alabama?

What If the Driver Who Hit Me Doesn’t Have Enough Insurance to Pay for My Injuries?

Does My Own Insurance Company Automatically Take My Side?

You should not assume that.

Your insurer owes obligations under the insurance contract, but when you make a claim for uninsured or underinsured motorist benefits, the insurer also has a financial interest in evaluating whether the legal requirements for payment have been satisfied and determining the amount of the claim.  Questions may include:

• whether the other driver was legally responsible;
• whether you contributed to causing the collision;
• whether the wreck caused your claimed injuries;
• whether particular medical treatment resulted from the wreck;
• what preexisting problems did you have;
• the extent of your damages; and
• whether other available insurance must first be addressed.

So, the fact that it is “your insurance company” does not mean that everything you say is unimportant.  It means the analysis is different because your rights and obligations are governed in part by your own policy.

What About Medical Authorizations?

A recorded statement is not the only request an adjuster may make.  An insurance company may also ask you to sign a medical authorization.

Again, it matters which insurer is asking, what the authorization permits, and why the records are being requested.

Medical records relating to the injuries claimed after a wreck can obviously become relevant, but a broadly worded authorization may permit the collection of medical information extending far beyond the treatment immediately following the collision.

That can become particularly significant when an injured person has a substantial prior medical history.

Before signing a broad medical authorization, understand what records the authorization permits the insurer to obtain.

Should I Lie or Leave Things Out When Talking to an Insurance Company?

No.

There is an important difference between being careful and being dishonest.

You should not intentionally give false information to an insurance company.

You also should not conceal relevant facts when you have a legal or contractual obligation to provide them.

The concern with a recorded statement is not that truthful facts should be hidden.  The concern is making inaccurate estimates, agreeing with assumptions embedded in questions, minimizing injuries before the medical picture is known, or answering questions you do not understand.

If you do not know, say you do not know.

If you do not remember, say you do not remember.

If medical treatment is ongoing and you do not yet know the extent of your injuries, do not pretend that you do.

Accuracy is more important than trying to give the adjuster an immediate answer to every question.

What Should I Do If an Adjuster Calls Me After a Serious Car Wreck?

First, determine who the adjuster represents.  Is it:

• the other driver’s liability insurer;
• your own automobile insurer;
• an insurer providing uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage; or
• another insurance company potentially involved in the claim?

Then determine what the adjuster is actually requesting.

There is a difference between reporting basic information about a collision and agreeing to a lengthy recorded interview concerning liability, injuries, prior medical treatment, and damages.

If you have suffered a serious injury, fault is disputed, or the adjuster is asking for a detailed recorded statement, you may want to obtain legal advice before agreeing to the interview.

If the request comes from your own insurer, the insurance policy should also be considered before refusing to cooperate.

A Recorded Statement Can Last Much Longer Than the Telephone Call

A recorded statement may take only twenty or thirty minutes, but the answers can remain part of the insurance claim for years.  They may later be compared with medical records, witness testimony, photographs, physical evidence, deposition testimony, or testimony at trial.

That does not mean every injured person should refuse every insurance-company request-it means a recorded statement should be treated for what it is: a preserved account of what you say about the collision, your injuries, and potentially your damages.

Before giving one after a serious Alabama car wreck, understand who is requesting it, what information is being requested, and whether you have an obligation to provide it.

If the request comes from the other driver’s liability insurer, your relationship with that company is very different from your relationship with your own insurer.

And if your own insurance company is requesting information under the terms of your policy, simply refusing to cooperate can create a separate problem.

If you were seriously injured in an Alabama car wreck and an insurance company is asking you to give a recorded statement — don’t hesitate to contact and speak with one of the experienced Alabama Car Wreck attorneys at Powell and Denny today for a free consultation. Appointments are available in person, or virtually via Zoom if more convenient.  Powell and Denny would appreciate the opportunity to help.  And remember, there is no fee unless you win.

Powell & Denny: We Work When You Can’t.

This article provides general information about Alabama law and is not legal advice concerning any particular case.