Insurance companies use a variety of tactics, like subrogation, to avoid handing out too much money when it comes to personal injury claims for car accidents. This is because insurance companies are businesses that lose profits when they compensate consumers. To make or save money, many insurance companies discourage claims adjusters from offering too much compensation.
When consumers retaliate with a lawsuit, some insurance companies will make various attempts to avoid the lawsuit, like using the statute of limitations against you. A Tennessee auto accident lawyer may be able to help you fight these deceptions.
Different Tennessee Statute of Limitations
Every state has a different statute of limitations for different types of crimes. A statute of limitations sets a time limit on how long you have to file a lawsuit after the date the crime was committed. Tennessee has its own statute of limitations for personal injury claims and contract cases with insurance companies accused of bad faith practice.
The Tennessee statute of limitations for personal injury claims is one year. This means that in most cases, you will not be able to file a personal injury lawsuit once a year has passed after the accident. Some insurance companies will try to use this time limit against you by claiming that your year-long time limit is up.
What some people do not understand is that the process of filing a personal injury claim with your insurance company can take a long time. Lawsuits can take even longer, with some lasting years. The scary thing is that many insurance companies are not working with you, but against you on your claim. Some may go as far as to delay your claim for months or until the statute of limitations has been reached. This is the point where you need to strongly consider hiring a lawyer who can help you out of this tricky situation.
A lawyer will be able to see loopholes that other people may overlook. For example, an insurance company who acts in bad faith by delaying your claim would be incorrect if they claimed your statute of limitations for a personal injury claim has passed. If you file a lawsuit against them for bad faith, the case would technically be a contract claims case. The statute of limitations for contract claims is six years, not one year.
How Insurance Companies Confuse People
Insurance companies do not only attempt to confuse people with statute of limitations laws, but also with their language. Contracts are often constructed by insurance companies with the most tedious and confusing dialect. Even experienced lawyers often have trouble understanding what the insurance companies are explaining in their policies. Misunderstandings can mislead people into signing contracts and deals they would not agree to if they knew what they were really signing.
