If you’ve been involved in a car accident, one of the steps that you most likely took immediately after the crash was to file a claim for damages with your car insurance company but dealing with these insurance companies isn’t always easy and it can be especially frustrating for someone who is already suffering the consequences of a critical injury to deal with practices known as bad faith.
Bad faith can occur when an accident victim makes an offer to settle a case within the insurance policy limits in return for a release of all claims. If an insurance company fails to settle or refuses to settle for a policy limit, additional extra contractual damages could be available to the victim.
It can be especially difficult to understand the laws surrounding California’s rules over covenants of good faith and fair dealing. One aspect of this is that insurance companies must make reasonable efforts to settle a third party’s lawsuit against the insured individual.
The reasonableness of the insurance company’s conduct will be evaluated in court should you need to go that far. If you have tried to call the company multiple times and have not been able to get an update, this is information you might want to share with your lawyer. Your attorney might be able to move the case forward when it has stalled out on the insurance company’s end.
You have enough to worry about in the wake of a crash; let an experienced lawyer handle some of the difficult aspects of your claim so that you can recover.
If you have questions about managing your car accident claim in San Francisco, a consultation with a trusted personal injury lawyer who has helped many other victims with similar cases can help put your mind at ease and give you next steps to follow.