"Why Recorded Claimant Statements Are Critical to Insurance Litigation"

Swift Currie attorney Jim Johnson discusses how to navigate the intricacies of insurance claim demands through information gathering in his article "Why Recorded Claimant Statements Are Critical to Insurance Litigation," published by PropertyCasualty360 on June 7.

He discusses how it is common for insurance claimants to change their story of what occurred throughout the proceedings, whether because memory may fail them, or they simply were not telling the truth.

To avoid issues involving changing narratives, Johnson addressed the importance of obtaining recorded documentation of the claimant’s version of events as close to the alleged injury’s occurrence.

“The first step is to obtain and/or verify identifying information for the claimant, such as their physical description, address, names of other persons living in their residence, vehicles driven, hobbies and other items. Ideally, these details will be irrelevant,” Johnson explains. “But if the insurer decides surveillance of the claimant is necessary to verify or dispute their claims, this information will be crucial. The investigator needs enough evidence to locate the claimant and distinguish them from other similar-looking individuals.”

Details about the claimant’s job duties, work history and other employment aspects are also helpful to obtain when discussing the alleged injury occurrence, as well as the medical treatment provided to the claimant following the injury and their prior medical history.

“The more detail that can be gathered up front, the better the claim can be defended at the outset and going forward.”

To view the full article, you may click here.