So, you were hit while riding your bicycle and the driver was at fault.  Now what?  You have to collect your evidence to prove your claim because, as the “claimant” you have the burden of proving it.  While you’re building your case against the driver, the insurance adjustors are building their case against you.

 Because knowledge is power, I want to share with you exactly what the insurance adjustors may be doing to investigate your claim.

 1)      They will video tape you without your knowledge.  This is called sub rosa (subrosa) surveillance, and the adjustors will likely use the video to “prove” that you are not in pain when you are out and about in your everyday life.  As you may already know, pain can be tough to detect on video.

 2)      They will record your phone calls.  They may entice you into answering questions on a recorded phone call and then use your out-of-context answers to impeach your credibility later.  If they call, ask them to send you a letter instead.

 3)      They will ask you to sign stuff.  Specifically, they’ll ask you to sign a broad release for your medical and employment records, and then using that release go and collect whatever they can find about you (including past injuries, employment information, and whatever other sensitive data you have in your files).  Warning: things like old, healed injuries will be used against you. 

 4)      They will ask for your collateral insurance sources.  They will likely want to use something called “balance billing” against you to limit their own payments to your health care providers. 
Avoid if at all possible, giving them your health, and auto insurance information until first talking to a lawyer.

5)      They will stalk you on social networks.  They may find you on LinkedIn, Facebook, and anywhere else on the internet, and they’ll be interested in anything inflammatory that could make you seem compromised.  Now is a great time to learn how to use the built-in privacy controls on most social networking sites.

6)      They will Google your race results.  They will, in an attempt to “prove” you weren’t hurt, use your race results against you–even if you’re racing for recovery or catharsis. 

 7)      They’ll even run your name on insurance data bases to collect your insurance claim history.

If you file a claim, your credibility will be challenged, so keep your guard up, and hire an experienced trial attorney.