In more than 40 years of practicing personal injury law in Michigan, we have seen the same playbook run over and over again. Insurance companies are not in the business of paying claims generously. They are in the business of protecting their bottom line. The adjusters who call you are professionals trained to minimize what they pay out, and they are very good at it. They deal with injured people every single day. For most of our clients, this is the first serious accident of their lives.
At Hamo Law, we have spent four decades learning exactly how these companies operate so we can fight back on your behalf. George Hamo and Alex Hamo have gone up against some of the largest insurers in the country, and we know their tactics better than most people will ever need to. The families we serve in Flint and across Michigan deserve to know what they are up against, because knowledge is the first line of defense.
The Insurance Company's First Move: The Early Recorded Statement
One of the first things an adjuster will do after an accident is call you and ask to take a recorded statement. They will sound friendly. They may even seem sympathetic. Do not be fooled.
This call is not a courtesy. It is a fact-gathering mission designed to find anything they can use to reduce or deny your claim.
- Adjusters are trained to ask open-ended questions that lead injured people into minimizing their own pain or circumstances.
- Common traps include "How are you feeling today?" (if you say "okay" or "fine," that gets recorded) or questions about your speed, your phone use, or whether you saw the other vehicle coming.
- Anything you say in a recorded statement can and will be used against you later in litigation.
The "Independent" Medical Examination (IME) Trap
What an IME Really Is
An insurer may require you to attend what they call an "Independent Medical Examination." The word "independent" is misleading. These exams are paid for by the insurance company and conducted by physicians who regularly work with insurers, often producing findings that happen to benefit the people writing the checks.
How We Fight Back
- IME doctors frequently downplay injury severity, particularly in traumatic brain injury and soft tissue cases.
- Their reports can be used to argue that you have recovered, that your injuries were pre-existing, or that you no longer need ongoing treatment.
- We counter IME results by building a strong record of your actual medical treatment, working with your treating physicians, and challenging biased findings directly when litigation requires it.
Delay, Delay, Delay: How Insurers Use Time Against You
Insurance companies understand something important about human psychology: people in financial and physical distress do not want to wait. Medical bills pile up. Lost wages create pressure. The longer a claim drags on, the more tempted an injured person becomes to just accept whatever is offered to make the pain stop.
This is not an accident. It is a strategy.
- Under Michigan law, insurers have obligations to handle claims in good faith, but delay tactics are common and can be difficult to challenge without experienced legal representation.
- Michigan's statute of limitations for personal injury cases is generally three years from the date of the accident. Missing that window means losing your right to recover, no matter how strong your case is.
- No-Fault PIP benefit disputes have their own deadlines, and missing them can cut off your access to medical coverage and wage loss benefits entirely.
The Lowball Settlement Offer
Why the First Offer Is Almost Never the Right Offer
If an insurer makes you a settlement offer quickly, that should raise a flag, not bring relief. A fast offer is usually a sign that they know your case is worth significantly more than they are putting on the table, and they are hoping to close it out before you figure that out.
What Insurers Leave Out of Their Calculations
Their opening number almost never accounts for:
- Future medical expenses, including surgeries, rehabilitation, and long-term care
- Lost earning capacity if your injuries affect your ability to work long-term
- Pain and suffering damages, which can be substantial in serious injury and wrongful death cases
- The full cost of a traumatic brain injury, which may not be fully understood until months after the accident
Disputing Liability and Shifting Blame
Michigan follows a modified comparative fault rule. In plain terms, that means an insurer can argue that you were partially responsible for the accident and use that argument to reduce what they owe you. If they can show you were more than 50% at fault, they may owe you nothing at all.
This is one of the most aggressive tools in their arsenal, and they use it often.
- Common blame-shift tactics include claiming you were speeding, following too closely, distracted by your phone, or failed to avoid a hazard you should have seen.
- In truck accident cases, defense teams may investigate your driving history or pull data from your vehicle's black box to build a case against you.
- In motorcycle accident cases, jurors sometimes carry unfair biases that insurers actively exploit.
Challenging the Severity of Your Injuries
Pre-Existing Conditions as a Weapon
If you have any prior medical history involving the injured area of your body, expect the insurer to argue that your current pain is not from the accident but from something that was already there. This argument is used constantly, and it can be effective if your legal team is not prepared to counter it.
The Hardest Cases to Fight: TBI and Soft Tissue Injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries are often invisible on standard imaging, which gives insurers room to argue they do not exist or are not serious.
- Soft tissue injuries, including whiplash and nerve damage, can be debilitating but are frequently dismissed as minor or exaggerated.
- Consistent medical treatment and detailed documentation are critical. Every gap in treatment becomes an argument that you must not have been that injured.
What You Can Do: Protecting Your Claim from Day One
At the Scene and in the Immediate Aftermath
- Call 911 and get a police report filed, even if the accident seems minor at first.
- Photograph everything: vehicle damage, road conditions, traffic signals, injuries, and the surrounding area.
- Get the names and contact information of witnesses before they leave.
- Seek medical attention right away, even if you feel okay. Delayed symptoms are common in TBI and soft tissue injuries, and a gap between the accident and your first medical visit will be used against you.
In the Days and Weeks After
- Do not post about the accident, your injuries, or your recovery on social media. Adjusters monitor these accounts.
- Do not sign any documents or accept any payments from the insurance company without speaking to an attorney first.
- Keep records of everything: medical bills, prescription costs, mileage to appointments, missed work, and any way the injury has changed your daily life.
- Report the accident to your own insurance company, but keep your statements factual and brief.
You Do Not Have to Fight This Alone
There is something insurance companies count on that does not get talked about enough: the sheer exhaustion of being seriously injured. When you are in pain, when you are frightened about your finances, when you are grieving the loss of someone you love, the last thing you have the energy to do is fight a corporation with a team of lawyers and decades of experience minimizing claims just like yours.
We built Hamo Law on a different idea. We believe that the families we serve deserve someone who will carry this fight for them, not hand it off to a paralegal or leave them wondering who is working their case. When you call our office, you reach your attorney. Our staff has been with us for over 35 years. This is not a firm that processes people. It is a firm that fights for them.
Talk to a Michigan Personal Injury Lawyer Today
If you or someone you love has been seriously injured in an accident in Michigan, do not wait to get legal help. The insurance company is already working on your case. You should be too.
At Hamo Law, we offer free case evaluations with no obligation, and we work on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay nothing unless we recover for you. There is no reason to face a billion-dollar insurance company on your own.
Hamo Law
Address: 614 S. Grand Traverse Street Flint, Michigan 48502
Call us: 810-234-3667
hamolaw.com
Legal Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Case results mentioned are specific to those particular facts and circumstances and should not be viewed as a guarantee of future outcomes. Laws regarding Michigan No-Fault and personal injury are subject to legislative changes. Consult with a qualified attorney to understand your specific rights.
