Ramie Shalabi | February 26, 2026 | Car Accidents \ Personal Injury
This article was originally written in October 2020 and was last updated in February 2026.
Key Takeaways:
- After an injury caused by someone else’s negligence, insurance companies will seek detailed statements that can impact the value or denial of your claim.
- Speaking directly with insurers without legal guidance can result in reduced compensation or unfair blame being placed on you.
- Insurance companies prioritize profits and shareholders, which can influence how aggressively they attempt to minimize payouts.
- An experienced personal injury attorney can protect your rights, handle communications, and pursue full compensation on your behalf.
Filing a Claim After an Injury
When you are injured by the negligence of a person or business that has insurance to cover your loss, the first step in making you whole is filing a claim.
The insurance company will want to collect details about what happened before the accident, the accident itself, and what happened after the accident. They’ll want to know how you were injured, when you were injured, and the extent of your injuries.
The answers to these questions are very important and should be answered by your personal injury attorney. The answers could lead to your claim being denied. Additionally, the answers may lead to your claim being assigned a lower value than it’s worth, making it difficult to recover the real value.
The answers could also lead the insurance company to blame you for your injury and leave you with nothing. Sometimes, the insurance company will offer you a few hundred dollars to “go away” before you find out the extent of your injuries and before you hire a personal injury lawyer.
Be Careful When Speaking to Insurance Companies
Immediately after an accident, you may not remember everything that happened and how it happened. Most importantly, you likely don’t know the seriousness of your injuries.
The insurance company knows this and will use it against you. They are very likely recording everything that you tell them. It is important to understand that insurance companies are in business to make a profit. They make more money by paying you less money.
Their main responsibility is to their shareholders, and they are under pressure to ensure shareholders see a profit on their investment.
In fact, in 1996, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway bought GEICO for $2.3 billion, and by 2018, GEICO was valued at up to $51 billion. Warren Buffett is not in the insurance business to lose money, and he makes more money if his company pays out less money to injured people like you.
How Experienced Personal Injury Attorneys Protect You
The personal injury attorneys at Dayson Shalabi Burkett Law Firm, LLC, know how insurance companies work and know that they will use any information they can get from you to pay you less than what your claim is worth.
The catchy insurance commercials you see on tv are designed to make them seem friendly and trustworthy. Even when speaking with your insurance company, do not automatically trust them to act in your best interest.
You need a personal injury attorney with experience fighting against insurance companies to fight for you like the Charleston and Columbia personal injury attorneys at Dayson Shalabi Burkett Law Firm, LLC.
Attorneys Curtis Dayson, Ramie Shalabi, and Michael Burkett, along with the team at Dayson Shalabi Burkett Law Firm, LLC, have fought for injured clients against insurance companies for years. We have recovered millions of dollars that our clients deserve and are entitled to under the law.
If you’ve been injured at no fault of your own in Charleston, Summerville, Orangeburg, Columbia, Greenville, Rock Hill, Aiken, Myrtle Beach, or anywhere in South Carolina, give us a call for a free consultation at 843-388-3368 or 803-973-0304 or go to dsblawfirm.com and complete the free case review form with your contact information.
We are here to help you and your family recover everything that you deserve. You do not pay anything unless we collect on your behalf.
Ramie Shalabi is an experienced personal injury and workers’ compensation attorney who represents injured people across the state of South Carolina.