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I received a phone call recently from a prospective client who was struck by a car insured by Travelers Insurance while walking from his employer’s parking lot to the building he worked from. Luckily, this individual appears to have sustained only minor injuries (he was struck by the car’s side view mirror only). That didn’t stop Travelers, though, from trying to cheat him out of benefits he may be due under the policy. First, they tried to tell him that he should file a Worker’s Compensation claim through his employer, as he was walking to work at the time he was struck by the car. Nice try! Under New York State law, this type of accident is clearly the responsibility of the no-fault carrier (Travelers, in this case) NOT the worker’s compensation carrier.

When Travelers’ first attempt at shirking their obligations failed, they came up with a new story. As regular readers of this blog know, in order to bring a personal injury case for injuries arising out of a motor vehicle accident in New York, you have to have sustained a “serious injury” as defined in the New York State Insurance Law. Sometimes it is easy to tell when someone has a “serious injury”. Sometimes you can’t tell for months. Despite the fact that this accident occurred only two weeks ago, the Travelers adjuster was trying to convince this individual that he did NOT have a serious injury. Since, the adjuster claims, this individual did not sustain a serious injury, the most the adjuster can pay him under New York State law is $1,000.00

This, Ladies and Gentleman, is a bold faced, out right LIE! There is no such rule! Travelers can pay as much as they want, and they routinely pay more than this on disputed cases where serious injury is in doubt. This is just another insurance company hoping to take advantage of someone before they hire an attorney and learn the truth! That’s just part of why I love my job, having the ability to expose the lies of the insurance companies and make them live up to the obligations we pay and pay and pay them for!

Incidentally, this is not the first time Travelers has been involved in some shady dealings. See the link below.

Thank for reading,

ZiffLaw Attorney, Esq.
Personal Injury and Malpractice Attorney
Ziff, Weiermiller, Hayden & Mustico, LLP
303 William Street
Elmira, NY 14901
Phone: (607)733-8866
Fax: (607)732-6062
Email: info@zifflaw.com
www.zifflaw.com