What Not to Say to Insurance After a Northridge Car Accident

Arya Firoozmand, Esq.

Local Northridge Injury Attorney · UCLA Law

Arya Firoozmand is the founding partner at L&F Brown. A Woodland Hills native who attended nearby El Camino Real High School, he graduated from UCLA Law School and has represented injured Northridge residents throughout his career.

After a car accident in Northridge, insurance adjusters will contact you quickly. They sound helpful. They ask reasonable-sounding questions. But every answer you give is being evaluated for one purpose: finding ways to pay you less. What you say in those first conversations, sometimes even a single sentence, can reduce your settlement by thousands of dollars.

Here are the specific things you should never say, and why each one hurts you.

"I'm Fine" or "I'm Not Really Hurt"

This is the most common mistake. You say it reflexively because you are shaken but upright. The adrenaline is still masking whatever your body is actually going through. The adjuster notes it. Three days later, you wake up with a stiff neck and shooting pain down your arm. Two weeks later, an MRI at Northridge Hospital Medical Center shows a herniated disc.

The insurance company now has a recorded statement from the day of the crash where you said you were fine. They will use it to argue your injuries are not related to the accident, or that they are not as serious as you claim. This single phrase has cost people tens of thousands of dollars in settlement value.

What to say instead: "I am still being evaluated for my injuries." This is honest and protects you.

"I'm Sorry" or "It Was Partly My Fault"

Saying "sorry" is a reflex, not an admission of guilt, but insurance companies treat it as one. If you tell the adjuster "I should have been paying more attention" or "I think I might have been going too fast when I came through the Nordhoff intersection," you have just handed them a comparative fault argument.

California uses pure comparative negligence. Every percentage of fault they pin on you reduces your recovery. If the adjuster can document that you admitted to being partly at fault, they will use that to shave 10%, 20%, or more off your claim. A 20% fault reduction on a $200,000 case costs you $40,000.

What to say instead: "The police report will document what happened. I prefer not to speculate about fault."

"I Don't Have a Lawyer" or "I'm Handling This Myself"

The moment an adjuster learns you are unrepresented, their approach changes. Internal claims handling procedures at major insurance companies distinguish between represented and unrepresented claimants. Unrepresented claimants receive lower settlement offers because the insurer knows there is no attorney who will file a lawsuit if the offer is rejected.

Whether you have hired an attorney or not, do not volunteer this information. If they ask, you can say: "I am consulting with counsel about this matter." That alone shifts how they treat your claim.

"My Injuries Are..." (Detailed Medical Descriptions)

Do not describe your injuries in detail to the other driver's insurance company. You are not a doctor. Your understanding of your condition may be incomplete, especially in the first few days after a crash. Whiplash injuries from rear-end collisions on the 118 can take 72 hours to fully present. Disc injuries may not show up until imaging is done. Concussion symptoms can evolve over weeks.

If you describe your injuries prematurely and they turn out to be more serious than you initially stated, the insurer will use your early description to cap the value of your claim. Let your medical records from Northridge Hospital and your treating physicians speak for themselves.

What to say instead: "I am receiving medical treatment and my doctors are evaluating my condition."

"I'll Accept" (An Early Settlement Offer)

Insurance companies make early offers for a reason: they want to close your file before you understand the full value of your case. An offer that comes in the first two weeks is almost always below what your claim is worth. They are hoping that the stress of the situation, the car repair bills, the missed work, will pressure you into taking whatever is on the table.

Once you accept a settlement and sign a release, you cannot go back for more. If you settled for $8,000 and then discover you need surgery six months later, that is your problem. The release you signed closed the door.

What to say instead: "I need time to understand the full extent of my injuries before I can evaluate any settlement offers."

Anything on Social Media

This is not a conversation with the adjuster, but it is communication that insurance companies monitor. If you post about your accident on Instagram, Facebook, or anywhere else, the adjuster may find it. Photos of you at the Northridge Recreation Center looking active while you are claiming back injuries will undermine your case. A post saying "so grateful I survived, could have been worse" will be characterized as you acknowledging your injuries are not serious.

Do not post about the accident, your injuries, your treatment, or your daily activities while your claim is open. Do not delete old posts either, that can be characterized as destruction of evidence. Just stop posting anything related to your physical activities or the accident.

"Yes, I Had a Prior Injury"

This question is a trap when asked by the other driver's insurer. If you disclose prior neck or back issues, they will attribute your current injuries to the old condition. If you deny prior injuries and your medical records show otherwise, they will use the inconsistency to question your credibility on everything.

The correct response is not to answer this question at all when speaking with the other driver's insurance company. You are not obligated to discuss your medical history with them. Your attorney and your medical providers will handle how prior conditions are presented in the context of your claim.

A Northridge car accident lawyer manages all communication with the other driver's insurer so you never have to navigate these traps yourself.

The Safe Approach

Report the accident to your own insurance company with basic facts. Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer. Do not discuss fault, injuries, or prior medical history with anyone other than your own doctor and your attorney. Let a lawyer handle the rest.

If you were in a car accident in Northridge and you are not sure what you have already said or how to handle the next call, contact our Northridge personal injury team for a free consultation. We can assess any damage that may have been done and take over the communication going forward.