Claims For Fishermen And Fish Processors Against Marine Insurance Adjusters
The Polaris Group is a marine insurance adjusting firm that handles maritime injury claims involving fishermen and fish processors. The Polaris Group is not an insurance company; they are marine insurance adjusters who manage, process and investigate claims involving fishing accidents. The Polaris Group employs experienced marine insurance adjusters. It is their job to attempt to minimize the amount of money the big maritime insurance company will have to pay on your injury claim.
Maritime injury lawyer James Beard of Trueb & Beard LLC, has been handling injury claims for injured fishermen and fish processors for over 30 years. He has handled hundreds of Jones Act and maritime injury claims for injured fishermen and fish processors. He has recovered millions of dollars in compensation for his clients located throughout the United States. Mr. Beard and his team do not represent marine insurance adjusting firms or the Polaris Group.
Attorney Beard and his partner, Lanning Trueb, frequently represent clients whose injury claims are being managed and investigated by the Polaris Group and other marine insurance adjusting firms. Our legal team can protect your rights to benefits under maritime law and work to get authorization from the Polaris Group to obtain the medical care you need. Trueb & Beard LLC, always represents the injured fisherman, and we are never on the side of the insurance company.
We Will Help You Understand Your Maritime Rights
Every injured fisherman or fish processor should fully understand his federal maritime rights to maintenance and cure benefits, the right to unearned wages, and the right to compensation under the Jones Act and unseaworthiness doctrine. Never sign a legal release of your claim without consulting an experienced maritime injury lawyer. Don’t admit fault for an injury that could have been prevented by your employer or vessel owner. Don’t be rushed back to work before you have adequately recovered from your injuries.
Although the Polaris Group is an “independent” insurance adjusting firm, it should be clear to injured fishermen and fish processors that the Polaris Group represents the employer and/or the owner of the vessel and their insurance carriers. In almost every case, the Polaris Group does not represent the injured fisherman or fish processor. If you are dealing with the Polaris Group, they have probably been hired by the vessel owner’s insurance company. They will be investigating and managing your claim to try to limit the amount of medical bills and compensatory damages that the insurance company may have to pay in damages for your claim. The Polaris Group is part of the insurance company’s team hired to defend against your claim. Lawyers hired by the employer and vessel owner’s insurance company will use the evidence gathered and created by the marine insurance adjuster to try to defeat your claim.
The Insurance Adjuster Is Not On Your Side
If you have been injured working as a commercial fisherman or fish processor, the marine insurance adjuster is gathering evidence, hiring experts, and taking statements from witnesses and crewmen to attempt to defeat your claim and to blame you for your injury. Make no mistake about it – that is their job. If you have given a maritime insurance adjuster a medical authorization, they may be talking to your doctors to influence them about issues critical to your treatment and claims for damages. The marine insurance adjuster may push your doctor to release you for work early, to limit therapy, or to not recommend a surgery that may provide you further relief. Shouldn’t the medical decision in your case be between you and your doctor? Experienced maritime injury lawyers do not let marine insurance adjusters communicate with your treating doctors without the lawyers being present to protect your rights.
Marine insurance adjusters don’t have a duty to tell you how much money damages is fair to compensate you for your injuries. Marine insurance adjusters don’t want injured fishermen and fish processors to understand the responsibilities of an employer and vessel owner to protect a crewman from injury. Without an experienced maritime lawyer on your side, the playing field is slanted towards the marine insurance adjuster who is an expert in defending against fisherman and fish processor injury claims.
Don’t Let Them Tell You What Doctor To See
You have a right to choose your own treating doctor. If your doctor has recommended a second opinion, a marine insurance company may ask you to get a second opinion. The doctors chosen and recommended by the marine insurance adjuster are, in many cases, doctors who they know will disagree with the recommendation of your treating doctors. Marine insurance companies often use the same doctors over and over again to defend against the injury claims of commercial fishermen and fish processors. Maritime law requires that where there are reasonable doubts or disputes about the course of recommended medical treatment, those disputes must be resolved in favor of the injured seaman. Before agreeing to a second medical opinion by a doctor chosen by a maritime insurance adjuster, consult with an experienced maritime lawyer to learn about your rights.
Contact Our Experienced Maritime Injury Lawyers
James Beard and his partners at Trueb & Beard LLC, represent injured fishermen and fish processors on a contingency fee basis. A contingency fee means you owe no fees to the lawyer unless he successfully recovers compensation for you.
If you have questions about your rights to medical treatment, time loss, past and future lost wages, and damages for pain and suffering following an injury on a commercial fishing vessel or fish processing boat, contact Trueb & Beard LLC, to discuss your claim. Call us at 425-403-1900 or send us a message online today.