Archives for 2018

Easycarwreck.com

WWW.EASYCARWRECK.COM

I created a new website, EasyCarWreck.Com to make it easier for car accident victims to get immediate legal advice. On EasyCarWreck.com, a person only has to complete five questions to get a free, legal analysis within 24 hours. No commitment or fees. I will provide you with my legal analysis of your car wreck and how I can help you! You will have my contact information and from there forward, it is completely up to you whether you set up a free consultation. It’s all about making car wrecks easy for you!

The idea is simple. All you have to do is answer five questions about the car accident and I will provide you with a free, legal analysis about the car wreck and your personal injury claim. After that, you can decide to set up a free consultation so we can have a more in-depth conversation about your legal rights. However, I won’t harass you or constantly contact you. It is all the legal advice you need without all the hassle of dealing with paralegals, call screener or case managers. Rather, it is direct legal advice from an experienced personal injury lawyer.

Criminal law versus Civil Law In regard to Car Accidents

Remember that there is criminal law and civil law. Criminal law means the State can assert fines against you and possible make you serve jail time. Civil law means that you, the injured victim, have the right to recover money damages from the party that was negligent if their negligence injured you. Yes, that is an oversimplification but accurate for now.

Civil law controls the facts of the car wreck and the claim for pain and suffering. The fact that your driver’s license may have been revoked or suspended at the time of the car wreck does not make automatically at fault for causing the car wreck. The real questions for a car wreck in Kentucky are: 1) who was at fault for the car wreck; 2) who was injured in the car accident and; 3) what insurance policies can we recover from. A criminal citation, such as for having a suspended license, does not automatically change these questions or whose negligence caused the car accident. While it may play a role in the amounts recovered, it does not automatically prevent a claim for pain and suffering. Below is part of an answer I posted on Avvo.com wherein this issue was raised:

For the moment, ignore your license or lack of license issue. For a civil case, you have to show negligence on the other driver. The lack of the license does not affect the pain and suffering claim for the motor vehicle wreck. Your first step, if the Officer gave you a report number, start trying to get the accident report through buycrash.com. If you were injured, go ahead and see a doctor or hospital. The no-fault part of the State refers to the fact that your insurance company will be responsible for the first $10,000 of your medical bills even though they can, at a later date, recover them back from the other driver. If the Officer issued a citation for the lack for driver’s license, that falls under criminal law and will not affect your pain and suffering, or property damage claim, from the wreck.

Does a Slam Dunk Case Need an Attorney?

Someone posted a great question on a message-board I belong to. Essentially, the person felt that they had a slam dunk case against their own uninsured motorist coverage. For this reason, they questioned whether they should keep their personal injury attorney or fire him and save the contingency fee. I loved the question because it brings up so many areas of the law wherein misconceptions are rampant.

In the legal field, a slam dunk case is rare and not what you want.

Last year I had a slam dunk case wherein my client, a pedestrian, was hit by a car driven by a teenager who was texting at the time. My client was hospitalized for a significant amount of time so his medical expenses in the first 30 days following the car wreck were more than twice the insurance coverage on the teenager. So yes, that was a slam dunk in the sense that the insurance company did not think twice before paying offering their policy limits. Why? An insurance company can be held liable for more than the coverage purchased by their insured only in rare circumstances.

One of those circumstances, that’s pretty clear cut in nature, is when the insurance company exposes their insured to a Judgment in excess of the insurance coverage when they had a reasonable chance to settle the claim within the policy limits.

So how does a good personal injury lawyer earn their attorney’s fee in such a slam dunk case? First, they look for other insurance coverage. I did not handle the case but I consulted on a case involving a wrongful death wherein it appeared another teenage driver was insured for only $25,000 but ultimately, a seven figure insurance policy was discovered through another parent’s insurance policy. So in that case, another liability policy was discovered because the injury attorney was diligent and did not rush to settle his client’s personal injury claim.

Never Rush to Settle Your Slam Dunk Case

To put it simply, insurance coverage, depending upon the kind of insurance, can exist because someone else also owns the car, someone was in the scope of employment when the wreck occurred or because someone is a resident relative living in that household. A good personal injury lawyer does his best to track down all the different layers of insurance coverage that could apply and compensate his injured client; whether it be an additional liability policy or a policy of underinsured motorist coverage.

Also, an injured party needs to understand that they are held to the same legal requirements, whether they have an attorney or represent themselves, and ignorance of the law is not a valid defense. So if you rush to settle your claim and once you sign a bodily injury release, your claim is done.

As I tell all my clients, it does not matter how severe your injury was or when it was discovered, you sign that release your personal injury claim is resolved completely.

Strict Rules Apply for Underinsured Motorist Claims

Further, the requirements of pursuing an underinsured motorist claim, against your own company, are laid out in the statutes and must be followed to the letter. I am referring to the fact that the law sets up a required, legal procedure that must be followed wherein your own automobile insurance company must receive proper notice, according to the strict requirements of the statute, anytime you wish to accept a policy limits offer from an at-fault party. If you don’t follow the procedure, your claim for underinsured motorist coverage could be barred.

Attorneys Are Experienced Negotiators

Lastly, what good does it do you if a lawyer recovers $100,000 for you but with health insurance liens, attorney’s fees and costs eat up the majority of your personal injury settlement; obviously, the answer is none!

A good injury lawyer tries to maximize a client’s personal injury settlement with his right hand while lowering the deductions from that settlement with his left hand.

On the “slam dunk case” described above, I was able to negotiate a waiver of the health insurance lien. A health insurance lien is basically wherein your health insurance carrier says they have the right to recover from your injury settlement the medical expenses they paid on your behalf; because you recovered those medical expenses from another source, usually the at-fault party.

However, even if I had not been able to obtain a complete waiver of the health insurance lien, I needed to do my best to lower the amount the health insurance would accept and reduce any other liens/charges that might reduce my client’s net recovery. And yes, lowering an attorney’s fee is one way that can occur as well. In that case, I did that. Why? Because the client has used me before, given my name out to family members and even did a review for me on Google.

My point is you should have a mutually beneficial relationship with your injury lawyer and not be just one of a multitude of cases that they are handling in multiple states.

Worst-Case Scenario Car Wreck

It is not surprising that personal injury lawyers have a less than perfect reputation. Every time you turn a television on, you see television commercials promising “big checks” or ”making the other guy pay.” However, those ridiculous slogans are not really what personal injury law is all about.

The legal system only allows you to recover money for the damages you have suffered because of someone else’s negligence. If you think about it, a truly fair system would require that the at-fault driver help you get your car fixed, pay the cost of replacing your vehicle and not just what it was worth and assist you in getting to your doctor’s appointments.

However, if personal injury law required those things, the system would be very similar to the laws governing divorce and family law. There would be a lot of fighting among strangers over who did what, why an appointment was reasonable or not and a lot of excuses as to why somebody failed to do what the Court ordered them to do.

Protect Yourself From A Flawed, Legal System

You have to plan for the absolute worst-case scenario and purchase, on your own car insurance, the coverage you need to handle a car wreck.

Assume for instance your vehicle was hit by an unemployed, drunk driver that resulted in you being hospitalized from a car wreck. The drunk driver had no insurance, was driving another person’s vehicle that was also uninsured. Finally, you don’t have health insurance to pay your medical expenses. This sounds pretty bleak.

Think about the true effects of this worst-case scenario. The person that hit you has no insurance to pay for the damages they caused. If you get any money out of them at all, it is likely to be small amounts generated over prolonged litigation. Further, you did not have health insurance so doctors, hospitals and chiropractors are hesitant to treat you because they don’t know if you will be able to pay your medical bills.

The common misconception about personal injury law is that the other guy will be responsible for paying my medical bills and as illustrated above. This idea is 110% wrong.

Further, when a car wreck happens, it is like a photograph was taken. You can’t remove anything from that photograph and you can’t put anything in it. If you don’t have the right coverage on your own automobile insurance before the car wreck occurs, you are out of luck!

So What Could You Do?

On your own car or motorcycle insurance, without any regard to what insurance the other driver may or may not have, carry at least $100,000 per person of uninsured motorist coverage, $100,000 of underinsured motorist coverage and $30,000 of no-fault or med-pay coverage.

This legal advice applies from the first day you drive a motor vehicle. Further, even though motor vehicle law differs by states, it really does apply no matter which state your vehicle may be licensed in. Ask your local insurance agent whether they agree with my advice but I would guess 90% of them will.

So yes, tell every member of your family and your extended family, wherever they may live, about this advice in regard to car insurance and/or any motor vehicle they may own, including motorcycles.

But It’s Too Expensive

While I understand that car insurance is costly, I refuse to lower my uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage in an effort to save on my car insurance premiums. My 17 year-old daughter just got added to my insurance policy and it added about $2,200 a year to the cost of my insurance. Nevertheless, I want to know that if the worst-case scenario should ever occur, I have the means of obtaining medical treatment for my family and recovering my out of pocket expenses for permanent treatment for medical conditions that I thought would never occur.

While I understand that you may think the worst-case scenario won’t happen to you, remember that my law practice is a small, boutique firm that encounters uninsured and underinsured motorists on a daily basis.

Consider The Statistics

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, about 11.5% of Kentucky motorists and 16.7% of Indiana motorists are driving around uninsured at any given time.

Also, while Kentucky and Indiana require a motor vehicle to carry at least $25,000 per person of liability coverage, some states, Florida for example, require as little as $10,000 of liability coverage per person. Either way, how can $10,000 or $25,000 cover medical bills of $30,000 from a surgery caused by the negligence of another driver much less your lost wages, co-pays or insurance deductibles?

If you ever read one of my previous blogs, you might say that you have heard this advice from me before and it would be true. However, right now, I am dealing with:

3 cases wherein the at-fault drivers were completely uninsured
2 cases wherein I am searching for underinsured motorist coverage because the client’s Emergency Room treatment alone exceeded $25,000
1 case wherein an unexpected surgery occurred and luckily underinsured motorist coverage was on my client’s policy
1 case wherein the client did not recover the full value of her claim because the at-fault driver injured multiple people and there was not any underinsured motorist coverage to pursue.

My point being the worst-case scenario happens every day in both Indiana and Kentucky and saving a couple hundred bucks on car insurance now, can cost you thousands later on.

Get a Police Report for your Louisville Car Wreck

With the snowy weather and icy conditions, I figured it was time to discuss some general principles in regard to handling car wrecks and personal injury claims.

First, as I have preached before, please make sure all your vehicles have at least $100,000 per person of uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on any automobile insurance policies. I regularly deal with injury claims wherein the other driver had no insurance or not enough insurance to cover my client’s medical expenses much less the full value of the personal injury claim.

Second, please understand that there are no slam-dunks when it comes to personal injury law and car wrecks. Yes, generally speaking, if someone hits your vehicle in the rear-end or they were turning left in front of you, they may be at considered at fault for the wreck.

To use a legal analysis, they were negligent in causing the wreck because they breached a legal duty (e.g. following your vehicle at an unsafe distance), that breach resulted in your damages. However, the majority of injury law, until a jury reaches its final verdict, is arguments. So if you have a case wherein an insurance company has accepted all liability for a car wreck, count your blessings because they could just as easily argue that you were 10 or 20% at fault for driving too fast or because their insured cleared most of the intersection.

Third, unless you obtain a driver’s insurance company and contact information at the scene of the car wreck, we are pretty much helpless until we can obtain the police report. Without the police report, we don’t know the location of the wreck, the contact information of the at-fault driver and with which company they appear to be insured. So as a result, as a general rule, it is worth waiting for the police to investigate the car accident. Recall that buycrash.com is a great way to check for the police report and to be able to print it up on your computer. However, on a car wreck that happened this week involving several trauma victims, I have had to contact LMPD directly to obtain some additional information. In doing so, LMPD shared the following information that might also be of assistance to you:

It can normally take up to 5 business days to be completed. . . With the corrected report number, you should be able to pull it up on buycrash (once it is ready). The other two ways to get the report once it is ready is as follows:

You can mail a request along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope and $5.00 cash or check to:

LMPD Records

701 W Ormsby Ave, Suite 001

Louisville, KY 40203

You can pick up a copy at the above address. The hours of operation are Monday and Thursday 8-5, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 8-4. Reports are $5.

Lastly, get checked out by doctor, chiropractor, hospital or an immediate care center within the first couple of days after a car wreck. Not everyone wants to make a personal injury claim from a car wreck and that is okay. However, as your personal injury lawyer, the other side of the coin is that I don’t want the veracity of your injuries and pains questioned. The longer you wait to seek treatment the more an insurance company may question whether your injuries stem from the car wreck or some other incident.

Year: 2018