Car Wrecks Archives - Louisville Accident & Injury Attorney Jim Desmond

Remember the Yugo?

Does anyone else remember the Yugo? It was a car built by the former Soviet Union in the 1980’s. Its reliability was so bad that you would have been better off driving a Ford Pinto than buying that car. Well, no matter they try to claim otherwise, there is no way any personal injury attorney, including the law firms that claim to be so BIG, can make it so that Yugo can win the Indianapolis 500.

Buying car insurance is like buying an automobile. If you buy the Yugo, you may save money up front but you will have a whole lot issues with reliability, repairs, etc. However, that does not mean you need to buy a Mercedes either. You need a solid insurance policy that will protect you in most circumstances and by doing so, you give your personal injury attorney something good to work with. It does not have to be perfect insurance all the time but rather, it just has to be good enough so that we, car accident lawyers, have the means of keeping you from going backwards for a car wreck that was not your fault.

You see, as much as the critics want to claim that we are just a bunch of ambulance chasers and car wrecks are just a get rich quick scheme, the real goal of any good personal injury lawyer should be keeping their client from suffering financial hardship from a car accident that was not their fault.

Well, if you have read my blogs previously, you know that I like to rant and the chances are that this blog stems from a situation frustrating my client and me. This time, we are dealing with a three car, pile-up wherein my client is being accused of not stopping his vehicle in time; even though he was hit in the rear end and pushed into the vehicle at the front of the line.

Recall that Kentucky is a pure comparative fault state which means in a car accident case, that fault can be divided among the drivers anyway a jury wants to as long as the total adds up to 100%. In this case, the insurance company is arguing that they don’t owe 50% of the damages as those damages, allegedly, stemming from my client hitting the first vehicle that had already stopped. If I was not clear, my client was the middle car in a three-car pile-up. So, in essence, the insurance company for the at-fault company is denying fault for part of the car wreck. So, back to the Yugo and how to protect yourself.

First, all my preaching about uninsured and underinsured coverage does not apply here as all vehicles involved were insured and my client was not badly injured. However, it just as easily could have applied. If my client had a surgery from this car wreck, I could see a situation wherein underinsured coverage on his own vehicle could come into play, even if the other driver was only accepting 50% fault for the wreck.

For example, assume the client has a $100,000 surgery and the other driver was only insured for $25,000. If the insurance company is successful in asserting the 50% responsibility (based on the comparative fault issue I covered earlier), the potential liability for the at-fault driver would be $50,000. However, even if their insurance company agrees to pay the policy limit of $25,000, there’s still $25,000 of medical bills remaining, not including the client’s 50% portion ($50,000 for comparative fault). Therefore, a good lawyer would be making an injury claim against the underinsured motorist coverage for at least the other 25% of medical expenses.

So yes, to say it again, always have at least $100,000 per person of uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on your motorcycle and car insurance.

What does come into play for this wreck is the collision coverage on my client’s own automobile insurance policy. Since the at-fault carrier is unwilling to pay for all of the damage to my client’s vehicle, we can use that collision coverage to pay for the damage to the car and my client is only out his deductible. This way my client can get his car fixed and back on the road while I have time to potentially litigate the issue of fault.

What if he did not have this collision coverage?

Then we would be between a rock and a hard place because he has a car that needs repairs to be operational and yet, he has no way of paying for these repairs. To complicate matters, lawsuits wherein we are trying to prove to a jury that the other driver was at fault, usually last anywhere from 18 months to several years.

In essence, we would need time to prove the other driver caused the wreck and of course, the client does not have time because he would be without a vehicle. So back to the original point which is, the better insurance you buy before the car wreck happens the greater tools you give a car accident lawyer to work with if an accident occurs. After all, the Yugo will get you there, but it may not have been the best option in the long run.

For more information, listen to my Kentucky Auto Accident Podcast or watch some of my personal injury videos on the website. Remember, you can always call me on my cell phone at (502) 609-7657.

Questions about Car Wrecks – Part 1

Episode 13: On today’s episode, Jim Desmond answers Frequently Asked Questions. Let’s face it, it is hard to understand the law if you aren’t a lawyer and even if you are one, it can still be challenging to work through all of the issues involved in car wrecks. Today we will be answering questions and hopefully be able to help you to better understand when auto accidents.

Do I have a personal injury claim if I do not have car insurance?

The answer is yes. This happens to be one of the biggest things that people mess up. In Kentucky, if you don’t have car insurance, you cannot recover the first $10,000 of your medical bills. In Indiana, there is not a penalty. If the other driver is at fault and insured, then you still have a personal injury claim. If you are unsure or turned away from other law firms, it’s important to keep trying. It is very important to try to be insured because then you won’t be penalized and there’s a possibility to make an underinsured claim, which says basically that your damages are more than what you may be recovering from the at-fault driver.

Why do I have to use my car insurance for the medical bills if I was not the one who caused the wreck?

In Kentucky, the idea is that you should not have to show fault or liability on a driver to get your medical treatment. If you get in a car accident, no matter how it happens, you are immediately entitled to $10,000 in medical expense coverage, which is called no-fault insurance. It’s not just your medical expenses covered, it also can apply to loss wages and loss of services and this even goes for the passengers of the car. It doesn’t mean you can’t recover the $10,000 back, you just have to pay it up front. The reason that Kentucky has that is because in exchange for that right, we give up the right to recover the first $10,000 in medical bills. It’s good because you have money there that can help you if you were to get hurt. The first question when it comes to car accidents is who is insured and for how much?

How do I get my car fixed after a car wreck?

You have two ways to get your car fixed. The first is when you are in an accident, police will usually arrive and take the drivers’ insurance and stories. After that, you wait for your police report, because that gives you the other driver’s information. This allows your attorney to contact the other driver’s insurance company to start a claim. Unless the person who hit you takes responsibility, the insurance company is allowed to investigate the case. The issue if they don’t take responsibility, is your car will just sit there. The second is if you have collision coverage on your car, you can use that. The downside of this is you lose your deductible. Later, you can get this back if the other driver is at fault.

How do I get the rental car extended?

If your car is fixable and at a repair shop, it won’t be that hard to get it extended because the body shop should be staying in touch with the insurance and keeping them updated. When the car is a total loss, they will owe you fair market value. This can be hard because you may have put a lot of money into the car to keep it driving, but they will see it as it is. Sometimes you can argue for more, but there’s really no way around it. When your car is totaled, the insurance company will limit how long you will get to use a rental car for, the average is usually 10-14 days from the day of the accident.

If you’re in an accident and the other insurance is not accepting fault right away, what should the driver do?

You should open the claim and talk to a lawyer. Many times, they will send investigators out and look at the area. Sometimes, we’re lucky enough to find cameras which may have recorded the accident. Another important thing is to get the witnesses’ information and don’t rely on the police officer. Sometimes people’s numbers change, or numbers can be wrong, so it is important to have those contacts. If you are waiting for the other driver to accept fault, they do have a reasonable amount of time to go through everything with their insurance and to investigate. Usually the more information you have, the faster it will be.

Why would I involve my health insurance if the other side hasn’t paid my medical bills yet?

The first thing to understand is that the other side won’t pay anything until they pay for everything at once. They do this so they won’t be making multiple payments. The other insurance adjuster will try to dispute everything and try to see if your injuries could be from preexisting issues. Usually, before you are seen, they will want to use your medical insurance for co-pays, which you’ll have to pay to get treated. One key step is to reserve the no-fault coverage, because that $10,000 can be used to pay things like co-pays or deductibles.

Are attorney fees negotiable?

Yes. There is no law that requires an attorney to ask for a certain amount for personal injury cases. The standard for a car wreck case is 1/3 of what you recover and 40% if it goes to a lawsuit. Most injury lawyers use contingency fees, which means the client owes nothing unless something is recovered. It costs 1/3 because some cases can take more than a year to resolve.

Will I make more money going to court rather than settling a few months in?

If you go to trial, it’s like walking into a casino because you are trying to convince 12 people that your claim is worth so much money. On the other side, the defense is saying your claim is not worth that much. A lot of people think suing will get you more money, but that’s not always the case. It really depends on the value of the case. Court costs also become extremely expensive and very timely.

For more information about Louisville Car Wreck Attorney Jim Desmond, visit www.AttorneyDesmond.com.

Important Disclaimers:

The information provided on this podcast is for general informational purposes only. It should not be construed as legal advice and does not constitute an attorney-client relationship. You should seek the advice of an attorney for guidance related to your specific situation. I am only licensed in Kentucky and Indiana, so the general advice provided may not apply outside of those states.

This podcast maybe freely shared, but may not be the modified or edited in any way. This is an attorney advertisement. Principal office is located in Louisville, KY. Co-host Jim Ray is a non-attorney spokesperson.

Why Attention to Detail Matters

Episode 11: Louisville personal injury attorney Jim Desmond discuss why he wrote a controversial blog post. He demonstrates why attention to detail matters to him and his clients. A lady called to see if he could help. She had already been turned down by two other larger firms. Jim was able to figure out that actually, a fairly significant case did exist. Let’s talk about why this happens.

Many of the advertising law firms are very competent attorneys. However, when there are a ton of cases coming in, the process matters. Not every case will get the attention it may require. This is especially true if the case isn’t being handled by an actual attorney.

Some television ads mention how a specific firm may have tremendous financial resources to handle your case. That’s true, but it doesn’t matter if the attorney never really gets the time to work on your case. Large marketing budgets and staffs require a tremendous amount of case volume to support those overhead issues.

When an attorney, like Jim Desmond, has the time to investigate the facts and details of your case, there’s a good chance that an effective strategy can be developed, assuming the case itself has merit. Small discrepancies in the facts can lead to significant outcomes. An attorney needs to assess all of the factors, develop a strategy for the case and begin pounding away at the facts of the case. This takes time and attention to execute.

If you’ve been in an accident, the evidence is critical. Photographs, witness statements and other types of evidence help to support your attorney’s argument in the severity of the case, the resulting damages and the value of your case. An experienced personal injury attorney knows how to gather these elements and how to use them. Non-attorney staff members may not have that level of experience.

Jim discusses various ways he handles cases in an effort to maximize the settlement and the funds the client keeps, once all is said and done. This is extremely important when health insurance liens are involved. Kentucky provides no-fault insurance, which should often be reserved to enable other sources of funds to be used before tapping into the no-fault funds, if possible.

The facts of each case are unique to that specific situation. How the case is approached and managed may be very different, because the evidence and the related issues require specific steps to benefit the client’s objectives. A general approach (or template) doesn’t apply. It’s why when handling a legal case, attention to detail matters.

COVID-19 Impacts Law Firms, Too

The system has slowed down for a variety of reasons. However, the process is still moving forward. Staying organized and carefully monitoring the documentation is even more important when others may not be responding as quickly. Let’s be honest, the “normal” way of doing things has been disrupted.

Jim takes specific steps to ensure PPE measures are taken when he’s meeting with clients, during the COVID-19 crisis. Much of the contact can be done over the phone, via mail and other methods. It depends on what the individual client is comfortable with, at this time.

The key is to keep a client informed of the steps that are being taken, behind the scenes. A lot of what goes on may not involve/require direct interaction with the client, but a good attorney will keep the client up to date on what’s going on so they know the case is moving.

For more information about Louisville Personal Injury Attorney Jim Desmond, visit www.AttorneyDesmond.com.

Important Disclaimers:

Don’t Trust The Television Advertising Lawyers!

Why do I balk about using a big, law firm to handle your personal injury claim? It is all about customer service and knowing the details of your injury claim.

I worked at a big, television advertising law firm for over four years. Guess what? First, those firms have an attitude of arrogance. Why? Because your single, personal injury claim is not going to make or break them. If things don’t work out with your car wreck, they will just move on to the next one.

Second, when you are handling a bunch of cases at once, it is hard to concentrate on the details of a personal injury claim. The problem being that you know what really drives the value of a personal injury claim, the details of that claim!

For example, I am presently handling the injury claim of someone severely injured in a motorcycle wreck. All indications are to date that the medical bills alone will far exceed the liability coverage on the at-fault driver and the underinsured motorist coverage available on the motorcycle’s insurance policy. Nevertheless, there is a chance that the at-fault vehicle was owned by a car dealership at the time of the motorcycle accident and therefore, this insurance of that car dealership may apply. This is hugely important as it MAY increase the possible personal injury settlement by over 10 times since now, there may be enough insurance coverage to cover my client’s injury claim.

Why do I think the car dealership might have to provide insurance coverage? Because I took the time to run the title of the at-fault vehicle and despite several times being told there were no such documents, I obtained copies of the title history which shows that the car dealership owned the at-fault vehicle on the day of the motorcycle wreck. In other words, having the time and commitment to really focus on the facts of this one motorcycle wreck might substantially increase my client’s personal injury settlement.

To give you another example, I had a phone call last year that I want to share with you because it made me mad! Not because the caller did anything wrong but because the injured victim was given incompetent advice about car accidents from two different law firms that spend a whole lot of money on television advertising every year.

The potential client was in a severe car wreck that resulted in surgery. Because of the COVID virus shutdowns, she was unemployed and had let her car insurance lapse, prior to the car wreck. Due to this lack of insurance and the fact that Kentucky is a no-fault state, she was INCORRECTLY told by two big law firms, that advertise on television, that she did not have a personal injury claim even though she was not at fault for the car wreck. Wrong! We settled that claim for more than the state minimum of $25,000 and because we used the client’s health insurance to pay her medical bills, since there was not any no-fault coverage to pay those medical bills, the client still walked away with about 60% of the total settlement; even after deductions for attorney’s fee and case costs.

To say it again, and as illustrated by the above-discussed personal injury claim, the fact that Kentucky is a no-fault state means that the insurance company for the vehicle you are in, regardless of the fact that this is not the at-fault vehicle, covers the first $10,000 of your medical bills and lost wages. That’s it! It does not mean you don’t have a personal injury claim.

If your car, was not insured, you cannot recover the first $10,000 of your medical bills and lost wages. So, if you have a surgery bill for $50,000, you can only recover $40,000 of that surgery bill from the at-fault driver’s insurance if your vehicle was not insured. Big whoop! You still have a claim for $40,000 in medical bills AND your claim for pain and suffering.

I established Desmond Law Office 15 years ago and from day one, I only handled car and motorcycle wrecks. I think I have done this long enough to figure out a way to get around the penalty for being uninsured. However, if you go with a big firm and only speak to a “case manager” and not your injury lawyer, good luck with getting around such a penalty. After, as discussed above, one of my clients was given bad information by two television attorneys and had she listened to that advice, the recovery on her personal injury claim would have been $0.

Further, I want to say something about the big law firms. As many of my injured clients know, I spent a large part of my career working for a television advertiser; so I am speaking from experience. These firms bring in a large number of personal injury claims every year by spending over $1,000,000 a year on television advertising.

If you allow a big firm to handle your personal injury claim, you are a little fish in their big pond. When the case does not have enough value or the client becomes too high maintenance, they often let the case go and move on to another personal injury claim, generated from their large advertising budget.

Whether it is my firm or another law firm, let the attorney handle your car wreck where your case is going to be the big fish in their little pond. From over 25 years of practicing law, I promise you that you will get more bang for your buck with this small guy. After all, can you reach your injury attorney on his cell phone? All of my clients can!

Unlike the television advertising lawyers, I am not going to tell you that every pile of dog poop is worth money. I will, however, make sure that you know what your legal rights are so you can make an informed decision about the damage to your car, your medical treatment and your personal injury claim!

I am still working during this lockdown. I will come to you if you can’t come to me and I always wear a mask. If you have been injured in a car accident or a motorcycle wreck, quit listening to the nonsense and empty promises made by the TV advertising lawyers. Instead, call me directly on my cell phone and get immediate answers to your problems. It is really that simple.

All the best and stay safe during this crisis.

More on Car Wrecks Involving Workers’ Comp Claims

Episode 8: In Part 2 of this conversation, Louisville automobile accident attorney Jim Desmond continues his discussion with Louisville workers’ compensation attorney Scott Scheynost about how a collision might involve both an auto accident claim and a workers’ comp claim.

There are more options if a workers’ compensation is involved in your automobile accident case. Rather than simply having to rely on the at-fault drivers’ insurance policy (and potentially your own UM/UIM coverage), Kentucky’s workers’ comp system provides more benefits.

What if a Work-Related Accident Results in Death?

Jim and Scott describe a previous case involving a work-related fatality. Workers’ compensation benefits are often tied to the amount of money you were earning, prior to the accident. However, under the current workers’ comp system, there’s a significant lump sum death benefit amount that’s paid directly to the deceased worker’s estate. The current amount is approximately $85,000. This amount is not related to your earnings.

Your dependents may also be able to receive benefits, based on the amount of money you were making.

How Do Workers’ Comp Attorney’s Fees Differ from Personal Injury Attorney’s Fees?

While a typical personal injury lawyer may charge a 1/3 fee (33%) or more of any financial award in an automobile case, under Kentucky’s workers’ compensation law, workers’ comp lawyer fees are limited to 20%, up to a maximum of $18,000.

Can worker’s comp benefits be disputed?

There may be a valid argument that an employee may have decided to deviate from his/her work-related travel. Generally, minor deviations during the day may still be covered. For instance, stopping off at a restaurant for lunch, pulling into a rest area to use the restroom. It really depends on how far the driver went for a non-work-related activity.

If the workers’ compensation is successful in arguing the employee made enough of a deviation that the accident is not covered, the employee still has the option of pursuing a normal auto accident claim. Remember, if it is work-related, the claim will be handled as a workers’ compensation claim. That system is considered “primary.”

Are Independent Contractors Covered by the Employer if They’re in an Accident?

The employer’s control over the laborer or independent contractor, may legally require the employer’s workers’ compensation coverage to pay benefits. The more say a company has in the activities, tools, etc., the higher the amount of control over the activities of that individual. In this case, the law may actually consider the independent contractor to be eligible for workers’ comp.

If the employer doesn’t have workers’ compensation coverage, the government has a fund to cover these situations, if someone qualifies. This is the Kentucky Uninsured Employers Fund.

A personal injury attorney can handle the property damage and a auto accident claim for pain and suffering. The workers’ compensation attorney will handle the medical expenses claim. There’s also a possibility that both can use a permanent impairment as part of the multiple claims. If your attorneys can work together, you may have multiple options for recovering compensation for the issues related to the collision.

Can Company Executives File for Benefits if Injured Traveling for Business?

For more highly-compensated employees (e.g. managers or executives) who are injured while traveling for business, their medical expenses could be covered, but there is still a limit on the Temporary Total Disability (TTD) payments, because they are capped at 2/3 or your average weekly income. There’s also a cap on the dollar amount of your TTD (currently it’s approximately $900).

If the individual is traveling outside of Kentucky, Kentucky workers’ comp coverage should still apply, in addition to potential automobile accident coverage (e.g. UM/UIM), if they were driving. It’s also possible that local coverage may apply, enabling the individual to choose which system to use.

For more information about Louisville Personal Injury Attorney Jim Desmond, visit www.AttorneyDesmond.com.

For more information about Louisville Worker’s Compensation Attorney Scott Scheynost, visit http://www.scheynostlaw.com/.

Important Disclaimers:

Category: Car Wrecks

Do I have a personal injury claim if I do not have car insurance?

Why do I have to use my car insurance for the medical bills if I was not the one who caused the wreck?

How do I get my car fixed after a car wreck?

How do I get the rental car extended?

If you’re in an accident and the other insurance is not accepting fault right away, what should the driver do?

Why would I involve my health insurance if the other side hasn’t paid my medical bills yet?

Are attorney fees negotiable?

Will I make more money going to court rather than settling a few months in?

I UNDERSTAND! You Need Simple, Immediate, Experienced Legal Advice.