Personal Injury Archives

Beware of TV Advertising Lawyers: Why You Shouldn’t Trust Them!

Jim Desmond discusses television advertising attorneys

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.

LMPD May Not Show Up for Your Wreck

LMPD indicated yesterday that they will not be responding to non-injury car wreck and/or hit and run accidents. So, stop and think about the fact that when a car accident happens, you potentially have four claims immediately: 1) a claim for the damage to your vehicle; 2) a claim for the loss of use of your vehicle while it is being repaired or because it was a total loss; 3) a claim for any medical bills stemming from any injuries sustained in the car wreck and; 4) a claim for your pain and suffering. Even though LMPD may not show up, you should be proactive.

For the moment, just concentrate on 1 & 2 and realize that without a police report, YOU have the burden on obtaining detailed information so that you can get your car fixed! As a result, let’s discuss what steps YOU need to take as a consumer should you be in a car accident.

If there is not going to be a police report, the biggest change is realizing that the burden of getting detailed information about the car accident will fall to you! So, remember the old phrase that a picture is worth 1,000 words! The easiest way to gather information is to pull out your smart phone and go crazy by capturing the information through photographs.

What kind of information do you need?

Where did the car wreck happen? Insurance carriers will want street names, cross-streets. You should note any landmarks that might be useful later on. Make a note as to which direction both drivers were traveling and on what street. Take photographs of the street signs.
Take photographs of the location of the vehicles and the damaged area of each vehicle. Take a picture of the license plate of the other vehicle. For a Kentucky plate, we can run the license plate through the County Clerk and find out the insurance information for the last time that vehicle was registered.
You are going to want the name, phone number and address of the other driver(s). You can find liability insurance for a car wreck on the driver of a vehicle or on the vehicle itself. As a result, you will want to know 4) does the other driver own the car they were operating? If not, get the name, address and phone number of the vehicle’s owner.

Be Proactive at the Crash Scene, Because LMPD May Not Show Up.

Get the name and policy number of the other driver’s insurance carrier. When I call a claim into an insurance company, the first issue is can we locate an insurance policy on the at-fault driver. As a result, the more information I have, the better. So, take a picture of the at-fault driver’s license plate, insurance card, the vin number of the vehicle and the make and model of the vehicle. Correct, some of this may be overkill and you may not need to take all these steps. However, realize that without a police report, your personal injury claim against the at-fault driver will turn into an uninsured motorist claim against your own insurance carrier unless we know who hit you and who they are insured with. On that note, recall that Kentucky uninsured motorist coverage does not cover your vehicle; you need collision coverage for the property damage claim. So again, the lessen is go overboard on getting the information while you can so you can get your car repaired.
For a hit and run accident, remember the law does not want me to hit a tree and then have a personal injury claim because I said someone ran me off the road. As a result, the law essentially requires contact between the two vehicles. Now, because LMPD may not show up, you need to create documentation. So, if you are involved in a hit and run car wreck and can’t get a police report, take a bunch of photographs. Take photographs of the damage to your car and the accident scene while at the scene of the wreck.
Look for surveillance video that may have captured the car wreck at the surrounding businesses. It has become a regular part of my legal practice to look for videos of the car wreck. Why? Because when someone tries to argue my client was at fault for the car wreck, it is the best way to prove otherwise.
Insurance carriers are going to be more likely to ask you to give a recorded statement if there is not a police report. Insurance companies have to investigate a claim, even property damage, and a recorded statement is one way to do that. While I am not a fan of recorded statements, they do seem more necessary when there is no police report. As a result, my advice to you is to remember what you hear on television, “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a Court of law.” So, don’t minimize your injuries and don’t guess at facts you don’t know. Usually, I like my clients to give the recorded statement to their own insurance carrier and then get that insurance carrier to share the statement with the at-fault driver’s carrier. Also, more importantly, if you did your job and collected a bunch of photographs, get those photographs to both insurance carriers. It may prevent the need for a recorded statement.

For additional information, you can listen to my podcast episode on What to Do after a Car Wreck. It provides some additional tips for your consideration.

I hope this article provides you with with some valuable information you and your loved ones my need, during the next few weeks and/or months, especially because LMPD may not show up. If you need to speak with me, you can call my cell phone at (502) 609-7657. Please drive safely.

Personal Injury and the Corona Virus

As a personal injury lawyer, I did not expect to have to comment on the coronavirus. However, several phone calls I recently received have made a couple of points worth mentioning.
1)    I am still open and doing business. If you have a legal question about a car accident, I am still answering my cell phone and will continue to do so.
2)    Many aspects of a personal injury claim can be handled electronically if that makes you more comfortable.
3)    Yes, I am happy to come to you to meet with you or we can handle most of the initial sign up over the phone.
4)    If a doctor’s office is closed because of the virus, we can find you another one where you can continue your treatment. I know of some doctors who will even come to you.
5)    Most importantly, from what I am hearing about the virus, I expect the U.S. economy is going to suffer a downturn.  Because of this downturn, there is a strong likelihood that more drivers will not have car insurance or will lower their liability coverage in an effort to save money. As a result, it is all the more important that you realize that the other driver may not have enough insurance coverage to pay the medical bills from your car wreck or any of your other out of pocket expenses.
6)    As a result, the need to have at least $100,000 per person of uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, on your own automobile insurance, is all the more important.

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.

Category: Personal Injury

Protect Yourself From A Flawed, Legal System

So What Could You Do?

But It’s Too Expensive

Consider The Statistics