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Tag: injury

We’re Getting Better, but Kentucky Needs to Buckle Their Seat Belts More Often

 

 

Seat belts save lives, and reduce the severity of many injuries in a car crash.  We’re getting better, but Kentucky needs to buckle their seat belts more often.  In 2011, there were 537 people who lost their lives in Kentucky car wreck.  Only 230 of these individuals, or 43%, were wearing seat belts.  Most people killed in Kentucky car accidents were not wearing a seat belt.  The latest year we have data for is 2015.  We improved a bit, as 44% of those who lost their lives in a car crash were wearing seat belts.  This is a 1% improvement over 5 years, but we can do a lot better.

Seat belts save lives

The percentages for those who were injured are very similar.  The fact is you are less likely to be seriously injured or killed in a car accident if you wear a seat belt.  After more than 20 years of representing people who are injured in Kentucky and Indiana I can tell you to buckle up.  The forces inside a car during a crash are powerful.  A person who is not restrained is moved very quickly in multiple directions during the few seconds at impact.  This results in multiple injuries that could be avoided.  Seat belts help to reduce the injuries to your back and neck.  They also keep you in a more protected posture instead of hitting the windshield or one of the support beams in the car.

No one leaves their house expecting to be in a car crash.  If you fasten your seat belt you significantly increase the chances of returning home safely.  If you are involved in an accident you have a much better chance of reducing or eliminating injury altogether by wearing your seat belt.

Kentucky needs to buckle their seat belts more often to reduce the amount of injuries each year.  If you are injured in a car crash caused by someone else I will help to ensure you recover as much as possible to cover your medical bills, lost wages and other expenses.  Always seek medical treatment after an accident (even if you don’t think you were injured) and call me on my phone at [number] for a free consultation.

Filed Under: Car Wrecks Tagged With: car wrecks, injured, injury, seat belt

Car Accidents at Intersections Result in Many Serious Injuries

Kentucky Car Accident Attorney IndianaCar accidents at intersections often result in more serious and sometimes fatal injuries.  Most people may think the most dangerous and serious accidents occur on two lane rural highways, and they would be right.  Recent car crash data tells us a new trend is developing.  Why are accidents in an intersection more dangerous?

One reason is the design of a modern car.  Engineers have designed cars to absorb more energy and protect the occupants when the car is struck head-on or from behind.   There is less to protect the driver and passengers in a car wreck when the impact comes from the side.  Another reason is the increasing use of phones to text or email while driving.  These “distracted drivers” are causing almost as many serious accidents as those who drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

The Federal Highway Administration recently reported there were 2.5 million accidents involving injury in intersections.  40% of accidents in the US happen at an intersection.  The vast majority serious injuries in these accidents and those which involved fatalities were left hand turns.  Many of these drivers were attempting to hurry through a light as it changed.  In my 20 years of experience I’ve also noticed that many of these accidents happen because people were:

  • Speeding or driving too fast for the conditions
  • Attempting to drive straight through the intersection as the light is changing or after the light is red
  • Turning left due to pressure from another driver honking their horn or pressuring them to move
  • Turning left when a large vehicle such as a truck or SUV is blocking part of their view
  • Turning on wet or icy roads or into a bright sun

Car accidents at intersections result in more serious injuries and many fatalities.  Be very careful when you enter an intersection and take that extra moment to make sure it’s clear before turning left.  If you are injured in a car crash at an intersection seek immediate medical treatment, and call me on my phone for a free consultation at [number].

Filed Under: Car Wrecks Tagged With: accident, injured, injury, intersection

What Does it Mean to Stack Insurance Coverage

Insurance CoverageWhat does it mean to stack insurance coverage in a Louisville area injury accident under Kentucky or Indiana Law?  Kentucky law allows stacking of uninsured and underinsured motorist benefits depending upon how the insurance policy is written. Indiana does not allow insurance policies to be stacked.

Simply put, stacking refers to recovering insurance polices from more than one applicable policy. In other words, you have $25,000 of uninsured motorist coverage on your Volvo, Chevrolet and your motorcycle. Stacking would say that you have $75,000 of coverage because you have 3 policies of insurance with $25,000 on each policy.

By stacking coverage from more than one car or motorcycle insurance policy the injured party can increase the total amount of his recovery, assuming the value of his claim is worth more than the just the initial insurance policy.

For example, if you own three vehicles: a Buick, a Toyota and a Ford Truck.  On all three of these vehicles, you made sure you put $100,000 of underinsured motorist coverage on each automobile policy. Well stacking means that since you effectively bought three $100,000 policies of underinsured motorist coverage, you have $300,000 of underinsured motorist benefits available to you; even though you were only in one of your vehicles at the time of the accident.

Insurance companies are not fond of stacking because it ultimately means that they may have to pay out more money to settle your personal injury claim. As a result, they have now written most insurance policies so that stacking does not occur. They do this by making it so that you have one policy of insurance that covers you no matter which vehicle you are riding in at the time of the wreck.

attorney Jim Desmond discusses stacking insurance coverages

Now, let me explain to you how this concept can work when dealing with a car wreck. I had a gentlemen approach me about a case wherein his first medical bill was $22,000 and the at-fault driver was only insured for $25,000.  I looked at the automobile policy and there was no underinsured motorist coverage on his Toyota. Nevertheless, we were able to get my client’s underinsured motorist coverage from his other automobile insurance that covered his Cadillac.

Very simply, to avoid stacking, his insurance company wrote the underinsured coverage so that it would apply regardless of the vehicle he was operating. In this case, it meant we had an additional $25,000 in insurance coverage we could go after.

Is it possible to stack insurance coverage in your situation, and how would that affect the amount of money you receive?  I would need to see your whole policy and see how your benefits are defined therein.  As a result, I suggest you contact me at (502) 609-7657 and we discuss this matter further.

Filed Under: General Blog Tagged With: accident, injury, insurance coverage, personal injury, policy, stack, stacking, underinsured motorist, uninsured

How Do I Protect Myself in These Circumstances?

Louisville Injury attorney Indiana car accident lawyerCar accidents in Kentucky and Indiana are rarely “straight forward.”  Each case is unique and the circumstances, witnesses, and even applicable laws are different based upon where and how the crash happened.  Insurance companies will always try to minimize the amount the pay, and that is usually at the expense of someone who is hurt.  This is why you need an experienced injury attorney when you are injured in an accident.  I want these blogs to help answer the question of “What should I know and how do I protect myself in these circumstances?”

I have been dealing with a new a car wreck case that I think really illustrates some of the problems people can encounter when fault for a car wreck is not clear or is disputed.  When I met with the client she described that the car wreck occurred late at night, at an intersection and without witnesses.  Based upon what she told me and what we saw on the police report, I knew that we would be dealing with  a he said / she said situation wherein both drivers claimed they entered the intersection on a green light.  Obviously, unless I can show complete or partial negligence on the part of the other driver, I can’t recover my client’s property damage or personal injury claim.

To my client’s credit, she thought “What can I do and how do i protect myself here?” and took pictures at the accident scene. More importantly, she mentioned to me that she saw several security cameras at a nearby business that may have captured the automobile accident on video.  Luckily, she was correct. I sent an investigator to this business and she was able to obtain a copy of a video that showed the other driver ran the red light.  The problem is that the insurance company still did not want to accept complete fault for the car wreck.  They stated:

“We do believe our insured driver contributed the majority of negligence in the accident.  Within a second after impact, our insured’s light turned green which leads us to believe that your client would have had a yellow light. Your client would have contributed some negligence for lookout as she should have used caution when going thru the intersection and should have realized our insured as coming thru the intersection.”

comparative fault being claimed by the insurance company of the at-fault driver

In other words, they are trying to argue comparative fault on my client. Kentucky is what is known as a pure comparative fault state and Indiana is a modified comparative fault.  What this means in Kentucky is that if you are found to be 99% at fault for a car wreck by a jury, you can still recover 1% of your damages.  In Indiana, you have to be less at fault than the other driver. So if a jury finds that your negligence was responsible for 50% or more of the car wreck, your claim is barred completely and you can recover zero of your damages.

In this case, I have argued to the insurance company that their position is based upon conjecture as they really do not have any testimony supporting their argument.  While my argument appears to have gotten me past several hurdles for now, their argument is not completely dead and it sets up several problems for the future.

The question “what do I need to know and how do I protect myself from this circumstance?” goes farther than what happens before the accident.  Let’s just say, for example, that my client agrees to accept just 10% of the fault for this car wreck to keep the injury claim in the pre-litigation phase and avoid the possibility of a lawsuit for now. First, the other driver, and his insurance company, would have the right to recover 10% of his damages, and any amounts paid by his insurance company, from my client or her insurance coverage.   This might result in an increase in her insurance premium.  Moreover, we have to make sure that she has enough insurance to cover all these damages.  In Kentucky and Indiana, an insurance policy can have as little as $10,000 in coverage to cover the physical damage caused by a car wreck.  If the other guy was driving a new Lexus that was a total loss, the value of the 10% property damage claim alone might still exceed the $10,000 in insurance coverage.   Second, this comparative fault argument creates a conflict of interest.

As a personal injury lawyer, I am governed by rules of ethics established by the Bar Association for each state I am licensed to practice in.  The gist of several of these rules is that I always have to act in my client’s best interest.  If my driver has a passenger in her car and I am acting as the attorney for both individuals, how can I act in everyone’s best interest?  To recover 100% of the passenger’s damages, I have to make a claim against both drivers. If I make a claim against my own client, I am obviously not acting in her best interest.  This is why I would either have to get the conflict of interest waived by both clients or refer the passenger to another attorney.

So with these blogs, I always like to answer the question of  “What do I kneed to know and how do I protect myself from this circumstance?”  The honest answer on this scenario is that it is hard to do.  However, if I am in a car wreck, I would do my best to take pictures of the accident scene immediately after the wreck and I would obtain/retain the contact information for any witnesses, independent of what was contained on the police report.  I would also always see a doctor within 24 hours of the accident, even if you think you weren’t injured at all.

Also, while I hate to say it again, you should always consider “What can happen and how do I protect myself ahead of time?” by what insurance coverage you put on your own automobile insurance policy ; insurance coverage such as collision and rental car coverage.  Yes, this results in a higher insurance premium. However, it allows you to submit the claims for your car damage to your insurance company rather than be forced to accept a split of liability, that you are not comfortable with, in order to get your car back on the road quickly.  Ultimately, through a lawsuit or arbitration, your insurance company, through what is known as a subrogation claim, will try to get whatever they paid out on your behalf from the other driver’s insurance company.

I preach a lot in these blogs that there is nothing in Kentucky or Indiana law that guarantees you that 100%  percent of the time the at-fault driver will have insurance, or enough insurance, to cover all your claims stemming from the car wreck.   Well, this is kind of a similar corollary.  As long as an insurance company has a reasonable basis in law or fact for their position, there really is nothing preventing them from telling you to prove a case in a court of law and convince a jury that your position is the right position.  As a result, you, as an active motorist, has to take steps to make sure you are protected, before the car wreck occurs.  “What do I kneed to know and how do I protect myself as much as is reasonably possible?”  Usually, that means making sure your own automobile insurance has the right kind of coverage or that you can afford the loss (e.g. paying for your own rental car) should you encounter a situation with disputed fault.

Filed Under: Insurance Issues Tagged With: car wreck, injury, insurance, personal injury attorney, protect

How Do I Value My Personal Injury Claim

How do I value my personal injury claim after a car, truck or motorcycle accident in the Louisville area?

First and foremost, the only one who can give you a reasonably accurate value for your personal injury claim is an experienced personal injury lawyer that has looked at all your medical records and bills.

Therefore, anyone who promises you they can get you “X” dollars from the start, is just trying to get you to sign up with their law firm.

Please don’t listen to your friends as they will tell you that they know of someone who did not get hurt, or did not get hurt as bad as you,  and he/she recovered $25,000.  While I wish that were the case, it most likely is not.  Insurance companies are not in the business of just handing out money and they fight before they just hand over money to an injured person.

Also, you don’t try to use standard formulas like three times your medical expenses.  Those formulas existed in the past and are no longer used by insurance carriers. These assumptions will take you down the wrong road and you may end up in a lawsuit because of false expectations.

Until someone looks at all of your medical records, no attorney can really provide you with a value for your case.  A case value depends upon a multitude of factors including: amount of property damage; length of treatment; type of treatment; lost wages; pre-existing medical conditions existing before the accident; liability for the accident; aggravating circumstances such as a drunk driver; insurance company involved and; prior experience with this particular insurance adjuster.

Honestly, rather than the value of your personal injury claim, let’s concentrate on getting you the medical attention you need to get better, figuring out how to get your medical bills paid and deciding how to minimize your medical expenses so that we can ultimately maximize the net recovery from your personal injury claim. After all, it does no good to recover a large sum on your personal injury claim only to have these funds go out the window to lawyer’s and doctors.

Also, I see many attorneys act like realtors when they first speak to a potential client and promise that the world to sign up the case.  Realtors, to obtain a house listing, have no problem using the figures you want to believe your house is worth only to tell you six months later, “Sorry I was wrong and the market changed.”  I won’t do that.  I am not going to promise you the moon and let you get your hopes up only to change my story once the first low offer comes in from the insurance carrier.

The answer to the question How do I value my personal injury claim is actually pretty complicated.

As an attorney who knows other attorneys who also have extensive personal injury practices, I have an advantage that you don’t.  Many times, without revealing information protected by the attorney-client privilege, I will discuss your case with attorney friends of mine so I can get their input as what they believe the case is worth.  Basically, I want to make sure that I am accurately valuing your personal injury claim.  After all, as an attorney who is always advocating for you, it is easy to start believing our own hype.  I don’t want to put you through the rigors of a lawsuit unless I am sure that the case justifies it and the insurance company has incorrectly valued the claim.

How do I value my personal injury claim after a car, truck or motorcycle accident in the Louisville area?  If you want an attorney who will give you a straightforward, honest evaluation of your case, I can do that. Call me on my phone, [number], so that we can discuss it.

Filed Under: Personal Injury Tagged With: accident, claim, injury, personal injury, value

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