Information And Ideas About Personal Injury Is In The Following Article
Personal injury is a serious matter and you should never take it lightly. If a party can be held responsible for your injuries because of their negligence, consider filing a lawsuit against them. Even if you lose, you've tried to help. For more insight and advice, read on.
Make sure that you provide thorough details of your accident when you're recounting your ordeal in writing. Whether a broken arm or cut, talk about every physical problem. If you notice more things later, then remember to write them down. Also, think about your mental state after experiencing the accident, like being scared to drive.
If you are considering hiring an attorney, set up a consultation first. Generally, this consultation should be free, but make sure you clarify this point before you head into the meeting. If a fee is involved, it is likely that lawyer will charge other fees as well, like a retainer, and you may want to move on as a result.
You can get paid even if you suffer from a condition already. Be open with your lawyer about all of this when you speak to him. You don't want that surprised to show up in court!
Ask your friends and family for personal injury lawyer referrals. There are countless personal injury lawyers out there, due to the large amount of money that they can make, but that does not mean that they are all good. If you do not already have a lawyer in mind you should seek the help of those that you know and trust.
Avoid flashy advertisements from lawyers as these are usually not the good ones. These ads have a bad stigma, and you cannot really see how sincere they are through the screen. Always rely on in-person meetings before making any concrete decisions.
Choosing a local lawyer is your best bet for many reasons, but the most important is that they have to be accountable to you. You will be able to literally go into their office if you need to get their attention. This is impossible over email, Skype or on the phone.
Carefully read legal advertisements of personal-injury lawyers to determine the legitimacy of the practice. Sometimes, a lawyer will guarantee that they will win for you when this is an impossible situation to predict. Skip over these lawyers as they are simply trying to reel you in for the money you bring to the table.
The personality of your lawyer is just as important as their experience in personal injury law. You need to choose a lawyer who lets you play a role in your case. You should be in touch with them frequently so you can update them on any information you have and vice click here versa.
When choosing between large and small firms, you will likely be torn. Large firms have many attorneys to choose from, but they often pass off their work to newbies who do not have a great deal of experience. Smaller firms will be more focused on your case, but they won't offer selection.
You must know what policies are held by the defendant in a personal injury suit. Sometimes people or businesses are covered by multiple policies. If you ask and they are not willing to give you this information, then consider getting an affidavit to compel them to divulge this information.
Take the time to select a reliable lawyer if you receive an injury. Look for someone who has experience with similar cases and ask about prices before you decide to hire a lawyer. Meet with different lawyers in your area and choose one who makes you feel comfortable and knows how to listen.
Choose your words wisely at the accident scene. Do not create conflict or directly blame the other party at this time. The things that you say right then and there can be used in court. Keep your cool and only answer the questions that must be answered in short sentences.
Knowing where to turn in the aftermath of a personal injury event can often be a challenge. But knowing how to handle the legal issues will put you on the road to recovery, both medically and financially. A bit of knowledge goes a long way.
Auto insurers play hardball in minor-crash claims
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- If you are injured in a minor car crash, chances are good that you will be in the fight of your life to get the insurance company to pay all the medical costs you incur -- even if the accident was no fault of your own.
That's what CNN discovered in an 18-month investigation into minor-impact soft-tissue injury crashes around the country. Those are accidents in which there is little damage to the vehicle and the injuries to people are not easy to see by the naked eye or conventional medical tools like X-rays.
Since the mid-1990s, most of the major insurance companies -- led by the two largest, Allstate and State Farm -- have adopted a tough take-it-or-leave-it strategy when dealing with such cases.
The result has been billions in profits for insurance companies and little, if anything, for the public, according to University of Nevada insurance law professor Jeff Stempel.
"We can see that policyholders individually are getting hurt by being dragged through the court on fender-bender claims, and yet we don't see any collateral benefit in the form of reduced premiums even for the other policyholders," Stempel said.
"So I think now we can say to continue this kind of program is in my view institutionalized bad faith."
If you have never heard of the strategy, it's because insurance companies don't want you to know that they are paying out less and less for minor crashes even while their profits soar and your premiums continue to rise.
But after a review of more than 6,000 company documents and court records, interviews with a dozen people nationwide, including former company insiders, and conversations with accident victims, the picture is clear: If you challenge the offer by some insurance companies you will be left with no option but to go to court, where you will be dragged through the wringer.
Expensive, time-consuming
In an affidavit in a New Mexico case where Allstate is being sued, one of the company's former attorneys said the strategy is to make fighting the company "so expensive and so time-consuming that lawyers would start refusing to help clients."
Shannon Kmatz, a police officer and former Allstate claims agent, said company employees were encouraged to get rid of claims quickly and cheaply and even offered accident victims as little as $50, telling them to take it or leave it.
Both Roxanne Martinez of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Ann Taylor of West Lafayette, Indiana, saw the practice firsthand.
Martinez suffered neck and back injuries when she was sideswiped by a driver insured by Allstate.
After three years, the company finally offered her $15,000 -- a little more than half of what she needed for lost wages and medical bills.
She went to court, and four years after the accident a jury awarded her $167,000 plus interest.
"It's kind of hard when you are thinking they are going to leave you broke. ... That was very stressful," she said.
Taylor was not as fortunate when her case went to trial.
The Indiana nurse was rear-ended by a State Farm employee driving a State Farm car. Damage to her car was minimal but she suffered herniated disc and muscle tears.
Taylor racked up medical bills and lost wages amounting to about $15,000. The company offered her $2,000.
"I was just very insulted," she said.
She sued, but three years later a jury came back with a judgment for her of only $1,500.
The jury didn't believe she could be hurt in an accident in which the vehicle had barely a dent.
Three jurors told CNN photos of the two cars involved in the accident -- enlarged and prominently displayed by the defense -- played a huge role in their decision.
And one said they assumed Taylor had already been compensated by the insurance company and was just trying to get more money.