Personal
Injury
/
Serious
Truck
/
Auto
Accidents
With increased car volume and cell phone usage, our roadways are one of the most dangerous places in the United States. On average, there are over 6 million accidents a year, with some 3 million people suffering injury. Its estimated that over 40% of all accident fatalities are related to alcohol use. If
you
are
injured in an automobile accident, the insurance company that is adverse to your claim will be fully equipped with trained trial lawyers and an arsenal of potential defense medical experts to defeat or limit your recovery.
Accidents involving tractor trailers and other commercial vehicles can have catastrophic consequences for the victims. Tractor-trailer “underride accidents” occur when another vehicle enters below the base of the trailer of a large truck (18 wheeler). Trucks are obligated by law to have certain safety equipment (i.e. reflective tape), and drivers are limited in
the
amount of waking hours
that
they can devote to driving. Drivers may not always adhere to proper safety standards, which can result in serious accidents and resulting liability. Accidents with commercial vehicles can be complex and involve various potential causes including equipment failure, driver error or intoxication, failure to follow proper safety standards including excessive speed.
While commercial trucking growth is good news for the trucking companies
it
is
bad news for others who share the road with dangerous vehicles. In tractor trailer accidents some 98% of fatalities occur to the individuals in the passenger vehicles. For more information about traffic safety, visit the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
During the first seven years of his legal career Mr. Downey defended personal injury and malpractice claims. He learned first hand about the tactics used by insurance companies to defend these claims. He tried numerous cases to verdict, most of which resulted in favorable verdicts for the insurance companies or their
insured's. In 1995 Mr. Downey started representing
plaintiffs
in personal injury and malpractice lawsuits.
Now
he
uses
that
experience
to
benefit
consumers
who
litigate
cases
against
insurance
companies.
What Should I Do To Protect My Rights After an Accident?
- If you believe the other party is at fault, call the police immediately to document how the accident occurred, and make sure you get the names of any witnesses at the scene. Get the names and addresses of the other driver and occupants in the vehicle, and note the license plates of all the other vehicles involved. Get the name and policy number of the other driver’s insurance company. Also get the name and badge number of the police office and ask him/her how you can get a copy of the police report. Either at the scene of the accident or shortly afterwards make notes of what your recall about the accident. What lane were you in? How fast were you going? What were the weather conditions?
- If you think you may be injured, seek immediate medical treatment. Either have an ambulance take you to the hospital directly from the scene, or go to your primary care doctor that day, or the next. Sometimes it may not be immediately apparent that you have suffered an injury, and soft tissue injuries may take up to 24 hours to manifest their symptoms.
- In a personal injury claim, the value of your case will be affected by the nature of the medical reports describing your injuries. When you seek medical treatment make sure you give a complete description of all the areas of the body that are hurting you, even if the pain is not severe. Discuss your limitations and how the injury may be affecting your ability to do your job. Try and avoid giving any lengthy description of the accident, as the doctor may get it wrong when he dictates his notes hours or days after your meeting. Never fabricate injuries.
- If you have health insurance, insist that your health care provider bill through your health insurance company. Many times doctors do not want to bill your health insurance company because, as a condition of his participation in that program, he gets paid less for services. As such, he can bill his full rate if he goes outside your insurance plan. Do not allow it.
- If your vehicle or the other vehicle sustained significant damage, take pictures at the scene. If you don’t have a camera at the scene, tell you insurance company that you need access to your car, and take pictures at a later time.
- Keep track of all time you miss from work and any other out of pocket expenses you have to pay because of the accident, ie cab or transportation expenses. Track mileage to and from your doctor visits.
- Act quickly to protect your rights by contacting a lawyer if you have been injured. If you have not been injured, you should be able to handle the claim involving the property damage to your vehicle. Ask your insurance company for a copy of your policy to see what you are entitled to under that policy. Do you get replacement cost or just blue book value.? If you car was totaled, verify how the insurance company determined the value of your vehicle. Everything is negotiable, so do some internet research to find out what comparable vehicles are selling for in your market and point out (to your claim’s adjustor) all the factors that would support a larger recovery for your vehicle. These may include low mileage, good condition, great stereo, and any extra options you selected upon purchase. Don’t take the first offer that the insurance company makes on your vehicle.
Tactics used by insurance companies
Not all insurance companies defend claims the same way. But many insurance companies use these or similar tactics to defeat your claim.
- Recorded
Statement. Many insurance companies will take recorded statements before you retain counsel. These statements are not taken for your benefit, and can be used against you when you file your claim. Exercise your right to remain silent. However, you may have an obligation to provide certain information to an insurance company to collect medical or other benefits. This could include providing information on how the accident occurred and what injuries you suffered. Before you provide a statement consult with an attorney.
- Quick settlements without an
attorney. Some insurance companies may discourage you from retaining counsel, and suggest that such retention will simply delay settlement and result in one-third of the settlement going to your lawyer. While it is true that your settlement may be delayed and that your attorney will get a fee (which is typically calculated based on a one-third contingency
agreement) this does not mean you are better off negotiating a settlement without an attorney. To the contrary, if the insurance company knows you are unrepresented and unfamiliar with process, they may lowball you and extract a settlement that is only a fraction of what would be paid if you had experienced legal counsel.
- IME. In legal vernacular, an IME refers to an independent medical exam. However, when an insurance company sends you to one of their doctors to examine you, they may select a doctor they use regularly, who has provided favorable opinion testimony in previous cases. For example, some insurance companies retain doctors who are on record
testifying that no person requires treatment for a
soft tissue injury
beyond 6 weeks, and treatment beyond that date was medically unnecessary.
- Sending a representative to the accident/preserving important
evidence. If the accident is severe the insurance or trucking company may send someone to the scene or even hire an expert in accident reconstruction to support their defense theory. Also before a lawsuit is filed, a company may have no obligation or incentive to preserve certain evidence, like the damaged vehicle that may been totaled in wreck and sent to salvage yard. In serious accidents, do not delay consulting an attorney, even if its just to obtain advise about protecting your rights and preserving evidence. If you have questions about how best to protect your rights,
call for a free
consultation.
- Some insurance companies ask you to sign broad sweeping medical releases allowing them to obtain medical records involving your lifetime medical history, or to contact your prior treating physicians for information. Don’t provide such information, until you have discussed this with an attorney. In some situations you may have to provide medical records to receive certain insurance benefits, but you don’t want to allow the insurance carrier to discover every aspect of your medical history, which they may later use to defend your case on the grounds that your claimed injury was really
a
preexisting condition.
Will I have to go to Court to resolve my accident claim?
Most cases that are handled by experienced counsel settle outside of court, without the need for a trial. Your chances of settling out of court will likely be increased if you hire an experienced attorney. Where a case is settled out of the court, then the time and cost associated with going to trial will be avoided. Increasingly, cases are being mediated out of court. Mediation is a process where both parties agree to have a neutral party assist them in the settlement process.
What types of damages can I recover for an auto accident.
Damages are simply the types of legal claims for which one may pursue a recovery on, assuming liability is established. The types of damages can vary depending on the state where the accident occurs. In most states your damages for an auto accident involving personal injury would include the following:
- Medical Expenses, both past and future
- Lost wages, both past and future
- Pain and suffering (also referred to an non-economic damages)
- Disfigurement
- Inconvenience
- Humiliation or embarrassment
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of household services
- Property damage to the vehicle
What types of injuries may be sustained in an auto accident?
Soft tissue or strain injuries are the most common form of injury in an automobile accident. They can result even where a vehicle does not sustain significant property damage. Soft tissue injuries by definition involve strains or sprains to the soft tissues of the body: muscles, ligaments and tendons. These injuries can be difficult to provide because they don’t show up on X-rays or MRIs. As such, its important to document the existence of these injuries soon after the accident, or their causal connection to the accident may be questioned by the insurance company, especially if you had any preexisting injuries in the same area of the body that you injured in the accident.
Fractures can be the sign of a significant injury requiring immediate medical treatment. There are different types of fractures, but typically they involve the breaking of a bone. Certain fractures, if they are masked by other symptoms, may not be immediately apparent. Most fractures can be diagnosed by X-ray.
Dislocation refers generally to the displacement of any part of the body from its normal position, like a bone being displaced from its normal position with a joint. Shoulder, clavicle, knee, and hip dislocations can occur with accidents involving significant impacts. Dislocations may also be associated with fractures.
Spinal or disc injuries are potentially serious injuries that can result from an automobile accident. A herniated disc refers to a rupture of the fibrocartilage surrounding an intervetebral disc, releasing the nucleus pulpous that cushions the vertebrae in your back. This can result in the nerve impingement on the nerves that come out of your spinal cord. Radiating pain to your arms or legs can be a sign of a disc injury. These injuries are most commonly diagnosed by MRI.
Scars or Lacerations frequently result in accidents where the windshield is broken. Significant scarring may be correctable through plastic surgery, which is generally not performed in the hospital when your injuries are initially treated.
Brain damages or other catastrophic injuries can result from significant automobile accidents. Brain damages may be severe or subtle depending on the nature of the injuries. If there is any questions as to whether you suffered a significant head impact, you may want to get evaluated by a neurologist or neuro-psychologist after the accident. Subtle forms of brain damage may not get picked up in the emergency room.
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