Category: Auto Accidents

What You Should Know About Loss of Consortium and Intimacy Claims

Well, did you know that if you are suing for a personal injury loss then your spouse can also file a claim due to their loss because of your loss. This is what a Loss of Consortium and Services Claim is and is that the opposing counsel doesn’t want you to know about. So let’s say your husband is in a wreck and he is not able to mow the yard or repair the car for you, then you are able to say that I have a loss of life because you now have to mow the yard and repair the car on your own.

You can even make a claim for the intimate loss in your relationship as well if you are willing to go into details which can be very uncomfortable when you are deposed or on the witness stand. If you make this claim be aware that all details will be open for exploration and you have to make a decision if you are able to go under such pressure on the witness stand.

5 Main Reason for Avoiding Suing Your Own Insurance Company

1. They are giant and will crush you like a bug. They have unlimited resources and can take as many expert witness depositions as needed to build their case against you. You on the other hand with limited about of money to pay for these witnesses will have pay a lot of out of pocket expenses to build a strong case. This is how the court works. If you do not have a deposition of the testimony then the facts don’t make it to court and your case is weak.

2. The outcome of your lawsuit will be public record. Your settlement about will be for all to see. This $100,000 that you were awarded will appear as so and not “after expenses”. Meaning after your lawyer gets his 40% fee and you have paid off the doctors bills and in some cases you have even paid for the lawyer expenses of the opposing side. So anyone that googles your name will think you just came into big money and not the fact that after all was said and done you end up with nothing.

3. You feel really bad about suiting someone. This may be against your religious beliefs and you may perhaps be shunned by those close to you.

4. When going to trail as opposed to mediation their is a risk of never knowing the outcome. You get a group of jurors that may or may not like you, believe you or think you have a case. So you could potentially walk away with the outcome ruling against you.

5. It takes a lot of nerves and time. You will have to put a lot of time into the preparation of making a strong case. Then the actually time in trail could be stretchered over a large period of time. It could be days sitting in a courtroom listening to testimonies. You, your friends and perhaps family will have to testify. This is the most stressful part and some feel that it is not work going to court. Some cannot take this pressure.

So before you turn down the option of mediation, be aware of this disadvantages, but do keep in mind that you do have the right to go to court and have a jury of your peers determine your outcome instead of some lawyers that more than likely don’t have your best interest at heart.

What is An Eggshell Defense?

The concept of the eggshell defense is where the victim has a preexisting medical condition which is aggravated by minor trauma, which would not otherwise injure a heathy individual, but the causation is still present.

If you have no history of previous trauma in anyway – you are the victor.  There is no need to hide or be scared of the insurance company and they know that.  If you were perfectly healthy before a said accident then you deserve justice because this trauma is something you will have to live with for the rest of your life.  You loss of life is greater the younger you are.  Do not let a big name agency attempt to scare you with tactics – stand you ground and the honest person will prevail.

HOWEVER, if you are NOT honest and are trying to hide a preexisting medical condition the insurance companies lawyers will find this in the discovery part of the trial proceedings.

Top 10 Tactics Lawyers Use to Get You to Settle OUT OF COURT

 They may scare you will possible future fees of court, depositions, mediation, travel expenses and so forth, so that you will take the settlement. This is true especially if your lawyer knows your financial situation.

 If your lawyer is aware of financial struggles, they may attempt to use a settlement offer as an incentive for you to be able to pay your expensive and incurred medical bills so that you are not turned over to collectors and therefore having much greater expenses.

 Your lawyer may try to tell you that your case is not worth more than the settlement amount and you should quickly take the first offer. Remember, the quicker you take the offer, the quicker the lawyer gets paid and can move to their next victim.

 Time is money for a lawyer and they will most definitely attempt to convince you that if you do not take an out-of-court settlement then your case could possible draw out for years.

 After further review of your case and closer examination of your doctors’ reports it is their opinion that the opposing counseling has a better argument for a jury, so you should take the settlement offer.

 If your lawyer tells you they will go pro bono just to get you to settle, this is a big red flag that something is not right. Lawyers just don’t give up the opportunity to get paid.

 And if your lawyer says they are going to quite on you if you don’t settle this is an even bigger red flag and grounds for disbarment.

 Again your lawyer may use another type of scare tactic that there is a Statue of Limitations coming up and we will need to settle. Of course this is not true, but if you are not aware of the law, then you are overly trusting of your lawyer.

 They pay play the trust card in which they say I’m doing what’s in your best interest and just trust me because I have done this for “x” amount of years. So I’m telling you to settle.

 Or they may use their excessive knowledge and experience to point out that you don’t know what you are talking about and should take their advice. In a polite way, they are calling you an idiot.

Remember that lawyers prefer out of court settlements because this goes as a win on their record as opposed to rolling the dice and possibly having a loss in court.

If you feel that your lawyer is working against you and constantly trying to get you to settle, there is probably a reason. Maybe they are incompetent and need to be fired, or they may be in a type of dual relationship with the apposing counseling. But regardless of the excuse, don’t be blinding by these overly used tactics. Only settle if you feel that it is in your best interest.

What is An Uninsured Motorist Claim?

If you caused an accident and didn’t have insurance the other driver will be able to file an uninsured motorist claim (UMC). Their insurance company will pay for all the things yours would have.  Then the other driver’s insurance company will turn the matter over to their subrogation department. The Subrogation department will contact you about paying them back. Do not ignore them because they can have your drivers license suspended, sue you or turn you over to collections.

However, this department will be willing to set up an interest free payment plan for you to repay them for all they paid their driver. Most likely they will want at least around $ 100 per month until the debt is paid in full. If you miss payments they suspend your license, sue you or turn you over to collections. The other thing you can do is see if the subro dept will accept a lesser lump sum. For example: you owe them lets say $ 10,000 they may be willing to take 7,000 if you pay it as a lump sum. They would rather get a little less all at once than collect the full $ 10,000 100 dollars at a time. Can you dispute the amount they want? No not really. They paid it you owe it. ** This is not legal advice ***

3 People Types who Get the Runaround from Insurance Company

If you are breathing – First of all, it is nearly a given that if you are breathing and you are attempting to get your insurance company to pay up, you will get the runaround. They will employ some tactic to get you to settle with the least amount of loss to their pockets and this will involve getting you to agree on an amount quick, but drawing out the payment process until the last hour.

HEY IF THEY GIVE YOU THE MONEY, THEY CAN’T MAKE ANY INTEREST OFF IT.

If you are a woman – I know this is a sexist statement, but I have found that there is great prejudice towards females when it comes to a situation in which you are negotiating. Whether you are buying a car, coming to an agreed price on selling an item or reaching a settlement, most times a male will have the more dominant advantage. Therefore, if you have the opportunity for your husband or male presence in your life be your voice for negotiation, you will more than likely be better off.

You might think that the victim card may be one to play and a female will have the greater advantage, but THIS IS NOT TRUE. Insurance personal are trained to leave ALL EMOTIONS out of the deal. I don’t know how, but they truly are trained to be cold blooded. But I guess you would be too if your job depended on it.

If you are young or look young – Going up against an inexperienced person is a plus for any type of negotiator. And most of the time if you are young it is true that you do not know your rights and might take an unfair settlement by being easily tricked to do so.

If you are insecure – If you do not speak with confidence or have any type of non-verbal behavior that suggest you are non-confrontational, this is a red flag that you can be taken advantage of. If you want to get any type of fair settlement you will have to overcome any type of insecurities or social challenges. Suck it up and it will pay off.

Take some Confidence Training if you have to.

What You Need to Know About “New Money”

One thing that was quite confusing to me personally was why everybody (lawyer and insurance company) kept on saying this word “New Money”. And even when our lawyer explained what this concept, it took a little while to figure out what it really meant.

Basically ‘New Money” means that the offered amount is what you will get. If a settlement offer is made of $20,000 you will get $20,000 from the opposing side. However, you still have to deduct from this amount your lawyer fees and expenses. So, the insurance company is saying I will not ask for the cost of medical bills or any other expenses they have already paid. Basically, if they have paid $5,000 of medical you will not get only $15,000 ($20,000-$5,000) like you would if you went to trial and received a court decision.

SO BE AWARE: IF YOU GO TO COURT YOU DO NOT GET “NEW MONEY.”

But honestly I think this terminology is just another tactic to confuse the honest, innocent, common people.

Top 8 Secretes of an Insurance Adjuster

I would personally hate to be an insurance adjuster. They are highly trained to get a quick settle for the least amount of money regardless of personal loss and damages.

They have many tricks up their sleeves including:

PROPERTY DAMAGES ASPECTS

1. Getting you to sign a document for the auto settlement but it is really a complete release. Meaning that they are not responsible for your personal injuries. Never sign anything in haste. Never sign any thing that says “GENERAL RELEASE”. Get a second opinion. And don’t sign it if it smells fishy.
2. They will catch you at awkward times like right before work, at the end of the office day when there is a rush to make a decision, or the day after the wreck when you are not thinking correctly.
3. They will attempt to get out of responsibility as quickly as possible and be very forceful and come close to threatening so that you will settle. Don’t worry. Slow things down as much as you would like.
4. They will use intimidating, unfamiliar legal terms so that you feel pressured to listen to them as an authority.

PERSONAL INJURY ASPECTS

5. They may indirectly attack that you are seeking treatment via a chiropractor; however they will always begin by saying something like “I can’t tell you what type of treatment to seek, but if you go to “X” type of treatment we do not guarantee coverage.
6. They will try to give you a somewhat tempting settlement before you are completing better.
7. They keep a great distance so that nothing becomes personal. They will not listen to your pain and suffering and disregard it as any part of any settlement offer.
8. The insurance adjuster may call your attending physician to negotiate your medical costs behind your back.

4 Characteristics of Winnable Personal Injury Case?

In trying to figure out if you have a winnable personal injury case ask the following questions:

1. Where you in an accident that is undeniably not your fault?
2. Where you hurt as a result of an accident?
3. Do you have proof that you were hurt after the accident?
4. Where you perfectly healthy before the said accident?

If you answered “yes” to all four questions, then you have a winnable case. Consider your case as one which not only will obtain you an out-of-court settlement, but will also be one that can be won in court either by a judge or a jury of your peers. It all comes down to how much your case is worth including how much pain and suffering have you experienced, any loss of wages, and incurred medical bills. However, be advised that you are only allowed to claim the above if they have been submitted to the court prior to your day in court.