Personal Injury & Auto Accident Info

Auto Accident - Attorneys

Auto accidents are the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of thirty-four. Annually, auto accidents are responsible for over 400,000 deaths. At an average rate of 115 fatalities per day, auto accidents cost a staggering 150 billion dollars yearly. You are likely to be involved in at least one auto accident in your lifetime.

If you are involved in an auto accident, call the police immediately-even if no one was injured-and file an accident report. Auto accident reports for insurance purposes to determine fault, so verify that the report is thorough. The auto accident report should include interviews with all involved parties and any witnesses. Photographs and/or diagrams of auto accident scenes are often supplied by the police as well. You can also take pictures of the auto accident, and gather as much information as possible. Get the names and phone numbers of all auto accident witnesses, as well as anyone involved in the accident itself.

Common auto accident injuries include whiplash, head and brain injury, paralysis, and joint, bone, and muscle injuries. Auto accident victims should seek medical attention as soon as possible if they believe they are injured. Auto accident claims for damages resulting from injuries usually depend on medical records linking the auto accident to the injuries received-the more time elapses between the auto accident and the treatment, the more difficult it is to prove a connection.

Generally speaking, auto accidents are handled through each party's insurance party and things are settled quickly. In some cases, auto accidents resulting in personal injury or extensive property loss lead to lawsuits. Damages sought after auto accidents can include cost of medical treatment, loss of property, and loss of wages. If you have been in an auto accident, and need legal advice or assistance, it is best to contact an attorney familiar with auto accident laws.

Dodge Recalling 600k Durangos and Dakotas

Automaker to Replace Ball Joints

DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group will recall about 600,000 model year 2000-2003.5 Dodge Durango 4x4 SUVs and Dodge Dakota pickup trucks to replace front suspension upper ball joints.

In addition, the automaker will extend the warranty on an additional 400,000 model year 2000-2003.5 Durango and Dakota 4x2 vehicles to 10 years or 100,000 miles on the suspension upper ball joints.

Repairs will be made at no cost. If you have already paid for the repair, you will be will be reimbursed by the automaker.

What Could Happen?

The front suspension upper ball joints on some vehicles may be prone to corrosion and progressive wear. If the condition is ignored, it could lead to front end noise, tire wear, and even separation of the front suspension.

To date, the automaker says there have been no substantiated reports of injuries associated with this condition on these vehicles.

Owners will be notified by letter beginning in December, 2004.

Source: DaimlerChrysler

GM Cleared in Texas Personal Injury Lawsuit

AUTO INDUSTRY REPORT: Jury clears GM in rollover

December 8, 2004

A Texas jury cleared General Motors Corp. of responsibility for injuries to a 34-year-old man who was left quadriplegic when his 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe sport-utility vehicle rolled over.

Accident victim Alan Kohutek argued at a trial of his personal-injury lawsuit against GM that the Tahoe is prone to rolling over during evasive driving maneuvers and that the roof doesn't protect occupants during a rollover.

Kohutek was injured in June 2003 when his Tahoe flipped over after he swerved to avoid an object that had fallen from a trailer in front of him. The jury in San Antonio said Tuesday there were no defects in the Tahoe and awarded no damages. GM said the roof of the Tahoe exceeds federal requirements for roof strength.

"Nothing about this vehicle caused this crash," company spokeswoman Brenda Rios said in an e-mailed statement after the verdict. "Kohutek's injuries were caused by the severe accident forces and not any defect in the vehicle."

Kohutek's attorneys said they haven't decided whether to appeal. Kohutek sought about $5 million for past and future medical and care costs, attorney Mikal Watts said.

Lawmakers push limits to personal injury lawsuits

Highlights of a deal reached by House and Senate leaders Wednesday to pass legislation placing limits on personal injury lawsuits:

Caps pain-and-suffering awards at $500,000 for less severe injuries. For the most severe injuries, such as losing a limb, gives judges more ability to review and lower the award if it's deemed too high.

The bill removed a $1 million cap for the most severe injuries sought by the Senate and does not allow judges to raise an award deemed too low.

Removes a Senate proposal that would have based attorney fees on the amount of damage awards their clients received.

Removes a House proposal that would have prevented insurance companies from requiring injured accident victims to repay the companies money they receive from financial settlements, regardless of whether the settlements cover all of a victim's expenses. The proposal followed an Ohio Supreme Court decision in September in favor of insurance companies. Instead, the bill creates a committee to study the problem.

Limits awards meant to punish a company to twice the amount of a combination of pain-and-suffering awards and lost wages and medical expenses. In the case of small businesses of up to 500 employees, limits punitive damages to no more than $350,000. The bill does not place limits on awards for lost wages or medical expenses.

Places a ten-year limit on filing most personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits. Allows exceptions if a manufacturer's warranty guaranteed a product's safety for longer than ten years, and if the claims involve hazardous chemicals or drugs.

Limits the amount of money car crash victims can collect if they weren't wearing a seat-belt. Current law doesn't allow juries to consider the failure to wear a seat-belt as a defense in auto accident lawsuits.

Attempts to further limit frivolous lawsuits by expanding the definition of such lawsuits, including filing complaints based on unsupported allegations.

Source: Legislative Service Commission, House Republicans.

Auto Accident Fraud - Don't Be A Victim

Auto Accident Fraud

Always drive defensively to help ensure your safety and lessen the likelihood of having an auto accident. If you are involved in an accident, take the following fraud prevention measures:

• Always call the police, regardless of who is at fault or the amount of property damage. Make sure an official police report is filed, even if damage is negligible. When the report describes the damage to the other car as a "nick" for instance, it helps prevent the other party from collecting damages not resulting from the loss. An accurate account of accident details is important when evaluating whether a claim is valid.          
• Count the number of passengers in the other car. If possible, get the name, address and driver license number of all occupants. This helps prevents frivolous lawsuits and claims paid to people who weren't actually in the car. Keep an accurate record of what happened for your personal records.          
• Immediately notify your insurance carrier if you are involved in any accident. Claim representatives are trained to recognize indicators of fraud and investigate suspicious claims.

Auto Accident Scams

Below is a list of scam techniques practiced today by many criminals.

Paper Accident

When a criminal actively solicit others in the auto repair and salvage industry to participate in accidents that only exist on paper. Shady lawyers, doctors and insurance agents are normally part of this as well. The perpetrator will keep the claim lower than 1,000 dollars knowing that most insurance companies do not send investigators to examine a claim at that amount.

Hit & Run

When a perpetrator reports a factious hit and run to their insurance provider.

Swoop and Squat

When a perpetrator abruptly swoops in front of a car and quickly squats or stops. An accomplice moves to the side of the targeted victim to prevent the trapped car from swerving out of the way. The passengers of the squat car all report injuries that are supported later by a doctor or a chiropractor that are in the scam.

Sideswipe

A tactic used in multiple turn lanes at an intersection. A perpetrator will continue to take the multiple left turns until another car suddenly maneuvers into the lane in which the perpetrator suddenly speeds up to force a collision.

T-Bone

This is normally conducted with the absence of any hostile witnesses. The perpetrator waits at an intersection and intentionally rams into a car as it passes. When the police arrive, bogus witnesses are planted to tell the police officer that the victim ran a stop sign or red light.

Wave

A tactic normally conducted in heavy traffic, and when there is a merge. The perpetrator waves to the victim, pretending to yield the right of way. As the victim begins to merge, the perpetrator quickly accelerates to initiate contact. When the police arrive, the perpetrator denies ever giving up the right of way.

Shady Helper

This could happen after an honest accident. A stranger approaches you after an accident and offers numbers to an auto repair shop, lawyer or doctor. This could be a setup. The auto repair shop often pads your repair cost, and a doctor may give you shady treatment or none at all. A lawyer may even try to convince you to sue the insurance company.

Most scams are performed by professionals that run practice drills before actually committing the crime. They are normally very professional and skilled at their craft, but that does not mean you can not take steps from being victimized. Here are some measures that can be taken to shift the advantage to your side.

Keep a disposable camera, paper and pen in your glove department. After an accident, take unlimited pictures of every car including the passengers. Get as much information down on paper about every participant in the accident including witnesses. The pictures along with the note taking will leave little room for the perpetrators to lie about damage to their vehicle and persons after the fact. If you think an accident has been staged, get good details about the accident!

Be Prepared - Auto Accident

GEICO Direct suggests keeping the following items in your car in case of emergency:

Pens or pencils

Paper or a note pad

Flashlight

Flares

First aid kit

Blanket

Jumper cables

Rag or paper towels

Trash bag

A blanket or other winter weather gear is critical, because "in a snow storm, it may take the police awhile to respond. Especially the first snow of the year, the police usually have several calls. You may have to wait quite a while.

New York Auto Accident Lawyer or a Book?

Why Pay New York Auto Accident Lawyers? Secrets to Get Thousands of Dollars More for Auto Accident Injuries without a lawyer.

The new book: “Insurance Settlement Secrets”, reveals the Secrets of the Insurance Claims Process for Auto Accident Injuries and is a practical way to cut Litigation Costs.

Every year in America Insurance Companies pay out a fortune in Insurance Settlements for injuries arising as a result of automobile accidents. Only a fraction of the Insurance Settlement money actually goes to the injured parties.

Most of the money paid out for Insurance Settlements goes to fees and legal costs for lawyers, both plaintiff and defense counsel.

Might be worth a look - but if you have major injuries and damage you will likely be better served by retaining an auto accident attorney, whether New York Auto Accident Lawyer or some other state.

Auto Accident - Pennsylvania Prescription Discounts

"Pennsylvania CVS Pharmacies Refuse to Fill Prescriptions for Auto Accidents"

Since 1990, Pennsylvania state law has required pharmacies to give a 20 percent discount on any drugs sold to auto accident crash victims. Pennsylvania Attorney General Jerry Pappert told the Associated Press in September 2004 that the law was created to indirectly lower the cost of auto insurance , but the inability for some drug store chains to afford the discount led them to announce they would no longer sell medications to auto accident victims rather than comply with the law.

After Pappert alleged that CVS Corp. was not adequately informing customers about both the discount and its decision not to fill the auto accidents prescriptions, CVS agreed to post signs in its PA pharmacies advising customers of its policy. CVS said its auto accidents prescription policy has been in place for more than ten years (1993). Since many auto accident customers were unaware of the policy, the state has claimed people were unnecesarily filling their prescriptions at CVS at full price.

Auto Accident - Fraud Claims

Auto Claims Fraud

I previously worked for one of the large automobile insurance companies as a fraud investigator.  I handled all theft claims in one of the largest markets in the United States.  You cannot begin to imagine the insane claims that would cross my desk.

Possibly one of the dumbest was the guy who had a Toyota 4Runner that was about to come off lease and he was way over the allotted miles.  He was going to have to pay several thousand dollars in lease fees when it came due.  Major red flag.  Couple that with the fact that he wasn’t even able to make the lease payment the previous few months and no shocker that his truck ended up getting totaled in a fire, is it. 

Only problem for him is that he wasn’t the brightest criminal.  He claimed an electrical fire started from within the dash as he was driving along on the freeway.  He pulled over and the truck proceeded to burn to a crisp.  Had that been the case, he would have happily been out from under his lease.

However, this guy started the fire with rolled up newspaper under the seat and torched it right there on the side of the freeway.  It was almost laughable to see the pictures of the car showing newspaper torched under the seat.  He didn’t even remove the remains of some of the rolled-up, unburned paper.  It was almost painful to have to pay a fire investigator to determine the source and origin of the fire when it was so obvious.  Bottom line is the claim was rejected and this guy was now responsible for the full value of the vehicle.  Moral of the story:  Don’t be a complete retard…