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Personal Injury Tips To Help You Protect Your Interests




There are a number of different things you need to know about personal injury law if you're about to be going to court. It is important that you do many things from day one and that you have access to the right personal injury lawyer. Keep reading to learn more about all of this.

When choosing a personal injury attorney, ensure that you are choosing a law office which has an entire department dedicated to personal injury. Meanwhile, it is common for law offices to pursue several different types of cases, it is important to choose an attorney who's well versed in your niche.

Never let anyone that is at fault for your injury convince you that you should take a payout without contacting an attorney. The amount they offer may sound fair, but they is no real way to be sure of that without contacting someone that knows exactly how much your damages are worth.

You will have medical records if you suffer a personal injury that requires a doctor's care. Save these documents in one place, like a file folder. From prescription receipts to doctor's diagnoses, keep it all together. Also be sure to keep copies of emails that your doctor may have sent you about your injury.

After you have gathered together a list of potential personal injury attorneys, set up a free consultation with each lawyer. At this consultation, the attorney will look over the facts of your case and answer any questions you may have. After each consultation, write down notes about the interview and how the lawyer treated you.

Constantly communicate with your personal injury lawyer to become involved in your case. This is very important as lets you know what is going on and makes you feel a part of the team. This will reduce the stress and anxiety that you have if you ever appear in court.

Try to learn about the basics of how a personal injury case is evaluated. Similar to a stool, they are mainly evaluated on three principles: liability, damages, and collectability. Liability refers to how bad the action is, the evidence, and the facts of the case. Damages refers to the seriousness of the injuries and the opinions of witnesses and medical staff. Collectability refers to insurance coverage, policies, and assets.

While a young lawyer may be passionate, an older lawyer will have more experience. Try to aim for the middle ground when selecting an attorney to represent you. A middle-aged lawyer who has been around the block but still has some drive in him will be your best bet in court.

Do not try to file a personal injury claim without the assistance of a great lawyer. There are too many things to know about personal injury law for you to navigate through it all without a professional. If you want to win the money that you should, you should definitely find a qualified lawyer.

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.

If you have been involved in a slip and fall accident, you will need to have proof of the accident. At the time of the accident, take photographs of the site and get signed witness statements. You should also take note if there was "wet floor" sign at the location.

If you have to deal with an insurance company directly, website it is typically best to bring a lawyer. Insurance companies know how to deal with claimants in a way which ensures that the insurer wins and the claimant loses. A lawyer can help you deal with their dirty tricks and keep your case a winner.

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.

https://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/02/09/insurance.hardball/







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