The era of social media seems like it is here to stay. From catching up with old friends, meeting new friends and creating professional relationships, social media has become the highly recommended way for people to interact with each other. While platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn are wonderful tools the help us socially and professionally, they be the cause of some detriment if you have a pending car accident case on your hands, as a car accident lawyer in Atlanta, GA, like from Andrew R. Lynch, P.C., can explain. 

These social media platforms are a means to share part or all of our lives for the masses to see. The sharing on the platform leave a digital trail for each person on it. This digital trail can be used in some cases by the insurance adjuster who can be working your car insurance case. Here are three instances where posting on social media can be harmful to your car accident case. 

One way social media posts can harm your case in a negative fashion is it can bring up suspicion on how severe your car accident injuries are. Most people when they post on any social media platform, tend to make sure they have the most flattering photograph on there. Even if the photograph is highlighting injuries that occurred during a car accident, people will post the one that doesn’t make their injuries look as bad as it is. This flattering injury post can be harmful to your car accident case if an insurance adjuster sees it. An insurance adjuster can argue that your injuries are not as severe as you claim them to be, due to the post they found on your social media page. 

The second way social media posts can harm your case is by drawing suspicion on how much your cost of damages should be. Most people tend to believe social media posts can be innocent, however, if an insurance adjuster finds a post on your page or pages connected to yours about vacations, social outings, etc. it can really harm your case. An insurance adjuster can use that post to refute the cost of your injuries quoting that you are not suffering from too much monetary loss if you are able to go out with friends, or attend vacations with others. 

The last way social media posts can hinder your case is by calling into question your emotional distress claims. It goes back to posts that you have made being social with friends, or posts that your friend’s have made of hanging out with you. These can be argued by an insurance adjuster that you are not suffering from any emotional distress from the car accident since you are still actively around other people and not focused on recovering from injuries and damages caused by the car accident. 

Car Accident Lawyer

If a car accident in which you sustain an injury was the fault of another party, you may not need health insurance to cover your medical expenses. You may be able to recover damages from the other party or his or her insurance company. The damages reimburse you for your medical bills and any other losses that you sustained as a result of the injury. There are pros and cons regardless of whether you use health insurance to pay your medical bills or wait to recover damages. Here is an overview of both options.

Using Health Insurance To Pay Medical Expenses

The advantage of using health insurance to pay medical expenses after a car accident is it helps to protect your credit because your provider will not report unpaid bills to a collection agency. The downside is that if you do recover damages from your personal injury case, you will then have to reimburse your health insurer for the medical bills it paid on your behalf.

Not everyone has health insurance coverage, so this is not an option for everyone. Also, there are new consumer protections in place to protect your credit from negative effects of medical debt, so paying off medical bills right away may not be as urgent as it was in the past. It may actually be to your advantage to put off paying medical bills and prioritize other debts following your accident.

Waiting for a Personal Injury Award or Settlement

If you anticipate receiving an award or settlement from your personal injury case you can either put off paying your medical bills or pay what you can out of your own pocket. It is unlikely that you will be able to pay all your medical bills before you receive a settlement, but there may be ways that you can defer payment until you receive what you expect.

If you do not use health insurance to cover your medical bills from you injury, you do not need to reimburse your insurer when you get your award or settlement. However, resolving a personal injury case can take a long time, and if your case goes to trial, there is no guarantee that the court will decide the case in your favor, meaning that you could end up recovering nothing. Nevertheless, chances are very good that your case will settle out of court without ever going to trial, which means that you should eventually recover something.

If you are not sure what to do about your medical bills after a car accident, contact a law office. A car accident lawyer, like from The Law Firm of Frederick J. Brynn, P.C., can help you determine what your options are.

Car Accident Lawyer

Car accidents happen every day across the U.S., and understanding what to do if you’re in one is essential for all drivers. It’s even more important to know how to react and what steps to take if you get injured in a crash. Here is everything you should do after an accident to make sure you can make a successful claim with insurance.

Check for Injuries

After nerves have settled, check to see if anyone is injured. If someone needs emergency services, call 911 immediately. If you have been injured, seek medical attention shortly after the accident. Never wait more than 72 hours after the accident to see a doctor. The later you go, the harder it will be to link the accident to your injury with a doctor’s report.

Call Police

Even if the accident seems minor, you should always call the police. Some states need a police report from the scene of the accident to confirm an insurance claim. You may not realize you are injured directly after the accident, so you should get a police report for your records should you need to file a claim in the future.

Exchange Information 

Get important information from the other driver involved in the accident. This includes their insurance information and how to contact them. Never admit guilt to the other driver or in your statement to police. Only relay the facts.

Take Photos of the Scene

You should collect as much proof as possible from the accident scene, so take pictures of any damage with your phone. Take photos of injuries as well.

Get Witness Statements

If anyone saw the accident happen, speak to them and get their statements. These can be essential in proving who was negligent and who caused the accident. The only way you can get compensation from the other driver’s insurance is proving that they were responsible.

Contact Your Insurance

Inform your insurance agency that the accident has occurred, regardless of who was at fault. Certain states have laws on how long you have to file a claim, and your insurance can tell you the specifics. You can also ask about your policy and what is covered.

Make an Appointment With a Lawyer

If you have any questions or concerns about your case, consider contacting a car accident lawyer, like from David & Philpot, PL. They’ll have a good understanding of your state’s laws and how negligence affects your case. You don’t have to tackle challenging legal avenues alone.

Car Accident Lawyer

Uber is a convenient way to get around, but accidents happen. If you’re in an accident with an Uber driver, whether you’re a passenger or another driver, it may seem like a more complicated situation. The good news is you handle an Uber accident almost the same way you would handle any other accident.

Call the Local Authorities

Whether or not there are injuries, you should contact the local authorities. This will get a police officer to the scene of the accident to assess what happened. The police report can aid in determining fault when it comes time to make that determination.

Contacting the local authorities is also going to get a paramedic to the scene to take care of any injuries. Even if you feel you haven’t sustained injuries, you should have the paramedic assess your health to be sure you’re OK.

Get Medical Help

If you do have injuries, you should go to the hospital for immediate care. There’s a chance you have internal injuries that you can’t see or feel yet, but a doctor can discover those and start to treat them. If the ER doctor recommends it, follow up with your primary care doctor. Take any medication and complete any additional care required for your health.

Collect Information

There is some important information you should collect at the scene of the Uber accident you’re in. Take pictures of the cars involved, as well as the injuries you sustain. You could also take pictures of the scene and the circumstances that may have led up to the accident. You should also get the contact information of any drivers involved in your accident, which includes the Uber driver. Witness contact information will also be helpful for your case. If you fail to collect this information, you can often find it in the police report.

Contact Uber

If the Uber driver was actively transporting a passenger when he or she caused the accident, you may have coverage from Uber’s insurance policy. If the driver did not have a passenger, there could still be limited coverage. Even if the driver wasn’t on duty, it may be helpful for future riders if you report him or her to the Uber company.

Call Your Lawyer

When you are in an accident with an Uber driver, you should be given the compensation you deserve. After you’ve taken care of the immediate issues — including medical care — contact a lawyer, like a car accident lawyer in Indianapolis, IN from Ward & Ward Law Firm, today.

 Car Accident Lawyer

We often hear about motor vehicle Accidents. At first thought you assumed two vehicles were involved in an accident. But experience has shown multiple vehicles can also be involved in an accident at the same time. The same factors that cause a double Vehicle accident can cause a multiple vehicle accident. The difference here is, because there are so many parties involved that means additional factors are involved as well. Proving who is at fault for what can be extremely difficult. Sometimes it is exceptionally clean but that will not stop an insurance company from saying otherwise.

In most cases one vehicle fails to adhere to their duty of care causing them to suddenly strike another vehicle, and that second vehicle accidentally strikes another. Because of all individuals and factors involved it is best to speak with a personal injury attorney and file an insurance claim as soon as possible. Other parties will try to file a claim and this will eliminate money that may Be due to you. 

Sometimes These cases May last a while because of all of the moving pieces and insurance companies’ refusal to pay out any money due to there being a possibility of placing fault on another party. Laws vary from each state, so it is important to contact a knowledgeable attorney to ensure your rights are not being violated. 

What makes for a better case is an injury. While injury is not what anyone would want, but in a multiple vehicle accident having an injury would show priority. Therefore, after any motor vehicle accident it is best to seek medical attention to ensure no injuries were incurred. 

Multiple vehicle accidents can be incredibly stressful for everyone involved. The most important thing is seeking medical attention for any injuries and then speaking with an attorney about what your rights are. By speaking with a skilled personal injury, you can get a better understanding of how things may play out for you or your loved one. 

You may be one distraction away from being involved in a motor vehicle accident with other vehicles. Your safety is the most important, but some accidents are simply accidents. Should you or someone you know be involved in a multiple vehicle accident and sustained any injuries, speak with a skilled attorney, like a car accident attorney in Atlanta, GA from Andrew R. Lynch, P.C., as soon as possible so that the paper and legwork behind the claim can be handled while you and your loved ones focus on healing. 

Car Accident Lawyer

Anyone that has faced auto accident injury will know and understand the gravity of those injuries incurred and the consequences of drunk driving accidents. Those drunk driving accidents are life-threatening, and the injuries that happen in the process sometimes can be life long, traumatizing, depressing, and painful.

One of the most unfortunate sides of drunk driving accidents is that most of the passengers are the ones that are badly injured or killed and not the person who got drunk.

For the families who are coping with the sudden loss of a loved one or the major injury of their loved one, and they trying to patch the broken pieces of their lives together, a proper investigation of the accident area is the first step to handling an accident before every other procedure follow.

The tips explained below will give a better understanding of why drunk drivers cause accidents and the best way to handle it.

Why Drunk Drivers Are More Prone To Cause Accidents

Anyone that has high blood alcohol content in their bodies has low ability to properly control their cars, and they have low reaction times and total judgment when they’re behind the wheel. This is a very dangerous tendency.

The person in question may feel that they are good enough to drive, whereby their faculties have been severely weakened due to the constant intake of alcohol.

Drink drivers are likely to engage in risky attitudes like driving on the wrong side of the road and over speeding. Most times, it’s not always easy to recognize drunk drivers, and this might cause serious auto accident injury.

INJURIES CAUSED BY DRUNK DRIVING DRIVERS.

Auto accident injuries incurred during accidents differ. There is a wide range of injuries that happens, and they can be severe or slight, depending on how it happened.

Most times, the injuries that happen during a drunk driving behavior can have serious effects on the victim, which may cause such a person a lot ranging from very expensive medical bills and pain of the injury.

 Drunk drivers can heighten the consequences of accidents by engaging in reckless attitudes, and most times, these drunk drivers do not realize how fast they were going until an accident happened, and it claims lives and injures a lot of people.

Below are the most serious and severe injuries caused by drunk driving. They include:

1. Fractures.
2. Lacerations.
3. Severe brain damage.
4. Scarring
5. Internal organ bleeding or damage.
6. Burns.
7. Paralysis or spinal cord injuries
8. Broken bones.

Someone who has sustained severe injuries in a drunk driving accident may not know until they’ve gone to the hospital for medical attention after the incidents have occurred. Most times, some of them lose consciousness, which is triggered by shock at the scene of the accidents and adrenaline. This is why medical attention and proper evaluation by medical practitioners are very important for those who sustained injuries during accidents.

It is better to be on the safer side. Do all necessary medical diagnoses because early treatment started on the person in question can increase the person’s chances of survival and recovery? Well, not everyone who went through that accident can make it through or become better. Most of them live with that injury for life, and some lose their lives.

Contact a car accident lawyer Kansas City, MO trusts like the attorneys at Royce Injury Attorneys LLC for help with your auto accident case.

Personal Injury Lawyer

When you’re pregnant and in a car accident, there are all the typical things you should do, just the same as you’d do after any car accident. For example, you should take down the names and contact information of any witnesses, other drivers and passengers. You should switch insurance information with the other driver. You should check anyone involved for injuries and call the authorities. If you feel you need it, you should seek medical attention. There are some additional steps you should take if you are pregnant, however. The following are just a few.

Call a Support Person

Being pregnant can be stressful, so if you’ve been in another stressful situation while already pregnant, you’ll probably want someone there for support. If you were alone while in your accident, call someone who can be by your side while you work through the next few hours. This might be a spouse, a parent, a friend or anyone else who you trust.

If you are being taken by ambulance to the hospital, your support person may be able to ride with you. This could also help to lessen the stress of the situation. If he or she can’t ride in the ambulance, ask your support person to meet you at the hospital. As someone you trust, your support person can help you make decisions regarding your care.

Make an Appointment With Your Obstetrician

Even if you have been checked out by the paramedics on scene, or made a visit to the emergency room, you should follow up with your obstetrician. He or she may want to monitor you further to ensure both you and the baby are ok. It’s also possible the doctor will run some additional tests that a paramedic may not know to run.

Take It Easy in the Following Days

If everything checks out just fine, you should still take it easy in the days following your accident. Some injuries don’t manifest until days or weeks later and you don’t want to make it worse by doing too much. If your doctor feels you can get back to normal, go ahead and do so, but be sure you don’t overexert yourself in any situation. It’s also possible the doctor will recommend you take a step back, even go on bed rest. Always follow those instructions from your obstetrician.

Obtain Legal Help

After an accident, it’s important you have the legal help you need. Call a car accident lawyer, like a car accident lawyer in Indianapolis, IN from Ward & Ward Law Firm, today to see what other steps you should take after an accident.

Car accidents tend to leave people in shock. No one wants to think about what they will have to do if they are in a serious car accident. How do they recover damages? Can they sue the other driver? If you decide to file a lawsuit, you may not realize the importance of hiring a lawyer. Even if you feel confident that the other driver is at fault, it is important to have a professional present. Here is when you need to hire a lawyer.

Your Medical Bills Are High

The cost of medical bills can completely bankrupt a person. When you are in a car accident, you can’t always know how much you are going to have to pay in medical bills. Sometimes, you know the costs right away. Other times, you may require several visits and several procedures over the course of time to help you get back on your feet. If your medical bills are breaking the bank, it’s crucial to have a lawyer. He or she can help you recover the compensation that you deserve. No one should have to worry about going bankrupt due to medical bills that another person caused you to have to pay.

You Are Distracted

After you are in a car accident, you could wind up suffering from emotional issues and shock. You may not feel like yourself and may be even more unmotivated to work on your case. Lawyers understand that their clients are under a lot of stress and can help to deplete that burden. A lawyer can help you feel less stressed when you are in a vulnerable position.

If you are dealing with hospital visits and new adjustments due to your injuries, then you already have a lot on your hands. When you are unfamiliar with tort law and car accident settlements, you may have an even harder time learning it when you are also distracted with your health.

You don’t have to suffer alone after a car accident. The stress of the accident, your medical bills, and the adjustments that you have to make to your life can be overwhelming. Car accident lawyers are there to help you. Don’t navigate the settlement process or trial without a lawyer next to you, as tort law is complex. With everything that you are going through, it is smarter to consult with a car accident lawyer. Call a car accident lawyer, like a car accident lawyer in Woodland Hills, CA, today to find out more about your potential claim.

 

Thanks to the law offices of Barry P. Goldberg for their insight into the importance of hiring a lawyer after a car accident. 

Car Accident Lawyer

After you’re injured in an automobile accident, you may get stressed over the amount of medical bills piling up. The good news is your car accident lawyer can work to help you receive the compensation you deserve. In the meantime, you’ll need to pay those bills, so what resources can you turn to?

Health Insurance Coverage

If you have health insurance coverage, you may be able to receive help paying your medical bills through your health insurer. In many cases, when your insurer knows the bills are due to a car accident injury, they will put a lien on your settlement so they get reimbursed after your case is complete. For this reason, it’s important you let the insurer know your medical issues are accident-related. It’s possible your lawyer can negotiate a reduction in the lien so your entire settlement doesn’t go to your health insurer, but that’s not always a guarantee.

Medicare or Medicaid

Both the Medicare and Medicaid programs are government-funded insurance programs for individuals who qualify. There are very specific rules that apply to these cases, so it’s important you speak with a case worker to understand exactly what you need to do. It’s possible that you’ll have certain obligations, such as paying some of the costs back to the government if you receive a settlement, so those are things you should consider.

Med-Pay Benefits

Even when an accident isn’t your fault, it’s possible your auto insurance will step in to help cover some of your medical costs. Many car insurers offer something called med-pay benefits. This is coverage that reaches a maximum, but you can use it until you reach that amount, which is often somewhere between $3,000 and $5,000. It may not cover all of your costs, but it should help so you don’t end up in trouble over your bills. Again, it’s possible your auto insurance provider will put a lien and ask for reimbursement if you receive a settlement, so be prepared for that.

Payment Plans

Speak with all your healthcare providers to find out what type of payment plans they offer. Some could offer no-interest payments for a certain period of time. Others may include a discount for bills paid at the time of service. Others might hold off on billing until you reach a settlement. It depends on the policies of your healthcare providers, as well as your particular situation.

Contacting a Lawyer

Your car accident doesn’t have to bankrupt you. To learn more about some resources for getting your medical bills paid after being injured, contact a car accident lawyer today.

Car Accident Lawyer

Clients who pursue legal claims often have a hard time understanding the fees they are being charged. Many lawyers charge their clients by the hour. However, most personal injury attorneys do not bill by the hour. Instead, they work on a contingency fee, which means that the lawyer only gets paid if and when the client receives a settlement either before or after a trial.  

Many clients ask if the defendant or their insurance company will pay their attorney’s fee. Unfortunately, the other side will almost never agree to that, which leaves you with having to pay your attorney. Fortunately, there are Florida laws which can help you shift some of your attorney’s fee to the defendant in the event you prevail.

These laws relate to Proposals for settlement (PFS). A PFS is governed by Florida Statute 768.79 and Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.442.  The PFS can be a powerful tool to put pressure on the opposition to settle a case. Essentially, a PFS can award attorneys’ fees and costs for a party that offered to settle a case prior to trial for a reasonable amount. 

Under Florida Statute 768.79 and Rule 1.442, if the Plaintiff files a Proposal for Settlement that the Defendant does not accept and pay, and a jury ultimately awards you a verdict that exceeds the offer by 25% or more, then the Defendant is responsible for all of the Plaintiff’s attorneys’ fees and costs from the date the Proposal was made.   For example, if you serve a Proposal to settle your case for $100,000.00, the Defendant does not pay it, and a jury awards you $125,000.00 or more, then your attorney’s fees will be paid by the Defendant for the time your lawyer spent on the case from the date of the Proposal through trial. 

Of course, a Defendant can also serve a PFS to put pressure on a Plaintiff.  If the Defendant offers to settle and there is a defense verdict or the verdict is less than seventy-five percent of the PFS, then the Plaintiff is responsible for the Defendant’s reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. Parties have thirty days from receipt of the PFS to either accept or reject it.    

The PFS statute and rule contain very specific requirements as to the precise language that must be included in the PFS and how it is to be served. An experienced attorney will be able to advise you on the pros and cons of serving a PFS.  Additionally, there is now PFS insurance which a party can buy in order to protect themselves in the event they lose the case and have to pay the other parties’ attorneys’ fees.

Call Jeff Murphy Law, an auto accident lawyer in Tampa, FL, for a free consultation to discuss your legal rights with respect to a trial and a PFS. 

 

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Thank you to Jeff Murphy Law, for their input into legal settlements in Florida.