If you have Medicare and you’re involved in a personal injury claim in North Carolina, that fact WILL have an impact on the resolution of your claim.
Medicare would like to not pay for treatment that someone else is paying for, but in a liability state like NC, liability coverage doesn’t pay for treatment as you go, which means there’s a dispute as to payment and there is no coverage when the bill is incurred so Medicare CAN AND WILL pay for your injury related treatment.
BUT, they are going to want their money back! The details of how we go about that process are for another post, but suffice it to say that if Medicare paid for any treatment related to your claim – PCP, Urgent Care, Emergency Department, etc. – then we HAVE to ask Medicare what they want back and we have to go through that process.
This is not the end of the world! It’s really not that onerous. Now, their system is in some ways backwards, but it is something that we can work through and resolve over time. The main things that you need to take away from this is that a) If Medicare even might have been billed for accident related treatment, I HAVE to jump through their hoops – even if you don’t want me to, and b) it will add a bit of time to your injury claim process. As to how much time it might add, I can’t say for sure, but generally we’re talking weeks, not months, so it’s really not that big of a deal.
So if you have Medicare and you are involved in a North Carolina personal injury claim, just know that we’re going to have to deal with Medicare and it’s going to take a little longer than you might hope, but if you have good representation, it should all be OK. Call me at 919-929-2992.
When you’re in an auto accident you are very likely to need some form of medical treatment. That might be some ibuprofen or it might be surgery. For most people, it’s PT and/or chiropractic care. For those folks, they almost always ask me this question: How long should my treatment last?
The short answer is I can’t say how long your treatment should last.
The long answer is that, of course, I’m not that kind of doctor so I really don’t have any business giving opinions as to the length or course of your treatment. Having said that, it is important to understand how the length of your treatment might impact your claim negotiation. On THAT topic I’m imminently qualified to opine.
Generally, if you’re in need of PT and/or chiropractic treatment following an accident, you’ve suffered some sort of soft tissue sprain/strain injury, normally to muscles around your spine. With those sorts of injuries we normally see clients improve within 3 to 6 months of the accident. Is that always the case? Certainly not. But is that the average? It certainly is. So how does that impact your case value?
That could be a very long answer, but I hate long blog posts. For the point of this post, let’s restrict the answer to one issue: Perception. When your treatment extends past the average time, it starts to raise red flags with the at-fault insurance company. Why isn’t this person getting better? There may be some very valid reasons. Or they might just be “malingering,” which is a term that insurance adjusters use to mean “you’re just pretending you’re hurt to make money.” That’s less than ideal. So how do you avoid it?
There really isn’t a way to avoid this scenario, per se. You can hope that your course of treatment will terminate in the average time so that you don’t run afoul of industry perceptions and you’re more likely to get the claim resolved easily. But if you start to linger past that time frame, it’s time to talk to your physician and your attorney to discuss what’s going on. It might be time to seek a second opinion.
All of this stuff is complicated. It’s probably a good idea to have an attorney. You should call one. Call me. 919-929-2992.
One of the topics I constantly discuss with clients is that of aggravation of pre-existing injuries. “What dat mean?” you might ask. Buckle up.
First, let’s talk about what it’s not. Let’s say you’re feeling fine and you get in a car accident and THEN your neck and back start hurting. You have no history of neck or back pain and no complaints prior to the accident. You have some neck and back pain after the accident and your doc supports the causation argument that the impact caused soft tissues injuries in and around your spine. THAT’S a new injury. And that’s great. It’s ALWAYS easier to convince a liability carrier to pay for new injuries. What’s not as easy to convincing a carrier that they should pay for aggravation of a pre-existing injury.
Let’s say you were in that accident above and had some neck and back issues. You were in treatment and still suffering from symptoms when BOOM! the gods of the highway curse you with ANOTHER accident. Your neck and back were in pain before, but NOT as bad as they are now after this second accident. What you have now is aggravation of a pre-existing injury, and that’s never easy to win.
When you’re arguing about aggravation of an old injury, how do you prove what percentage of the pain/suffering/etc. was caused by the second impact versus the first? This can be a very difficult thing to do, especially when you have a soft tissue injury that doesn’t really show up on diagnostic imaging. This can lead to a very complex causation discussion involving your treating physician and maybe other experts.
As with many things dealing with personal injury claims, it’s best to seek the help of a professional if you’re having these sorts of questions and concerns. Call an attorney. Call me at 919-929-2992.
When you’re in an auto accident in North Carolina you’re going to have a lot on your mind: How do you get your car fixed? CAN you get your car fixed? When are you going to get better? What kind of treatment can you get? How are you going to get paid for it? Are you going to miss a lot of work? The list goes on!
Property damage should be the least of your worries if you have an injury claim, BUT in our car-driven society (see what I did there?) it’s often a priority, for better or for worse. So what’s my advice?
Your property damage should get handled by the at-fault party. If it’s working, it’s working. If they’re giving you grief, though, AND you happen to have collision coverage, file it on your policy! I know, I know, people are hesitant to do this, but this is WHY you have insurance! You’re paying for it, so why not use it? Remember, your company has duty to treat you fairly, but the other one doesn’t, and that can save you time and money.
As always, talk to an attorney if you have this sort of problem. Call me at 919-929-2992.
Look, I’m obviously biased here, but let me just go ahead and tell you it’s a dumb idea to wait to hire a personal injury attorney. Here’s why:
A lot of what a personal injury attorney does is at the BEGINNING of your claim. We investigate liability, shore up the narrative, advise you on when to talk and to whom, as well as helping you avoid a TON of mistakes that can lead to the demise of your claim. We make sure all the carriers that need to be on notice are put on notice and help you understand what the process is going to look like. We explain how you can pay for your health care as you wait out the process. If you wait until 2 years after your accident happened, we can’t really do that, can we?
Think about it this way: If you want to buy a house, you would NEVER start building it and THEN after you got a rickety frame up on a quickcrete foundation call a contractor to come fix all of your mistakes and then build you a real house. Of course you wouldn’t do that! So why would you try the same shenanigans with your injury claim?! Isn’t there too much on the line?
Waiting to talk to an attorney makes it harder for us to do what we do to help make sure your claim works out for the best. Trying to get us to rescue you after you’ve let your claim rot for two years isn’t exactly setting us (or you!) up for success. So please don’t wait. If you have an injury claim, call an attorney NOW. Call me at 919-929-2992.
There are several reasons you might want to hire an attorney for your injury claim in North Carolina. But here are the main two reasons you would want to have an attorney:
The secondary reason is for a better outcome. None of us can guarantee any sort of outcome or even a better outcome than you might obtain on your own. But think about it: If you don’t know how to approach this, what are the chances that you’re going to do a better job than a professional? It doesn’t make sense.
The primary reason is to take the work off of your shoulders. I sincerely doubt you were twiddling your thumbs before this accident just looking for stuff to do! You were busy already, and NOW you have to worry about getting better, going to treatment, maybe missing work. And on top of that you want to learn how to do my job in your free time? That’s just too much.
Could you do all of this on your own? Sure. But might you get a better result with an attorney? I sure think so. And do you really have time to figure out how to do my job? I doubt it.
Do yourself a favor. If you have an injury claim in NC, call an experienced personal injury attorney. Call me. 919-929-2992.
Just so you know, I’m not generally in favor of you firing your attorney, especially if it’s me! But sometimes things just aren’t working out and like in any relationship, the healthy thing might be to part ways, so let’s talk about that situation.
There’s any number of reasons you might want to fire your personal injury attorney. But what you need to find out before you do anything drastic is whether or not your reasons are reasonable. In other words, is it maybe the case that your expectations are the problem, not the work the attorney is doing? Without some outside insight on your situation, it may be hard to say for sure either way.
If you’re unsatisfied with your personal injury attorney, it won’t hurt to call another attorney and talk to them about whether or not you’re being unreasonable or if your attorney just isn’t living up to your (legitimate) expectations. There can be a lot of nuance in personal injury law and every case is different, but normally an attorney in the same field and jurisdiction can tell pretty quickly if you’re attorney is the problem or if it’s your expectations not being aligned with reality.
If it turns out that your expectations are reasonable and your attorney just isn’t cutting it, there are still more concerns to consider. How close are you to your statute of limitations? If you’re close, it may be really hard to find another attorney willing to take your case on (this is what was called a “malpractice trap” when I was in law school, and we were all wisely warned against getting involved in really old cases). So while it might be generally OK to look to switch horses in the middle of the race, you better make sure there’s actually another horse to switch to before you jump off.
If you determine that firing your attorney is still the right thing to do, then your next question is going to be “what do I owe them?” I can’t speak to every attorney’s fee agreement, but generally we all have a contingency fee arrangement that means if we don’t get the case resolved for you, we don’t get paid a fee. However, we also still have what’s called a quantum meruit claim, which means that we could ask you to pay us some reasonable fee for the amount of work we have done, to date, on your case. Most of the time fired attorneys don’t seek to enforce that right (for several reasons that aren’t terribly important) BUT you should still consider it, and probably discuss it with the attorney, before you make your move.
So, you’ve gotten some good insight, you’ve determined it’s still a good time to fire your attorney, and you aren’t worried about what you might owe them. How do you fire your personal injury attorney? It’s pretty simple: just tell them they’re fired, in whatever language you choose to use. Just make it clear that they’re off your case and ask for a copy of your file. The Bar says you have to give them a “reasonable” amount of time to provide the file copy, but nowadays, I feel like “reasonable” isn’t very long at all. I could probably email your file to you in a few seconds if you wanted me to.
To summarize, it’s not always a good idea to fire your attorney. Maybe it’s your expectations that need adjusting, not your attorney that needs changing. But sometimes it’s not you, it’s them, and you need to be rid of them. Just make sure you’ve considered the facts of your case and how easy it will be to find a replacement before you do anything that can’t be undone. I’ve personally taken on a lot of second hand cases and made them work. But I’ve also declined more than I’ve taken on. Seek reliable advice from an experienced personal injury lawyer…like me. Call me at 919-929-2992.
Here’s a hint: It’s not your mother’s sister’s cousin’s father’s former roommate.
I get this ALL the time: I think my case should be worth $X! So and so says I should at least get $X!
Let’s say I go into a doctor’s office and it turns out I have diabetes. But I tell the doc that my treatment should be 700mg of Tylenol BID. The doc might humor me and ask, “Why do you think that?” My response is, “Because that’s just what I think.” The doc might continue this line of inquiry…”But on what basis do you think this is a safe and effective treatment for your particular condition?” My response is, “Well, I just think that’s what I should do. It’s not based on any experience, education, or training in the field of medicine. It’s just what I think.” That’s not really a good basis for making treatment recommendations, is it?
It’s very normal to want your case to be worth a certain figure. But pulling that figure arbitrarily out of the air, based on nothing but desire, isn’t the best way to make a business decision. And that’s what this is: Choosing to settle v. choosing to litigate is based on a cost/benefit analysis. It’s a little on the growl-y side, but I tell clients all the time that while I take their opinion into consideration when considering outcome goals, their opinion is absolutely valueless when it comes to what a jury will do because you can’t be on your own jury. Conversely, while a very small minority of my clients might throw it to the wind, my opinion is formulated on having been trained to do this job and having done this job for over 20 years now. I try not to take it personally when clients tell me that’s nothing in comparison to what they want their case to be, or what their uncle who’s a corporate attorney in Minnesota thinks it should be.
The moral of the story is if you really want to know what your case is worth, talk to an injury attorney with experience in the field, who knows the facts of your case in and out. Even then, their opinion isn’t set in stone, but it has far more likelihood of being accurate than some nonsense someone you know just made up.
Thankfully, most NC auto accident claims get settled without litigation. That’s a good thing for both parties. Litigation is expensive, time-consuming, and uncertain, so I would never say that it’s the best dispute resolution platform out there. Winston Churchill said of Democracy, “It’s the worst form of government, except for all of the other ones we’ve tried,” and this same sentiment might apply to trial by jury. Still, as much as we’d like to avoid it, sometimes you have to go through with it.
In making the decision to go to trial, it would help if you knew, at least in a nutshell, what the entire litigation process looked like. So here’s that nutshell for you:
Filing: First, as the Plaintiff we must file a Complaint. That’s a formal documentation of what you’re saying the bad guys did and you take it to the appropriate county clerk’s office, pay them some money, and boom, you’re a litigant. You then have to serve the Defendant (which costs money) in a prescribed way (which is often easier said than done) and after that the Defendant has 30 days (really 60) to file an Answer, which is a formal document that will state why the Defendant thinks the Plaintiff is full of $#%!.
Discovery: This is probably going to be the longest part of the litigation process. Discovery consists of two elements – written discovery and depositions. Written discovery is most easily described as asking tons of invasive and inappropriate questions on paper that the parties are then required to answer in 30 days (really 60) under oath. Depositions are question and answer sessions that are requested by the attorneys for the litigants, at which the deponent is asked questions under oath in the presence of a court reporter who is documenting every word. The discovery process is really about fact-finding so that each litigant knows what evidence supports or harms their respective claims. Mostly it’s the plaintiff and defendant who are deposed, but witnesses can be as well, and expert witness depositions are very important. Three things you should really take away about Discovery: First, it’s going to take a lot of time and effort on YOUR part, not just mine, so know that you’re essentially signing up for a part-time job. Second, it’s probably the most important part of the litigation process and can really make or break your claim. Third, it’s deceptively expensive. You will be paying the court reporter as well as for transcripts, which adds up quickly. More importantly, if you’re paying for an expert witness, here’s where you can really, really get in the hole. So be forewarned.
Mediation: Every case filed in Superior Court in NC must go to mediation unless excused by a Judge. A mediation is just a formal settlement conference refereed by a mediator, who does not make decisions in the case but just helps the parties to communicate. This costs money, too, but is often worth it, as most cases that are filed are settled at or before mediation. There will be considerable preparation work prior to the mediation, but the amount is really on a case by case basis.
Trial: This is the actual going to court, picking a jury, and going through the court room process. This can be time-consuming and immensely stressful. For the most part, the process here is too complicated to really right about, especially in that it may vary so much from case to case. But most of what you’ve seen on TV is both very right and very wrong, if that helps you any.
The process is expensive, imperfect, and uncertain. But maybe it’s your best chance at success, whatever that means, for your claim. Just talk to your attorney and ask as much as you can to know what you’re getting into before making such a big decision.
“BUT THIS IS MY FIRST TICKET!” is something I hear ALL the time when I explain what the likely outcome of an Orange or Chatham County speeding ticket might be. People sadly work under the mistaken assumption that if you’ve never had a ticket before, your first one is on the house. That just ain’t true.
Think of it this way: A speeding ticket is, whether you like it or not, an accusation of a crime. A small crime, but a crime nonetheless. Which means it’s like larceny, or arson, or murder. Do you get one free murder? Nope. Doesn’t work like that.
I know, that’s not an apples to apples comparison, precisely, but the premise holds true: Just because this is your first ticket doesn’t mean you’re going to get out of it without some sort of consequences. Does having a clean driving record potentially help your outcome? For sure! The ADA negotiating the ticket will very likely take that into consideration. But it ain’t getting dismissed just because it’s your first one.
