The law regarding dog bites in North Carolina is truly Byzantine, even for attorneys.  We are told that these sorts of claims are “strict liability” – which means that the dog owner is responsible when his dog hurts someone, period, regardless of the circumstances.  That’s kinda true and kinda not.

Despite the whole “strict liability” thing, the outcomes of dog bite/dog attack claims can be heavily influenced by the facts surrounding the attack.  They often require a thorough investigation of the history of the dog as well as the facts leading up to the incident, not to mention a good understanding of dog bite law in North Carolina.

And even with “good” facts that support a solid liability argument, where is the compensation going to come from?  Does the owner have assets?  Insurance?  Were you bitten while working, so is it a worker’s compensation claim?  There’s so much to find out!

Here are some things you should think about:

• Does the dog have a history of being aggressive towards you?  To other neighbors, maybe? Do you know of anyone personally who has been attacked or had another dog attacked by this dog?
• Does this dog belong to someone in an apartment? A house?  Do you know if they rent or own?
• What did the owner say after this occurred?  Was there any interaction before the attack?  Remember details and record them however you can!
• Document witnesses!  Take pictures!  Get statements!
• If you can, secure homeowners/renters insurance information IMMEDIATELY following the accident.

And what about the injuries?  I’ve seen little scratches from dog attacks and horrific lacerations.  Dogs can cause horrific damages to their victims, especially when the victims are small children.  Consider the damages and what the claim is worth before you decide to make a claim.

Your inclination may be to handle the claim on your own, and THEN if things get hairy (hah!) to seek help from an attorney.  But I’m not sure if this is always a great idea.  If you don’t practice personal injury law for a living, is now the time to try to learn how?  If you don’t do this for a living, how many mistakes are you going to make before you get an attorney?  And are those mistakes going to be reparable?  Or are you just making things worse for you and your claim and making your future attorney’s job harder/impossible?   Personally, I think your case is too important to risk rolling the dice on it.  Talk to an attorney who has handled these cases before– that could be me! – and see what s/he can do to make this process go more smoothly for you.

Call me now and I’ll be glad to discuss your claim with you and let you know what I can do to help.

I’m writing this blog for all current and prospective clients.  The title gets the point across, but for more detailed information, PLEASE READ ON!

After you get hurt in an accident, you’re going to incur treatment costs.  Those can add up really quickly.  The BEST way to protect yourself in that situation is to USE YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE!  I can’t say it or emphasize it enough.

Yes, I know that you want the at-fault party/their insurance (the “bad guy” for short) to pay for this, and that’s what you’ve hired me for.  Trust me, I want that too!  But our system isn’t immediate.  In North Carolina, your health costs are your own until you make someone else pay for them.  And we can’t do that until the end.  Now, “the end” can mean different things in different cases, but for most people who will only be getting treatment for 6 months or less, “the end” means after they’re done and they’ve reached Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) meaning they’re as good as they’re going to get after the accident and then we try to settle the case with the bad guy.  At that point the goal is to get all of your losses reimbursed – including your health care expenses.

But what do you do in the meantime?  USE YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE!  This is exactly what you have it for, so USE IT!  If you fail to use it, it could end up drastically reducing your recovery, and can in some instances make your claim almost impossible to settle.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule.  If your provider doesn’t accept health insurance – like most chiropractors – then of course you don’t use it.  But using your health insurance should be your default in these situations unless you have a darn good attorney-approved reason for not doing so.

You should also watch out for rogue health care providers like Wake Med and Johnston Memorial who, though they normally accept health insurance, will try to avoid processing it in a gambit to make more money at your expense.  If you’re in an accident and get treated by one of these providers, force your health insurance down their throat however you can, and let me or your attorney if it’s not me know if you don’t have success with that.

If you don’t have health insurance, then try to do a payment plan to avoid getting sent to collections.  If you can’t do that, then let me know if I’m on your case and I can try to forestall collections, but there’s no law that really can stop that; we can only try.

In closing, USE YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE!

If you miss your court date, a $400 total charge gets more expensive than you can imagine…

First, your license will get revoked if you don’t deal with it, which can lead to more costly and dangerous charges like Driving While License Revoked.  That can cost you $1000 or more to fix.  But even if you catch it before that, you’ll probably pay double the attorney’s fee you would have if you had just dealt with it on time…that’s $150 turning into $300 instantly.  AND, whenever you do finally get it fixed, you’ll still have to pay the cost/fine and on top of that you’ll likely have to pay the $200 FTA fee! That’s not to mention the reinstatement fee you’ll have to pay to DMV.

Compare that to simply paying the attorney’s fee (they vary, but let’s say $150 or so) in the first place, following their instructions, and then just paying the cost/fine to the court ($250?).  You’re out $400 in that scenario, compared to a likely $750, and that’s if you don’t catch a DWLR before you get it all resolved.

Do yourself a favor: If you get a ticket, get a lawyer immediately.

What could personal injury claims and Guy Ritchie movies have in common?  What could possibly be the connection?  I’ll tell you…

Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels is one of my favorite movies.  It is a great watch and infinitely quotable.

During a black market exchange, one character keeps asking if he can get this or get that.  At one point, our protagonist says, “I’ll get you a gold-plated Rolls Royce, as long as you pay for it.”

That’s the connection.

The lesson to be learned is that you can get only what you pay for.

In North Carolina personal injury claims, you can get back what you can earn through proof.  Did you lose out on a $1 million sports contract because of this injury?  Well, show me the contract.  Get me an affidavit from the GM who was going to hire you.  Did you lose out on that boss internship at SAS because of this injury?  Get me some documentary evidence.  Did you “catch depression” as a result of your injuries?  Alrighty, show me the diagnosis from the health care provider who can back that claim up.

If you can’t give me the money for the gold-plated Rolls Royce, I can’t get you the gold-plated Rolls Royce.  If you can’t document your lost income, I can’t get you your lost income.

Personal injury claims are about remuneration – paying you back.  Personal injury claims are not about windfalls.  I can only get you what you’ve lost, and more exactly, what you can prove you’ve lost as a result of the accident in question.

If you get in an automobile accident in North Carolina, don’t expect to just “get paid” as the kids say these days.  What you should be able to expect is that with competent representation you can get paid back for what you’ve lost – medical expenses, lost wages, time spent suffering instead of enjoying your life.  Any expectations for anything that you can’t prove you lost are a waste of time and emotion.

Learn this lesson early in your claim and you will be like the Buddha.  Expectations only lead to suffering. So if you don’t have expectations you will suffer less.

Victims of auto accidents are usually able to seek compensation for their injuries from  the at-fault party’s automobile insurance company. But what happens if there is no insurance for the at-fault party?  Or if there isn’t enough?

People who get stuck in these sorts of situations might feel like there’s nothing they can do to get adequately reimbursed for their losses.

There is hope, though!  There could still be insurance coverage available to these victims.  Namely Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage…or UM/UIM.

Most drivers have this type of coverage included in their policies.  In fact, in NC, you almost certainly have it unless you specifically asked for it to be excluded and signed a separate document to that effect.  Also, if you have a minimum limits policy, then you probably don’t have UIM coverage.  Anyway, assuming you have it – and you probably do –  you can seek payment from your own insurance companies instead of (UM), or in addition to (UIM), the insurance companies of the at-fault parties. Uninsured Motorist coverage is for situations where the bad guy isn’t covered at all.   Underinsured Motorist coverage is for when the bad guy doesn’t have enough coverage for the damage he caused.

I know, this sounds boring, but it can be life-altering information.  As usual, I’m here to help clear up the confusion, so reach out to me if you have any questions about it. 919-929-2992.

CLIENT: “Am I entitled to a second opinion under workers’ comp law?”

ME: “Yes, but it’s complicated.”

I have this conversation at least once a month.  And it is way more complicated than it should be.  When the insurance company-loving-Republicans took over the NC legislature a few years back, they changed injured workers’ rights to second opinions.  It used to be that you just asked for a second opinion – on whatever – with whomever you wanted and then you got it.  It ain’t so easy anymore.

Now there are two types of second opinions.  97-25 allows for a second opinion on all issues, whereas 97-27 allows for a second opinion ONLY on the rating.  Well, how are they different?

97-25 FULL SECOND OPINION

With this option, you can ask a doctor about any medical issue related to your claim – diagnosis, treatment, causation, work restrictions, MMI, rating – whatever.  The trick is that the plaintiff and the insurance company have to either a) agree on a doc, or b) have the NCIC appoint a doc.  The crappy bits are somewhat obvious, and somewhat not.  When you are agreeing to a doc, you generally aren’t going to get someone who is famous for being plaintiff-friendly.  And there’s always the concern that any doc an insurance company will agree to has a “good” history with them, which should concern you.  And if the NCIC appoints one, who knows who or what you’ll get.  It’s very much a roll of the dice.

97-27 SECOND OPINION ON RATING

With this option, you can choose ANY doc you want, essentially, but you can ONLY ask his/her opinion as to your disability rating.  Of course, you should only use this one when that’s the only real dispute you have.  It’s nice to be able to choose your doc, as you can feel more comfortable about their innate prejudice/bias.  Sadly, as insurance companies are wont to do, they have found a way to stymie these.  Their current ploy is to say that they’ll only pay what the NCIC fee schedule allows for an appointment – which is like $150 or so – and they refuse to pre-pay.  Virtually no doc will agree to that.  The great irony is that the insurance companies will happily pay their own prostitutes, I mean doctors, $1600 or more for a second opinion.  Completely ridiculous.  As a consequence, docs are getting the idea that they should be getting $1500 or so for these appointments, so then even the good docs aren’t willing to play ball for anything less.

It’s no fun.  Once again, the law wasn’t always like this, and it’s simply another example of the legislature destroying peoples’ rights in favor of big business.  Sadly, we have to play by the rules set out by the State, though, so we’re stuck with them for now.

This is all the more reason why you need the best guidance you can get in your worker’s compensation claim.  Call me for info anytime.  919-929-2992.

Should you give a statement to the defendant’s liability carrier after your auto accident?

I should start by pointing out that there are many different points of views on this, but they fall into two categories, generally…those that don’t like statements, and those that don’t mind them so much.

But what does that tell you?  A good place to start is considering the person with whom you are speaking.  The adjuster works for the liability insurance company.  The adjuster’s job is to try to save their employer money.  You should approach each and every interaction with them with that thought in mind.

Because of their overarching goal, giving a statement to the adjuster can be dangerous to your claim.  Adjusters are trained to  ask you questions, which elicit responses that might damage your claim, so talking with them is very dangerous!  Because North Carolina is still a Contributory Negligence state, it is especially dangerous with regards to the determination of negligence, or who screwed up, in your accident.  If they get you to say something that shows you contributed to the cause of your accident, you can mangle your case with a quickness.  And even if you get by that little problem,  there are still things you might accidentally do/say to harm the value of your claim.  For example:

Adjuster: How are you doing today?

Victim: I’m fine, how about you?

MISTAKE!   You’re not “fine”!  You were just in an automobile accident!  You just got out of the hospital and full of pain meds!  But this is the danger.  We have a habit of falling into conventional conversation patters and we subconsciously say stuff that may not be true AND that they’ll use against you later:

NASTY DEFENSE ATTORNEY IN COURT: “…then why did you say to the adjuster, ‘I’m fine,’ the day after the accident, hmmmmm?”

Most of the time, for the reasons pointed out above, I shy away from having my clients make statements to the carriers.  The tricky cases, though, are when the carrier is leaning solely on your story alone to determine if they’ll accept the claim.  This mostly happens when they can’t get their own insured to give them a statement, or when their insured’s story, or a witness’ story, doesn’t jive with the accident report.   This is really frustrating because getting them to accept liability means getting your property damage claim moving, which is often the most immediate concern of most clients; everyone needs transportation in this area…public transportation isn’t the norm.  This scenario creates a very precarious position for victims.

So how can you get the claim moving without facing these perils?

You may be best off speaking to an attorney first, particularly one that actually does personal injury law.  If there are concerns about liability (could you be at fault, maybe?) in your case, speaking to the adjuster may do more harm than good.  This is especially true in stop sign intersection cases, or any intersection case for that matter.

After you consider the facts in your specific scenario and IF you decide you REALLY want to just move forward with the statement (which I normally would try to avoid!) then follow these guidelines:

• Ask questions:   Why is the statement necessary?  Is the accident report available?  Why is it not good enough?  Is there a way you can help him to meet his goals to reach a liability decision without subjecting you to a recorded statement like a criminal defendant? If you are nice but firm, this might get you out of the statement, or might lead to an alternative.
• Watch the small talk.  Just because he’s talking to you about sports and your favorite UFC fighter doesn’t mean he’s a good dude.  He’s taking notes on everything you say, and you can do lots of harm when you’re talking but not thinking about what you’re saying.  Try to avoid the small talk and get to the point.
• If you ask for the statement not to be recorded, they might agree (or they might pretend not to be recording). Still, the problem with recorded statements is what you say, and how you say it, is preserved forever.  It’s that inability to be flexible in your narrative later down the road that creates issues.  So if you can have an informal discussion, that’s better.
• Keep it simple.  People are generally not very good at this.  Still, try!  Don’t give any more details than necessary.  “I was stopped for traffic in front of me and she hit me from behind.”  Boom.  There’s your story.  There’s no need to elaborate.
• DO NOT DISCUSS  injuries or treatment.  If you are injured, tell them you are injured and that’s all you’re telling them.  You will discuss injuries and treatment AFTER you’re done recovering.

In my experience, if you can avoid the statement without creating too many secondary issues for yourself, that’s the best strategy. But under some circumstances you might be stuck.  The best thing you can do for your claim is speak to an experienced attorney.  I know one that can help!  THIS GUY!  Call me at 919-929-2992.

One of the main questions people have after getting hurt in an auto accident is how they go about paying their bills.

So what’s the answer?  As usual, it’s complicated.

For whatever reason, a lot of people think that there is a different billing and collections system for auto accident-related medical bills.  They often think that the liability carrier will just start writing checks for their bills, or that the hospitals/other providers will just hold off collecting those bills until they clam is done.  None of those things are true.

The main thing (and it’s a hard thing) to take away from this post is that your bills are your responsibility.  Period.   Even if it wasn’t your fault that you incurred them, it’s you that owes them.  That’s our system, believe it or not.

Of course, MY JOB is to make that not so painful for you.  In handling the claim, my goal will be to get you a sufficient recovery from whatever insurance carriers are out there so that you won’t lose money on medical treatment costs, and hopefully I’ll be able to get you something for your pain/suffering/inconvenience.  Obviously, our ability to recover for any and all of those things are affected by many factors, including but not limited to liability issues, damages, causation, etc.

You get it now, if you have bills, you have to pay them.  But what if you can’t?

Here’s the best advice I can give on medical bills after an auto accident:

1. If you have health insurance, use it!  This is what it’s for!  Insist that the provider bill your health insurance.  This will reduce your overall costs in most situations, depending on your policy, and will slow that collections process down, too.
2. Whether we are talking balances, co-pays, or the whole bills, IF you can pay them now, PAY THEM NOW!  That will totally stifle credit reporting concerns down the road, and we’ll do our best to get you paid back.
3. If you can’t pay all the bills now, MAKE SOME SORT OF PAYMENT PLAN!  Even if it’s just $10/month, that will help, and most hospitals would rather get that than nothing, AND that will hold off credit reporting, too.
4. If you can’t make payment arrangements, send me copies of the bills with collections warnings and I’ll ask them to hold off.  There’s no law that says they have to, but in many circumstances, if they know you have an attorney, they’ll be more patient.

This can be confusing, mostly because of our inability to toss pre-conceived and inaccurate notions.  But I’m here to help.  Call me for any accident injury questions at 919-929-2992.

What’s the best thing you can do to help your claim? Listen to the advice of a good lawyer

I have been doing this for over 16 years as of the time of this post.  And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been hired by an injury victim only to have my advice – for which they are paying! – ignored by the client.  Why?  How? What’s the point?

Of course, this is by no means the majority of my clients.  The overwhelming majority of my clients know and understand the value of what I bring to the table in this relationship and they heed my advice as best they can.  But there are always outliers.  And I think they fall into two categories:

The first category are those people who didn’t want to get a lawyer in the first place, felt like they knew it all to begin with, and are only hiring me because someone is bullying them into it. It’s really hard for me to get past that.  It reminds me of the Zen koan where the teacher shows that a cup full of tea cannot receive more tea, the lesson being that you must first empty your cup and acknowledge your ignorance before you can learn.  I try to be a good and patient teacher with these folks, but when someone doesn’t want to learn, then I can’t make them.

The second category are those people that would otherwise be willing to learn, but for whatever reason have a certain deficit with regard to maintaining successful communications links.  My preferred method of client contact is email.  It’s immediate and is easily preserved for future reference.  Some people prefer phone calls, or texting, or even letters.  Whatever!  As long as you’re communicating, it should work out.  But some folks just can’t do that…I don’t know why.  Maybe they have a fear of computers, or don’t have one.  If that’s the case, TELL your lawyer and then choose another method.  But the main point is that whatever method you choose, engage in it!

The number one downfall of most clients’ cases is their failure to respond to or engage in communication with their attorney. 

If you aren’t hearing anything from your attorney, reach out.  That won’t be the case with me because I ALWAYS reach out to clients every two to three weeks unless there’s a reason not to, which I’ll then share with the client so they know.  If you aren’t hearing from me, then it’s because something is wrong.  Your spam filter is eating my emails, maybe you moved and forgot to tell me, or you changed numbers.  But you can rest assured that I’m trying!

So what have you learned here?  Listening to your lawyer will help your claim.  Seriously,  you’re paying your lawyer for his or her advice, so it only makes sense to at least consider it when making your decisions.  Make sure to keep an open line of communication with your lawyer, and if you aren’t hearing from him or her, find out why!

Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

Yo, Joe!