Most of the time I don’t handle property damages claims for clients.  They really generally don’t need an attorney for this and with the right poking and prodding (which I can easily tell them to do) things get taken care of by the at-fault carrier.  Most of the time.

But sometimes the at-fault insurance company doesn’t get to the property damage in a timely fashion.  This can be because of a liability investigation, which can be made more complicated by complicated facts or hesitant witnesses/parties.  Or it could also be just because the insurance company just sucks.  Or any other reason.  Regardless of the reason, the effect can be very disruptive for clients.  In North Carolina most of us don’t live in metropolitan areas where public transportation is convenient and affordable.  Getting to and from work, getting the kids to and from school, not to mention daily shopping , etc. are all almost impossible without a car in our area.

So what do you do when you’ve been in an accident that wasn’t your fault but the other side isn’t moving quickly enough to get your car fixed?

If you have collision coverage on your auto policy, that’s your answer.  Many people think that they can’t or should use their own policy when the accident wasn’t their fault.  That’s incorrect.  You can.  There’s no rule against it.  And there’s no penalty.  When you make a claim, as long as it didn’t arise from your own negligence, you can’t be assessed insurance points to raise your rates.  Sometimes you may have to eat your deductible, but as long as you have a good liability case there’s a great chance you’ll get that back from the at-fault company sooner or later; sometimes your own company won’t even make you pay it as they know they’ll get it back from the bad guys most of the time, too.  Moreover, you’ve been paying extra for collision coverage this whole time, so why not use the thing you’ve already paid for!?  It will make your life so much easier because more often than not your own company will treat you better than the at-fault company, who happens to owe you no duty whatsoever.

Accident claims are tricky and you can generate a lot of questions.  Call an attorney if you need help.  Call me. 919-929-2992.

BEWARE! I’ve seen a TON of these recently, so we know that Durham County is making a point of issuing as many Work Zone speeding tickets as they can.

How can you protect yourself?

First, don’t drive over the speed limit.  That’s technically a crime!  You might get a ticket!

Second, if you pass by a sign that reads, “Work Zone,” then definitely don’t drive over the speed limit.  That is also a crime, but it carries a big ole fine on top of it.  Very, very naughty!

Third, if you don’t follow rules 1 and 2, and you get popped, then call me!  There’s a good chance I can help.

The good news about Work Zone tickets is that the 9 over waiver still works, which means that if your record is clean within three years of this ticket and you get this new one reduced to a 9 over, you won’t get insurance points for this ticket. You’ll still have the big fine, but that’s better than paying extra insurance rates for three years.  Even better is that often times we can get it removed from the Work Zone AND reduced, so that not only can I save your insurance premium, but I can keep your fine down as well.  With particularly pristine records, sometimes I can get even better outcomes.  But nothing is guaranteed in this business!

Call me at 919-929-2992 if you get this kind of ticket, or any other one for that matter. Remember I handle tickets in Orange, Chatham, Durham, Wake, and Alamance Counties.  I hope you don’t need me, but if you do call me!

http://www.personalinjury.com/news/225m-settlement-reached-after-minnesota-truck-accident

This is a Minnesota case, so the jurisdiction is different, but the lesson is relevant.

A man was driving to work when he was recklessly and needless killed due to no fault of his own by a truck driver who just wasn’t paying attention and ran a stop sign.

This can happen anytime, anywhere, to any of us.  Hug your kids and your spouse and be on the lookout out there.

Adjusters.  What are we going to do with them?

The first thing you should know about adjusters is that they work for the insurance company, which means their job is to try to save their employer money.  As long as you approach every interaction with them with this knowledge in mind, you might be OK.

So let’s consider the question at hand: Should you give a statement to the adjuster after an auto accident?

My answer is a definitive “probably not.”  But allow me to go into more detail…

Generally speaking, giving a statement to the adjuster can be dangerous (remember the first thing above!).  Adjusters are trained to get you to say things in certain ways that harm your claim, so talking with them is perilous.  It is particularly perilous with regards to negligence (especially automobile accident) claims in NC since we still have contributory negligence; if they can trick you into saying something that shows you contributed to the cause of your accident, you can sink your own case very quickly.  Even if you get by that pitfall, you may do things to harm the value of your claim.  For example:

Adjuster: How are you?

Victim: I’m fine, how about you?

ALARM!  You’re not f’ing fine!  You were just in a car accident!  You are in a cervical collar and jacked up on Vicodin and Percocet!  BUT we fall into conversational patterns and say stuff that they’ll use against you later:  SMARMY DEFENSE ATTORNEY IN COURT: “…then why did you say to the adjuster, ‘I’m fine,’ the day after the accident, hmmmmm?”

Sometimes, though, the adjuster, for whatever reason, is reliant on your story and your story alone to determine if they’ll move forward with the claim.  In the auto accident context, this can mean getting your property damage claim moving, which can be an immediate and costly concern to people.  So then you are put between a rock and a hard place.  So what do you do if you really just want to get the claim moving?

First, you should probably speak to a lawyer.  If there are concerns about liability (are you partially at fault?) in your case, speaking to the adjuster may do more harm than good.

Second, after you consider your particular facts and IF you decide you REALLY want to just move forward with the statement (sigh) then follow these guidelines:

• Ask why the statement is necessary.  Ask him to help you explore ways to help him meet his goals to reach a liability decision without pinning you down on a recording like a criminal defendant. If you ask nicely it might work.
• Watch the small talk.  Just because he’s asking you about the football game doesn’t mean he’s your friend.  He’s taking notes on everything you say, and you can do lots of damage when you’re not thinking.  So avoid the small talk and cut to the chase.
• In NC, as long as one party is aware of the recording of a conversation, it’s OK.  But still, if you ask for the statement not to be recorded, they might agree, which might help you save yourself from dumb things you say.
• Keep it simple.  People, sadly, are normally pretty bad at this.  No more details than necessary.  “I was at the stop light and she hit me from behind.”  That’s a good example.  Don’t elaborate.
• Don’t talk about your 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.

Really, if you can avoid the statement, that’s the best thing.  But I know it’s hard to get your way every time.  The best thing you can do for your claim is speak to an attorney.  I know one that can help!  919-929-2992.

http://news.yahoo.com/device-manufacturer-sued-again-superbug-outbreak-l-hospital-234742835–finance.html
In this case, a man was treated using a device that was infected by a “superbug” that then infected the patient and caused a great amount of harm to him.

I get these calls more often than you think, and it raises an interesting question:  Is there always negligence when someone gets sicker after they get treatment?

The answer is “no.”

Negligence is defined in these contexts as a failure to meet the standard of care.  So in situations where health care providers do everything that the local standard of care requires – like cleaning and using instruments per guidelines – and someone still gets sick, injured, or infected, that doesn’t mean there was negligence.  It just means stuff happens.

But sometimes there is negligence.  When providers re-use instruments or don’t clean them properly and injuries occur, that’s more like negligence.  But it can be hard to prove.  Will they write in their notes, “And then I wiped that scalpel with my dirty handkerchief and proceeded to cut the patient with it” ?  Probably not.

These cases can be complex and difficult to prove.  If you have a situation like this you should talk to an attorney.  I’m willing to talk, so call: 919-929-2992.

Please let me know what thoughts you have on this:  Twitter: @jahatty; Facebook: Jeffrey Allen Howard, Attorney at Law, PLLC.

https://business.google.com/u/0/b/103850759533204148050/reviews/l/12957712981367877311/r/4379281055340822697?service=plus&hl=en&utm_campaign=gmb_notifications&utm_source=local_review&utm_medium=desktop.email

Dang!  I’m floored by this review.  It feels really great to have a client that’s grateful for your service and feels like she got the benefit of her bargain.  She acknowledges that I wasn’t the cheapest but that she got a supreme level of service.  What more could an attorney ask for?

Thanks, clients.  You rock.

Short answer: Maybe.

Long answer: Whether or not you need an attorney for your auto accident claim really depends on many factors.  Do you have any experience handling these claims?  Do you have time?  Are you so injured that handling your own claim would be too taxing on you?  Do you work full time and have a family, so is adding more responsibility and duties to your workload really something you’re looking for?

One way I’ve approached this question is from an injury/treatment perspective.  My rule of thumb is that, generally, if you have more than one health care appointment it makes sense to have an attorney handle your claim, but if you only have one, then it may make less sense.

How so?

This comes from the value of the claim.  The value of the claim comes from several factors, but two of the main factors are health care costs and pain and suffering.  When you have multiple visits, you have higher costs, which makes your claim worth more.  When you have multiple visits, you tend to have more severe injuries that take you longer to recover from, which makes your claim worth more.

So why do you need an attorney more when your claim is worth more?

There are several reasons for that.  First, the more your claim is worth, the more you risk by letting an amateur (that’s you!) handle it.  Second, the more “meat on the bone” the more the attorney has to work with in terms of maximizing the value of your claim.  If you give an attorney a one urgent care trip kind of accident, it’s hard to argue a lot about your pain and suffering.  But if you give him a case where you go to the urgent care and then have three months of chiropractic, he can help you document your pain and suffering better and make a professional and persuasive argument about the value of that pain and suffering.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule.  Broken ribs are horribly painful and debilitating injuries, but they are normally only associated with one visit for a diagnosis and that’s it.  But because of the intense pain of that injury and the way it affects one’s daily life, there’s  fair amount of “meat on the bone” to work with, so I would take on that case.

Generally speaking, though, it’s a good rule:  One health care visit, meh.  More than one, me.

So if you have an accident claim involving injuries, reach out to an attorney.  I’m one, so I count.  Call me!  919-929-2992.

I have said to potential clients many times that the decision to hire an attorney should be thought of in the way that Mr. Miyagi characterized the use of his karate: “Either you karate do ‘yes’, or you karate do ‘no’; You karate do ‘guess so’ … squished like grape.”

People wonder when they need to hire an attorney for their injury claim.  In short, the answer is as soon as possible. But why is that?

The moment your accident occurred, forces were set in motion that will govern the outcome of your claim.  There are many moving parts in this drama, and if all of them are not directed to your advantage, then they will be directed to your disadvantage.  Insurance companies have one goal, and that is to make money.  Your desire for compensation is counter to that goal and you better believe that they will be working to minimize the value of your claim.

Every second that goes by during which you have no attorney directing your claim is a second that the insurance company is stacking the odds against you.  Even worse is that you are very likely doing damage on top of the work the insurance company is putting in; you could be apologizing, making statements, failing to document certain things, failing to ask the right questions while answering the wrong ones.  Attorneys help you avoid those pitfalls while working to increase the chances that your claim will be successful.

So if you’re in an accident and you are injured, then you need an attorney at that moment, immediately, right freakin’ now! 

There are, and sadly will continue to be, many people who for whatever reason want to handle their claim on their own.  They think, “Well, I’ll just manage things for now and if I don’t like how they’re going I’ll hire an attorney then.”  Many times the insurance adjuster will tell them just that!  Why would you take their advice?

Don’t fall into that trap.

What I do as a personal injury attorney is work on your claim from the very beginning to the very end to maximize value and minimize difficulty.  If you don’t let me work on it from the beginning, you are working counter to that goal and you are very likely minimizing value and maximizing difficulty.  It’s sort of like trying to clean your floors with maple syrup, then calling a maid to come and clean things up.  Wouldn’t it have been better to just let the maid clean the floor from the beginning?

This brings us back to Mr. Miyagi.  If you have an auto accident, trucking accident, slip and fall, dog bite, or whatever, and you are injured as a result, you need an attorney.  At that point you should hire one.  Right then.  Immediately.

Either you attorney hire “yes” or you attorney hire “no.”  Either hire one or don’t.  If you think, “maybe I’ll hire one later” then you’re pretty much setting yourself up for a devalued claim and/or a necessary lawsuit.  Why set yourself up for failure?

Call me.  919-929-2992

Let’s face it:  There’s no shortage of attorneys.  You see them every day if you’re watching television and when you get in an auto accident you get tons of direct mail solicitations.  So how do you choose someone to help you?

When you are shopping for anything, finding what is right for you depends on what you are looking for.

I don’t know about you, but when I pick a service provider the main thing I’m looking for is communication.  I want someone who will be accessible, who will answer the phone, who will return messages and emails in a reasonable time frame, who will help me understand what’s going on, and help guide me to make the decision that’s right for me.

Accessibility is crucial to the attorney/client relationship, especially with auto accident and trucking accident injury claims.  So you’ll want to choose someone who is easy to get in touch with and who readily communicates with you.

Let’s veer off course for just a moment, but I promise we’ll be right back.  There are many ways to run a business but there are really only two ends to the spectrum: you can do the Wal-Mart strategy and go bulk, or you can do the boutique strategy and provide higher levels of service, but in lower quantity.

Let’s look at those business types and ask a few questions:

Who makes more money? Bulk retailers.

Does the fact that they make more money help you? No.

Who generally provides cheaper products?  Bulk retailers.

Does that help you?  Well, it might save you money, but would you be better off with a better product?  What if you could get a better product for the same price?

Who more often than not has hundreds of employees, none of which you find very helpful? Bulk retailers.

Does that make you want to do business there?

Alright, so back to the point…there are big law offices that do injury claims in bulk, and there are tiny boutique law offices that deal with cases on a much smaller scale.

Which do you think is right for you?

http://www.personalinjury.com/news/woman-awarded-nearly-80m-ethicon-surgical-stapler-lawsuit

This is a California injury case resulting from a products liability claim.  In NC you would have to show that the design was defective, and from the limited information I see here, you might be able to prevail.  It seems the device fired with more force than advertised and that led to serious, life-altering, permanent injuries for the victim, hence the monster award.

There are many people who want you to think that every lawsuit is frivolous.  If your butt was stapled accidentally and you couldn’t poop the normal way anymore, you’d want your pound of flesh, too.

All injury claims are not frivolous.  In fact, most aren’t.  Don’t listen to talking heads.  Listen to people in the trenches.