Tag Archive for: broken bones from car accidents

Physical Therapy After A Car Accident

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Physical Therapy After A Car Accident

If you have been in a car accident, you may be referred by your doctor for physical therapy. Often, injuries from a car accident don’t manifest until several days or even weeks after the accident. While you may not have broken bones or need surgery, often the injuries require ongoing treatment to heal.

Whiplash From Your Car Accident

The most common injury from a car accident is whiplash. If you need additional treatment beyond your emergency room visit, quite often it will be physical therapy sessions. Rebuilding strength and increasing mobility is the general goal and your therapist will work with you to achieve this.

Other Injuries Requiring Physical Therapy

If you do need surgery after your car accident, it is not uncommon to have a course of physical therapy in order to regain strength and use of the injured area. While neck and back injuries are more common with car accidents, slip and fall victims often need therapy for knee, hip, and shoulder injuries.

Types Of Physical Therapy

There are numerous strategies your therapist may employ when treating you. Everything from manual therapy—including massage—to electric stimulation, may be employed in the healing process. Exercise in the form of both hydrotherapy and unassisted exercise under the care of a therapist helps re-train muscles and build endurance.

It is also not uncommon to employ heat/ice therapy for inflammation, swelling, and pain. The most common advice for a soft tissue injury is RICE: Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. While this is true, heat and ice are often overlooked as an important part of the therapy process.

The Value Of Physical Therapy In A Car Accident Settlement

If your physical therapy was received at the direction or referral of your doctor, the value assigned to it will be greater than if you were treated without a referral. This is due to the belief that the injury (and required treatment) is better substantiated when documented by a doctor.

Insurance adjusters are trained to minimize the value of your claim. Our office will fight to make sure you are treated fairly when considering any settlement amount, and when negotiating the value of your claim as it relates to each aspect of treatment you received as a result of the accident.

Paying For Physical Therapy

If you have health insurance it may cover some or all of your physical therapy costs. If you have been in a car accident, many physical therapy offices will work with our office to allow you to receive the treatment you need, while waiting for your claim to settle in order to be paid for their services. If you have questions about paying for physical therapy we can help.

Speak With A Personal Injury Lawyer Today

If you’ve been in an accident, we recommend speaking with a personal injury attorney as quickly as possible. Phone consultations are free and you deserve to understand your rights. You can reach us at 704.749.7747 or click HERE to request a phone call. We know you have options. We hope you Call Layton Law.

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Pregnancy Injuries From A Car Accident

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Pregnancy Injuries From A Car Accident

Pregnancy injuries from a car accident can range from minor injuries to miscarriage. If you are pregnant and are in a car accident, certainly you need to visit the doctor to be examined. If you experience pregnancy injuries from a car accident and the accident was not your fault, you deserve to receive compensation for your damages.

Medical Treatment Changes If You are Pregnant

When an individual is in a car accident, a trip to the emergency room may be enough to determine the extent of injuries. This is true especially if the doctor orders x-rays or an MRI. When you are pregnant and in a car accident, you will need an extensive battery of tests run to determine if the unborn child has been injured. As your medical bills and injuries increase, generally the value of your claim increases. A personal injury lawyer can make a critical difference in guaranteeing that you are treated fairly when negotiating a settlement with an insurance company.

Types Of Injuries To Unborn Children

Pregnancy injuries from a car accident may manifest themselves in several ways. At the very least, an auto accident while pregnant firmly places your pregnancy in the high-risk category. This may necessitate additional monitoring by doctors, or ongoing tests to confirm the health of your child as they develop in the womb.

Numerous clients we have represented have experienced premature birth because of a car accident while pregnant. While premature birth itself is a complication resulting from a car accident, a premature birth often leads to birth defects or a newborn failing to develop properly. This increases the risk for disability as a result of the accident. Often a personal injury case or claim will need to remain open until the damages can be confirmed and quantified for the purpose of valuing the claim. Your personal injury lawyer can explain how to protect your rights.

Fetal death or Miscarriage is unfortunately caused primarily by car accidents. This can be caused by a physical impact on the mother. Additionally, if the mother loses oxygen for an extended period, the unborn child can be the victim of fetal death.

Speak With A Personal Injury Lawyer Today

If you would like to speak with a personal injury lawyer about potential injuries to an unborn child because of a car accident, we are here to help. Whether it is just answering a question or moving forward with representation, our firm is ready to act for you. You can request a free consultation online, or you can call 704.749.7747 to speak with a lawyer today.

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Who Pays For Physical Therapy After A Car Accident?

Who Pays For Physical Therapy After A Car Accident?

You didn’t ask to be in a car accident. Now you’re dealing with the aftermath—arguing with the insurance company, missing work due to injuries and doctor’s appointments, and possibly facing the inability to afford treatment. We help clients with these concerns every day in our practice, and we can help you as well.

If your car accident or slip and fall required a surgery, most likely you will need some form of physical therapy after a car accident and surgery. If you do not have health insurance, or if you have a high deductible, you may not be able to afford physical therapy. This conundrum presents numerous problems. First, your full recovery depends upon physical therapy. You won’t fully heal from the surgery without it. Second, if you have a personal injury claim, you deserve to not only be treated but also to have that treatment paid for by whoever caused the injury.

Physical Therapy On A Lien Basis

In North Carolina, there is a lien statute which relates to medical treatment provided in conjunction with a personal injury. While the language of the statute requires legal interpretation, it generally boils down to the fact that your medical providers (including your health insurance company) can place a lien against your injury proceeds. Your lawyer has an ethical obligation to obtain lien amounts and address them in your settlement. The upside of this rule is that quite often, you can find a physical therapist to treat you on a “lien basis”. This means the therapist will treat you and simply agree that they will wait to get paid until you reach a settlement.

You’ll Need An Attorney Letter Of Protection

If you find a physical therapist or chiropractor willing to work on a lien basis, they will most likely want to see a copy of your police report, and receive a letter from your personal injury lawyer indicating the lawyer represents you, and that the lawyer is protecting their lien in the personal injury settlement. This letter can be quickly drafted and faxed or emailed to the medical provider, so that treatment can begin or continue.

When Do You Pay For The Physical Therapy After A Car Accident?

Once you reach a settlement, your attorney will work with the physical therapist to negotiate their bill, if possible. The lien statute referenced above (NCGS 44-49 and 44-50) place limitations on the amount you must pay the medical provider from your settlement proceeds, and this will be a necessary component of the negotiation. Your personal injury lawyer will handle this for you and communicate with you regarding where every dollar of your settlement will go.

How Much Of My Settlement Will I Receive?

The answer to this depends of course on a few factors. First, how high your outstanding medical bills and liens are. Second, how much you receive at settlement. Lastly, the application of the NC lien statute to the settlement proceeds and liens will largely determine the amount which will go back to you from your settlement proceeds. Your attorney will address each of these concerns with you as your case progresses and you will have ultimate authority to settle the claim or refuse the offer of settlement. It’s your attorney’s job to help you understand how each decision affects you.

Speak With A Personal Injury Lawyer Today

If you would like to speak with an attorney about your personal injury case, we’re here to help. The call is free and you will come away with a much better understanding of your options. You can reach us at 704.749.7747 or click to request a FREE CASE EVALUATION, and we will be in touch shortly.

Further Reading

If this article was helpful, you may find other helpful articles on our Personal Injury Blog. Thank you for visiting the website—we hope it has been helpful.

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How Do Insurance Companies Calculate Pain And Suffering?

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How Do Insurance Companies Calculate Pain And Suffering

Clients often wonder how insurance companies calculate pain and suffering. Technically, if you take any settlement and subtract out the medical billing and the lost wages, you are left with what might be referred to as pain and suffering. Essentially, this is anything above and beyond actual expenses. Logic would tell you that is what is being offered to compensate you for your suffering.

Pain And Suffering Isn’t That Simple

Truthfully, your Average Personal Injury Settlement doesn’t really work that way. Two different personal injury attorneys may end up with two different results for the same client. This tells us that pain and suffering are a component of each settlement, but in the end, the skill set of your personal injury attorney will determine whether your pain and suffering is maximized in your settlement or jury verdict.

Your damages can be broken into a few categories:

Current Damages – Current medical expenses, Lost wages, and General damages. These include of course your doctor visits and prescriptions, physical therapy, chiropractic, etc.

Future Damages – Future medical expenses, Future lost wages, and Future general damages. While these are not always certain, a doctor’s opinion can be attained in most cases, to try to prove the likelihood of the need for future treatment.

Rehabilitation Damages – If your recovery will involve or require training or re-directing of a career or vocation, you may have rehab damages.

Punitive Damages – Lastly, though uncommon in North Carolina, punitive damages are meant to punish the at-fault party. These go above and beyond your pain and suffering and usually are a dollar amount chosen which represents the desire to “send a message” to the at-fault party that this type of behavior will not be tolerated. A classic example is an award given in the McDonalds hot coffee case. The amount of the award was very high, presumably to send the message to corporations that they need to be more careful with hot coffee.

Forget Pain And Suffering And Focus On Value

If you could listen in on your personal injury attorney’s conversations with the insurance adjuster or opposing counsel, you would find the attorney rarely mentions the phrase pain and suffering. There’s a reason—both sides can strongly disagree about a dollar amount which is fair. Instead, the attorney works to build your case based on facts and categories of damages such as those mentioned above. Rather than argue about what you’ve been through, your attorney will argue what it’s going to take to get you back to where you were before the accident.

There are of course accidents that involve a terrible amount of pain and suffering, and in those cases, they play a larger role. For instance, if a claimant witnessed the loss of a loved one, or the experience itself was horrific. A vehicle that rolls over three times on the highway involves more pain and suffering than a fender bender on a city street, even if the injuries are the same.

You Need Someone Who Enjoys Arguing

It sounds funny to say, but it is our opinion that you need a personal injury lawyer who actually enjoys arguing. Not in the sense that it makes their day to argue with someone. Instead, you need someone who is interested in building an argument for you. A personal injury attorney and law firm that looks at your case with fresh eyes and can tell the story of your case in a convincing manner will help to maximize the value of your case. In the end, that means a better result for you.

Our clients love that we take a genuine interest in defending their right to be fairly compensated. While none of our Reviews specifically indicate that we love to argue, we find that a client feels satisfied when they know their lawyer went the distance for them– this includes standing our ground against opposing counsel in a personal injury matter.

Speak With A Personal Injury Lawyer Today

If you would like to speak with an attorney about your personal injury case, we’re here to help. The call is free and you will come away with a much better understanding of your options. You can reach us at 704.749.7747 or click to request a FREE CASE EVALUATION, and we will be in touch shortly.

Further Reading

If this article was helpful, you may find other helpful articles on our Personal Injury Blog. Thank you for visiting the website—we hope it has been helpful.

 

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Neck Pain From A Car Accident

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Neck Pain From A Car Accident

If you have neck pain from a car accident, you should seek medical attention quickly. Quite often, we don’t feel the pain from a car accident until several days later. This is partly due to the adrenaline or endorphins which mask the pain; however, after a day or two we realize we have been injured. Treating neck pain from a car accident not only helps to ensure your health, it also protects any legal rights you may have against the driver who hit you.

Treating Early Protects Your Rights

If you wait to treat your car accident injuries for any length of time after the car accident, you open yourself up to objections by the other driver’s insurance company. For instance, suppose you are in a car accident on January 1st. On January 3rd you start to feel aches and pains. You’re busy with work and keep thinking it will go away. You take ibuprofen a few times a day and you’re getting by, until you realize you need to get help. You wait until January 30th to get treated.

If you pursue a personal injury claim against the driver who hit you, you will face scrutiny from the insurance adjuster on two levels. First, the adjuster will claim that there is a chance you injured yourself between January 1st and January 30th, which had nothing to do with the accident. They will object to paying for the treatment on the “gap in treatment”. Second, the adjuster will argue that even if the pain was related to the January 1st accident, you must not have been in that much pain if you waited 30 days to get treated—this means you can expect a low settlement offer. You can read more on our blog about The Value Of Your Personal Injury Claim.

Car accidents and the mechanics of a personal injury claim are unique in this manner. By seeking treatment early, you take care of yourself and you preserve your rights.

Paying For The Expense Of Treatment

Your health insurance should cover any emergency room treatment or hospital treatment you require, minus your co-pay. However, insurance won’t always cover chiropractic treatment, which is the most common treatment for neck pain from a car accident. Fortunately, most chiropractors in Charlotte and the surrounding area will treat on a “Lien Status”. This means the chiropractor will treat you at no cost, and wait to get paid from your car accident settlement. You can read more on our blog about Medical Liens In Personal Injury.

If your chiropractor is going to treat you on Lien Status, they will probably want an opinion from your personal injury attorney that the accident was not your fault. They may also ask for a copy of the police report. They are only doing so to protect themselves. If the accident was your fault, there won’t be a personal injury settlement and the chiropractor won’t get paid. This doesn’t mean you can’t get treatment from the chiropractor—in fact, if you’re injured, you absolutely should get treated. It does mean, however, that you will bear the expense of the treatment.

Start By Choosing A Personal Injury Lawyer

If you are having neck pain from a car accident, start by calling a personal injury lawyer. The Layton Law Firm can help examine the details and facts from your accident, and make an assessment as to whether the accident was your fault. This will give you some confidence that whatever treatment you incur may be paid by your car accident settlement, should you be able to reach one. You can read more on our blog about Medical Bills In Personal Injury.

Speak With A Personal Injury Lawyer Today

If you would like to speak with an attorney about your personal injury case, we’re here to help. The call is free and you will come away with a much better understanding of your options. You can reach us at 704.749.7747 or click to request a FREE CASE EVALUATION, and we will be in touch shortly.

Further Reading

If this article was helpful, you may find other helpful articles on our Personal Injury Blog. Thank you for visiting the website—we hope it has been helpful.

 

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Estimated Personal Injury Settlements

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Estimated Personal Injury Settlements

Personal injury attorneys learn very quickly the pitfalls of discussing estimated personal injury settlements with their clients. The value of your personal injury claim is dependent upon numerous factors. As a result, two cases with the exact same injuries may have very different results in terms of a personal injury settlement. Below are some common factors which affect your personal injury settlement.

The Facts – As you might imagine, depending upon the facts, two cases with the same injuries may have dramatically different results in terms of what they may settle for, or what a jury awards. For example, an individual who is rear-ended in a car accident and suffers a concussion has a different case than an individual who has a grocery store slip and fall and suffers a concussion. Strong facts which clearly establish liability or fault will boost the value of your personal injury claim. Weaker facts, for instance where each driver claims the accident was not their fault, may lead to complications unless evidence can be obtained firmly establishing the fault of the other driver. If your claim involves wrongful death, pedestrians, or passengers, the outcome will differ as well.

Contributory Negligence – You can’t discuss estimated personal injury settlements in North Carolina without discussing Contributory Negligence. We’ve written extensively about Contributory Negligence in our blog because it affects many North Carolina personal injury claims. Generally speaking, Contributory Negligence is an affirmative defense. It is a rule in North Carolina which says that if a jury determines the plaintiff is 1% or more at fault, the jury is instructed to give the plaintiff nothing. This is an outdated rule and one your personal injury attorney must wrestle with in order to prove your case. While most claims do not go to court, insurance adjusters commonly introduce Contributory Negligence into the settlement conversation, to remind the plaintiff that there is a very serious risk in litigating a personal injury claim in North Carolina if it’s possible the jury determines the plaintiff was even 1% at fault.

Pre-Existing Injuries – While you are entitled to be compensated for your injuries, you will find the insurance company for the at-fault party will diligently research whether you had a pre-existing condition before this accident. Even a note in your prior medical records indicating a simple complaint regarding back pain will be used to demonstrate you had existing back pain prior to this accident. The two sides will end up arguing over the extent to which this accident worsened the back pain, and assign a value to that.

Rule 414 – Rule 414 is a rule of evidence that personal injury plaintiff’s attorneys are familiar with. The rule says that the only evidence of medical billing which can be introduced into evidence in court, is medical billing that has actually been paid, and medical billing which is still owed or outstanding. In short, if you have $100,000 of medical treatment, and Medicaid pays $5,000 to the hospital unless there is a remaining balance, your attorney will only be able to enter $5,000 into evidence at trial as medical billing. Because juries use medical billing dollar totals to help them calculate what they believe is a fair settlement, you can see how this tends to under-emphasize the extent of your injuries at trial. Your lawyer will also need to determine whether you have any Medical Liens as a result of your claim and negotiate them as part of the settlement. Once again, two clients who have the same exact injuries but different insurance coverage may see very different jury results in their personal injury verdicts.

Standard of Care – Generally, a claim of negligence requires you to show that a standard of care was owed to you by another person and was not fulfilled. This is called a Breach of Duty, in the personal injury world. In many slip and fall claims, obstacles arise in proving that the standard of care was breached. For instance, you may be able to prove that there was water on the floor of the grocery store and that you slipped in that water. However, if the store can prove that another customer spilled that water on the floor three minutes before you slipped in it, they will prevail on their argument that the store did not breach its duty to you—there wasn’t enough time for the store to discover and fix the dangerous condition. While there is no set rule for the amount of time a hazard must exist, slip and fall cases routinely turn on who created the hazard (another shopper or an employee), whether the store knew or should have known about the hazard, and how much time passed since the hazard was created.

Pain and Suffering – Pain and suffering is essentially what you endure as a direct result of the accident. When reviewing your settlement, the amount attributable to pain and suffering is anything above and beyond payment for medical bills and lost wages. Your lawyer will submit a demand package as part of the personal injury settlement process. That demand package will outline your pain and suffering and you will have a chance to review it prior to its submission.

Lost Wages – Lost wages are part of your claim. They will need to be verified by your employer. Your attorney will provide you with a form for your employer to complete, indicating your rate of pay, dates missed, and total lost wages. If you are self-employed, you will need to provide copies of tax returns from prior years and other evidence that your lawyer will use to construct a lost wages claim for submission.

The Reputation Of The Personal Injury Lawyer – If your personal injury attorney has a reputation of following through on claims, thoroughly investigating claims, and negotiating claims in good faith, we believe that you are able to maximize your settlement offer in your personal injury claim. If your attorney has a reputation of threatening to file a lawsuit but never follows through on that threat, you can imagine the insurance company may not take that lawyer’s claims as seriously as they will a claim from another law firm. One way to check the reputation of your lawyer is to look at their Google Reviews. We are proud of our history with clients and thankful that they choose to leave reviews about their experience.

Hiring a personal injury attorney is key in successfully negotiating your claim. The attorney is not simply arguing over dollars and cents; instead, the attorney is building your case using all of the above factors. By persuading the insurance adjuster that the lawyer will succeed with their case, you are more likely to maximize the settlement offer from the insurance company. Estimating personal injury settlements prior to having all the facts, medical records, and billing in hand is a bad idea for both you and your personal injury attorney. This process will require some patience, but hopefully, your patience will pay off with a fair settlement or jury verdict.

Speak With A Personal Injury Lawyer Today

If you would like to speak with an attorney about your personal injury case, we’re here to help. The call is free and you will come away with a much better understanding of your options. You can reach us at 704.749.7747 or click to request a FREE CASE EVALUATION, and we will be in touch shortly.

Further Reading

If this article about estimated personal injury settlements was helpful, you may find other helpful articles on our Personal Injury Blog. Thank you for visiting the website—we hope it has been helpful.

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Hit And Run Accident Lawyer

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Hit And Run Accident Lawyer

If you were the victim of a hit-and-run accident, we’re here to fight for you. You may think the only option is to either put a claim in with your insurance company or pay for your damages yourself. In fact, after a hit and run accident, North Carolina drivers have the option of accessing the Uninsured Motorist Coverage on their own policy. An experienced hit and run accident lawyer will help prove your case to the insurance adjuster and obtain the best results for you in this difficult fact pattern.

Establishing Liability After A Hit And Run Accident

Insurance adjusters see a lot of insurance fraud. Every day, someone claims to have a slip and fall claim or claims to be the victim of a hit and run. Before an insurance company will pay for damages to your property or pay for your personal injury, you must prove their obligation to do so. In a hit-and-run scenario, the only proof you have is the damage to your vehicle. Even with that, you have the burden to prove to the insurance adjuster that another driver caused that damage and that the incident was the other driver’s fault. You may have a police report, but again, that report will only contain your statement to the officer that another vehicle hit you. It is not strong evidence.

The Layton Law Firm will examine your fact pattern, photographs of the damage to your vehicle, and other pertinent information to help establish fault. In some cases, there is footage of the incident available through a request with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department. This requires a hearing to obtain the footage but it can often make all the difference in whether you recover anything for your injuries from the hit and run accident.

Accessing Underinsured Motorist Coverage

If your personal injury lawyer can establish that another party was responsible for your damages and injury, and fled the scene, the lawyer will be able to successfully trigger a claim under the uninsured motorist provision of your policy. A claim placed under this designation should not have any negative consequences upon your insurance rates and allows you access to the compensation you deserve for your injuries.

Fighting Your Own Insurance Company

For a time, while your underinsured motorist claim is active, you and your insurance company will be adversaries. For this reason, it’s extremely important to have a personal injury lawyer represent you. Most clients we speak with who have tried to make an underinsured motorist claim for a hit and run have been denied by their insurance company. We are usually able to reverse that decision.

Addressing Personal Injury Liens

Your personal injury attorney will also make sure that the medical providers who have liens against your injury settlement pursuant to N.C.G.S. 44-49 and 44-50 are addressed as part of the settlement. Individuals who settle their own claims without addressing these liens may find out after the fact that they owe most of the settlement to third parties—this entirely undoes the benefits of having negotiated your own settlement.

Speak With A Hit And Run Accident Lawyer Today

If you would like to speak with an attorney about your personal injury case, we’re here to help. The call is free and you will come away with a much better understanding of your options. You can reach us at 704.749.7747 or click to request a FREE CASE EVALUATION, and we will be in touch shortly.

Further Reading

If this article was helpful, you may find other helpful articles on our Personal Injury Blog. Thank you for visiting the website—we hope it has been helpful.

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Will A Pre-Existing Injury Affect My Personal Injury Case?

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Will A Pre-Existing Injury Affect My Personal Injury Case?

A pre-existing injury will affect your personal injury claim because your attorney will need to establish the difference between your physical and mental condition at the time of the car accident, and after the car accident. In other words, the at-fault party is only responsible for the damage they cause as a direct result of the accident.

Most commonly, pre-existing injuries are back or neck injuries, shoulder injuries, and knee injuries. As you might imagine, it’s easy to distinguish a pre-existing shoulder injury from a head injury that stemmed from the accident. In that case, the at-fault party would not be responsible for the shoulder injury because it is not related to the accident. A much more difficult situation to sort through is one where a client has a pre-existing back injury, and the most recent car accident worsens that back injury. The at-fault party only wants to pay for the additional damage which was caused by the car accident.

Medical Records Prior To The Accident

One way to prove that the injuries you are experiencing are a direct result of the accident is to prove you did not have those conditions prior to the accident. Quite often, insurance adjusters will ask you to provide a few years of prior medical records. If you were treated for back pain the year prior to the car accident, you can count on the insurance adjuster arguing that the car accident only aggravated the back injury, but did not cause it. As a result, the adjuster will lower the value of your claim, affecting the settlement value of your case.

Treatment After The Accident

The insurance adjuster will also carefully review your medical records after the accident. For this reason, if possible, you should treat with the same physicians or team of health professionals after the accident, that you treated with before the accident. Those professionals are in the best position to make a statement as to your injuries prior to the accident, versus after the accident.

The Eggshell Plaintiff Theory

There is an eggshell plaintiff theory in North Carolina. While this is not a statute, it is a result of common law or case law over the years. The general rule that comes from the eggshell plaintiff theory essentially states that just because an injured party was prone to a particular injury does not mean they should not be compensated for it. For example, assume a particular individual has a condition that makes them more susceptible to suffer PTSD from a traumatic event. If the accident causes them PTSD, the at-fault party is still responsible for that. This is true even if most other individuals would not have had PTSD from the event. The at-fault party is not responsible for the underlying susceptibility to PTSD, but they are responsible for the PTSD which was caused by the accident.

Before And After

Your personal injury lawyer will address any pre-existing injury concerns by demonstrating to the adjuster the difference between your life before the accident and after the accident. While medical records and medical billing help to establish this, the attorney can also gather additional evidence to support this. Your inability to participate in activities such as horseback riding or running, or your inability to interact with your grandchildren in the same manner after the accident as before the accident, all count toward the value of your car accident or slip and fall claim.

Speak With A Personal Injury Lawyer Today

If you would like to speak with an attorney about your personal injury case, we’re here to help. The call is free and you will come away with a much better understanding of your options. You can reach us at 704.749.7747 or click to request a FREE CASE EVALUATION, and we will be in touch shortly.

Further Reading

If this article was helpful, you may find other helpful articles on our Personal Injury Blog. Thank you for visiting the website—we hope it has been helpful.

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Who Pays For Your Rental Car After An Accident?

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Who Pays For Your Rental Car After An Accident?

Depending upon the situation, the at fault driver should pay for your rental car after an accident. However, the obstacle to this is that the at fault driver’s insurance company wants to investigate the claim. This is true even if it is a rear end accident with clear liability. The insurance investigation can take a few weeks—too long for you to wait for a them to approve a rental car.

Your Insurance Policy May Have Rental Coverage

You should check to see if your insurance policy has rental car coverage. Your North Carolina auto insurance policy may have rental car coverage. If it does, the rental car will be paid for by your insurance company. Then, your insurance company will pursue the at fault driver’s insurance company for a reimbursement. The good news is you don’t have to wait for an investigation to take place before being provided with a rental car after the accident. When you speak with the insurance company, you should also confirm whether you have Medical Payments coverage to assist with your medical bills and medical liens from the car accident.

You Can Pay For Your Rental Car After An Accident

Another option is for you to pay for the rental car after the accident. Not a good option, but if you do pay for the rental car, you can seek reimbursement from the at fault driver’s insurance company once their investigation is complete. Keep in mind, the at fault driver’s insurance company will do everything they can to pay the lowest daily amount for a rental car. It is a rare situation to be reimbursed in full for a rental car you paid for on your own.

Legal Representation Often Makes All The Difference

If you’ve been in an accident and you can’t get the other driver’s insurance company to pay for a rental car, call a lawyer. Having legal representation makes all the difference when it comes to personal injury claims. If our firm represents you for your personal injury, we will assist you with your property damage claim at no additional charge. This includes providing guidance as to how to get the at fault driver’s insurance company to pay for a rental car.

Speak With A Personal Injury Lawyer Today

If you would like to speak with an attorney about your personal injury case, we’re here to help. The call is free and you will come away with a much better understanding of your options. You can reach us at 704.749.7747 or click to request a FREE CASE EVALUATION, and we will be in touch shortly.

Further Reading

If this article was helpful, you may find other helpful articles on our Personal Injury Blog. Thank you for visiting the website—we hope it has been helpful.

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3 Steps: How To Choose A Personal Injury attorney

The process of choosing a personal injury attorney can be a challenging one; however, we believe if you follow these 3 simple steps, you will end up with the right attorney. It’s important to choose the right personal injury attorney or personal injury law firm because most personal injury claims take much longer than expected to reach a settlement or to go to trial. As a result, you will be in a long-term relationship with your personal injury attorney—so make the choice count.

Step One: Speak With The Personal Injury Attorney On The Phone

Speaking with your personal injury attorney on the phone is Step One in how to choose a personal injury attorney. Here’s why: if you can’t get the attorney to speak with you on the phone before you hire them, chances are you will never be able to get them on the phone after you hire them. Personal injury law firms and attorneys, in general, are notorious for not returning phone calls. In fact, the American Bar Association has written about Lawyer Communication Skills extensively.  It’s not necessarily that they aren’t working on your personal injury claim, it’s just that they are busy. But that doesn’t change the fact that you deserve updates and communication.

Another reason to speak with the attorney on the phone is that you can tell a lot about an individual and a law firm, during a phone call. When you speak with the attorney on the phone, listen for the following:

Tone Of Voice: Is the attorney sympathetic to your situation, no matter how ‘minor’ your accident may have been? You should be able to hear it in her voice.

Length Of The Call: Is the attorney rushing the phone call by cutting you off while you’re trying to tell him your story? An attorney who is too busy to hear even the facts of your case is not a good fit.

An Expression Of Appreciation: While you may be speaking with a successful personal injury attorney at a successful personal injury law firm, that does not mean that you’re not important. There should be an expression of thankfulness and gratitude that you have chosen to share your story with the attorney and potentially hire them. The attorney should express this to you verbally. You should feel like your case matters to the attorney.

Step Two: Read The Personal Injury Attorney’s Reviews

Unless you have a direct referral from a friend or colleague who worked with this attorney or law firm, we believe the reviews for an attorney are reflective of the service you will receive. This is step 2 in how to choose a personal injury attorney. You need to be careful here, because like in any business there will be a disgruntled client or two—those individuals seem more inclined to leave a review, as we all know. If you like, you can read Our Reviews.

if you look at the reviews overall, you should see a trend. Are people complimenting the law firm on their communication? Are clients indicating they were made to feel important and were kept abreast of the developments in their case? These things matter and your experience will probably mirror the reviews your read.

Step Three: Trust Your Gut Instinct

If you have a good feeling about an attorney or law firm, it’s probably based on the interaction you had with that firm. They must have done something to provide you with comfort or support, during that brief consultation. If so, that’s meaningful and we encourage you to trust your instinct. While this may be the first time you’ve chosen a personal injury law firm, it’s not the first time you’ve been a customer in a service industry. And don’t forget, the law is a service industry (Whether attorneys want to admit it or not). So, if you get a good feeling, and if you’re not ignoring a major red flag, we say go with your gut.

What About the Results?

We know what you’re thinking—we didn’t mention investigating the results the law firm has achieved. We also didn’t mention asking the attorney to predict what they might be able to get for you, for your case. We may be wrong, but our belief is that most personal injury law firms with a good reputation (reviews, etc.) are going to do a good job for you. They will successfully identify Medical Payments coverage, negotiate Medical Liens, and submit a good Demand Letter for you. This includes getting the best results they can for you. If that’s true, once you feel comfortable that the firm or attorney is reputable, it makes sense to focus on how the relationship will develop with the attorney.

Speak With A Personal Injury Attorney Today

If you would like to speak with a Charlotte personal injury attorney about your personal injury case, we’re here to help. The call is free and you will come away with a much better understanding of your options. And if you choose not to work with us, THAT’S OK! You can reach us at 704.749.7747 or click to request a FREE CASE EVALUATION, and we will be in touch shortly.

Further Reading

If this article was helpful, you may find other helpful articles on our Personal Injury Blog. Thank you for visiting the website—we hope it has been helpful.

 

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