REASONABLE SOLUTIONS FOR PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER NEAR ME - TOP INFORMATION FOR 2020

Reasonable Solutions For personal injury lawyer near me - Top Information For 2020

Reasonable Solutions For personal injury lawyer near me - Top Information For 2020

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Personal Injury Tips That Will Help You Save Money




A personal injury is not easy to live with and you have every right to sue for compensation. However, if you want to be successful in receiving a settlement that's fair, you need to be knowledgeable about personal injuries. This article is jam packed with great advice to help you understand the legal process and choose an attorney with the right amount of knowledge.

Never try to negotiate with an at-fault party or their insurance company without having an attorney present. They may try to take advantage of your lack of legal knowledge to make you an unfair offer. Even if you feel like you are confident and can represent yourself, call a lawyer and have them present at the time.

At your first meeting with your personal injury lawyer, bring anything that you think is relevant to your case. For example, if the police were involved, bring a copy of their report. If you have spoken with your insurance company, bring any notes that detail what happened with them. All of this information will help your attorney start piecing together your case.

It is possible to locate a personal injury attorney online, but don't forget to check with people that you know, either. You may be surprised at the number of people who have had to deal with a similar situation before. Ask for their recommendations or find out if they had a negative experience with anyone in your area.

When choosing a personal injury lawyer, pay special attention to the size of their firm. Generally, larger firms mean that more than one lawyer may work on your case. These are usually Associate Attorneys who are trying to gain some legal experience, while having a senior attorney oversee and make the final decisions. Smaller firms can usually provide better management by having fewer people working on a case. Feel free to ask if other attorneys will be working on your case in any firm you're interested in.

When visiting a lawyer's website, navigate to the About Us section. This page will give you information such as the attorney's specialty, the location of their office and years in practice. Many lawyers also have a testimonial page. On this page you will be able to read about different cases from the client's perspective.

Look for a lawyer willing to work on a contingency basis. This means that your lawyer will not get paid unless you receive a settlement. Not only will this mean your lawyer has a vested interest in getting you a good settlement, it also means you won't be left with a large legal fee should your case be dismissed.

Be completely honest with your lawyer and find a new lawyer if yours suggests dishonest tactics to win your case. You should also report them to the local bar association. Lying to a judge carries with it very severe penalties and can guarantee that you do not win your case.

If you know a lawyer in a different type of law, you might be able to get a referral to an experienced personal injury lawyer. It is common practice for lawyers to refer cases to each another, and many lawyers know a personal injury lawyer. Make sure you do don't rely on just their word and do your own research.

Having as many witnesses as possible is important, and make sure to take all of their contact information. The court case could take a long time and your lawyer needs accurate statements as quickly as possible to prepare. People forget over time, or move away, so getting information immediately is one of the best ways to reach them in order for you to prevail.

Get the contact information and name of everyone who saw your accident. Your case will likely take a while; therefore, your attorney will need all the possible evidence in order to prepare. This will strengthen your case, rather than relying on witnesses testifying months or even years after the fact.

When you are filing a personal injury claim, click here you need to pull your medical records from the last ten years. Make sure you review them so that you are consistent with any testimony that you give. The insurance company from the other party will be reviewing your medical history to try and find any conflicts in your testimony and find any preexisting conditions.

Ask friends, family and co-workers for referrals for a lawyer. They often know someone who has been embroiled in a personal injury case before, and will be able to show you the way to a lawyer who was successful in the case. You can trust their opinion over reviews found online.

After reading the article, you should be more knowledgeable about what it is like to be a plaintiff in such a case. You should now feel better about getting a lawyer and doing the things you need to do in order for you to see justice. Hope you win your case!

Auto insurers play hardball in minor-crash claims


ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- If you are injured in a minor car crash, chances are good that you will be in the fight of your life to get the insurance company to pay all the medical costs you incur -- even if the accident was no fault of your own.



That's what CNN discovered in an 18-month investigation into minor-impact soft-tissue injury crashes around the country. Those are accidents in which there is little damage to the vehicle and the injuries to people are not easy to see by the naked eye or conventional medical tools like X-rays.



Since the mid-1990s, most of the major insurance companies -- led by the two largest, Allstate and State Farm -- have adopted a tough take-it-or-leave-it strategy when dealing with such cases.



The result has been billions in profits for insurance companies and little, if anything, for the public, according to University of Nevada insurance law professor Jeff Stempel.



"We can see that policyholders individually are getting hurt by being dragged through the court on fender-bender claims, and yet we don't see any collateral benefit in the form of reduced premiums even for the other policyholders," Stempel said.



"So I think now we can say to continue this kind of program is in my view institutionalized bad faith."



If you have never heard of the strategy, it's because insurance companies don't want you to know that they are paying out less and less for minor crashes even while their profits soar and your premiums continue to rise.



But after a review of more than 6,000 company documents and court records, interviews with a dozen people nationwide, including former company insiders, and conversations with accident victims, the picture is clear: If you challenge the offer by some insurance companies you will be left with no option but to go to court, where you will be dragged through the wringer.



Expensive, time-consuming



In an affidavit in a New Mexico case where Allstate is being sued, one of the company's former attorneys said the strategy is to make fighting the company "so expensive and so time-consuming that lawyers would start refusing to help clients."



Shannon Kmatz, a police officer and former Allstate claims agent, said company employees were encouraged to get rid of claims quickly and cheaply and even offered accident victims as little as $50, telling them to take it or leave it.



Both Roxanne Martinez of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Ann Taylor of West Lafayette, Indiana, saw the practice firsthand.



Martinez suffered neck and back injuries when she was sideswiped by a driver insured by Allstate.



After three years, the company finally offered her $15,000 -- a little more than half of what she needed for lost wages and medical bills.



She went to court, and four years after the accident a jury awarded her $167,000 plus interest.



"It's kind of hard when you are thinking they are going to leave you broke. ... That was very stressful," she said.



Taylor was not as fortunate when her case went to trial.



The Indiana nurse was rear-ended by a State Farm employee driving a State Farm car. Damage to her car was minimal but she suffered herniated disc and muscle tears.



Taylor racked up medical bills and lost wages amounting to about $15,000. The company offered her $2,000.



"I was just very insulted," she said.



She sued, but three years later a jury came back with a judgment for her of only $1,500.



The jury didn't believe she could be hurt in an accident in which the vehicle had barely a dent.



Three jurors told CNN photos of the two cars involved in the accident -- enlarged and prominently displayed by the defense -- played a huge role in their decision.



And one said they assumed Taylor had already been compensated by the insurance company and was just trying to get more money.

https://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/02/09/insurance.hardball/




https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1tK7Cq0WYE_Jbut9wKINYSEnPSaXFndpmovl-Sg3Focw/edit?usp=sharing


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