When you hear the words “personal injury,” what comes to mind?  For some people, personal injury law appears to be a murky area of dubious ethical conduct.  Some people believe that personal injury attorneys enable people to take advantage of an accident and make money from a misfortune.  Unfortunately, this is a very prevalent view of what personal injury attorneys do, although it is very inaccurate in most cases.

In fact, personal injury lawyers are one way that the legal system stays balanced and fair for all people.  If insurance companies and at-fault persons were not held accountable, people would soon be able to disregard the law and safety measures with impunity.  Employers would not be worried about employee safety, drivers would not care if they caused injuries, and stores and businesses would not impose safety measures to keep customers from harm.  Unfortunately, human nature shows us that unless people are held accountable, they will not take extra efforts to ensure that someone else does not suffer.

Personal injury attorneys perform the function of balancing the needs of the public with the rights of the individual.  When a person is injured, he or she has the right to compensation, and personal injury attorneys in Santa Ana help these victims to recover those damages.

Why, then, do some people have such a negative view of personal injury law?  This often springs from a few well-publicized cases that are in no way representative of the bulk of personal injury settlements.  In a few cases, circumstances have conspired to allow a plaintiff to recover an enormous sum of money from what appeared to be a relatively minor accident.  Each time this happens, the media saturates the public with stories about the settlement, leading people to believe that there are many more of these types of cases than really exist.

In fact, Santa Ana personal injury lawyers primarily work with “small” personal injury cases.  While no case is small to a person who has been injured, few personal injury cases settle for millions of dollars unless the injuries are very severe or wrongful death has occurred.  For a “simple” personal injury case, the personal injury attorney will be happy if the case settles for a fair amount, including payments for medical damages, pain and suffering, and perhaps some personal expenses incurred as a result of the accident.

Before you dismiss the idea of filing a personal injury case, consult with an expert personal injury attorney and discover the facts about what your case is actually worth.

For a personal injury case almost all attorney fees are a contingency fee, which
means the attorney is paid a percentage of what is collected at the end of the
case.  This is so that the injured victim, who is usually off work, doesn’t have to pay a flat fee or an hourly fee right up front out of pocket.  Most attorneys charge one third or 33 1/3 percent of the amount that is collected for the injured person at the end of the case.

There are some attorneys that may charge a little bit less.  There are other attorneys that will charge 40 percent for a more complicated case. Medical malpractice cases are usually charged 40 percent because the cost in reference to that case, to get it ready for trial is much, much greater.  There are other triggers, such as going to trial and appeals, where some attorneys will raise the fee.  It might start out at 25 percent but if you have to go to trial, file a suit it then goes to a third.  If you have to go to trial it goes to 40 percent.  It is important to take a good
look at your contract and see what is in it before you sign the contract with the attorney.  Every attorney’s contract is a little bit different.  If you want
to see an example of one you can go to my website, www.mikeschaferlaw.com and search contingency fee contract in the search box and it will pop up the contract that I use.

You have been in a serious car accident.  You are in pain.  You don’t know what to do.  You don’t know how your medical bills will be paid.  You don’t know how your car is going to be fixed.  Should you call an attorney?  Or maybe you should call an injury help line.  Consider this when you make your decision.

I read an interesting article in the Bloomberg News about 1-800-ASK-GARY, a “referral network” that advertises heavily in Louisville, Kentucky for car accident cases.

The article talks about three individuals who were injured in car accidents that called 1-800-ASK-GARY, which is a medical referral service they saw advertised on television.  All were referred to a clinic owned by Gary Kompothecras, Physicians Group.  Two of his three were referred to a law firm that was part of the group, Winters & Yonker.

The highlights of the stories of Jennifer Malina, Kathleen Weston and Sharon Langford include:

• Medical bills that were reduced to about half.
• Treatment for areas where there was no pain complaints.
• Confidential complaints to the Florida Bar Association.
• Non-use of available health insurance.
• A flight from Kentucky to Florida for surgery.

Investigation

There are 50 Physician’s Group clinics specializing in treatment in car-crash medicine. The ASK-GARY services is one of Florida’s 72 registered referral networks with hotlines such as 1-800-411-PAIN, 1-800-NeedHelp and 1-305-NO-FAULT. These networks also operate in other states such as Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Tennessee and Texas.

According to Captain Steven Smith, Florida’s Insurance Fraud Unit is conducting a criminal probe of accident-referral services. Smith told the Florida Bar Association that the State investigators are trying to determine whether clinics or lawyers make unlawful payments for referrals and whether patients are being treated for non-existing injuries. The FBI wants to find out if lawyers are directing treatment based on how much insurance coverage patients have.

According to Steven Butron, attorney for the clinics, Physician’s Group complies with all “laws, regulations and rules of ethics”. Kompothecras said in a statement, “We have always held strict adherence to the highest quality of care. We have served thousands of patients with no malpractice claims to date”.

Existing Views

Every accident victim has the ability to seek the lawyers and medical care of their choice. It will be interesting to see the results of the investigation by the Florida Bar of these referral hotlines.  It is important to choose the doctor and lawyer that are best for YOU if you are the victim of a car accident.

There has been a crack down on runners for attorneys in Kentucky.  The runners law prohibits the direct solicitation of car accident victims by attorneys for 30 days following the car accident.  Most injured car crash victims are looking for someone to trust by calling a referral line.  They make a phone call to be referred to a medical facility and a car accident lawyer that is best for their situation and circumstances.  What they don’t know is that there may only be one medical facility on the referral list.  They are being sent there no matter what their injury is.  A broken arm, whiplash or a head injury may all be referred to the same place.  The advertisement should tell the public this!  I would like to know what you think. Should this be information that is easily available to a caller of an injury help line?

Texting Ban Laws have been implemented in many States in an effort to eliminate the use of cell phone while driving and cut down on serious automobile accidents. Distracted driving has become the leading cause of auto accidents among teens. Each state uses different methods of enforcement of their law.  There are even additional regulations in some local jurisdictions. The use of hand held devices while driving are prohibited by all drivers in 9 states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands. 30 states and the District of Columbia restrict novice drivers from using cell phones.  The use of a cell phone while driving a school bus is prohibited in 19 states and the District of Columbia.

Recently, the National Safety Council congratulated the Pennsylvania General Assembly for the passage of Senate Bill 314 which makes sending text message while driving a violation for all drivers. Pennsylvania has become the 35^th State to outlaw text messaging while behind the wheel for all drivers. The law will take effect 120 days after it is signed. It has been estimated by NSC that because of S.B. 314, at least 12 lives will be saved each year and about 1,200 injuries requiring medical attention will be prevented in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania enforcement provision is key which permits police to pull over a driver for the violation alone. The fine will be $50.  Many states make texting while driving a secondary offense, which means their police can not pull the offender over unless there is another violation associated with it.

In an annual meeting in South Carolina, Horry Country Councilman urged legislators to pass a ban on texting and other cell phone use while driving in South Carolina. Some meeting participants support the idea while others did not. According to the legislators, such bill has been introduced but has not gone anywhere.

In Kentucky, about 150 tickets have been written in the first six months of active enforcement of distracted driving law. The texting ban by all drivers was implemented in July 2010 and police began writing tickets in January 2011. The law also bans use of all personal communications devices by drivers under 18. Distracted driving citations are $25 for first offense and then $50 plus court costs.

As a Kentucky Accident Attorney, I believe that more lives will be saved with the enforcement of texting ban, the campaign to stop distracted driving and increasing awareness of distracted driving.  It must start with allowing police to enforce the law.  To do this we must ban all cell phone use behind the wheel unless it is totally hands free.  This would allow police to pull over offenders and write tickets to anyone who is using a cell phone while driving.  A texting violation can be defended by simply stating “I was making a phone call”.  Texting bans are a start but we need to go further and ban all non hands free use of a cell phone while driving a car.

You were in an automobile accident last year and have endured many months of physical therapy for your injuries.  The at-fault driver’s insurance company made a settlement offer pretty quickly, but it was a very low amount.  You did the smart thing and said continue with treatment.  You are still continuing with treatment.  How do you figure what an appropriate settlement amount would be?  Is there some sort of formula?  Does it take into account your medical bills and medical treatment?

In the old days (about 20 years ago) there used to be a ballpark formula for what a personal injury case was worth.  Most cases would settle for 3 to 5 times the medical bills. This is not the case anymore.

20 years ago most insurance companies went to computer programs to determine what your accident case is worth.  The purpose of these programs was to lower the amount paid out on injury claims and turn the insurance claims department ionto a profit center. There are various names for these programs like COLOSSUS, TEACH and SMART.  They’re all basically the same.  You’re not just a number now, you’re 10,000 plus numbers.  There are over 10,000 items that can be entered into these computer programs to determine what your case is worth.

When the insurance company has made an initial low offer is extremely difficult to get them to raise the offer without contacting an attorney that understands how these computer programs work and is prepared to take your case to trial if needed.  You need both.  Call someone to discuss your case and settlement to make sure that you’re on the right track and that you’re able to get the best settlement possible on your case.  If a low offer was made it’s probably not going to go up.  Based on insurance company statistics and their own reports, they pay almost double for an injury case to somebody that has an attorney as opposed to somebody that doesn’t have an attorney.

Every one is tweeting on Twitter and posting on Facebook.  We are walking down the street with our smart phones checking out our friends. Social media is everywhere. Employers have been looking at these sites for years to determine whether or not to hire somebody.  What happens if someone injured in a Kentucky car wreck posts on Facebook? Who can look at it? Is it just who you want to look at your posts?  

Defense attorneys and insurance adjusters have been looking at social media sites to get information on YOU in an attempt to deny or limit your recovery in your personal injury claim. This is whether it is from an auto accident, bicycle accident or dog bite. 

It is only a matter of time before Kentucky courts start to hear cases on social networking sites. Courts in other states have already made rulings on social media issues.  Here is the question. Are Kentucky Courts going to force an accident victim to give access to their social networking sites to the attorney who represents the person that hit you?  The answer is not clear at this point in time.

Here are some points that Courts in other states have looked at. One question involves privacy settings.  Just because you make something private is it really private to the Courts? Will checking the private box be a barrier to the defense seeing what you posted?  By making settings on my account private I do not intend for everyone to see what I have posted or what is on my profile.  Colorado Courts have allowed Wal Mart to subpoena information from Facebook, MySpace and Meetup because they felt the information sought was relevant and reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible information. This is legalize for we don’t know if it has anything to do with the case but it might.

Courts have allowed defendants to view social media postings in a variety of situations. In a case where a child had an eating disorder the court said that information posted on a social networking site may show that the disorder came from something other than what is alleged in the lawsuit.  So the plaintiff had to turn over access to the site to the at-fault party and their insurance company.

In Connecticut the Court allowed a defendant to view Facebook accounts stating that it was a snapshot of the plaintiff’s state of mind at the time they were harmed.  New Jersey has a similar ruling. This is disturbing to personal injury attorneys and Kentucky automobile accident victims. If this standard is adopted in Kentucky just about any fact situation in any accident would lead to the court allowing the at-fault party’s attorney and insurance company to look at your Facebook page. 
           

Courts in jurisdictions, including California, have concluded that by posting online you have acknowledged that the information you are giving is not intended to be private no matter what the privacy settings are in place on your account.  If you post it on the internet and you are involved in a lawsuit they are going to let the other side see it.

This means that accident victims must be very careful about what is posted. A recent California case found that private Facebook and MySpace communications between individuals could not be subpoenaed.  So maybe your wall postings are safe, maybe not.

 To date there has been no cases heard in the Kentucky Courts.  We do not know what will happen in Kentucky. Caution is in order. Be CAREFUL! Here are a few tips: 

• Look at your privacy settings and set them to block anyone other than people you know from viewing your site.
• Do not post anything that discusses your lawsuit or accident case.
• Do not discuss your injuries in your postings.
• Do not post photographs of you attempting or doing any physical activity that you are now unable to do as a result of your injuries from the accident.
• Make sure your friends don’t post any of the above.
• Do not accept friend invitations from anyone you don’t know. They could be working for the other side!
• Take a look at your friend list. Remove anybody that you don’t know.   

Just be smart so that information posted on social media sites can’t be twisted and used to make you look untruthful or not injured. Taking these simple steps will help prevent unwanted information getting to the other side and maximizing the value of your Kentucky accident case.

The March 26th accident in Hart County, Kentucky is the second worst traffic accident in Kentucky history.  The worse occurred on May 14, 1988, when 27 people were killed in a bus crash caused by a drunk driver outside Carrollton, Kentucky. I was a young prosecutor at the time and was horrified by the accident. I still get a chill every time I drive pass the memorial sign on I-71.

       I would describe The Munfordville truck accident in the same one word: “horrific.” A semi truck traveling south in the early morning hours crossed the median, went through the cable barriers into the oncoming traffic and hit a van head on killing 10 of its passengers  The driver of the truck was also killed.  Several families and communities suffered great losses that morning. My heart goes out to them.

       The 10 people in the van were traveling from Marrowbone, Kentucky to Iowa for a wedding.  They were members of the Mennonite faith. As the grieving process continues with family, loved ones and communities touched by this tragedy are looking for an explanation as to why and how this happened.

       There have been some answers from this ongoing investigation of The National Transportation and Safety Board, who are investigating the crash.  The cable barriers were found to be properly installed and up to safety standards. Unfortunately there is little that can stop a truck loaded with auto parts. We know that there were no skid marks on the roadway. We can only guess as to why the driver of the tractor trailer did not brake.

       Information from The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has identified the trucking company from Alabama involved in the accident as Hester. Hester has had a poor safety rating from federal regulators and repeatedly failed roadside inspections.  The FMCSA gave Hester a rating of 88.4 based on a review of inspection in February.  The scoring range goes from 1-100, 100 being the worst score. Any score of 75 or more is considered deficient.

       The truck involved in this tragedy had been cited with problems ranging from lights, brakes, and emergency equipment.  These problems were identified in six roadside inspections since 2008.  There have not been any citations issued in 2009 or so far in 2010.

       A spokesman for the American Trucking Association said that based on the safety score the trucking company should not have been in operation. I will look with interest as the NTSB goes through their investigation. What will the driver’s log show? Was the vehicle in proper working order? Was there brake failure?  These are questions that any truck accident attorney would be interested in pursuing a wrongful death claim, as well as family and friends who are looking for answers. Although there is nothing that can be done to reverse this tragedy I hope the parties who are responsible will be held accountable. Based on the track record of Hester there is a good chance this accident could have been avoided.

One of the worst things an accident victim can do is fake an injury or exaggerate the injuries they did receive.  Unfortunately this is a practice many do in hopes of getting a better settlement.  Because of these practices the insurance industry has long resorted to video surveillance to catch these culprits.  Some critics feel that these practices have gone too far when the insurance video tapes truly disabled people and using the videos against them. The sad part is these “scam artists” make the process a nightmare for those Kentucky accident victims that were truly injured in an auto accident.

I recently read about a case in point, Jack “Rocky” Whitten. Mr. Whitten suffers from several residual symptoms as a result of a broken neck from a fall.  He has vision problems, memory issues and is often in excruciating pain.  Mr. Whitten fortunately had purchased disability insurance ten years ago that would pay him 60 % of his salary if he ever became disabled. After his fall three doctors declared him permanently disabled and he began receiving benefits in 2003.

Last year a representative from Hartford Insurance Company visited Mr. Whitten and his wife and questioned his limitations. The claims adjuster then pulled out a video that showed Mr. Whitten getting out of a van, looking at a magazine, and eating chips and salsa.  Maybe you are reacting like I did and are saying “So what?” Shortly after this visit the Whitten’s received a letter from Hartford explaining that his benefits would be cut off based on the video and a report from a doctor hired by Hartford –who had never examined Mr. Whitten- that claimed he, was able to work based on the video. After a phone call from national television show Good Morning America Mr. Whitten’s benefits were restored. Hartford believes this claim has been handled fairly and strongly.

This process a doctor looking at records and not examining the patient is called a “Peer Review”. It is a common practice in cases and is frequently used in Kentucky car accident cases to review medical payments submitted under PIP. The medical care is often found to be unnecessary or unrelated to the car wreck by the peer review doctor. The insurance company will deny payment based on this “paper review’. This forces the accident victim to litigate their case against the car that caused the accident and their own insurance company. The process is very frustrating to those accident victims who have legitimate injuries. Many times those unrepresented by an attorney will stop treating which is detrimental to their claim and recovery.

Insurance companies have been using video surveillance tactics for years. I have seen this in Kentucky cases. I have watched videos of accident victims painting houses and dancing. In our new internet world insurance companies have also become cybersleuths. The internet has an abundance of information that is available to them by looking at Facebook, Myspace, YouTube, etc. Don’t give them  a reason to deny your claim. Be careful. As we can see from Mr. Whitten, even the most innocent action will be misinterpreted.

Kentucky is a PIP state for automobile accidents. PIP is short for Personal Injury Protection. You may also hear these benefits referred to as Basic Reparation Benefits or No-Fault Benefits. I am not going into great details hear as to how these benefits work. Here is the nut shell. You have $10,000.00 of benefits that will pay your first $10,000.00 of medical bills and or lost wages.

Those of you that know me have heard me say that this is simply not enough for most accidents. I urge everyone to I run into (just figuratively) to purchase additional benefits called Added Reparation Benefits. For a small increase in your premium you can dramatically increase the coverage that is available to you.

With all of the talk about health care reform I have been looking at what is going on north of the border in Canada. In Ontario government is making plans to reduce their medical rehabilitation benefit from $100,000.00 to $50,000.00 for non- catastrophically injured people.  This is part their no-fault benefits. While I am urging people to increase their benefits in Kentucky the Canadian government is forcing everyone to take a reduction in these benefits. This will significantly alter the quality of care victims of automobile accidents will receive.

Interestingly enough it will increase the attorney fee collected. I am sure that most Personal Injury lawyers in Ontario don’t care about this change because of this.

I ran across an interview done by Brenda Hollingsworth, an Ottawa personal injury attorney, which was a breath of fresh air. Brenda is speaking out against the decrease in medical rehabilitation benefits that will be available to seriously injured car accident victims starting in the summer of 2010. In the video, Brenda talked about how injured car accident victims will run out of their Ontario rehabilitation funds long before the ten-years they are supposed to last. The 50% reductions in benefits will have catastrophic affects on many families.  

Brenda believes this change will increase the number of lawsuits required because injured people will have to sue the drivers who hit them to ensure they can pay for physiotherapy, medication and other medical needs.

I salute Brenda for standing up for the victims of auto accidents. In Kentucky we already have a low amount of PIP benefits that is required. Do yourself a favor and call your insurance agent and raise your coverage today!

We have all seen the Television commercials where attorneys are offering quick settlements and checks to anyone that has been in an auto accident in the sate of Kentucky, or anywhere for that matter. There are attorneys morphing into tigers, swinging bats and talking to dogs. They are funny and give us a laugh until we realize this is all the information we have to make a decision on hiring an attorney if we have been injured in a car wreck. Lawyer advertising is uninformative and in my opinion a disgrace.

What does this tell you about the attorney and what they do to help accident victims? Not a thing, except we will get you the money you deserve. This is important but it isn’t the whole story. It doesn’t tell you what an attorney can do for you if you have been unfortunate enough to be a victim of an accident case.

When you have been in a car accident you have many questions and problems that you need help with. A personal injury attorney will help you solve these problems with very little involvement on the part of the accident victim so they can concentrate on going to the doctor and getting better.

A personal injury attorney will not only get you the recovery you deserve, but will:

• Educate you about the claims process
• Help you get your loss wages paid
• Help you get your medical bills paid
• Manage all the paper work that is accumulated
• Open the insurance claim and provide relevant information to the at-fault insurance company
• Speak with the insurance adjusters so the accident victim does not have to
• Prepare you when you do have to talk to the insurance adjuster
• Help you get your car fixed or settle for a fair amount if your car is totaled
• Take witness statements
• Sends notification to health insurance and settle those subrogation liens when appropriate
• Gather and review all medical records
• Gather and review all employment records
• Send a settlement demand tot eh insurance company and negotiate an settlement when [possible
• Confirm unpaid medical bills and negotiate a reduced payment
• Take your case to trial
• and be there to counsel you on many aspects of your accident case

Attorneys do a whole lot more than what Television advertisements lead you to believe. There is a whole other side to the practice of law that you can’t get from a commercial. Attorneys are there to protect your rights against the insurance company. They are there to make sure you are not taken advantage of. Lawyers counsel you during a very difficult and often tragic time in one’s life. It’s a lot more than a quick check. If you are in an accident and are injured your attorney is someone who will counsel, guide and fight for you.