You have just been in a car accident. You may not think that you’re injured.  You may not have any immediate pain, so why go to the doctor? Two weeks down the road you may start to feel a little bit of pain in your neck.

• What do you do then?
• Can you go to the doctor?
• Will your medical bills be paid?
• Can you still collect for your pain and suffering?

When you’ve been in a car wreck you are in shock. You are running on adrenaline right after the accident.  This masks any pain that you may be feeling.  You don’t always know whether or not you are hurt.  There are many people that don’t feel the pain until the next day, or even a week, or ten days after an automobile accident.

One of the tactics that insurance companies and insurance defense attorneys use is focusing and talking about that gap in treatment or the accident victim’s delay in seeking treatment.  They use argue that you weren’t really injured.  They say that if the pain was that bad why didn’t you go to the doctor immediately?  If the pain was that bad why did you wait the seven, eight or ten days?

Anytime you have a question like this that you have to address in a trial it can have an effect on what happens in your case.   Accident victims should go to the doctor and get checked out immediately following an accident just to make sure that they are not injured.

If you have car insurance, or you’re a passenger in a vehicle, in Kentucky you have Personal Injury Protection, or No Fault Benefits.  There is a minimum of $10,000.00 that will go towards your medical bills and/or lost wages.  Any medical treatment you receive will not come out of your personal pocket as long as there’s insurance there. There is no reason not to seek immediate medical attention following a car accident.

A statute banning texting while driving is in effect in many states. The law that bans the use of cell phones to send or read text messages while driving has been implemented due to the increase in car accidents on the road.

The texting ban law has been in effect in Kentucky for about a year.  Officers only issued verbal warnings for the first six months.  January 1, 2011 marked the start of writing citations and giving fines to those who are caught in the act of sending and/or reading text messages while driving on Kentucky roads.

According to the Kentucky Enquirer, there were only 144 citations issued statewide in the first half of the year. The areas where most citations have been written are Jefferson Country leads with 23 and followed by Fayette with 12.  I find this figure amazing.  I saw a dozen people texting while driving on the way home from work yesterday and that is only a 20 minute drive!

Erlanger Police Lt. Kevin Gilpin says his agency’s officers enforce the statute when they see driver’s texting, but says it’s difficult to catch people in the act.

Let’s look at some other States with texting laws.  Are they enforcing the law?  Are the number of citations they have issued as low as Kentucky?

In Georgia, it has also been 1 year since the law went into effect. The Lumpkin Country Sheriff’s Office has issued just one citation for texting while driving. According to head of patrol division Mitch Salain, It’s a good law but its difficult law to enforce. It’s hard to prove if the person is really texting and driving, they could be scrolling through their address book on the phone.   I guess Kentucky is doing better than I thought.

In Massachusetts, 245 citations have been issued for texting while driving during the first 3 months since the law was enacted. Politicians are calling the figure appallingly. The low numbers shows that it’s very difficult for police to enforce this law as written according to Senator Mark Montigny of New Bedford.

In Wisconsin, the state patrol has issued just 13 citations and 11 warnings for texting while driving since its effect last December. The language about texting while driving is that drivers have to be in the act of composing or sending a message. And that makes it difficult to enforce.

In Louisiana, texting and driving has been a traffic offense since August but few citations have been issued. The Shreveport Police has issued 11 citations, the Bossier City Police has issued three, the Bossier Sheriff’s office has issued two and the Caddo Sheriff’s office has issued one.

With the number of low citations in other States, we can see that enforcing the law has proven difficult. Even with the low number of citations, the law is still valuable because it promotes the fact that texting and driving is extremely dangerous.

Is there a way to make these texting and driving laws easier to enforce?  As a Kentucky personal injury attorney I see serious injuries caused by distracted drivers.  These inconsiderate acts change lives forever.  Should the law include any use of a cell phone?  We have all become use to the convenience of instant access to people and information in our cars.  Is this a good thing?  I think it is time to make Kentucky’s law to the next step and ban the use of cell phones for texting, scrolling for phone numbers, googling, or any activities that would distract your eyes from the road.  This will prevent many serious car wrecks in Kentucky.  What do you think?

Northern Kentucky Motorists were warned to watch for zombies along the I-71 and I- 75 corridor earlier this week. The electronic road sign near Kentucky 18 about upcoming road work was changed on Thursday morning from “Nightly lane closures, road work ahead” to “Nightly lane closures, zombies ahead.” This happened after the pranksters hacked the sign and switched the message.

Nancy Wood, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet spokeswoman said that the Transportation Cabinet found out about the message Thursday mid-morning and turned it off until the sign will be fixed. According to Wood, officials were not amused by the prank. The gag was hardly original. Incidents like this happened in 2009 in Florida, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Illinois and Texas. Someone posted a zombie warning on a highway sign in South Carolina last March.

A lot of people have different reactions on this report. Others find it hilarious and appreciated the Pranksters for they made motorists slow down on the road looking on the sign. Others say that officials must not let this thing happen again. I chuckled when I first saw the story. It was kind of funny until I thought of the horrible accident this could have caused. One extra second looking away from the road to read the sign that required that extra look could have been enough to cause a fatal accident. No one should joke around when it comes to safety on Kentucky highways!

Driving is not easy.  You should be alert, focused and watchful because anything can happen along the road that could cause a Kentucky car accident.  Due to negligent drivers, any kind of distractions and natural occurrences accidents happen. Animals can be a factor that causes car wrecks in Kentucky.

As a personal injury attorney I often get calls from someone who has hit a deer and damaged their car and sometimes suffered injuries. They want to know what can be done. You own car insurance will pay for the damage to your car if you have collision coverage. If you are injured your medical bills will be paid by your car insurance under your PIP benefits. What about your pain and suffering? Well you can’t sue the deer.

Often hitting an animal is just an unfortunate accident. There is no negligent or at-fault party that can give you compensation for your injuries. You should, however, always contact a Kentucky personal injury attorney to have your fact situation reviewed. Under some circumstances there may be someone that you can receive compensation from. One fact situation I can think of is when a driver hits a deer and over reacts and goes into the path of another car causing a car accident. If someone in the other car is injured they may be able to collect from the car that hit the animal.

I read an interesting blog last month that listed other animals that contribute to road accidents that cause serious injuries and even fatal deaths. Check out http://www.satellitedish.org/blog/2011/top-10-animals-that-cause-car-wrecks/

They list deer as the number one cause of accidents. Here is their Top 10 list of animals that cause car wrecks:

1. Deer
2. Wild Turkey
3. Squirrels
4. Ducks.
5. Dogs
6. Cats
7. Birds
8. Raccoons
9. Bunnies
10. Opossum

For more information on these animals go to http://www.satellitedish.org/blog/2011/top-10-animals-that-cause-car-wrecks/. As a personal injury attorney I suggest you be alert and careful, especially at night. If you do come across an animal in the road don’t try to avoid it. It is usually best to hit it head on. This allows you to keep control of your car. Hopefully you will not have to call a personal injury attorney and ask the question: “What can I do, I just hit an animal and I am hurt?”

Is it too early to be making New Year’s resolutions?  The Kentucky accident attorney is asking everyone to make No Texting While Driving their New Year’s resolution!  Why am I thinking about this right now?  Well, in less than a week, January 1, 2011, police across Kentucky are going to quit giving verbal warnings and start handing out tickets to enforce Kentucky’s new ban on texting and driving.  The warning period is just about over. After the first of the year you will receive a ticket if you are caught texting and driving.  This is in addition to the harm you could cause by your inattentive, distracted driving that could result in a Kentucky car wreck. 

Inattention is four times more likely to cause an automobile accident than drunk driving.  The simple act of looking at your phone and texting sayings like lol, lnao, wtf, idk, jk and omg could kill somebody.  We’ve all seen the television commercial where people are texting and sitting in somebody else’s lap or running into someone or falling down the escalator.  These are funny to look at but they do not have funny results in real life.

Kentucky recorded more than 57,000 crashes last year caused by driver inattention.  That’s right 57,000!  Distraction can take many forms. It’s not just texting and driving.  The new Kentucky law is toughest on teens using cell phone because this is the group that is most likely to cause collisions.  Recently students from high schools across the commonwealth attended a State Police Driving Academy in Richmond, Kentucky.  They were brought in from the counties with the highest accident rates involving teens.  The purpose of the program was for teens to learn firsthand why texting and driving does not mix.

Are the No Texting and Driving laws working? Unfortunately the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has conducted a study that has found that the 30 states that have passed laws that it appears that the laws are not having the desired effect.  In analyzing insurance claims from California, Washington, Minnesota and Louisiana not only was there no reduction in crashes associated with the bans for text messaging but there was actually a small increase in crashes in three of the four states.  It is believed that instead of having the phone up at the steering wheel level where it is in front of where they are driving they are putting it down below window level in their lap trying to conceal the phone. 

The law is more about the message as opposed to the penalty.  Kentucky wants you to put your attention back on the roadway.  First offense only carries a $25.00 plus court costs which would be $130.00 in Louisville Metro or Jefferson County. 

Regardless of what this new law is going to do I say it’s time for us all to make a New Year’s resolution: “No Texting While Driving”.  If you are serious about this send me a message on my web site and I will send you a I don’t text and drive wristband.  Let’s all make this our New Year’s resolution. This will help prevent car accidents and make our Kentucky highways safer.

You call your insurance agent and want to purchase Kentucky car insurance.  You tell your insurance agent that you would like full coverage because you want to be protected if you are in a Kentucky car accident. 

• Is there really such a thing as full car insurance coverage? 
• Do you know what the insurance agent is going to give you when you ask for full coverage? 
• Does the price that is quoted always include everything? 
• Is the agent giving you the best coverage or the cheapest coverage?

Unfortunately, full car insurance coverage means something different to different insurance companies.  From my perspective, as a personal injury and accident attorney, I believe full car insurance coverage should be exactly that, full coverage. But what you, the consumer who is purchasing insurance, are quoted usually does not contain uninsured motorist coverage and underinsured motorist coverage (UIM/UM).  These are usually considered add?ons by the insurance company. 

It is very important that you ask what coverages are included in the cost of any policy to make sure that you and your family are protected should you be in a serious Kentucky automobile accident.  You MUST have uninsured motorist coverage and underinsured motorist coverage, especially in this day and age.  Why?  More and more people are driving with the minimum insurance in Kentucky, which is only $25,000.00. Others have elected to violate the law and have no insurance at all.

Let’s look at a situation that happens frequently. You are in a Kentucky car wreck. You are seriously injured. The other car does not have insurance. They have no assets you can collect from. What do you do?  Sure you can file a lawsuit, get a judgment and hope they win the lottery. Your only option is your uninsured motorist coverage, if you have it.  If you don’t have any, you will not collect anything for your injuries.  I would suggest at least $100,000.00 in coverage, but you should go higher if you can afford it. 

For more information on this, go to www.KyInsuranceBook.com to get a complimentary copy of  “What You Don’t Know About Buying Car Insurance Can Hurt You.” 

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.

If you are the victim of a Kentucky automobile accident and haven’t seen the WHAS 11 I- Team investigation that aired last night about runners snagging clients for chiropractors and personal injury attorneys you should check this out.  After watching this story it’s no wonder that chiropractors and personal injury attorneys as a group seem to have a bad name.                                                

This investigation focused mainly on the chiropractors. There was a follow up that aired on the late news that focused on an investigation on the cash advance companies that have jumped into marketing for auto accident victims several years ago. You have seen the ads on T.V.  They will give you a loan, find you a doctor and then find you an attorney. You will get cash for going to the doctor. Your chiropractor collects the PIP money, which is up to $10,000.00. The personal injury attorney gets a fee for handling your car wreck case. This is if you’ve been in an auto accident. They then charge you a huge sum of money for the interest to do this.  The question comes as to who the attorney’s loyalties lie with.

As the old Osmond’s song goes “One bad apple doesn’t spoil the whole bunch…”  In the same way I hope you understand that all attorneys and chiropractors aren’t bad. Unfortunately, the few chiropractors and attorneys that are paying runners money to go get them clients make the whole profession look bad.  Nobody that is involved in representing auto accident victims deny that this has been going on for quite awhile.

I have had clients contact me and tell me that they have been called by a representative of the insurance company that told them that they needed to go to a specific doctor and attorney for their claim.  Clients have brought me letters from attorneys. They have told me that they have been given a card at the accident scene and told to go see a certain chiropractor. That they went and something didn’t feel right.

As I told them, I will tell you this is simply not how it is done.  No attorney or chiropractor or any professional should be actively soliciting clients by making phone calls or knocking on doors or showing up at accident scenes.  This is unethical in the legal profession and I abhor the practice.  

Likewise, there are many good chiropractors that care about their patients and are interested in getting them well. I know several chiropractors that treat me. I trust them with my children.  

It is the same thing with the loan companies.  There are some bad ones out there that were described in the report. There are some that do not solicit clients. These loan companies do a service for an injured car accident victim that is hurt and unable to work by giving them a cash advance.  They charge a high interest rate and do so in a fair manner. They will negotiate claims and balances due in circumstances that warrant it. Sometimes they are the only avenue to keep an injured automobile accident victim in their home. I don’t like the interest rate, but it may be the only way out.

If you were contacted by one of these ambulance chasing runners, simply tell them that you are going to find your own attorney. Personal injury attorneys are mysterious to most people. What do they really do for a car accident victim? I have seen firsthand what happens when people don’t get proper representation.  As a victim of an auto accident in Kentucky you need to know what a personal injury attorney will do for you and how a good personal injury attorney can help your case.  Here is a link to a previous blog that I did “WhatDoes  a Personal Injury Attorney Do?”  

Don’t listen to these runners. Don’t fall in for the offer of fast cash.  It is not worth it and it is definitely not in your best interest.  I had a potential client in my office today that said he wanted to settle fast.  I told him I was not the attorney for him. That he needed to make sure as to what his injuries were. He needed to wait to get the proper treatment.  Once you settle a case it is over and you can never come back and reopen it again.  It is final.  Your injuries may not be final.  My guess is he was not hurt. I sent him on his way. I am sure he will find another attorney to represent him. Find the right attorney for you.  Know what you are looking for and be a well-informed consumer and don’t take advice and a referral from somebody at an accident scene. 

On the same day that there was an article in the Courier-Journal talking about the Kentucky Bar Association and their concern over lawyers using Facebook. Perhaps their efforts would be better served by concentrating on the problem with runners being paid to get cases for attorneys. It’s just a thought!

Two months ago I received a phone call that no parent ever wants to receive.  My 16 year old daughter had been in a car accident with three of her friends. In fact it was a four car accident. Luckily she was not severely injured.

I didn’t know whether she was hurt or not at the time of the phone call. I went into automatic panic mode.  The parent in me kicked into gear. The Kentucky accident attorney was nowhere to be found. This got me thinking. If I reacted this way what would someone that isn’t involved in car accident litigation on a daily basis do?  What should a parent do when they receive a phone call from their child saying: “I’ve been in a car accident”? 

First and foremost don’t do what I did. Don’t panic! Do not overreact.  Your new driver is going to be nervous enough. They may be bleeding. They are in pain. They are confused. And believe it or not they are going to be worried about the damage that has been done to the car.  They are worried that you are going to be mad at them for wrecking the car, even if the accident wasn’t their fault.  Calm yourself down and calm them down.

Make sure that your child and her friends are not hurt.  Make sure that they’ve called the police and they have an ambulance on the way. They should always be checked out by an EMT to make sure that they do not need to go to the hospital. If they are hurt they should be transported to an emergency room to receive immediate treatment.

If they are able ask your new driver to exchange information with the driver of the other car. Ask them to write down the license number of all the cars involved in the accident. Have them document as many details as they can in reference to the accident.  Things such as pictures of the cars, pictures of the accident scene and those involved are all items that they should obtain if possible and it doesn’t put them in danger. This will help down the road as you negotiate the settlement of property damage claims and eventually any pain and suffering if they were injured in this Kentucky car wreck.  

The final thing that I would do is try to go out to the accident scene.  Your child is going to need all of the help, support and love they can get at his point in time. Your presence will have an immediate calming effect. Being in an accident is a very nerve racking experience.  You want to make it as easy on them as possible, yet you want to make sure that everything is documented. Help protect your child’s Kentucky auto accident claim.

What can a Kentucky auto accident victim do to increase their chances of a successful outcome to their Kentucky car accident injury case? Why is it that some Kentucky car wreck cases are settled for more money than others? Why are some car accident victims seen as more credible than others? Does the insurance company just like Louisville car accident victims more than those from Lexington?

One of the biggest reasons why I see Kentucky car accident cases fail is lack of documentation.  The most important thing a Kentucky accident victim can do is document everything that happens in their accident case. From the moment you are in an automobile accident you should take pictures and make notes of everything that happened. The same thing applies to truck accidents and bicycle accidents.

If you’re in a car accident, you should take pictures of the vehicles as they are on the roadway at the time the accident occurs.  This could be important in determining liability or who caused the accident. 

You should also take pictures of the damage to your car and the damage to the car that hit you.  Many times there is very little damage to your car, yet the car that hit you has thousands of dollars worth of damage.  This is important evidence that your personal injury attorney can use in negotiating a settlement with the insurance company or arguing your accident case to a jury.

It is also important to keep a diary. You should write down everything that happens in the case so that you can remember it later when you need to.  Should you have to give a deposition or testify at trial it might be three or four years after the automobile accident. You may forget many of the details of the accident, your treatment and how you were affected.  You must have a way to refresh your memory as to how the accident painfully affected your life. It is also a great help to your personal injury attorney.

If you think back to even last Christmas and try to remember everything that happened, you’re not going to give an exact play-by-play of every gift that everyone received that day. This is the same thing that will happen as time passes after your auto-accident.  You will not remember everything. 

The point to all this is you need to document! This will increase the chances of you getting a good and fair recovery in your Kentucky auto accident case. Give yourself a fighting chance against the insurance company by documenting everything that happens in your Kentucky car accident case.