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Iowa Car Accidents and Personal Injuries Myths and Mysteries Revealed |
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Saturday, 18 July 2009 08:22 |
For more than 100 years Iowa Courts have recognized a person's right to bring a claim against another for injuries caused by fault also known as negligence. Whenever you are hurt by anyone's negligence, including that of another car driver, corporation, manufacturer, store merchant, or someone else you have a "personal injury" claim. Car and motorcycle accidents (injuries caused by a negligent driver), dog bites (injuries caused by a dog or other animal), falls (injury because someone did not take care of the walkway for example) nursing home (injuries sustained by a resident of a nursing home) and product liability (injury by harmful product) are all subtypes of personal injury cases. Everyday, I have people ask me questions and I can tell you that there are many myths and misconceptions about what you should do if you are injured in a car or other personal injury accident.
One misconception is that the insurance adjustor is there to help you with your injury case. The insurance adjustor works for the negligent party and/or their insurance company and has no duty to protect your rights or even tell you what the law is. Just because you are reasonable with the insurance adjustor does not mean that the insurance adjustor will be reasonable with you. Remember, they are trained to pay you as little for your claim as possible. Sometimes this means intentionally frustrating you in hopes that you will give-up and go-away. If you decide to try to handle your case on your own, it is important that you do not lose your temper or make threats to the insurance adjustor. If the adjuster makes a ridiculously low offer, it may be difficult not to show emotion. However, showing your emotions will never convince the carrier to offer more money. In the eyes of the adjustor it means that you have a short temper which will certainly not help your case.
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DOCTORS MISLEAD BY INSURANCE COMPANIES |
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Written by Walk Law
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Saturday, 18 July 2009 21:32 |
Iowa doctors and their our of state insurance companies have requested that the Iowa legislature pass a bill limiting quality of life damages to $250,000, regardless of the injuries suffered. This means, if you or a family member are paralyzed, maimed or killed by bad medicine, the loss of the quality of your life will be capped by the legislature regardless of what a judge or jury may think. This bill further punishes those who are the most severely injured as a result of medical errors.
The insurance companies have framed this issue as Doctors vs. Injured Iowans and their Attorneys. Iowa doctors have been led to believe by out of state insurance companies that increases in their medical malpractice premiums have occurred as a result of injured Iowans receiving windfalls they did not deserve. Doctors have been misled because the truth is that the number of medical negligence cases filed in Iowa has remained steady and in fact decreased in some years for the past 10 years. Also, the amount of settlements and verdicts has remained stable, barely keeping up with inflation. Please remember that according to the insurance industry and medical sources more than 50% of the malpractice is committed by 5% of the doctors. If legislation is needed, then why not pass a bill to deal with the 5% of doctors who either need additional training or should not be practicing medicine. This would eliminate over one-half of malpractice which should reduce insurance premiums likewise.
According to the United States General Accounting Office-GAO report published in August of 2003 there are 4 reasons that doctors health insurance premiums have increased:
1. Insurance companies priced their rates too low in order to obtain business and now they are raising their rates to make-up for the difference;
2. 80% of investment income made by insurance companies comes from interest bearing accounts and interest rates are the lowest they have been in more than 30 years;
3. Stock market investments have lost money resulting in losses for the insurance companies; and
4. Insurance companies are not subject to the Sherman Anti-Trust laws so they are free to conspire with each other to artificially raise insurance premiums.
According to the GAO there is no "medical crisis". However, there is an insurance company crisis in which doctors are being overcharged and the most seriously injured Iowans are easy targets being blamed for the increases. This is truly special interest insurance legislation that attacks the injured patient instead of treating and perhaps curing the problem.
Walker & Billingsley Corey J. L. Walker |
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Should You Handle Your Car Accident Case Without an Attorney? 3 Traps that can Cost You Thousands of Dollars |
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Written by Walk Law
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Saturday, 18 July 2009 09:28 |
The answer is "yes", sometimes it can be a good idea to handle your car accident case without an attorney. For example, if your total medical expenses are less than $5,000 (this means the total medical bills paid by your insurance company, the bills paid by you and the bills that are unpaid) and you do not have a permanent injury it may be in your best interests to try to settle the case on your own. In fact, our office does not accept car accident cases if the person has less than $5,000 in total medical expenses, unless there are permanent injuries. If you decide to proceed in your car accident case without an attorney there are 3 things that you should know.
1. Negotiating with the insurance adjustor is an important part of resolving a car accident claim and here are some pointers. You should prepare before speaking with the insurance adjustor and know your facts. Also, you should have a confident, but polite attitude with the insurance adjustor. For example, it is unlikely that threatening to go to the insurance adjustor's boss will help your case. Do no interrupt the adjustor, but instead listen to what is being said and ask questions about their positions. Even if the insurance adjustor makes a ridiculously low offer, do not lose your temper or show emotion as that will likely damage your case.
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What Must be Proven to Win an Accident Case? |
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Written by Walk Law
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Saturday, 18 July 2009 21:06 |
The law does not require that a person is compensated for every injury. You must prove that someone else was negligent, reckless or careless and that because of their behavior you were injured. If you have been injured in an accident that was no one's fault or if you do not sue the right person, company or business, then the law says that you will not win your case. You definitely do not need an attorney for every injury case. For example, our office will not accept your case if there is little or no property damage and/or your injuries are minor. Why would we not handle these cases? First of all, in small cases the attorney fee and costs might leave little or nothing for you after your medical bills are paid which would not be fair to you. Also, these cases would take time away from the more significant cases that we handle.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a personal injury accident you may be worried about your financial future or confused about what to do next. A new Free book reveals 7 Common Mistakes made by Iowans injured in car accidents and other personal injury accidents. The book also includes 12 Myths about Iowa Injury Cases, 6 things to know before talking to the insurance adjustor, 5 things to know before hiring an attorney and if you even need an attorney for your case. Why would we offer a free book? We have heard too many horror stories about people making mistakes because they did not know their legal rights which resulted in them losing thousands of dollars. To hear a brief recorded message about how to order your copy, Call 1-800-707-2552 and enter ext. 212 (24 Hour Recorded Message) or for more information log onto www.IowaInjuryBook.com. |
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