I
You know, the average person does not leave work in the morning, leave work to go home in the evening with the full expectation the person will have a car wreck of some kind. Car wrecks are almost always the result of someone driving a vehicle and in some form or fashion failing to exercise their due diligence in obeying the rules of the road. Let's face it, car wrecks are not accidents. Accidents have been defined as an unexpected, unintended event. In my many years of either handling car wreck cases as an insurance adjuster for 15 years or as a practicing lawyer in the last 17 years, I have never seen or investigated or represented any person who was in a car accident. There is always some reason for the collision. There is always fault to be assigned to one or more drivers.
With that said, you need to be prepared in the unfortunate event that you are involved in a car wreck not a car accident. Hopefully, this book will give you enough guidance that you yourself can deal with the consequences and problems associated with a car wreck.
There are number of things that a person can do to protect themselves against financial loss without hiring a lawyer. First and I believe foremost, is that no person should be riding the roads of Tennessee without some amount of auto insurance. In Tennessee, there are mandated auto insurance laws which until recent years have not truly been enforced by the Department of Safety and Transportation * The minimum limits required in the state of Tennessee are $25,000.00 liability limits. I strongly urge any driver who reads this book and owns a car to not leave their driveway at their home unless they have purchased at least the minimum limit of auto liability insurance. Well, what does the minimum limit of liability insurance get me in Tennessee? For one thing, if you are an at fault driver in a car wreck then your insurance company will pay the other driver who had bodily injury or property damage or both up to the limit of your policy. Is that all? Not in the least, the purchase of auto insurance on your car also buys you a lawyer to defend you. As part of the insuring auto policy contract, the insurance company has agreed to furnish you with a lawyer to defend you at no charge to you and many auto policies offer other financial services such as paying for the court costs, bond costs and certain other costs that may be associated with lawsuits. Of course, you can always purchase higher limits of liability insurance depending on your financial situation.
Tennessee is one of those states which has unfortunately a high number of uninsured drivers on the road. * The Tennessee legislature for this reason in their infinite wisdom requires that car insurance companies are required when selling you a policy of auto insurance that they also offer you uninsured motorist coverage of at least the same limit or amount as your liability insurance. * The agent or insurance company is required by law to offer this uninsured motorist coverage to you and if they fail to do so they could be personally liable to you for the lack of uninsured motorist coverage you did not have. So here is a consumer tip always demand when you buy car insurance that you have uninsured motorist coverage. Almost all insurance companies and their agents will require you to sign a form rejecting the uninsured motorist coverage but please do not reject such a valuable piece of car insurance.
Why is uninsured motorist coverage so valuable to me? Don't the Tennessee laws require that all drivers have auto liability insurance coverage on the cars they drive? It is valuable because Tennessee has statistically a very high number of uninsured drivers in this state. So if you are in a car wreck and it is not your fault then your own insurance company will have to pay you for your damages whether it be bodily injury or property damage or both. And the insurance company cannot treat the car wreck as an at fault accident on your part which will not effect your insurance premium. There are other reasons to have uninsured motorist coverage. Depending on how much uninsured liability coverage you purchased you could even need to use it if the other at fault driver has liability insurance. Lets just say you are in a car wreck caused by the other driver and the other driver only has $25,000.00 in auto liability insurance coverage. You decided when purchasing your auto liability insurance coverage to obtain $100,000.00 in uninsured motorist coverage with your $100,000.00 auto liability insurance policy. Again, the car wreck is not your fault and you unfortunately have serious injuries above and beyond the $25,000.00 liability policy of the other driver. Your wisdom in purchasing that $100,000.00 uninsured policy limits coverage allows you to look to your own insurance company to assist you in compensation for your claims and damages for the difference or up to $75,000.00, the difference in the $100,000.00 policy and the $25,000.00 policy.
But buyer beware, even though you had enough forethought to purchase uninsured motorist auto insurance coverage there are still some little sometimes unspoken or unwritten things you must do when dealing with the insurance company that has sold you this auto insurance policy. Here are a few tips to keep in mind; always report the accident right away because failure to do so may result in the insurance company claiming you did not report the loss to them in a timely manner and the insurance company may somehow claim they have been prejudiced and deny your insurance coverage. When if at all possible reporting a claim report the claim to your insurance agent and not directly to the insurance company. Why? Because many insurance companies have underwriting policies which may cancel you for simply reporting the claim to them even if it does not result in a paid claim. Thus, report the car wreck to the insurance agent. Many times, your agent will give you advice that will not result in the claim needing to be reported to the insurance company. In other words, on a need to know basis. You still have done your duty by reporting the car wreck to the agent of the insurance company. Many times, the other insurance company may stand up to the plate and try to resolve the damage claim but just in case the damage claim gets to big or you do have to hire a lawyer to file suit the uninsured auto motorist insurance company does know about it because you told the insurance agent.
II
So much for buying car insurance. You are in a car wreck and again it was not an accident that you somehow collided with the other driver. Assuming you are not at fault, there are a number of things that you should try to remember that will pay off later during the claim or litigation process. Again, as I have said before, there is no such thing as a car accident. Many car wrecks are caused simply because one driver is not paying attention to his or her surroundings while attempting to maneuver a moving object known as the vehicle, the car, the truck, the jeep, the SUV or whatever is on the road which has four or more wheels. The fault is generally known as negligence or comparative fault in Tennessee. It can be anything from a split second look at some other place within the vehicle itself or outside the vehicle instead of ahead or in the direction the vehicle is traveling. It could be from trying to get control of the unruly child in the back seat, putting out the cigarette in the ash tray, reaching for something in the glove box, fumbling for some object or thing in the back seat or passenger seat, talking on the cell phone, text messaging, giving the finger to some other driver because you disapproved of their driving right before the collision because you were not paying attention or backing up and not really watching who is behind you. The point is that car wrecks are car wrecks not accidents because something happened that could have been prevented. In Tennessee, there is a statutory authority which is known as the Rules of the Road. * This statute sets out a list of driving actions or inactions which if identified are considered negligence per se which means that if established would make the driver liable to you for the damages he or she caused.
If you are in a car wreck, do your best to memorialize the event so the facts as to how it happened will help you refresh your memory later if necessary. Make an audio recording of the event or write down a narrative description of what happened while it is fresh in your mind. Fortunately, good police officers do a pretty good job of preparing a description of the accident in narrative form and by drawing a scene description. Most often the officer will give you a police report number which you need to keep in a safe place to obtain the police report later if necessary. Do not give the other driver who is at fault any more information than your name, address and insurance information. By the way, until recently a victim in a car wreck never knew whether the other driver had car insurance. Today, the police officer is required by law to record on the police report the name of the insurance company of the drivers and can even give the driver a ticket if the driver does not have proof of car insurance. Do not say anything to the other driver you may regret later so it is best to just exchange the name, address and insurance information. Of course, if the other driver chooses to volunteer the car wreck was his or her fault by all means record that information. If you are injured, chances are that the police will call the local ambulance and an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) will attend to you at the scene. Many times you will be escorted by ambulance to the hospital emergency room. When you are with the EMT it is best to only discuss the nature of your injuries if asked. Any discussion with the EMT as to the facts of the accident are really not necessary. Generally, the EMT will make a record of your complaints of injury so be careful to accurately describe how you are feeling. Well you are on your way to the emergency room at the nearby hospital and your vehicle is of course damaged and left behind. Chances are you have the wrecker service name and you either told the wrecker driver what body shop to take the vehicle to or the vehicle is going back to the wrecker service lot. Important point to remember about your vehicle! Wrecker services or body shops may charge a storage charge per day. Many times it is waived if the liability insurance company for the other vehicle driver acknowledges responsibility for their insured. I strongly suggest that you obtain some declaration of responsibility from the other drivers insurance company as soon as possible. If for any reason, the insurance company will not acknowledge responsibility within a couple of days of the car wreck then get your vehicle to a location that will not charge a daily storage charge or see if the wrecker service or body shop will agree not to charge you a storage charge. I have seen too many people come to me with a problem arising out of a car wreck and the client forgot all about their vehicle and the storage charges that had mounted to a point where they could not afford to get their car back. During this initial point following a car wreck, the insurance company may furnish you with a rental vehicle to assist you with the loss of your vehicle either while it is being repaired or if it is totaled. In this phase of the claim process you need to know and remember that a rental car does not always come with the claim. There are a number of reasons why you may not be allowed a rental car. For example, lets say your car is totally destroyed by the other driver. Generally, speaking a total loss vehicle from a car wreck does not get you a rental car because the vehicle is no longer useable thus there is no loss of use you can claim as part of your property damage. Many insurance companies will put you in a rental car until it is determined whether the vehicle is a total loss or not but only while the insurance company is taking a look. If the vehicle is damaged but repairable, you can expect to get a rental car offered or get reimbursed for a rental car but only for the time it takes to repair the vehicle. Now if the vehicle is totaled, the insurance company will likely want to have the vehicle moved to a storage yard or what is called a salvage yard. Their purpose is to hold the car and then sell it for salvage so they can recoup some of their money they have to pay you. This situation can be of help to you in favorably resolving your case for property damage claims and even bodily injury claims. Every day the vehicle remains at the salvage yard and is not run through the salvage auction, the car goes down in value. This means the insurance company is losing money every day that the car sits on the salvage yard. For those of you who have had prior car wrecks with injuries had you ever noticed that the insurance company always is interested in first resolving the property damage loss. Insurance companies are for profit companies. Selling a salvage vehicle can add up very quickly to an insurance company who pays out claims and I mean millions of dollars in claims weekly or monthly. So if your car is a total loss don't be so quick to accept the insurance company offer as they may pay you a little more to get the property damage resolved so they can sell your salvage vehicle and recoup some of their loss. Also, most insurance companies use the NADA book to determine the value of the vehicle. The law in Tennessee states that the owner of property, your vehicle, can attest as to the value of property they own thus any court will consider the opinion of the owner of the vehicle as well as other evidence such as what the vehicle is being offered for in such publications like Wheels and Deals or Auto Trader which are state wide car selling publications.
III
Now you may have gleaned that the big bad insurance company does want to help you get your property damage claim resolved but when it comes to your injuries beware because the insurance company will make absolutely no efforts to help you with your medical bills or any other aspect of your bodily injury claim. The reason why is once again, the insurance company is a for profit business with the idea that the least they pay you the more they can earn a profit. The insurance industry has spent millions over the years and continues to spend, spend, spend on propaganda and schemes to make the general public believe that people who are injured in car wrecks exaggerate their claims and attorneys who represent injured people seek to exploit juries and their clients injuries. The average injured person from a car wreck does not inflate their injuries and it is simply not true that attorneys who represent injured people seek to exploit their clients and exaggerate their clients injuries.
Let me share some tips and advice with you that you should remember whether you want to go forward and try to resolve your case on your own or have the attorney you select represent you. While it is true that attorneys can generally get you settlements or awards far better than you could on your own, you still may be able to resolve your case by yourself. If you are in fact injured from a car wreck and you need to see a doctor don't wait. Many people that I have represented over the years come to me but only after they have made one of the most crucial mistakes that can be made, waiting! Oh, I thought it, the injury, might get better in a few days maybe a week or so. I will be doing the right thing with the insurance company and not appear greedy by waiting a few days before I go to see the doctor. If I get better without seeing a doctor then the insurance company will not owe me as much money. Mistake, mistake, mistake! First of all, if you do decide to wait a few days, I promise you, the insurance company will use the fact that you waited against you for sure. They will argue to you or their attorney will argue to the judge or jury later that you weren't injured all that much because you waited. And guess what if you don't go see a doctor you are not entitled to any damages at all. This argument has been successful for decades and is a tried and true argument that you are not injured because you waited so don't wait. You will have to have a compelling argument why you waited to make any difference for your delay. I have seen very few people make a successful argument for waiting. Maybe, they had trouble getting to a doctor that would take their insurance. Another, fact scenario that I have seen that totally negated any argument for waiting was the finding of a broken bone or some other objective evidence of an injury. But really folks please don't wait to see a doctor! With that said, be careful who you choose to see for help with your injury. Another big argument that insurance companies like to make is against the Chiropractor as your choice. Now I have a number of Chiropractors that I have met over the years and while their science of treatment can be very helpful it can have a great negative impact on your claim. Chiropractic care is not invasive, can often be relaxing and helpful but when it is too frequent it can be damaging to your case. I suggest that should you find after an injury that you wish to see a chiropractor that you limit your treatment to no more than ten or fifteen visits and if you are not better by then go see a medical doctor. I have seen to many injured parties that chose only to see a chiropractor and was awarded minimal damages because the insurance company and their attorney would make the argument that you didn't try some other form of better accepted and more common health care.
Since you have chosen to go at it alone, you have a limited number of things you can do but certainly try them if you want before you hire an attorney. Now lets just say that following the car wreck you went to the emergency room then followed up within a reasonable time to see your family doctor and after he ran a few tests, offered you medication for your pain and then decided to have you see a specialist such as a orthopedic doctor or bone doctor. So you have recovered after a few weeks or months or within a year what do you do now. Even after all this time since the accident you may not have heard at all from the insurance company or maybe the claims person has given you a call to see how you are doing and befriend you in some way. They want you to think that they are on your side. You know, you are in good hands with Allstate! If they do speak with you early on after the accident, the insurance adjuster may ask to take a recorded statement from you or come to your house to get a signed statement from you. Do not ever give an insurance adjuster a recorded statement or a signed statement in a car wreck case. Why they may tell you that they are required to investigate and this is part of their job and you want to cooperate please tell the insurance adjuster that you will be glad to share with them whatever information they may need to process the claim but you will not agree to a recorded or signed statement. The reason is because you run a great risk of saying something that could hurt you later such as committing to only a partial injury or maybe forgetting to say something for example about the headaches you have. Their lawyer could use it against you later if you had to go to trial. Here is another tip, do not sign one of their medical authorizations unless you make limitations to your signature. Don't give them a card blanche to obtain every medical record you have ever had. Don't allow the authorization to provide permission to speak with your doctor without your knowing it.
Big point to remember that insurance companies don't tell and have no duty to tell you, one year! Yes, you have one year to prosecute your claim by filing a lawsuit or you are forever barred from making a claim against the person who caused the wreck. You have three years if the claim is for property damage. If you have time before the year ends, you can present your personal injury claim to the insurance company. I suggest that you start collecting your medical records and bills that correspond to each doctors visit. Get your prescription receipts together as well and make a demand. The injured person makes the demand and the insurance company makes an offer. Also, if you have been excused from work because of your injury include in your claim your lost wages. I next suggest that once you get all those bills and medical records together that you send the package over to the claims adjuster for the insurance company with your demand.
Now guess what happens when the insurance company gets your demand package. Casualty insurance companies vary greatly on how they adjust claims. Some insurance adjusters have a reasonable amount of settlement authority and others don't have any authority. Some insurance companies will not consider even making an offer unless they have committed the claim. The Committee process means the insurance claims department will gather together a group of insurance adjusters and try to collectively decide what they want to pay you. They will take into account a number of factors including how much time you have left to file suit and the fact that you are representing yourself. They will consider how soon you went to the doctor after the car wreck, who you went to see for help and even what you look like. Then when they get around to making you an offer, it will be usually the medical bills or maybe one and a half times the medical bills. Now, here is a tip. Chances are you had health insurance of some kind either through your employer, self purchased or maybe through TennCare or Medicare. More likely than not those medical bills that were paid on your behalf were paid pursuant to a contract that caused a lesser amount to be paid sometimes substantially less. The auto liability insurance can not take advantage of the discounted medical bills. This is known in Tennessee as the Collateral source rule. Now even though you will have to pay the medical bills back you still get the discounted advantage which does help you with your consideration to settle as it does reap more in your pocket. Remember, you are entitled to more than just your medical bills, lost wages and property damage to be paid. You are entitled to recover the pain and suffering you experienced, the lost enjoyment of your life and even compensation for personal injuries that have become permanent.
Readers, I hope you can take this book and use it to help yourself resolve your personal injury car wreck case without my assistance or any other lawyer. But let's face it you can only go so far. You could try to file suit on your own but there is a saying that "it is a fool who represents himself" also known as pro se.
IV
Have you ever had the day off from work and had nothing to do so you sat down in front of the television and low and behold during the day about all you see are commercials made by lawyers who tell you things that make you think only those lawyers can do what they promise. Well here is a myth buster their promise is not unique! We don't charge you a fee unless we collect! The fact is all attorney's who represent injured people generally charge a contingency fee which is by standard 33 1/3% of the gross recovery. We charge a contingency fee because we know you cannot afford an hourly rate between $300.00 and $400.00 per hour. We come to you! That is just another myth. Most all personal injury attorneys will come to your house after an initial phone conversation if there is a reason to come and see you because you can't make it to our office. Nothing new. I want to be treated with respect! Another myth. Every attorney in the state of Tennessee has a duty to treat his client in an ethical and professional manner. You are simply hearing things and seeing commercials that make you think that only these television lawyers will do the things they promise when every attorney in the state of Tennessee will or ought do the same thing. The fact is that most lawyers and law firms that advertise on the television have high volume demands which result in often settling for less than they should for you so they can get the cash flow they need to operate their firm. Myth, lawyers can settle your case for you. The truth of the matter is the lawyer may not ever settle a case without your permission. We handle big truck cases which could leave you with hospital stays and big medical bills! Well sure! Cases which involve tractor trailers generally cause serious injuries. Just remember and these lawyers may imply this but us lawyers cannot pay for your medical bills while you wait. Don't be fooled by lawyers who promise you with money within days or big bucks because you came to see them. I can't tell you how many times, I have had a client tell me well my brother's friend got this much money in his case why can't I get the same? The reality is that each case is different. Each case carries its own peculiar facts and problems associated with maximizing the recovery in your case.
When you decide to hire a lawyer, I have a suggestion, go to the board of professional responsibility, and check out the lawyer you are interested in hiring. Find out if he has had bar complaints, has been censored, has been temporarily disbarred. This information will tell you volumes about the lawyer you are interested in hiring. Any lawyer, who understands the code of ethics for lawyers you likely will not find any information in the negative about the lawyer. Find out just what kind of experience this lawyer has under his belt. For the most part, you will have to trust what he tells you but let me say a lawyer with one year versus 30 years experience is a world of difference apart in experience and knowledge that he has learned along the way from settling a case by agreement to going to trial. Lawyers go through a number of stages in their career as a lawyer. I believe there are three stages. Those stages are going to law school, passing the bar exam in Tennessee and then practicing law. Law schools do not teach the lawyer how to practice law. Experience and life experiences teach a lawyer how to practice law. So if you run across a lawyer, lets say like me, who spent 15 years as a claims adjuster and supervisor right out of college to enjoying the last 17 years as a practicing trial lawyer you might want to strongly consider hiring a lawyer who has spent the time. You need a lawyer who has no reservations in any phase of trial law from all aspects of pre-litigation to trial and appeal.
I hoped this publication, this book, this expression of what you need to know to help you resolve a personal injury case without a lawyer has helped you. You can go at it on your own or hire a lawyer to do it all for you but that is your choice.
If I can be in any way an assist to you then contact me. I want clients who came to me for legal advice and representation that will not only last for the one case but for later on and into the future because they know that trust and integrity are of the utmost importance.
