MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS
"A judge is a law student who marks his own examination papers." H. L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)
"A jury consists of twelve persons chosen to decide who has the better lawyer." Robert Frost (1874 - 1963), (attributed)
Mr. Wheelock has over twenty years of legal experience, after working within the insurance industry as a licensed insurance adjuster, helping clients injured by motor vehicle accidents, slip and falls, dog bites and defective products, receive fair compensation for their injuries. If you're like most people, you've probably been spared extensive contact with the insurance industry, may not even know where you're insurance policy is, and surely haven't read it. If you,ve been involved in a serious accident, it's time to hire an attorney. (1) Don't admit anything. (2) Don't engage in settlement negotiations on your own, and (3) never go one-on-one in Court against a lawyer. (See the article below on what to do following a major motor vehicle accident.) Please contact our firm today at (603) 431-3430 to arrange your free consultation.
Motor Vehicle Accidents
In a matter of seconds a serious car accident can turn your life upside down. All at once you face serious injury, enormous medical bills and worst of all, because you can't work, you can no longer take care of your family. You can no longer provide for them. You wish you had purchased disabilty insurance when you had the chance or put away six months of savings as recommended, but now it's too late. Insurance companies are calling you with all kinds of questions about your accident, but no one is taking responsibility.
What to do?
The moments immediately after an auto accident can be very confusing, yet, you need to act.
First, take whatever means are necessary to secure your safety and the safety of everyone involved.
Then, do everything possible to make sure everyone's medical needs are dealt with. If any one is seriously injured call 911 and ask for emergency medical attention then call the local police, state police, or highway patrol.
When medical help and law enforcement arrives, immediately report any injuries or ongoing emergencies. Then answer any questions they ask about what happened "directly".
Don't distract the EMTs or keep the police from doing their job, but try to to record important information about the accident and those involved at the scene. Get these facts in a safe and respectful way:
Get basic information from all other drivers involved in the accident including their full first and last names, their driver's license number and their insurance carrier (without implying fault). Offer your name, license number, and insurance carrier to other drivers, as well.
Get basic contact information from all passengers and witnesses including their full first and last name and a phone number if they are willing to share that with you or ask them to provide their information to law enforcement if they are not, before they leave the scene.
Record basic information about each vehicle involved in the accident including the model, make, color, and year (if possible). Note the license plate number and the damage to each vehicle and the driver and the passengers who were travelling in that car (truck, motorcycle, etc.).
Get the first and last name, and report number from the officer in charge at the scene. If there was an EMT team or medical personnel present, try to get the company name.
If your cell phone has a built-in camera, take as many photos as you need to capture any visible skid marks and take close-up shots of any and all property damage.
Remove or secure any valuables or important personal items from your vehicle if it is going to be towed from the scene. Be sure to get detailed information about, where your car is taken.
If you're able, take time to make a brief call to your insurance agency and let them know that you've been involved in an accident, explain the situation to them and let them know that you'll be contacting them with more details later.
After the accident, write a detailed report of what you remember of the event including the time of day and weather and road conditions. The longer you wait, the more details you are likely to forget.
Once you've dealt with the immediate issues at the scene of the accident and had some time to regroup, it's important to prepare a realistic plan for what's next. Even a simple accident can become complicated by the need to tend to your own injuries while working with law enforcement, multiple insurance companies, doctors, hospitals, other health care providers and, at times, lawyers representing both you and the drivers of the other vehicles, while under financial stress.
YOU NEED TO HAVE A PLAN (and that's no easy riding) addressing your:
Medical Needs
Work / Employment / Disabilty
Insurance and
Legal Issues
Medical - The most important part of your plan should be to first get treatment for any immediate or life-threatening conditions and then take the necessary steps to find the "right doctor" or specialist who can correctly diagnose & treat your long-term condition. (No they are not all of equal ability. Word of mouth is still the best recommendation) It's essential to find a doctor who specializes in your injury.
Work - If you are unable to return to work because of your injuries, it's important to contact your employer as soon as possible and inform your employer that you have had an accident and are medically unable to return to work. Eventually they will want some verification of your disability from your doctor and it's expected length for their records. Your doctor's office or the hospital should be able to easily provide whatever is needed.
When you've reported your medical status, ask any questions you may have concerning your job status while you are out of work because of your injury how many leave days you have available (if any); your company health insurance (if any) and what it covers and,if your accident occurred as a part of your work duties, then you will also need information about Workers' Compensation Insurance.
Insurance - The major issues that you're going to have to deal with in terms of automobile insurance are:
Medical Payments Coverage -- this insurance covers your medical expenses due to an injury no matter who was at fault in the accident. For that reason, it is often referred to as "no-fault" insurance.
Property Damage -- this is the insurance that covers damage to the vehicles involved in the accident as well as any other property that might be affected.
Bodily Injury Liability / Uninsured / Underinsured Insurance - this is the insurance that will cover medical treatment and rehabilitation bills related to the accident. Coverage may be part of your auto insurance policy or from the "at-fault" party's insurance.
If you have car insurance, personal health insurance, and/or are covered by your spouse's workplace insurance, then there are multiple policies against which you might be able to file a claim. Different carriers may offer very different benefits for exactly the same accident, so it's important to know your options and file correctly.
Most insurance coverage is limited to a certain financial payout per accident. If you're involved in a complicated accident involving multiple vehicles and serious injuries, each injured person may have a potential claim against that single limit so it's important to register your claim quickly to make sure that you and your family are protected.
Legal Issues - In almost every motor vehicle accident there are legal issues to address ranging from simply dealing with a police officers on the scene all the way to multi-year lawsuits involving a combination of various drivers, insurance companies, their adjusters and appraisers, their lawyers, etc..
When they get in their car, nobody thinks they are about to take a trip that could change their lives forever. Nobody expects that the negligence of another driver could devastate their lives, and put at risk everything they have worked for. But the fact of the matter is, when an accident occurs, the negligent drivers insurance company is going to shift into high gear. They will have insurance adjusters investigating the accident immediately. The goal of their investigation is to contact you within twenty-four hours and gather every shred of evidence that helps their insured operator.
They will hire attorneys to represent and fight for the person who caused the accident.
Who is going to represent your interests?
Attorney Timothy Wheelock knows how to investigate and prepare a motor vehicle case. He knows the nuts and bolts of how to gather evidence and recover compensation for your injuries and the damage done to your life. He knows the insurance industry and they know him.
If your accident resulted in serious injury then you should begin the process of looking for legal counsel immediately because, it's important to choose the right firm and yes, word-of-mouth is still the best recommendation for attorneys as well, not large ads. The bottom line is that you want a lawyer with the experience, reputation and track record in court to represent you. Without those credentials attorneys have no leverage with insurance companies. Contact Attorney Timothy Wheelock today at (603) 431-3430 for a free no-obligation consultation.