When filing a personal injury insurance claim, there are aspects of social media that you should be aware of. Almost everyone uses sites like Twitter and Facebook to communicate with friends and family, but did you know that almost anyone can access your personal information and posts?
When involved in a personal injury case, insurance companies and lawyers may be able to see your daily activities and conversations between your friends and followers. If there is any information that contradicts the terms of your claim, they can and will use that against you. You should be perceptive about the things you are posting on the internet, because anyone could take these things out of context.
The following is a list of guidelines on handling Social Media while involved in a Personal Injury Claim:
- Delete, deactivate, or set maximum security settings on any social networking profile that you may have.
- Do not comment, discuss, or share any information about your incident, injuries, treatments, etc.
- Do not discuss your current activities and locations, for this information can show exactly where you are and what you’re doing at any time.
- Remove any photos or posts that may be questionable or incriminating
- Do not accept any requests from people who you are unfamiliar with, as well as remove any friends or followers you don’t know or trust.
The internet isn’t an entirely secure place, so be cautious on information you share about yourself. There have been numerous occasions where a person filing for a personal injury insurance claim has lost to their opposing counsel for disclosing information that contradicts their claim. Sometimes, it may not seem what you’re posting will do any harm, but someone may take it the wrong way.
If you are unsure about the privacy policies or settings on your social networking profile, you should ask someone you trust to explain how these things work. Of course, with any personal injury case, you should retain the services of a personal Injury attorney who can help you through the entire personal injury claim process.
One of the most misunderstood coverage under an auto liability insurance policy is Underinsured/Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage. Many think they have FULL coverage when they have liability coverage and comprehensive/collision coverage. For clarification, liability coverage insures you if you cause damage to another person or their property. Collision coverage covers your car if you damage your car and you are at fault. Comprehensive covers things such as a tree falling on your car.
UM is a separate coverage you can purchase to protect yourself from at-fault drivers whose insurance limits may be insufficient to cover medical bills and wage loss you may incur in case of an accident. (This coverage can cost as little as 20% more of your annual premium). UM coverage also protects you from at-fault drivers who carry no insurance whatsoever. The number of these drivers on the road is alarming, and it is advisable to take this into consideration when purchasing auto insurance.
Some may ask why they need UM coverage if they have health insurance. Even if one has personal health insurance, the rising cost of health insurance has forced many to substantially raise their deductibles, and co-pay percentage can be very costly as well. UM coverage is an excellent source of insurance to pay these costs should one become involved in an auto accident.
There are two types of UM coverage: “Regular UM” and “Economic-Only UM.” NEVER BUY “ECONOMIC-ONLY” UM COVERAGE! You save a few pennies, but you waive all rights to collect any damages for pain and suffering. Tell your insurance Agent you want “Regular” UM coverage.
The Hunt Law Firm recommends to its clients that they discuss their auto insurance coverage with their insurance agent, in detail, and not make such decisions in haste. Insurance coverage is a serious decision—one that can create serious financial hardships if you do not adequately protect yourself and your family. Contact us today for more information and get help with your personal injury case.
When you are involved in an automobile accident or car wreck, the lawsuit your personal injury attorney files will often include compensation for the damages to be recovered for lost wages on a job you already have. Sometimes, it will be necessary to claim a loss of anticipated future earnings, but it can be difficult to estimate such damages.
When seeking damages for loss of earnings, it must be proven that there is good reason for this type of award and there must be a way demonstrated to calculate this sum. Of course, the nature of anticipated future earnings is uncertain and can make things difficult to calculate. The claimant can argue that the earnings lost should cover the difference in salary or earning prior to the accident and current earnings, while the other side can argue that the claimant could be retrained in another aspect of the job or in a different job entirely. It depends on the facts of the case on whether an injured party can claim loss of future earnings.
For example, if a promotion for which the injured part was up for were lost as a result of the automobile accident, this would be a big factor in recovering loss of future earnings damages. The age of the injured person is also a factor, as the court will determine the average number of years that are left in which they could work and use this as a component in the calculation for earning capacity losses.
An experienced personal injury attorney should handle any automobile accident lawsuit, but when loss of future earnings is a factor, it is imperative that you retain their services. After careful review of the facts in your case, this personal injury attorney will determine a fair assessment of damages as a result of the car wreck or automobile accident. With this information, your case can be better represented when negotiating with the insurance company or if the car accident case should go to trial.
For more information about your future earning losses, contact the Hunt Law Firm for representation by an experienced personal injury attorney.
When you are involved in any kind of automobile accident, often times the accident can be frightening and is likely to cause injuries. With the potential for harm that a standard automobile accident can provide, imagine how an impact with an 18-wheeler at high-speed can be: a terrifying and deadly experience in every aspect.
As tens of thousands of pounds of tractor-trailer collide with your vehicle, the resulting trauma can affect you for the rest of your life. If you are involved in an 18-wheeler accident and live, please follow this advice.
If you are conscious and capable of acting, call the police right away. Regardless of the extent of yours or your passengers’ injuries, it is of the utmost importance to obtain a police report of the tractor-trailer accident.
You’ll also need to get the contact information for all parties involved. The driver of the 18-wheeler will need to be questioned for their insurance information, and any potential witnesses should be approached. Get their information in the case that their testimony will be necessary at a later date or by the police.
Taking photos of the aftermath of the 18-wheeler accident can be crucial for reporting the extent of injuries and damages. With cameras being integrated into almost all phones, having something handy to take pictures should be considered necessary.
Getting immediate medical attention is essential. As with any automobile accident, injuries may not be apparent immediately, and it is in yours and your passengers’ best interests to be treated by a doctor.
To best protect your rights in a situation involving an 18-wheeler accident or tractor-trailer wreck, be sure to consult with a personal injury attorney that has experience with handling cases that involve 18-wheelers and tractor-trailers. Contact the Hunt Law Firm today to schedule an appointment to protect your rights.
As you drive down the highway, you see them all the time: busted railings, skid marks, tire debris – the reminders of the risks when driving behind an 18-wheeler – a tractor-trailer blowout. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), tire failure is the cause of a great number of 18-wheeler accidents every year. Blowouts that are caused by tire failure affect motorists in a variety of ways: A truck that suffers a blowout can crash, blocking the road, causing traffic jams. When a truck loses control due to a tire blowout, it can smash into another vehicle. Debris from a tire blowout can cause other drivers to crash.
There are a number of causes of tire failure, but one of the greatest can be a defective tire. Should defects happen during the process of manufacturing the tire, they can be recalled; failure to comply with a federal tire recall can cause vehicular accidents, injuries, and deaths. Some of the defects that can lead to a recall include partial tread separation, belt edge separation, tire bead failure, zipper failure, and failure to comply with the requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
Another cause of tire failure can be improper maintenance. As proper tire maintenance is integral to vehicular safety, mistakes in maintenance can include under or over inflation, mismatched tire sizes to rims, differing tread wear on paired tires, and vehicle overloading.
Along with improper tire maintenance, failure to inspect tires regularly can be another cause of tire failure. Tire inspection is federally mandated for commercial drivers and inspection errors can lead to disastrous results. Failure to conduct a pre-trip inspection, failure to check tire pressure, and failure to inspect tires for tread wear, damage and leakage are all factors that can contribute to tire failure.
The Hunt Law Firm is experienced in handling 18-wheeler accidents and is ready to help you with your tractor-trailer accident. Contact us today for more information.
Every year, Allstate Insurance Company issues their “America’s Best Drivers Report”, a study conducted that compares the number of auto insurance claims in a city and compares that with the national average, ranking them accordingly.
Baltimore, Maryland has been awarded with the title of “Least Safe City for Driving”, finding that every 14 years, motorists there are 88% more likely to be involved in an automobile accident than the national average. It should be noted that Washington D.C. ranks worse than Baltimore but was not included in the survey as it evaluated cities within the 50 states. D.C. residents are 107% more likely to be involved in an automobile accident.
Fort Collins, Colorado earned the title of “Safest City for Driving” for the second consecutive year, with drivers being 29% less likely than the national average to be involved in an automobile accident. Other safe driving cities in the U.S. include Boise, Idaho; Huntsville, Alabama; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Chandler, Arizona. Amongst cities with a population over 1 million, Phoenix, Arizona ranked the safest, while Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ranked most dangerous, barely edging out Los Angeles, California and New York City.
For Louisiana automobile accidents, drivers in Baton Rouge and New Orleans both ranked around 30% more likely to be involved in an automobile accident than the national average.
No matter where you live, automobile accidents can happen. Suffering due to someone else’s negligence, be it another driver, a manufacturing defect, or another factor, can be helped with the contracting of an experienced personal injury attorney. Call the Hunt Law Firm today for help with your automobile accident.
When you are involved in an automobile accident, the insurance is quick to start calling so that they can get the claim resolved quickly. Though it might seem that you want the same goal, in nearly all instances you will be better represented by an experienced personal injury attorney; even if the goal you seek is to settle the claim, a personal injury lawyer should be involved.
At this point, you might be asking why, and the reasons are simple. The insurance company has one goal: keep premiums as low as possible. To do that, they will try to pay out as little as possible to you for your accident claim. An experienced personal injury attorney will ensure that your accident case is handled from the moment you call to the final settlement. Receiving the compensation that is deserved is the goal of the personal injury lawyer.
Handling your own insurance claim can have quite a few downfalls. Putting together a claim is quite an undertaking, as you can miss important deadlines. Often times, you don’t know the value of your own accident claim and getting the settlement you deserve takes a lot of negotiation and time. Words carry weight, and accidentally saying something might have the insurance company using your words against you, hurting your case. The worst problem is that without a lawyer, the insurance company knows you don’t have a backup plan of action should your case not settle.
By hiring an experienced personal injury attorney, you are securing your positioning in the accident claim process. Personal injury attorneys have experience in assembling demand packages, requesting medical records, and filing and following up on claims. The job of the personal injury lawyer is to keep current on crucial deadlines so that the case moves forward. An attorney calculates the value of your case more readily and an experienced personal injury lawyer will have hundreds of cases under their belt. When communicating with the insurance company, an attorney will know exactly what to say and what not to say. By selecting the right personal injury attorney for your case, you can be assured that the best representation for you will result in the best outcome for your case.
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