2009 December Archive

Protect Yourself from Missing the Settlement You Deserve

By Personal Injury Lawyer on December 31, 2009

When looking at insurance coverage from the point of view of an injury victim, one can expect that the insurance company will almost always do everything possible to make sure that a release form is signed before they pay out any money. In other words, before the insurance company will pay, they want to ensure that the recipient has signed away any right to seek more money in the future.

This obviously creates a problem for plaintiffs with severe or permanent injuries. Those who have been seriously hurt in a Peoria, Arizona car accident may want to settle their case within the first year following the incident, but will not have reached the end of their medical needs at that time. Some unfortunate victims of serious injury may never again return to work.

Therefore, it is imperative that any settlement includes money for anticipated future medical care and future lost wages. This task often requires the help of a skilled Arizona personal injury lawyer, who can help auto accident victims obtain honest assessments from expert witnesses to determine the cost and likelihood of future medical care and the anticipated wage loss as a result of the injury.

Be advised that injured persons or their representatives assume a huge risk by signing any document without asking a lawyer to review it. Even documents that may appear not to waive any future rights may cause serious unforeseen ramifications. Certainly, it is vital not to sign a release or agree to accept money without making sure a lawyer has reviewed the case and the document first. It would be a horrible and unjust outcome if somebody who is seriously injured accepted money and signed a release early in the case without realizing that they had signed away their right to payment for future medical care that was directly necessitated by the crash.

Settling a Personal Injury Case and Getting Money Later for Medical Bills and Lost Wages Incurred

By Personal Injury Lawyer on December 30, 2009

In almost every case, the answer to whether a person can receive money for medical bills and lost wages incurred after settling a personal injury case, is no. Settlement in personal injury cases is almost always a one-time-only deal. The primary reason for this is that the insurance company involved has an obligation to its insured, the person who caused the serious injury accident. That person understandably wants to avoid being sued a second time, and thus they want to ensure that their insurance company pays the full sum it is required to pay so they will owe no money in the future.

Naturally, this works both ways. If you were ever to cause an accident while you were insured, your insurance would protect you. That’s why you paid for it in the first place. You would expect your insurance company to do everything possible to get the case settled in a way that would protect you from owing any further. If your insurance company simply paid the injured person a fixed amount and left you in a position to be sued again, you would certainly have a valid dispute with your insurance company. In fact, some judges may consider the insurance company to have acted in bad faith, which would open the insurance company up to serious legal responsibility for failing to do their job. The purpose of insurance is to protect you from financial loss if you are ever found to be negligent.

From the side of the injury victim, it is crucial that any settlement includes money for anticipated future medical care and future lost wages. This task often requires the help of a skilled Arizona personal injury lawyer, who can help auto accident victims obtain honest assessments from expert witnesses to determine the cost and likelihood of future medical care and the anticipated wage loss as a result of the injury.

Medical Care and Personal Injury in Arizona

By Personal Injury Lawyer on December 29, 2009

When an injured person or group of individuals has health insurance available, it is rarely necessary to receive health care based on a lien which entitles medical professionals to reimbursement when the case is settled. Cases in which a sound insurance policy applies are the safest bet for the client and her attorney because Phoenix personal injury lawyers will not ordinarily have to get involved in the client’s medical care. The plain truth is that most of the time a lawyer wants to avoid taking any action that could appear to create any conflict between that lawyer and good medical care for the client.

Any time a lawyer refers a client to a doctor, she risks the possibility that the case could go to trial, where a jury could be convinced that the lawyer was more interested in making money than she was in the client’s medical condition and care. For this reason, lawyers must be very cautious about getting involved with the medical care of a client. Moreover, a knowledgeable lawyer will do everything possible not just to find a doctor who will provide necessary medical care because he cares only about finding the best possible treatment for his clients—even those who are unable to pay without his help.

Nothing is more important to us at Breyer Law Offices than the health of our clients. We pledge to do everything we can to make sure our clients do not suffer needlessly through pain or disability due to a lack of medical care. As Peoria personal injury attorneys who have helped our clients handle nearly every type of personal injury, we are committed to more than just achieving the best possible legal result. We are committed to our clients. We know that when a client is able to return to full strength or, at minimum, receive the best medical care and see significant improvement from a medical standpoint, we are all better off.

If you are concerned that you may not be financially able to obtain the medical care you need after a serious auto accident or other personal injury claim, please do not hesitate to contact us. At Breyer Law Offices, P.C, we strive to do everything we can to make sure our clients have access to the medical treatment they need to achieve the best possible recovery after an automobile accident.

Investigating Product Liability Claims in Arizona

By Personal Injury Lawyer on December 28, 2009

It is very important to stick with an experienced, trustworthy Peoria, Arizona injury lawyer when a product liability expert is needed. If you or someone you know has been seriously injured or killed due to a defective product, it will take a lot of money, time, and detailed investigation up front to determine the amount and strength of evidence that exists to prove that the product was defective.

At Breyer Law Offices, we do not ask our clients to pay our fee at the moment they retain us. We know it’s unreasonable to ask that clients pay any part of our fee at the outset of their case, which is why we proudly state that we have never required a client to pay a single dollar out-of- pocket before a settlement or judgment is reached in their case. Every dollar we have been paid was earned when we collected money for our clients. At that point—and only then—are we paid a contingency fee (percentage) of the recovery we win for our client.

Similarly, when it comes to Arizona product liability cases, we are well aware that our clients cannot afford the tens of thousands of dollars it costs to pursue a claim. Therefore, we take it upon ourselves to shoulder the full risk along with our client. And this means we pay initial costs when the case commences.

How to Prevent Insurance Companies from Making Unfair Offers

By Personal Injury Lawyer on December 24, 2009

If an insurance company knows that a seriously injured person is represented by a lawyer who refuses to go to trial and settles every case, the insurance company knows it has no incentive to make a fair offer. They will continue to make unfairly low offers to the attorney and the injury victim until the trial gets close, at which point the attorney will likely advise the client to accept an inadequate sum, and the case will be settled. In this type of scenario, the injured victim will never receive the amount that he or she truly deserves.

It’s vitally important to hire a lawyer who is willing to take cases to trial if a trial is warranted to secure ample compensation. An Arizona personal injury lawyer who has experience fighting for clients in front of a jury offers a much greater value to any clients he or she represents.

At Breyer Law Offices, we feel that there is a big problem with pushing clients to settle cases when there is not a fair offer on the table. Not only does it hurt the individual client, but personal injury lawyers who refuse to fight for their clients, who do not take cases to trial, develop a reputation amongst insurance companies as pushovers who are unwilling to put up a fight. If you know the other side is not willing to put up a fight, there is no reason to offer a fair sum to the client. That is why we are very proud of the fact that we are not just Peoria personal injury attorneys. We are Arizona trial lawyers who fight for our clients from day one to the very end.

Two Different Insurance Companies May Cover the Same Medical Bills

By Personal Injury Lawyer on December 23, 2009

In our previous post, we discussed how Arizona law makes available several options for individuals who are injured in an auto accident in Arizona and have health insurance available to them. The most common possibility when a person is injured is that the injured person will realize the advantage of having two different insurance companies that are required to cover the same medical bills.

This course of action logically benefits the person who took the initiative to make sure they were properly insured in the first place. When this is the situation, the collateral source rule comes into play. When it pertains to a car accident case, this would mean that the insurance company for the at-fault driver must still pay all medical bills that are judged to be reasonably incurred as a result of injury suffered at the hands of their insured. At the same time, the injured party’s health insurance also bears the responsibility to cover those same bills. Since doctors do not need to be paid twice for their services, additional monies can often be used to help compensate the injury victim.

Although a well-insured motorist who is injured will likely have medical expenses paid accordingly, making sure that the doctors are properly paid and that all insurance contracts and laws are followed can be a very complicated task. That’s why hiring a top Peoria, AZ car accident lawyer is absolutely crucial for an accident victim who is trying to get the best possible medical care. Retaining a reliable attorney also ensures that victims are fully compensated for every aspect of their suffering as a result of the negligent driving of somebody else.

If you want honest answers to how you should handle health insurance in concert with additional insurance so your medical needs will be remunerated, do not hesitate to contact Breyer Law Offices today. We will give you an honest assessment regarding the best way to tackle your insurance issues so you can be sure you will be fully compensated, your doctors will be fully compensated, and you will get the excellent medical treatment you need to heal.

Learning More about Health Insurance Coverage and Auto Accident Claims

By Personal Injury Lawyer on December 22, 2009

Arizona law provides various avenues for persons who are seriously injured in a car accident and have health insurance available to them. They may also make use of the insurance policy of the person who caused the incident. Under the law, both the injury victim’s health insurance and the negligent party’s insurance may be responsible for paying medical bills incurred following an accident.

In this type of situation, there are three possibilities that the law may allow. The possibility that applies depends on the circumstances of the case. On the one hand, the law could stipulate that, the presence of a health insurance policy notwithstanding, the health insurance provider does not have to pay the medical bills resulting from the accident. This rarely happens. The possibility that a judge will excuse a health insurer from paying anything is a common misconception that experienced Peoria, Arizona auto accident lawyers help to address. The reality is that filing a claim with a health insurance provider is almost always the first line of defense. Even if the policy includes the right to partial or even full reimbursement, using health insurance will almost always eliminate delays and afford the best possible care of all. Therefore, the possibility that a health insurance provider will completely escape responsibility for payment and should not be notified is a slim one at best.

Another possibility is that a judge rules that the insurance policy of the person who caused the accident is not responsible and does not have to pay medical expenses if the person who is injured is covered by health insurance. However, this would reward the insurance company of the person who is at fault purely merely because the person who was hurt paid for health insurance in advance. The law does not usually afford any such benefit to the at-fault party or insurance company.

To learn more about the most common option for having medical bills paid for after an auto accident, please read tomorrow’s post.

Pain and Suffering: Just the Tip of the Iceberg

By Personal Injury Lawyer on December 21, 2009

There is far too much focus on the role of wrongful death and Arizona personal injury attorneys and the recovery of damages for “pain and suffering” after an accident. The public’s obsession with the term “pain and suffering” often revolves around a handful of lawsuits where a lot of money has been awarded. The media’s depiction of these trials makes it seem as though the American justice system is out of control.

But the term “pain and suffering” merely marks the beginning of possible damages; injury victims are entitled to compensation for much more than pain and suffering. They are entitled to the knowledge that their medical bills will be reimbursed. They are entitled to compensation for the damage their credit rating suffers when outstanding medical bills go unpaid because the insurance company for the negligent driver has not yet been forced to pay.

Injury victims are entitled to money for every dollar they’ve lost when they cannot work. Drivers, passengers, and pedestrians who are hurt in car accidents in Arizona have the right not just to the money lost from missed work at the date of the settlement, but money for future lost income during their recovery period. Many serious injuries require ongoing medical care. Somebody who has been injured and suffers a severe permanent injury is entitled to payment not only for medical bills incurred to date, but medical bills they will incur in the future. In addition to all of these, it is true that unnecessary pain and suffering needs to be addressed in a settlement agreement or judgment.

If you have recently endured an injury after being in a car accident, you may qualify to seek damages from the other driver or drivers if they were negligent and caused the incident to take place. To learn more about your legal options and to find out if you may be able to obtain compensation, please contact the skilled Peoria personal injury lawyers at Breyer Law Offices today for a free, no-obligation consultation.

Options for an Auto Accident Injury Victim Without Health Insurance

By Personal Injury Lawyer on December 18, 2009

Any Peoria personal injury lawyer who considers him- or herself to be one of the best in America, but does not truly care about a client’s medical condition ought to be scratched from the list. On the flip side, even an inexperienced personal injury lawyer who fights valiantly to assist their clients as they get better deserves a lot of credit.

The best injury attorneys not only go to every possible length to make sure legal claims are resolved by fighting to win the maximum compensation allowable by law, they also make sure the injury victim’s rights are protected. At the same time, top injury lawyers are willing to get involved in the medical aspect of their client’s situation if necessary.

When a legal professional intervenes on behalf of an injured client, the real goal is to make sure that the doctors do everything that they can do. But there are many times, unfortunately, when our clients badly need surgery, but lack the money to pay for it. Doctors cannot be expected to work for free, nor should they be. They have a right to be paid fairly, and so do hospitals. The result of this conflict is that many non- emergency surgeries are not performed until there is a way to ensure that the doctors and hospital staff who provide the care will be paid.

If you are concerned that you may not be financially able to obtain the medical care you need after a serious auto accident or other personal injury claim, please do not hesitate to contact us. At Breyer Law Offices P.C., our Arizona personal injury attorneys strive to do everything we can to make sure our clients have access to the medical treatment they need to achieve the best possible recovery after an automobile accident.

After a Car Accident: Do I Really Need to See a Doctor?

By Personal Injury Lawyer on December 17, 2009

Yes. Even you just feel “shaken up” after being rear-ended by a truck, it’s important to be examined by your doctor. Many times patients don’t feel physical symptoms until 12 to 24 hours after the accident takes place – even if a major injury occurred.

If you are feeling pain or discomfort immediately after an accident, it is important to seek medical attention. Many times, patients think the pain will simply go away, or that they can “grin and bear it.”

But injuries might actually get worse if you don’t get immediate medical attention. In such cases, your chances of receiving financial compensation go down the drain since there’s no record of the injury at the time of the accident. Seeing a doctor right away will not only provide a preliminary diagnosis and proper documentation should you pursue a personal injury lawsuit, but it can actually help minimize both pain and future visits to the doctor.

Once you have been diagnosed, be sure to follow your doctor’s orders to the letter and do not miss any appointments. Doing so can be used against you by the defense in court.

If you have suffered any injuries in an auto accident in Arizona, please feel free to contact the skilled Phoenix personal injury lawyers at Breyer Law Offices, P.C. We always offer a free, no-obligation consultation for potential clients. Call us today for more information regarding your case.