Posts Tagged ‘Accident’

The actual cost of a car accident

Thursday, January 24th, 2013

Motor vehicle accidents often come with hidden costs above and beyond an increased insurance premium. If there is a serious injury or fatality, the costs of an accident can be immeasurable in terms of the emotional and physical suffering. Some of the most obvious “hidden costs” of a car accident are lost wages and expensive medical bills.

The AAA estimates that fatal vehicle accidents cost 6 million overall, and that each serious injury that occurs as a result of vehicle accident costs around $125,000. To arrive at these figures the AAA considered 10 costs of vehicle accidents as determined by the Federal Highway Administration:

  • Property damage
  • Medical expenses
  • Lost earnings/wages
  • Lost time/productivity at work
  • Loss of household productivity due to disability
  • Emergency response costs (ambulance, emergency room)
  • Rehabilitation expenses
  • Legal fees and expenses
  • Administrative costs
  • Pain and suffering and loss of quality of life

Car accidents can result in astronomical expenses, regardless of your financial situation. If you are the victim of a car accident you should not have to bear the burden of such financial strains. If someone has caused you or a loved one serious injury or death by driving negligently, you should seek professional legal advice from a qualified lawyer who can assess and evaluate your car accident claim.

An experienced personal injury lawyer can best evaluate and investigate your car accident to determine the actual cause and responsible parties involved, and seek compensation on your behalf. There are many unexpected costs that arise from car accidents, consult a car accident lawyer to find out how to best cover the costs, and, if due, receive compensation.

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5 Ways To Get The Quality Health Care Treatment You Deserve

Thursday, January 24th, 2013

Quality care is defined by three guiding principles -
All treating physicians perform the proper procedures correctly.
You receive the health services you need, when you need them.
You receive the health services you actually need, nothing more nothing less.

After a personal injury accident, you will want to acquire the best care you can get. Here are some tips to ensure your time spent getting treated is maximized.

Educate yourself regarding your injury and treatment before your appointment. There are medical resources all over the internet, research your diagnosed injury and what potential options for treatment exist. If you have any additional questions regarding your injury write down a list of key questions and bring it to discuss with your doctor.

Bring your records. In order to best help your physician understand what is wrong with you and what the best treatment might be, it is important to have a complete health history in one place, especially if you have a complicated medical history or pre-existing conditions. Your medical history belongs to you and will be made available to you upon request. Keep a personal copy of your records so that you can consult it on an as needed basis.

Ask the right questions. Sometimes a gentle but firmly addressed question such as “What are some alternatives?” “What will happen if I postpone treatment?” and ”How do I know I am getting the best treatment available?” can lead to improved patient satisfaction and better relationship with your healthcare provider.

Don’t be afraid to speak up. If you feel that your physician has not paid enough attention to your injury, it is your personal duty to ask for greater explanation regarding your treatment. Sometimes, health care providers err on the side of providing less detailed information. If you ask for a more detailed explanation regarding your treatment, your healthcare provider should be willing to fully inform you. If not, its time to find a healthcare provider who is.

Bring support. Find someone you trust, such as a spouse, friend, or co-worker, and ask them to accompany you to your physician’s office. Incase you are unable to speak up, or if you are overwhelmed, your sidekick can advocate for you and your best interests, making sure your ideas are voiced and heard.

Sometimes your personal injury lawyer may be your best advocate. If your lawyer recommended your treating physician, it is probable that your lawyer and physician already have a working relationship and can work together to ensure your best interests. Receiving treatment for an accident related injury should not be a source of anxiety, make sure you acquire an advocate and stay informed.

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What should I do if the insurance adjuster offers me a settlement?

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013

In most cases, you can be sure that when an insurance adjuster makes a first offer for a settlement, the amount will be less than what you can possibly receive from the insurance company. How much less? It’s hard to say. If you are dealing with the insurance company by yourself, without the assistance of a lawyer, it will be difficult to negotiate the terms of settlement. Further complicating matters, you probably don’t know the optimal value of your claim. Insurance adjusters know fairly well the cost of an accident, and you can be sure they will not go out of their way to pay for more damages than they absolutely have to. Really, my best advice to you is to seek legal counsel when dealing with insurance companies, especially  if you are not satisfied with the insurance company’s settlement offer or believe it is unjust.

If the settlement at hand is regarding a personal injury claim, my best advice to you is this:
Don’t settle until you get fully cleared from a physician and consult a lawyer. Injuries from accidents may show themselves down the line, and can be very serious in nature. You only have one opportunity to settle, after which you will be legally barred from suing the insurance company for additional damages. If you settle, before ensuring that you are completely recovered from injuries, you will be paying for your injuries, not the insurance company.

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Am I required to give the insurance company a recorded statement in connection with my Virginia Car Accident Claim?

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013

Am I required to give the insurance company a recorded statement in connection with my Virginia Car Accident Claim?

As a general rule, you should not give out any information regarding your motor vehicle accident without first consulting an attorney. If any insurance company, including your own, asks for a recorded statement over the phone, you should always say no, and I will tell you why here.

After an accident, either your own insurance company, the first-party insurer, or the other drivers insurance, the third-party insurer, will want a recorded statement of the accident. This sounds like a reasonable request, however insurance companies will go at lengths to obtain a recorded statement that serves as evidence that could be used against you.

Insurance companies will often call and ask for a verbal recorded statement. They will ask you questions that you might not have the ability to answer entirely, and you might give an ambivalent, though affirmative, response such as “I guess so.” Depending on the questions, these types of responses can actually be used against you by your own insurance company to deny your own claim! If you have given multiple statements regarding the accident, adjusters will find inconsistencies between the multiple responses (which are common when a story has been told more than once), and use these inconsistencies as evidence against your claim.

You should never give a statement over the phone without legal counsel. Insurance adjusters are trained interrogators and they are talented at getting the responses they need, even if they aren’t the responses you mean to offer. When under pressure on the phone, it can be easy to slip-up and misstate yourself. Giving a statement to an insurance adjuster over the phone gives them a huge advantage and is highly unrecommended.

You are required to cooperate with your own insurance company. If they request a recorded statement, there are ways to ensure that your recorded statement contains only what you believe to be true. If you absolutely must provide a statement, ask to do so in writing, as an interview over the phone is bound to weaken your claim.  If you feel like you are being bullied by an insurance company, or if they are asking unjust or leading questions, I highly advise seeking legal counsel from a lawyer who handles car accidents in Virginia.

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Pedestrian Safety

Wednesday, September 7th, 2011

Even with the help of pedestrian crosswalks and pedestrian signals, according to the National Highway Traffic Association and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, in 2009 approximately 4,902 pedestrians are killed in motor vehicle accidents in the United States. 14% of the total fatalities reported in a year are pedestrian related. 59,000 pedestrians were injured in motor vehicle accidents. Most of these accidents could have been prevented by way of safety precautions.

States and local communities are responsible for implementing the pedestrian safety campaigns through local television, radio stations, and print media.  With the growing Hispanic community, many states are distributing material in Spanish. Pedestrian accidents are a big problem in Latin American, where there are little to no laws enforcing pedestrian safety.  Materials such as posters are being posted at local Motor Vehicle Offices in both English and Spanish. While a pedestrian safety campaign may never eradicate pedestrian fatalities, it will help reduce accidents and teach pedestrian that they too must abide by the law when crossing the street.

Here are the Highlights of 2009 NHTSA report:  NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts: Highlights of 2009 Motor Vehicle Crashes

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Fatal Car Accidents on Washington D.C. Beltway Linked to Three Areas

Friday, February 25th, 2011

Source: The Washington Examiner, 2011

A recent Washington Examiner article revealed data that shows most auto accident fatalities on the Capital Beltway over the last three years occurred in the same three stretches of roadway. In a given year, upwards of 3000 car accidents occur on the highway (approximately 8 per day), and an average of 18 people are killed each year on the Beltway. However, it’s apparent that most car accident fatalities are linked to three portions of the road: between Ritchie-Marlboro Road and Central Avenue in Prince George’s County, near the intersection between I-95 and the Beltway in Maryland, and in the last nine miles of highway spanning Fairfax and Alexandria, Virginia as you approach the Woodrow Wilson Bridge.

 

The west side of the Beltway, from where I-95 intersects in the north to where it intersects again in the south has only seen eight fatalities in the last three years, compared to the much more deadly eastern side of the roadway. Interestingly, it’s the eastern side of the highway that is marked by more curves and hills. AAA spokesman John Townsend explained to the Examiner that accidents are actually more prevalent in straighter, flatter portions of roads, where drivers are more likely to speed up and take risks.

 

Also interesting was the Examiner’s finding that weather had no impact on deadly accidents on the Beltway. Ninety-one percent of fatal accidents in the last three years occurred during clear weather.

Another finding was that while the number of accidents overall has dropped, fatalities and injuries have remained more or less steady, and actually increased by 50% between 2008 and 2009.

All of these findings are a reminder that driving on the Beltway and in and around the Washington, D.C. Northern Virginia, and Maryland metropolitan areas can be a dangerous business. The Barrera Law Firm encourages you to drive safely, and if you or a loved one is injured or killed in an accident, please contact a lawyer today.

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Auto Accidents

Friday, October 17th, 2008

Car Accident AdviceIf you have been involved in a Virginia auto accident, you need to contact the Virginia auto accident attorneys at The Barrera Law Firm, PLLC. We have successfully represented clients in and out of court throughout Virginia, including Alexandria, Fairfax, Arlington, Prince William, Loudoun, Stafford, Fredericksburg and Fauquier Counties.  We will hold the drivers who are responsible for your accident accountable, and fight against their insurance companies.

Get the compensation you deserve for vehicle repairs, medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering—call the Virginia car accident attorneys at The Barrera Law Firm today. The initial consultation is always free and confidential.

After the Accident

After a Virginia car accident, there are a number of things you can do to protect yourself against overbearing insurance adjusters and others who might try to take advantage of you during your claim. The following guidelines should help you protect your rights.

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Don’t sign anything from an insurance company or adjuster without first talking to the experienced auto accident attorneys at The Barrera Law Firm, PLLC. The insurance adjusters are experienced in denying claims, and may ask leading and misleading questions whose only purpose is to damage your claim, and deny you the compensation you deserve.

Take pictures of the accident and wreckage, if you’re able. Almost every cellphone now has a camera. There is no excuse for not having photographs. Make sure your side of the story is told and take photos. They will be very helpful in any Virginia auto accident lawsuit, and may actually be the evidence that causes the insurance company to want to settle, or causes the jury to find in your favor

Immediately visit a doctor. Delays in treatment will only allow the insurance company to claim that you werAuto Accident Help in Virginiae not hurt or injured. Go to your own doctor. You have the right to choose your own physician. Keep records of all the treatment you have received, medical costs, the medications prescribed, and follow your doctor’s advice.

Keep a journal. It will be your personal record of what happened both during and after the accident and will detail all the physical consequences of someone else’s negligence and its long term effects. Journals help when insurance adjusters try to claim that you are exaggerating the pain.

Call The Barrera Law Firm, PLLC.

The Virginia car accident injury lawyers at The Barrera Law Firm have the experience necessary to guide you through the complicated legal process after an auto accident. If you’ve been injured in a Virginia car accident, contact us today.

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