Massachusetts Personal Injury Blog

'Do I Need To Carry Automobile Liability Insurance In Massachusetts?'

Yes, absolutely you need to carry automobile liability insurance in Massachusetts. 

The minimum bodily injury policy requirement in Massachusetts is $20k/$40k.  That means that if you cause an accident, and only one person is injured, that person can collect up to $20k in bodily injury payments from your auto insurance carrier.  If you injure more than one person in the accident, than your auto insurance carrier is only required to pay a combined maximum of $40k in bodily injury payments to all people you injure in the accident.

It is always a wise idea to purchase as much liability as you can afford.  You would be surprised how inexpensive it is to purchase additional liability protection. 

Congratulations To All The Boston Marathon Runners

Congratulations to all the courageous, dedicated and inspiring individuals who ran the 115th Boston Marathon yesterday.  The women's race was especially exhilarating to watch as it came down to the very end. 

I recently took up running about two months ago, and I could not imagine running 26.2 miles!  I hope to run a half-marathon in the next few months. 

Do I Have To Speak To The Insurance Company That Insures The Driver Who Hit Me?

No, you don't have to.  In fact, it is always a bad idea because whatever you say will be manipulated by the insurance company to maximize their chances of paying you as little as possible for your injuries.  Of course, they want nothing more than to deny your claim entirely.  Therefore, do not play into their hand, and refuse to say anything to the insurance company that insures the driver who caused your personal injuries, until you have spoken with an attorney.

Also, the adjuster will be nice to you in order to befriend you, and to convince you that they just want to be fair with you.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The adjuster wants to get rid of you with as little money as possible, before you get an attorney. 

Since nearly every personal injury lawyer gives free consultations, it makes sense to consult with one prior to speaking with an insurance company.

10 Ways To Tell You Need Flood Insurance

Ann Douglas of doorfly.com has requested that I post her article on the topic of flood insurance called "10 Ways To Know You Need Flood Insurance."  Hopefully this article is useful for my readers inside as well as outside of Massachusetts.  Here it is:

10 Ways to Tell You Need Flood Insurance

Posted on April 11, 2011 by admin

With hurricanes and other forms of natural disasters that have been on the news in recent years, you’ve probably heard how many people lost their homes, or had damage to their homes, and didn’t have flood insurance coverage as part of their homeowner’s policy. Some of them lived in known flooding areas, others did not. Flood insurance does not come as part of a standard homeowner’s insurance policy.

It needs to be purchased in addition to your other coverage. You may think it is a coverage that you don’t need. Read through the following list and then see if you still feel the same way.

1. You live in a known flood plain. If where you live is commonly known to be a flood plain, then, yes, you NEED flood insurance. Why would you want to risk losing your home?
2. Your house has been flooded before. Some people make the mistake of thinking that once they’d experience a rare flood or a hurricane in their area, that they will be safe from it happening again in their lifetime. This is presumptuous, and puts you at risk.
3. All your neighbors have it. Maybe this would be considered peer pressure, but if everyone else in your neighborhood thinks that flood insurance is worth paying for, then you might want to join the crowd.
4. Check your risk factor with FEMA Go to www.floodsmart.gov and click on Your Flood Risk and enter your address to find out the amount of risk FEMA has assigned to your area. If there is any risk at all, you will want to give flood insurance some serious consideration.
5. Floods from above. Home flooding doesn’t always come from rivers. Sometimes it comes from heavy down pours of rain that saturate the ground and seep into your basement. That is still defined as flooding, as far as your insurance company is concerned.
6. Floods from below. Even if your home is situated on higher ground where area flood waters aren’t reaching, you may still experience damage to your home from rising ground water levels that leak into your basement from below.
7. Your mortgage lender requires it. If your mortgage lender requires you to cover flood insurance, then they obviously consider flooding to be a significant risk for your location. They are protecting your investment, as well as their own.
8. Frosty floods. Snow melting while the ground is still frozen is another way that your home can be damaged by flood water. When the ground is frozen, water from the surface is unable to penetrate and filter down through the soil. Water will naturally seek a way to escape and may use your basement as a route downward.
9. Hurricanes. Hurricanes bring wind and rain, and lots of both. The average home insurance policy will cover the wind damage, but not the damage due to rain, flooding or any moisture issues associated with the storm.
10. Water damage in general. As you can see, almost any type of natural water damage to your home is not covered by a normal homeowner’s insurance policy. You will need to have flood insurance if you want coverage for any of these types of damage. It generally is easier for your insurance agent to list the water damage types that would be covered, since they are so few, than to list all of those that aren’t.

 

 

Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) from Car Accidents

Chelsea Travers, of CareMeridian was kind enough to write for me a guest post about CareMeridian, a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) facility, that has locations throughout the western United States.  Here it is:

Car Accidents - Leading Cause of Brain Injury

"While there are various types of brain injuries, traumatic brain injuries (TBI) refer to those caused by a sudden physical force to the head.  In the United States there are over one million TBI injuries suffered each year.  A significant number of them turn fatal.  Most of them cause irreversible effects on the patient suffering the injury.  One frustrating part of TBI incidents is that many of them could have been avoided.

"While TBI incidents are most commonly associated with falls, motor vehicle accidents make up the second largest amount.  Accounting for roughly 20% of TBI incidents, approximately $20,000.00+ people suffer a TBI as a result of a motor vehicle accident each year in the United States.  Interstingly enough, another statistic suggests that teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19 are at the highest risk of suffering a TBI.  This just happens to be the age when individuals are just starting to drive.  It is reasonable to assume that there is a correlation between young drivers and TBI.  Ultimately, a lot of TBI incidents can be avoided with proper driver's education and teenagers adopting safe driving habits.

"CareMeridian is a TBI rehabilitation facility.  They specialize in helping patients recover from a TBI.  While facilities such as this one are designed to help patients recover from their injuries and return to a normal life, the reality is that many of them do not.  Medical professionals that work in the field would agree that the biggest deterrent to TBI incidents is prevention.  Please remember to drive safe!"

Pros and Cons of Settling Out of Court

Dallas, Texas lawyer Bob Kraft over at his P.I.S.S.D blog has a great guest post from Chris Jacobson of Criminal Justice Degee.com regarding the pros and cons of settlement.  Here is this very informative and useful post:

No one really wants to go to court and go through the long and often messy process that is a trial, but when it comes to claiming what’s rightfully yours, it’s not good to give up without a fight. And that’s where your personal injury lawyer comes into the picture and helps you deal with not just your monetary compensation, but also the emotional fallout as well. By helping you understand your case better and providing you with the psychological boost you need to stay out of depression in this trying time, your attorney can make your life much easier by helping you decide if it is better to take the case to court or settle outside after mediation or arbitration.

There are both pros and cons to settling out of court, and even though each case is unique, the following apply to most cases in general.

On the plus side:

• The settlement is usually quicker and the money is in your hand sooner than you expect it – this helps take care of medical expenses and other immediate costs without having to incur debt.
• You save yourself and your family the agony and stress of going through a long and arduous trial – it takes up a major part of your life and your work and other aspects suffer as a result. You have to be in court on all the days of the trial, and this could wreak havoc with your professional and social life.
• You can keep the details of the case, and much of your personal life, outside the court and public records. With out-of-court settlements, you can ask for a confidentiality agreement where the details of the case are kept private and out of public records.
• Also, you don’t have to relive the experience for a jury and suffer the questions of an avid defense attorney.
• Even though most attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, you will incur some costs during the trial and you’ll find it hard to make ends meet, what with the medical and other expenditure that’s already on your head.
• A court case can take years to reach a conclusion, and even when it does, appeals filed by the other party can drag it even further.

On the minus side however:

• The amount you get is sometimes less than what a jury would have awarded in a civil court.
• Frequently, the damages take into account only the actual cost of injury (medical expenditure, accidental damage to property, and so on) and does not provide for punitive damages or emotional and mental agony suffered or loss of job or the quality of life.

It would seem like the most sensible thing to do when fighting a personal injury case is to ask for an out-of-court arbitration and settlement, and trust your lawyer to get you the best possible deal based on your circumstances. Even though the compensation may be less, it saves you the hassle of a long-drawn out court trial and the agony of prolonging your bitter experience for longer than necessary. However, talk to your attorney and make the best decision for your case, based on the facts and details available.

 

 

Reasons Why Personal Injury Lawyers Do Not Deserve A Bad Reputation

The following points are intended to illustrate the beneficial effects of personal injury lawyers on society:

Personal injury lawyers force insurance companies to compensate the injured fairly;

Personal injury lawyers force people who have injured someone in a car accident to be held accountable for the damages and injuries they caused in the accident;

Personal injury lawyers force property owners to be held accountable when their carelessness results in injury to those on their property;

Personal injury lawyers force employers to create safe working conditions for their employees;

Personal injury lawyers force landlords to provide safe apartments, free of hazards and defects, to their tenants;

Personal injury lawyers force individuals who intentionally harm others to be held accountable for their actions, or inaction;

Personal injury lawyers force dog owners to prevent their dogs from biting humans, and other dogs;

Personal injury lawyers force manufacturers to not cut corners when producing good and products for society.

These examples are intended to show the beneficial aspects personal injury lawyers bring to society, and how, essentially, they make society safer for everyone.

"I Was Injured in a Slip and Fall Accident at a Store? Do I Have a Case?"

That generally depends on one thing: Notice.  If it can be shown that the store had notice of the substance you fell on, then you may have a claim.  Notice can be established in one of three ways.  One, that the store created the substance you fell on, and failed to correct it in a timely manner.  Two, that the store knew about the substance, and failed to correct it in a timely manner. Third, that the store should have known about the substance through reasonable inspection and maintenance, but failed to do that.

Therefore, the success of your slip and fall case against a Massachusetts supermarket will depend largely on the element of notice, and whether, and how strong, that element can be established.

If you were injured in a slip and fall accident at a supermarket or store outside of Massachusetts, the element of notice will largely control the outcome of the case.

Information About Hit and Run Accidents in Massachusetts

Massachusetts hit and run accidents happen all the time.  If you have been involved in one, you need to know about the following:

1)  The accident must be reported to your insurance company immediately;

2)  The vehicle that caused the accident and left the scene is unable to be identified;

3)  The insurance company that insures the vehicle you were in (as either the driver or passenger) covers the first $2000.00 in your "reasonable and necessary" medical expenses, and any bills that are not paid are then submitted to your health insurance carrier;

4)  These are called "uninsured motorist claims" and cannot be brought to court, but rather, must be arbitrated if the case cannot settle;

5)  The required minimum amount of "uninsured motorist" coverage in Massachusetts is $20,000.00;

6)  You may have to give a recorded statement to your insurance company on how the accident occurred, your injuries from the accident, etc.

Good luck with your claim, and feel free to contact us if you have any questions.