Diagnosing Errors

Welcome to “Do I Need A Lawyer?”
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“Hi Gary –
This is different kind of question and I hope you can help. Our daughter just turned 16 and recently passed her driving test to get her license. I really want to be proactive in working with her on various things about the car. I’ve taught her how to check the oil level in the car, check the tire pressure, and she even knows how to change a tire if she were to ever get a flat.

Rodney – thanks for the question and that is a great one!
First of all, let me commend you for being so proactive in working with your daughter.
Let me give you some statistics about wrecks involving young, inexperienced drivers:

* In the U.S., the risk of a teen driver between the ages of 16-19 being involved in a car wreck is 4 times higher than that for older drivers.
* Out of every 100 teen drivers on the road:

* 28 will be involved in accidents.

* 4 will be ticketed for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and
* 1 will be killed in a car crash.

* “Teens, on their part, view driving as a right rather than a privilege. Overwhelmingly, study participants cited teen drivers’ inexperience as well as their feeling of invincibility and willingness to take risks as contributing factors in unsafe driving behaviors. Participants also noted that teen drivers are easily distracted and lack the skills and judgment necessary to recover from unexpected incidents. ”
* This same study concluded that parental involvement was the most important factor in teaching teens safe driving habits and behaviors.
We, as parents, can’t rely on the traditional driver’s education programs at school to adequately prepare our teens to get behind the wheel.
There was a report that came out in September 2006 by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety that discussed the drivers’ education programs in schools. The report suggested that the education does not adequately make our students safer drivers. The way for us to lower the risks of teens being involved in crashes is to:

So getting back to Rodney’s question – I applaud you for being so actively involved in training your daughter to drive!

* ALWAYS call the police to come to the scene to complete an incident report. The investigating officer will help document the scene of the wreck, gather the facts, interview witnesses, and prepare a report. If you don’t do this, it could be your word against the other driver.
* Exchange information with every person involved in the wreck, including:

-Address

-License plate

* If you have a smart phone or camera, take pictures at the scene if possible.

DON’TS
* Don’t panic, but remain calm as best as possible. This is especially important if you or others at the scene are injured.

* Don’t accept blame for the wreck unless you have an opportunity to discuss the facts of the wreck with your attorney.

You really need to the extent and severity of your injuries before you ever consider settling your claim.

They dangle a quick offer in front of you and encourage you to settle.

You take the quick money and sign the release.

What can you do now?

And insurance companies are getting away with this tactic every day.

* Don’t Wait!
If you are hurt in a car wreck, call a lawyer right away!

If you have been hurt in a wreck and you don’t hire an attorney, you are letting the insurance company hang onto YOUR money. Plain and simple.

Please – you owe it to yourself to call a lawyer to discuss the facts of your specific claim.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a wreck, I encourage you to talk with a lawyer.

The consultation is FREE and completely confidential.

You owe it to yourself – to your family – to get the help you need.

And stay tuned for more of “Do I Need A Lawyer”

Georgia Car Wreck Attorney

What are the things YOU must prove in your personal injury claim?
Good morning!
Welcome to “Do I Need A Lawyer?”
Thanks for joining us!

If you have a question you would like for me to answer, or if you would like to speak with me regarding a potential claim, please pick up the phone and give us a call right now. (770) 934-8000.
Our staff of legal professionals are standing by right now to take your information.

Now let’s go to the next question from one of our viewers.
Gary: My wife and I were hurt in a car accident about a month ago. We were not at fault. I am ok but my wife is not. The other driver slammed into the passenger side door where she was riding. She is still treating with the doctor. We are already getting a lot of medical bills in the mail. If we hire a lawyer, what do we have to prove to be able to recover from the driver’s insurance company? -Jeff in Decatur
Transcript:
Jeff – thanks for the question though I’m sorry to hear about your wife’s injuries and the wreck.
There are many things we have to prove in these personal injury claims:
* Someone was negligent in causing the wreck (besides our client);

* We have to prove the damages our client sustained in the wreck.

Negligence: this essentially means who is at fault.
We have to prove that someone (besides yourself) was at fault for causing the wreck.
The injured party has the burden of proof in showing that the Defendant driver was negligent in causing the wreck.
For example:
When the defendant rear-ends your car because they did not maintain a safe following distance or they failed to keep a proper lookout of the road ahead, they were negligent.
When the defendant rear-ends your car because he did not get his brakes repaired, even though he knew they were not working properly, he is negligent.
Other examples could include:

Driver distractions due to using a cell phone or adjusting the radio

Proximate Cause:
Once we prove the other driver was negligent, then we must show that this negligence was the proximate cause of your injuries.
Here is an example:

(3) Damages:
When we prove that the Defendant was negligent and his negligence was the proximate cause of the wreck, we must now prove what damages were inflicted upon you.
Damages could include compensation for:
Medical bills, including:

-chiropractors
-physical therapy
-prescriptions

This is easy to prove as all of these health care providers/suppliers will issue an itemized statement for the services they provide to our clients.

Lost wages:

Typically, if someone misses a week of work due to a car wreck, it can be proven with a couple of check stubs showing the time missed from work, a doctor’s disability slip, and a wage verification form signed by the employer.

Transportation costs
You would not have to be driving around from doctor’s appointments to physical therapy to the pharmacy to get your prescriptions filled if the Defendant had not caused the wreck.
This is clearly money that is coming out of your pocket that you would not have lost if the car wreck never happened.

Keep track of your round trip mileage to these appointments and save those parking receipts!
FUTURE medical expenses
Doctors can sometimes tell us to a reasonable degree of medical certainty what they anticipate you will incur should you eventually need a surgery or have to undergo some additional tests.
The key component to making a claim for these future medical expenses is to get a doctor’s narrative addressing the medical needs, why they are necessary, how they were caused by the wreck, and the costs of the procedure(s).

FUTURE lost wages:

The standard for proving future lost wages is simple, yet can sometimes be a difficult hurdle to overcome.
The way a jury measures future lost income is for them to determine what the plaintiff would otherwise have earned in his job or profession but for the injury.

Punitive damages:

For example, punitive damages can be sought in wrecks where:
– The Defendant causes a wreck and attempts to flee or does flee the scene of the collision.
– The Defendant was driving their vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
There is a legal presumption under Georgia law that a person is driving under the influence if their blood alcohol level is above .08.

General damages are hard to quantify for everyone and are highly subjective, so the law instructs the judge or jury to assign these damages on an individual basis.
The amount of the damage for pain and suffering is based upon the enlightened conscience of fair and impartial jurors that apply the facts and law to that specific claim.
There is an old saying that “[T]he easiest pain to bear is someone else’s.”
There is a lot of truth to that statement.
It is a challenge to get a jury to understand the degree of pain and suffering someone experiences because of a wreck – especially when the injuries are not visible.

If not us, please call someone – but call an attorney that specializes in personal injury law.
You have absolutely nothing to lose by calling a lawyer, but think of all you can lose if you don’t!
If you would like to speak with my law firm about your claim, we make it easy for you.
Just pick up the phone right now and give us a call at (770) 934-8000.
Our intake specialists are standing by right now to speak with you.
The consultation is FREE and completely confidential.

And I encourage you – if you don’t call us, please call someone to help you with your claim.
You owe it to yourself – to your family – to get the help you need.
So give us a call right now. (770) 934-8000.

Nursing Home Injury Law

If you’ve been injured in a car accident then you need legal help Below is a national directory of lawyers that care about your case. Getting hurt is a serious matter and has serious legal implications as well as long term suffering. Finding a lawyer can be as simple as calling someone up in your area. Check list below to find lawyers near you.

Car accidents happen when you least expect them, you need vetted lawyers with experience. We help by selecting lawyers who have a history of helping people get justice after an accident. When you are injured you need a lawyer who knows how to deal with the kind of medical bills that come from a serious injury. When you are injured money is tight, you need a law firm that offers a free consulation who can tell you what needs to happen to win your case and get your life back on track.

If a driver hurt you and the at fault party has no insurance, you still may be able to get compensation after the auto accident. A lawyer can help prove who is at fault. An MIT study recently studied more than 108 drivers in Boston and surrounding areas showed that approximately half of the drivers admitted to often using their cellphones while they were driving. Sometimes there is evidence of this that comes up in court. Truck accidents may also have clues about their reckless driving in the data box of their truck. The insurance company may not tell you these things and so it’s important to contact a lawyer to find out if your case needs further investigation.

Directory of Lawfirms

Arizona

Legal Resources Phoenix AZ

Kyle A. Israel

Israel & Gerity, PLLC

3300 N Central Ave, Suite 2000

Phoenix, AZ, 85012

888-900-3667

Legal Resources KY

Robert Shelton

Shelton Law Group

9300 Shelbyville Road, Ste. 215C

Louisville, Ky, 40222

502-409-6460

Legal Resources Boston

Mark Salomone

Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone

60 State Street

Boston, MA, 02109

1-617-338-4321

Legal Resources Springfield

Mark Salomone

Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone

175 State Street, Suite 200

Springfield, MA, 01103

1-413-737-7783

Legal Resources Holyoke

Mark Salomone

Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone

295 High Street

Holyoke, MA, 01040

1-413-534-1400

Legal Resources Chicopee

Mark Salomone

Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone

10 Center St, Suite 312

Chicopee, MA, 01013

1-413-592-1013

Personal Injury Lawyers

Currently under Austin city ordinance, you may not text while driving (I hope!) or use your smart phone to make dinner reservations, movies times, or check football scores while caught in Austin traffic, as these activities are both illegal and dangerous. But, how many of you will admit to talking on your phone while behind the wheel? Just a quick glance at the drivers around you on any road will confirm that most of us do it. Maybe it’s just a way to pass the time during a boring commute or you try to squeeze a few more minutes of work conversations before meeting the family at home for dinner. In Austin, these conversations soon may be illegal.

Austin and the other major cities throughout Texas are notorious for their traffic problems. And, there is compelling evidence that phones and other such devices play a significant role in the frustrations. Throughout the state, one in five car crashes is caused by distracted driving. In 2013, that equated to 94,943 crashes. If pulling over to the side of the road or investing in hands-free technology likely would save lives, then there is merit to considering a change to our current laws.

At Bertolino LLP, we see people in our offices every day who have been injured as a result of poor decisions made by others. Another driver’s focus on a text message or phone call instead of the road can mean physical pain, time missed from work, and the trauma that lingers following a car wreck. If you have been hurt in a car accident and it was not your fault, please contact our office today. We will stand with you to get the compensation you deserve.

A police officer with the North East Independent School District and retired member of the San Antonio Police Department was injured last weekend while directing traffic for a funeral procession. The driver of an SUV allegedly looked away from the road just long enough to slam into another car, spin around, and then hit the motorcycle on which Sergeant Charles Langley was sitting (“North East ISD officer hit by SUV in San Antonio,” MySanAntonio.com, June 4, 2014). Fortunately, while both Sergeant Longley and the woman in the third car were hospitalized, the incident did not appear to cause any serious injuries (“Off duty NEISD officer hit while on motorcycle for funeral procession,” KENS5.com, June 4, 2014).

Tony R. Bertolino is managing attorney with our firm, a Texas law firm with attorneys who represent clients in personal injuries and property damages stemming from motor vehicle accidents, and he shares that the number of collisions that could be avoided by more attentive drivers is quite substantial.

Car Accident Lawyer

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and as part of a collaborative effort, the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, the Georgia Department of Highway Safety and retired NBA player Shaquille O’Neal have teamed up to educate young drivers of the potential dangers.

Study finds 1 in every 4 accidents involves cell phone use

Distractions can also be blamed on approximately 450,000 injuries each year.

A recent report from the National Safety Council indicates that 1 of every 4 wrecks can be attributed to cell phone use. Interestingly, only a small portion of those are blamed on text messaging, though teens are more prone to texting than other drivers.

This kind of faulty thinking is perpetuated by the fact that while all states have some form of text messaging ban, none ban talking on a phone for all drivers. What’s more, none forbid hands-free cell phone devices, despite the fact that research has proven they are equally as dangerous as handheld devices.

Measuring the Scale of Loss

There are three specific types of collisions that are responsible for the majority of these costs and losses: drunk driving accidents, speeding accidents and collisions caused by distracted drivers.

Crashes caused by drunk drivers accounted for a total of 18 percent of all of the economic losses and 23 percent of the overall societal harm that resulted from motor vehicle collisions in 2010. In total, there were $49 billion in economic losses and another $199 billion in losses to society that occurred because of drivers who were impaired by alcohol. The economic losses alone averaged out to $158 for every single person in the country.

Crashes caused by speeding drivers accounted for 21 percent of all of the economic losses and 24 percent of the overall societal harm that occurred due to motor vehicle accidents in 2010. In total, the economic losses from speeding drivers equaled $59 billion or an average of $191 per person in the United States.

Finally, crashes caused by distracted drivers accounted for 17 percent of total economic loss and 15 percent of overall societal harm. The economic losses totaled $46 billion and the societal losses totaled $129 billion.

Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C
www.garymartinhays.com

If you have been injured you can contact an Atlanta law firm today!

Atlanta Car Accident Lawyer

Thanks for joining us!

If you have a question you would like for me to answer, or if you would like to speak with me regarding a potential claim, please pick up the phone and give us a call right now. (770) 934-8000.

Our Firm on Youtube
I was riding on my motorcycle on Pleasant Hill Road. It was about 2:00 p.m. – early afternoon. The roads were dry. This elderly woman pulls out of a fast food restaurant’s parking lot. She was trying to turn left and pulled out in front of me. She didn’t even look – or wasn’t paying attention when she pulled out. I couldn’t swerve to avoid hitting her.

Glenn – thanks for the question.

And I’ll answer this in a little more detail in a moment.

* Over 80 percent of all reported motorcycle accidents resulted in injury or death to the motorcyclist.

* Most of the motorcycle accidents in Georgia occur within the metro-Atlanta area.
* But the majority of the motorcycle related deaths in Georgia occur on rural roads versus city streets.
* Motorcyclists are 35 times more likely to experience a deadly accident on the road than those in passenger cars.
* A 2009 report from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety showed that 42% of fatal motorcycle crashes involved a vehicle turning left while the motorcycle was going straight, passing, or overtaking the vehicle.
The at fault driver was attempting to turn left out of the fast food restaurant driveway when she pulled out in front of you.

(1) Perform a Bike Safety Check BEFORE you ride!
Start with the tires. Make sure they are property inflated by using a good tire pressure gauge.
Look at your tires to see if they have any surface cuts or foreign objects in them.
Check your lights, turn signals and brakes. Please make sure they are in working order.
(2) Follow the speed limit!

Obeying the speed limit will not only help you keep better control of your motorcycle, it may also give you a little more time to react if a car or truck comes into your lane or pulls out in front of you.

Head injury is the #1 cause of deaths in motorcycle crashes.
In fact, a motorcyclist not wearing a helmet is 40% more likely to die of a head injury than one who wears a helmet.

Georgia requires all riders and passengers to wear a helmet.
It is also a good idea to wear protective eye wear.

This is just one other factor that may help you be seen by other drivers.

And it is always a good idea to wear thick pants, boots, shirts with long sleeves or a heavy protective jacket.

ALWAYS check your blind spot before changing lanes or merging into traffic. Motorcycles can be harder to see than other types of vehicles.

Let’s be attentive to the road when we operate our vehicles.

No Texting and no trying to dial the phone.

She received the ticket for failure to yield.
However, just because she was cited for causing the wreck does not mean her insurance company is going to compensate you fairly for your injuries.
Through no fault of your own, you have no idea what YOUR rights are, nor do you know the insurance company’s responsibilities.
And the insurance company is not in the business of telling you everything that they should be doing for you.

And as soon as they hang up the phone with you, they pick up the phone to speak with THEIR lawyer.

A consumer panel survey of auto accident victims by the Insurance Research Council showed the following:

But this next stat tells the real story . . .

3 and ? times more money.

Suppose an injured victim that DID NOT have an attorney settled their claim for only $3,000.00. If they had hired an attorney, they could have settled the case for $10,500.00.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a wreck, I encourage you to talk with a lawyer.

You owe it to yourself – to your family – to get the help you need.
So give us a call right now. (770) 934-8000.
And stay tuned for more of “Do I Need A Lawyer”

Personal Injury Law

Drivers Know Speeding is Dangerous, but Still Drive Too Fast

There is no question that motorists in the United States know that they shouldn’t speed because doing so endangers them. Four drivers out of five responding to the NTHSA said that going within or close to the speed limit while in the car would make it easier to avoid a car crash or other dangerous situations. A total of 91 percent of respondents said that drivers should obey the speed limit, since doing so is legally required by law.

Not only do drivers believe people should obey the law, but they also believe that something needs to be done to make sure they do. A total of 48 percent said that they thought it was “very important” for “something to be done to reduce speeding on U.S. roads.”

Nearly One in Ten Motorists Are Killed Due to Distracted Driving
Study compares driving habits of U.S., European drivers

A recent CDC news release compared distracted driving rates in the United States to the habits of drivers across several European countries including Belgium, France, Spain and the United Kingdom.

The survey revealed that 69 percent of U.S. drivers aged 18-64 admitted to talking on their cell phone within the past month across the United States. On the other hand, European countries reported rates that varied from 21 percent (United Kingdom) to 59 percent (Portugal).

Distracted Driving Lawyer