"Your Accident Fact Kit:
We hope you find our Accident Fact Kit helpful in the event of an accident. Don't forget to keep a pen with your kit. Keep the kit in your glove box, just in case you need it.
It includes:
- An Information Exchange (2 copies)
Complete one of the forms and provide it to the other driver. Have the other driver complete the other form and return it to you. You will need this information when you report your loss.
- Witness Information
Separate the form and ask any witnesses to the accident to complete the form and return it to you. You will need this information when you report your loss.
- Accident Details
This form is to help you record accident details while the incident is still fresh in your memory.
You may find it helpful to think about road and weather conditions, who was in your car, and other facts. You may need this information to report your loss and refresh your recollection
later.
If you have an accident, remember these tips:
- Try to keep calm. Do whatever is necessary to protect your family members or passengers and your property.
- Check for injuries, and get help if needed.
- Do not leave the scene of an accident.
- Do not admit responsibility at the accident scene or blame anyone else.
- Do not discuss the scope of your insurance coverage.
- Always notify law enforcement if there are injuries, death, or significant property damage related to the accident. Cooperate with law enforcement officials.
- Record name, address, and phone numbers of any witnesses; a witness is someone that saw the accident but was not involved in it.
- Note the date, time and location of the accident. Record details like cross streets, lane configurations, and weather conditions."
The link above to this caption is to an Insurance Company's PDF Accident Kit which you may or may not find helpful. I am surprised that it doesn't suggest that you purchase a disposable camera to take pictures of the car damage (collision claim and/or property damage claim) but then again, they are probably afraid it would be used to document your immediate injury at the collision scene.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Write a Winning Demand Letter on Your Own
The demand letter is where the whole insurance claim negotiation process starts. In it, you send set out to the insurance company your narrative history on how the claim began and what your injuries were (and are); if they are permanent; why the other person is legally responsible for your injuries; what your medical treatment was and how much it cost and will cost in the future; what your income loss was and what it is going to be in the future; and, what other damages you suffered, in addition to money for pain and suffering, mental anguish, changes in your lifestyle as well as changes in your spouse's lifestyle as a result of changes in you.
There is just so much more I could go in to. Throughout this blog I am going to give out general suggestions, secrets and tips to present your own personal injury claim. I assert the legal disclaimer that this is not intended to be legal advice and this site provides information about the law designed to help you cope with your own legal needs. But legal information is not the same as legal advice -- the application of law to an individual's specific circumstances. Although I go to great lengths to make sure my information is useful, I recommend you consult a lawyer if you want professional assurance of my information, and your interpretation of it, is appropriate to your particular situation. Wow.
Hell, maybe I should put my email out so you can write to me about your biggest issues and what you would like to know so I could put it into an info book. Or maybe I'll teach a small army of people how to help accident victims present their own claims for a small payment and save a few thousand dollars in attorney fees. I mean, you could always (as long as the applicable statute of limitations did not run) go to a Trial Lawyer if you could not settle your insurance claim on your own.
There is just so much more I could go in to. Throughout this blog I am going to give out general suggestions, secrets and tips to present your own personal injury claim. I assert the legal disclaimer that this is not intended to be legal advice and this site provides information about the law designed to help you cope with your own legal needs. But legal information is not the same as legal advice -- the application of law to an individual's specific circumstances. Although I go to great lengths to make sure my information is useful, I recommend you consult a lawyer if you want professional assurance of my information, and your interpretation of it, is appropriate to your particular situation. Wow.
Hell, maybe I should put my email out so you can write to me about your biggest issues and what you would like to know so I could put it into an info book. Or maybe I'll teach a small army of people how to help accident victims present their own claims for a small payment and save a few thousand dollars in attorney fees. I mean, you could always (as long as the applicable statute of limitations did not run) go to a Trial Lawyer if you could not settle your insurance claim on your own.
The Last Monopoly in the U.S.?
Personal Injury Times
The next time you can't sleep at night and you are watching the infomercials, try to remember how many Personal Injury Plaintiff (PI Lawyer) advertisements or auto-accident injury "treatment" shops advertise (it use to be just chiropractors advertising, but now it is multi-discipline) - MDs DCs and DOs have seen the profit-point.
When you drive down the highway (or freeway if you are in L.A.) you can't help but to see PI lawyers advertising for your injury "case." There are lots of little known industry secrets that go into making such a large profit that you can afford to advertise like Chevy.
How do I know?
I was one.
But before you decide that I am a jaded, burnt-out, disbarred lawyer (I am none of those things, well maybe I am slightly jaded) I have had dozens of conversations with other PI lawyers over the years and surprisingly, there are several "universal" rules they follow to be able to afford all that expensive advertising.
Interestingly, I have a strong opinion about PI lawyers and feel that they are worth their weight in gold if they are trial lawyers who will take you into the courtroom. If you have an automobile accident "case" (and this word irks me) because 98% of the population thinks their lawyer is helping them with their "case," when in fact, all that is going on is that the PI lawyer's secretary is typing up a settlement demand to the insurance adjuster for the lowly policy limits of the at-fault person. I've known some PI lawyers who even let their support staff, now called paralegals or case managers (gee, I wonder what college degree they obtained to become a case manager) negotiate with the insurance adjusters.
Now if you think you could not do a better job with the appropriate outline of the what, the when, the why and the "how much?", then you might as well just give him or her 1/3 of your settlement for the two hours (FTEs - full-time equivalents for the metrics people) of "case manager" time, no less, invested in your case.
Let's see, I think I can hire a secretary (one of the "secrets" in my URL, pretty interesting, huh?) for $12.50/hour, even less if she has no experience. My per unit cost for client acquisition is $500.00 - television and billboards are expensive and the contracts are long. Are you getting the picture?
Next time you go to the PI lawyer you saw on TV, ask him or her when was the last time they "picked a jury" (meaning they got prepared for trial, went to the courthouse and began the trial) and you expect that he or she will return your telephone calls within 24 hours (this means not their "case manager"). Each of these are rare, although I do know several small PI firms or individual lawyers who do provide client attention but the problem is, they do not advertise on TV or billboards because they have happy clients, who inturn give them word-of-mouth advertising and they concentrate on each case. Just like I use to do (well sort-of, because I did have to pay the bills too). More rants to come.
The next time you can't sleep at night and you are watching the infomercials, try to remember how many Personal Injury Plaintiff (PI Lawyer) advertisements or auto-accident injury "treatment" shops advertise (it use to be just chiropractors advertising, but now it is multi-discipline) - MDs DCs and DOs have seen the profit-point.
When you drive down the highway (or freeway if you are in L.A.) you can't help but to see PI lawyers advertising for your injury "case." There are lots of little known industry secrets that go into making such a large profit that you can afford to advertise like Chevy.
How do I know?
I was one.
But before you decide that I am a jaded, burnt-out, disbarred lawyer (I am none of those things, well maybe I am slightly jaded) I have had dozens of conversations with other PI lawyers over the years and surprisingly, there are several "universal" rules they follow to be able to afford all that expensive advertising.
Interestingly, I have a strong opinion about PI lawyers and feel that they are worth their weight in gold if they are trial lawyers who will take you into the courtroom. If you have an automobile accident "case" (and this word irks me) because 98% of the population thinks their lawyer is helping them with their "case," when in fact, all that is going on is that the PI lawyer's secretary is typing up a settlement demand to the insurance adjuster for the lowly policy limits of the at-fault person. I've known some PI lawyers who even let their support staff, now called paralegals or case managers (gee, I wonder what college degree they obtained to become a case manager) negotiate with the insurance adjusters.
Now if you think you could not do a better job with the appropriate outline of the what, the when, the why and the "how much?", then you might as well just give him or her 1/3 of your settlement for the two hours (FTEs - full-time equivalents for the metrics people) of "case manager" time, no less, invested in your case.
Let's see, I think I can hire a secretary (one of the "secrets" in my URL, pretty interesting, huh?) for $12.50/hour, even less if she has no experience. My per unit cost for client acquisition is $500.00 - television and billboards are expensive and the contracts are long. Are you getting the picture?
Next time you go to the PI lawyer you saw on TV, ask him or her when was the last time they "picked a jury" (meaning they got prepared for trial, went to the courthouse and began the trial) and you expect that he or she will return your telephone calls within 24 hours (this means not their "case manager"). Each of these are rare, although I do know several small PI firms or individual lawyers who do provide client attention but the problem is, they do not advertise on TV or billboards because they have happy clients, who inturn give them word-of-mouth advertising and they concentrate on each case. Just like I use to do (well sort-of, because I did have to pay the bills too). More rants to come.
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