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Michael Grossman-Texas Personal Injury Lawyer
8/23/20101:53:34 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
In our years of experience, we encounter many different attorneys, few of which have the experience necessary to call themselves true experts. When we meet an attorney that does personify expertise we like to spread the word. One such attorney is San Antonio wrongful death attorney Michael Grossman. This experienced litigator has spent the last 20 years helping the victims of accidents and injuries throughout the state of Texas. Through his hard work and commitment to his clients, Michael has recovered millions of dollars for his clients to help them with their pain and suffering. In fact, Michael has been inducted into the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, a private club that only grants admission to trial lawyers who recover multi-million dollar verdicts or settlements for their clients. Accident victims that are looking for a good San Antonio personal injury attorney or Texas truck accident lawyer can contact Michael Grossman.
CAR ACCIDENT PERSONAL INJURY TIMELINE
2/20/201010:04:13 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Accident Injury, Auto, Insurance, Lawyer, Personal Injury, Personal Injury Attorney
1. Injured in Car Accident
Begin Medical Treatment
2. Opening of personal injury claims
Typically, the first procedural thing that will take place after you have been injured in a car accident, is that the attorney or law firm representing you will open claims with the various insurance companies that may provide coverage. This will include the liability carrier (the insurance company for the person/company who is at fault for the car accident); and often times your own insurance company (if applicable--medical pay coverage, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, etc.).
3. Medical Treatment
Get better. The next, and most important, part of the personal injury claim/case process is your health. You need to do the best you can to get better. If you have a permanent impairment or disability, you need to do the best you can to get to your maximum medical improvement. Your attorney cannot proceed with your personal injury claim until you have been released from medical care.
4. Gathering of Information
Once you have recovered as much as is possible from the injury you received in the car accident, it is time to begin gathering any and all documents relating to your personal injury claim. The relevant documents your lawyer will be gathering for your claim are: medical records, medical bills, photographs, lost wage verification documents, etc.
5. Sending the Demand Package
Unfortunately, when you have been injured in a car accident, or any other personal injury accident, the only real compensation available is money. Once you have been released from care by your medical treatment providers, and your attorney has gathered all related documentation of your injuries, you will send a demand to the at fault party requesting compensation for all of the damages you sustained.
6. Waiting for a Response
Once demand has been made on the other side, there will usually be a waiting time of about three or four weeks before you receive a response or counter offer to your initial request. This waiting time can be longer or shorter depending on the complexity of your case, and what injuries you received in the accident. Be patient.
7. Negotiation with Insurance Carrier
Your attorney has sent everything to the opposing party’s insurance company, and the insurance company has responded to the demand package. Assuming your claim was not denied, it is now time to continue the negotiation process. Your attorney will go back and forth with the representative for the other side, however whether a settlement is reached is largely dependant on you. Your attorney’s job is to inform you of all the facts and circumstances. A good lawyer will guide you in the right direction and give you the information and tools necessary for you to make an informed decision; however, you are the one who must ultimately make the determination of whether or not to accept a settlement offer.
8. Personal Injury Settlement or Filing of Lawsuit
You have been negotiating the settlement of your claim. Hopefully, at this point you will be able to reach a settlement that all parties can live with. If you cannot, the next step is usually the filing of a lawsuit. There are other possibilities such as mediation and arbitration, but in most cases mediation does not take place until after litigation has begun.
9. Litigation
You were not able to reach a settlement, you have spoken to your attorney and your attorney has filed a personal injury lawsuit on your behalf. You are now in litigation. Litigation can take anywhere from six or seven months to six or seven years. In Omaha, Nebraska, the typical car accident personal injury lawsuit will take somewhere between one to two years.
Car Accident Injury Cases and Other Types of Personal Injury Claims
1/10/201010:15:44 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Accident Injury, Auto, Insurance, Personal Injury, Personal Injury Attorney, Personal Injury Lawyer
Many questions arise after being injured in a car accident or any other type of personal injury accident, such as: do I need a personal injury lawyer, why do I need an attorney/lawyer, which personal injury attorney should I hire, who is going to cover my medical bills, will my health insurance cover bills for injuries caused as a result of my car accident, how long does the personal injury process take, what is the benefit of having an attorney to help me with my personal injury claim, and the list goes on and on. Throughout my next few blog posts, I will attempt to answer many of the most frequently asked questions that arise after being injured in an accident. I will discuss the benefits of having a lawyer to help you through the process. I will look at the personal injury claim process as a whole, discussing: how long the process can take, litigation versus other forms of dispute resolution, and valuation of claims.
I have been charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI/DWI). What happens to my license? When will I be able to drive?—A brief review of Work Permits and the Interlock Device in Nebraska.
12/25/20091:36:17 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
ALR, Criminal Defense, Criminal Defense Attorney, Criminal Defense Lawyer, DMV, Driving Under the Influence, DUI
In a previous post, I discussed what happens when you have been charged with DUI and the general processes one goes through. One of the previous things discussed was license revocations/suspensions. Again, if you have been charged with DUI/DWI, the first thing you should do is speak to an attorney.
When you are convicted of DUI in Nebraska, either at trial or by pleading guilty, you are dealing with two separate license revocations/suspensions: (1) Administrative License Revocation (ALR) through the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and (2) license revocation, suspension or impoundment by the Court. You are entitled to attorney representation throughout both of these processes. Often times both license suspensions will run concurrent (at the same time).
In Nebraska, there are basically two options for driving during your license suspension: (1) a Work Permit and (2) the Interlock Device. Most lawyers/attorneys prefer their clients opt for the interlock device if they can afford it. The reasons many attorneys, including myself, prefer the interlock device to the work permit are that the interlock device is much more flexible than the work permit, and the interlock device can keep points off of your drivers’ license.
The interlock device provides much more flexibility than the work permit. A work permit only allows a person to drive to and from work. If a person has more than one place of employment, they must register a work permit with each and every employer. Also, as mentioned above, the interlock device keeps points off of your drivers’ license. If a person acquires twelve or more points on their license within any two-year time period, their license will be revoked by the DMV; use of the interlock device can keep these points off of your driving record.
The work permit does, however, have some advantages to the interlock device for someone who is facing a DUI. First, a person facing a DUI charge and serving an ALR suspension is eligible to receive a work permit before the person charged with DUI goes in front of a judge. On a first offense DUI in Nebraska, the person cited can apply for a work permit once they have served the first thirty days of their ALR suspension with the Nebraska DMV, compared to the interlock device which must be ordered by the Court as a term of probation. Second, a person charged with driving under the influence is only required to maintain SR-22 insurance during the duration of the work permit, whereas someone using the interlock device is required to keep an SR-22 certificate on file for three years.
The bottom line is there often are available options for driving during portions, if not all, of your license suspension/revocation. What options are available to you depends on the facts surrounding your situation. After you have been cited for DUI, speak to an attorney as soon as possible to discuss what is best for you.
Nebraska DUI/DWI Overview--I been charged with Driving Under the Influence. What happens now?
12/8/20099:41:59 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
ALR, Criminal Defense, Criminal Defense Attorney, Criminal Defense Lawyer, DMV, Driving Under the Influence, DUI
When you receive a DUI/DWI in Nebraska you are dealing with two separate processes: (1) the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Administrative Loss Hearing (ALR) and (2) the State of Nebraska criminal justice system.
First, let’s discuss the process of dealing with the DMV. Whenever you have been cited for Driving Under the Influence, you face the possibility of the DMV suspending your license. The time period for suspension depends on whether your license has previously been suspended by the DMV under the ALR process. DMV license suspensions for first offenses are ninety days.
When you have been given a citation or arrested for DUI in Nebraska, you will be given at least three things: (1) copy of your citation or booking sheet from the jail, (2) thirty-day temporary license/notice/sworn report (typically yellow in color) and (3) request for ALR hearing form. You only have ten days from the alleged date of the offense to request an ALR hearing by sending in the proper form. If you do not request a hearing within the ten-day time period you waive your right to hearing on the matter, and your license will be automatically suspended for the requisite time period determined by the DMV. The thirty-day temporary license form serves as your license for the thirty days immediately following your citation. If you lose your ALR hearing with the DMV, your ninety-day license suspension will begin at the expiration of your thirty-day temporary license; if you win the ALR hearing you may continue to drive unless or until a judge orders your license suspended, revoked or impounded. ALR hearings are held telephonically and only address the issue of whether probable cause existed that the person cited for DUI was in operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Second, let’s discuss the criminal justice system. When you are cited or arrested on charges of Driving Under the Influence, you will also face criminal penalties in state court. The criminal penalties you will face can be broken down into four basic categories: fines and costs; jail time; probation; and license suspension, revocation or impoundment. What penalties you are facing depends on whether you have had any prior convictions for DUI and what your blood alcohol level was at the time of the offense.
In Nebraska, the limit for alcohol in your system while operating a motor vehicle is .08. If your blood alcohol level is .08 or greater, you will likely be cited for Driving Under the Influence; if your blood alcohol level is .15 or greater, you will likely be cited for what is called an aggravated DUI offense. Aggravated DUI offenses carry greater criminal punishments than non-aggravated offenses. In Nebraska, the punishment for a first offense DUI non-aggravated is either: (1) probation, $400.00 fine and sixty-day license revocation or impoundment; or (2) seven to sixty days in jail, $400.00 to $500.00 fine and six month license revocation or impoundment. The punishment for a first offense DUI aggravated is either: (1) probation, two days jail time or 120 hours of community service, $500.00 fine and one-year license revocation or impoundment; or (2) seven to sixty days in jail, $400.00-$500.00 fine and one-year license revocation or impoundment. Typically, a judge will order that your court-ordered license revocation period run concurrently (at the same time) with your DMV ALR suspension. This means if you are suspended for ninety days by the DMV and sixty days by the court, your total license suspension/revocation will be ninety days.
Offenses for Driving Under the Influence are very serious. The statutes and regulations governing DUI’s are constantly changing. Nebraska’s current DUI laws were enacted as recently as 2006, and new statutes governing the use of the ignition interlock device went into effect earlier this year. If you have been charged with Driving Under the Influence make sure to consult with a licensed attorney.
Should I Talk to Police?
11/8/20099:21:34 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Criminal Defense, Criminal Defense Attorney, Interrogation, Police Interview
NO. Unless the officer or detective is your next door neighbor and you are discussing plans for a BBQ, you should never ever speak to law enforcement without an attorney present, and you should almost never speak to law enforcement even with an attorney present. The bottom line is this: "everything you say can, and will, be used against you". You have everything to lose from speaking to police regarding a crime that has been commited, but almost never anyhting to gain. I can think of many past clients of mine who hurt themselves by speaking with authorities before retaining a lawyer, however not one comes to mind that benefitted from speaking with police. Law professor, James Duane from the Regent University School of Law has a great video presentation on why you should never speak to police regarding a criminal matter. The presentation is appropriately titled "Don't Talk to Police", and provides a relatively in depth lecture on why speaking to police about criminal matters is generally a very bad idea. I have attached a link to the video below.
"Don't Talk to Police" by Professor James Duane
Hot Coffee Controversy
11/7/20099:35:34 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Accident Injury, Blog, damage caps, Insurance, Lawyer, Personal Injury, Personal Injury Attorney, tort reform
The new documentary movie, Hot Coffee-"Is justice being served?", seeks to dispel the myth surrounding the famous McDonald's coffee burn case. In Hot Coffee, producer, Carly Hugo and director, Susan Saladoff, have created a film that focuses on educating the audience about litigation and the United States civil justice system. More often it is large corporations and insurance companies who are responsible for educating (or misinforming) socienty and influencing public opinion. In Hot Coffee, Susan Saladoff, Carly Hugo and everyone else involved in the creation of this film seek to better inform the audience of the propaganda that goes on within the American civil justice system by using one of the most well-known American civl lawsuits, the McDonald's coffee case, as an example. The movie will focus on the specific facts of the McDonald's coffee burn case to illustrate how insurance compaies and large corporation skew the facts in their favor to forward their political agendas with items such as tort reform. I have not yet seen the movie, but I plan to as soon as screenings begin again in 2010.
