Injured Neck or Injured Back From Car Accident - Soft Tissue? What does that mean?

8/26/201111:44:13 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment

accident, Accident Injury, back injury, back strain, car accident, injury, injury claim, insurance claim, neck strain, Personal Injury Attorney, Personal Injury Lawyer, soft tissue

Two of the most common injuries caused in a car accident are injury to the neck and injury to the back.  For the most part, neck and back injuries sustained in an auto accident fall into two categories: (1) soft tissue or (2) not soft tissue.  

Soft tissue technically refers to the tissue, tendons, muscles and ligaments, etc. within your body.  In other words, not bone.  However, in the insurance claims world, insurance adjusters use the term "soft tissue injury" to refer to pretty much any injuries they deem as insignificant (i.e. muscle strains, sprains, strained ligaments, etc.).  Whiplash is an example of what is commonly referred to as a "soft tissue" injury.  However, those of us who have suffered from injuries to our neck or back know that these injuries can be very painful.  At the very least, these injuries create discomfort and inconvenience.  In more severe cases, neck and back injuries can be debilitating.

The difficulty with most neck and back injuries is that they are often very subjective.  Unless you have a fracture or a serious disc herniation/protrusion that shows up on an MRI, it is difficult, if not impossible, to show someone your injury.  It's not like a broken bone where you say here it is; look at my x-ray, I have a broken arm.  Insurance companies do not like things they cannot see, and adjusters are basically trained to believe that "soft tissue injuries" are not substantial injuries requiring treatment.  As far as insurance companies are concerned all strains and sprains are the same, chiropractors are frauds and no soft tissue injury should require more than three to four months of treatment.  The reality is even a "soft tissue" injury can be very serious and painful; and more serious strains can take months if not years to resolve.

If you sufferred a neck or back injury in a car accident make sure you know the extent of your injury before even attempting negotiating an injury settlement; and do not be afraid to get a second opinion or speak with an injury lawyer before entering into negotiations.  

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.

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.