Personal Injury Attorney Blog Bellingham

Common Myths About Personal Injury Lawyers Debunked

Lawyers get a bad rap and personal injury lawyers are no exception. We’ve all heard the jokes. In truth, commonly held false assumptions, misconceptions and wild myths keep some injured people from getting the help they need to reach a fair settlement on their injury claim. Sadly, this plays right into the hands of the insurance industry that would love nothing more than to have all their low-ball settlement offers accepted by people lacking representation.

We hope to debunk some of the most common myths about personal injury lawyers in this article so you can feel more confident seeking much needed legal advice for your injuries.

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How Personal Injury Attorneys Can Help with Lienholders

If you were injured in an accident because of the negligence of another, you should know that lienholders can legally claim part of your settlement compensation. If you are dealing with lienholders on your claim compensation (or you aren’t sure if you are), you will benefit from the help of a personal injury attorney.

Types of lienholders in personal injury claims

There are many different types of lienholders that can lay claim to a portion of your injury settlement, including:

• Medicare and Medicaid (government)
• Doctors, hospital and other health care providers
• Workers’ compensation insurance
• Health insurance company
• Veterans administration
• State child support agencies
• Car insurance company*

*A car insurance company is the most likely to place a lien on your compensation so they can recover the money they paid for your medical care (this is called subrogation).

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Ford Will Recall 3 million Vehicles Due to Defective Airbags

After losing its fight with the NHTSA, Ford will recall almost 3 million vehicles equipped with defective airbags. Yes, the same Takata that manufactured defective airbags from earlier recalls. While the airbag inflators causing the problem in this recall are different, the recall is happening for a similar reason: they have a risk of exploding.

Ford will recall almost 3 million vehicles due to defective airbags

As reported by USAtoday.com, Ford’s hand was forced on the recall of 2.7 million vehicles in the U.S. at a cost of $610 million because federal regulators rejected the company’s request to avoid a recall. Ford took the position that they had not found evidence that the material in the inflators was breaking down to the point that it would cause a serious problem. After considering the request, NHTSA concluded that the ammonium nitrate propellant used to inflate the driver’s airbags was showing signs of decay and posed a safety risk.

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What It’s Like to Work with a Personal Injury Lawyer

If you were seriously injured because of the negligence or willful act of another but have never worked with a personal injury lawyer before, you may be feeling uncertain about what it would be like to hire an injury attorney for help. Let’s start with why people hire personal injury lawyers.

Why do people hire personal injury lawyers?

It is common for injured victims to attempt to negotiate a settlement with the insurance agency themselves. This can be difficult when it isn’t completely clear who is liable for the accident (or how liability should be shared), when the insurance company is refusing to offer a fair settlement or when an uninsured motorist is at-fault for the accident. Injured victims hire personal injury attorneys to fight for a fair injury settlement on their behalf. Often, this means tough negotiating with the at-fault insurance company. A local personal injury attorney is best suited to navigate the negotiations because they know the laws in your state, what your case is worth and how to overcome objections by the defendant’s insurance company. In rare cases, claims go to trial for resolution and your personal injury attorney handles this process as well.

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What Types of Evidence Are Gathered for Personal Injury Cases?

A personal injury claim is filed to recover damages for people who were injured because of the negligence of another. Cases involving serious, long-term injuries can yield large settlements but even with less serious injuries people can recover substantial damages for medical expenses and lost wages during recovery. A lawsuit brought by a personal injury lawyer is also a way to hold the negligent party responsible for their behavior. Common types of personal injury claims include wrongful death, motor vehicle accidents, pedestrian accidents, and medical malpractice.

If you have spoken with a personal injury lawyer and they have agreed to take your case, the attorney will begin moving through the steps of a personal injury claim; beginning with gathering all relevant documents and evidence.

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How is Pain and Suffering Calculated in Washington State Personal Injury Cases?

In a personal injury case, pain and suffering is the legal term for the part of the settlement that compensates the victim for the physical and emotional distress caused by an injury. Some examples of pain and suffering damages include depression, loss of enjoyment of life, limitations on activity and chronic pain.

One of the many advantages of hiring a personal injury attorney to help with a personal injury claim is their help calculating a dollar value for your pain and suffering. The injury lawyer factors in a settlement range that is most likely to be offered in negotiations or in a jury award. This information gives the plaintiff a good idea of what compensation they can expect for their pain and suffering from a reasonable offer.

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Safety Tips for First Time Turkey

With COVID-19 in full swing, many families are choosing to have Thanksgiving at home with their immediate family members. That means many chefs will be roasting, deep frying, brining or smoking a turkey for the first time and learning the ropes as they do it. When it comes to turkey, there are all kinds of tricks for keeping it moist and delicious but there are also safety tips that should be taken into consideration to avoid a Thanksgiving Day accident or injury.

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Prevent Whatcom County Child Pedestrian Accidents as We Return to School

There is no doubt that 2020 has been a weird and difficult year. All public schools in Whatcom County chose to begin their school year with distance only learning for all grades due to the risk of spread of COVID-19. Since that decision was made in late-July, Whatcom County’s infection rate has dropped enough that school districts are beginning to bring students back in hybrid models – either half the class two days a week or every other week. This means that school zones will be back in effect along with the need to protect our children from pedestrian accidents.

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What Duty of Care do Business Owners Owe Their Customers During a Pandemic?

Under premises liability law, businesses owe their customers a duty of care. This was always true, but there are added duties during COVID-19. On a practical level, a business owes their customers a duty to keep them safe on the business premises. If a customer is injured or becomes seriously ill because the business owner failed to meet their duty of care by acting negligently, the injured party may be able to sue to recover damages. For example, if a customer contracts Coronavirus after visiting a business that was not following safety guidelines, they may be able to file a personal injury claim.

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What are Independent Medical Examinations in Personal Injury Cases?

In personal injury cases, medical exams provide critical information about the specific injuries endured by the plaintiff and how bad they are. The insurance agency that is responsible for paying for these injuries will always try to deny responsibility and/or downplay the severity of the injuries in order to get out of paying a fair settlement. This is why they often request that plaintiffs undergo an independent medical examination (IME). These requests are commonly made in personal injury lawsuits for car accidents because they want to bring in an expert witness who can use the results as part of their testimony.

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