If you’ve ever been involved in a car accident with injury, you know there are facts and evidence you have to present to prove your case. This is called the burden of proof — proving to the insurance company, or the judge or jury, that all the allegations you are bringing forth actually happened.

Although car accident injury cases are complicated, fortunately, the burden of proof is lower in civil cases — i.e. car accident claims — than it is for criminal cases, because the civil burden is based on “a preponderance of the evidence” or “more likely than not” that the defendant is liable.

What elements do you have to prove in a car accident injury case?

In order to prevail in your car accident claim, you have to prove that the defendant was negligent. This is done by proving the following four elements of negligence:

• The defendant had a “duty of care” to the car accident victim.
• The defendant breached said “duty of care.”
• The injury was caused by the defendant’s negligent actions.
• The person filing the claim was injured.

What is duty of care?

Duty of care is a broad term that means someone had an obligation to be cautious and show reasonable care for the plaintiff’s safety.

One obvious example of duty of care is that you are required by law to drive cautiously and safely on the road. If you didn’t do that, you breached your duty of care.

Other ways the duty of care can be breached include:

• Driving drunk
• Speeding
• Reckless driving
• Following too closely
• Texting and driving

If any of those offenses are listed in the accident report, then it’s much easier to establish that the defendant breached his or her duty of care.

Next, the plaintiff — or likely the plaintiff’s experienced personal injury attorney — must prove that the duty of care breach — the defendant’s actions and subsequent vehicle accident — caused injury to the plaintiff.

In other words, the plaintiff has to prove that the injury would not have happened if it weren’t for the accident, and that the injury did not exist before the accident.

Obvious examples of this include a broken foot if a pedestrian is run over by a car. But other times, the direct link between the crash and the injury is harder to prove, especially if the plaintiff had pre-existing health problems — like a back injury — that were exacerbated by the crash.

The last thing you have to prove is that your injuries are real. That’s not a difficult thing to do as long as you have documented medical records, photos and receipts.

No matter how minor or severe you think your injury is, if you or someone you love was injured in a car accident, you need the help of an experienced personal injury attorney. Contact Robert Armstrong’s office today.

 

Personal injury cases can take anywhere from months to years to come to an end. Of course, all of this depends on the complexities of your case, the severity of the injuries, and many, many other factors.

Generally speaking, any personal injury case can be settled sooner than later — but you will have to be willing to take a lower payment for your suffering. The question you will have to ask yourself is: How much money are you willing to give up to get a check faster?

Why do personal injury cases take so long?

Personal injury cases can move at a snail’s pace for several reasons, the main ones being:

• There are questions about facts and/or legalities of your case – What kind of issues? It could be that it is increasingly difficult to prove which party is liable for the damages, which means that insurance companies are going to hold off on offering a decent settlement amount for as long as possible. If there are legal problems – i.e. the defense is arguing that you are not entitled to go after damages – then once again, the insurance company will not make a decent offer until a judge or jury has weighed in. In some cases, there can be conflicting reports about the actual damages, such as whether the accident was the cause of the injury. This is another instance when insurance companies will be hesitant to offer a fair amount.
• The amount of money in question is a very large sum of cash – No matter how obvious the negligence is, if the settlement amount is extremely big, no insurance company will cut such a large check without first exploring every single avenue for paying you less. If they cannot find a legitimate reason to pay you less money, sometimes the insurance company will delay the case repeatedly, just to wear the plaintiff down in an effort to get you to accept less money. This is why it’s so important that you have an experienced personal injury attorney.
• Your status has not reached “maximum medical improvement” – Maximum medical improvement is when a doctor determines that a person’s medical condition cannot improve anymore than it already has, or the injured person has reached a plateau in the process.

If any of the above factors are at play, you’re just going to have to be patient and wait for things to be resolved. If not, you will be forced to settle for “pennies on the dollar.”

Don’t let the complexities of your personal injury case get in the way of getting the amount of money you deserve. If you or someone you love has been injured, contact Robert Armstrong’s office today.

 

If you’ve been in a car accident and were not seriously injured, or the damages to your vehicle weren’t very severe, you might start thinking about whether you can handle the insurance claim yourself, or if you need to hire a lawyer.

While it’s true that some car accidents are minor enough to not need a lawyer, you should think long and hard before you decide to go at it alone.

What are the dangers of representing yourself in a car accident claim?

Here are just a few of the downsides to settling a personal injury/car accident claim yourself:

• You have to learn A LOT about the legal and insurance fields: Do you know all the terminology associated with insurance claims? If you don’t, then you’ll have to learn, and quickly. Do you know the ins and outs of medical billing, medical costs and how to factor in any future injuries that may arise? Do you know all of the regulations associated with medical liens? If not, then you probably want to consult with an attorney. And what if you learn everything there is to know about insurance companies, and then they still won’t pay you the amount you deserve? If that happens, you will have to file a lawsuit, and are you prepared to do that without a lawyer? Disputed liability is something that happens all the time in car accident claims, especially when the victim doesn’t have an experienced legal advocate working on their behalf.
• Paying out of pocket for expenses related to your case: Typically, personal injury attorneys cover the everyday expenses of your claim, from copies to police reports and lots of other small hidden costs, then subtract that amount from your overall settlement amount after the case is closed. These costs can all add up very fast, and if you are handling the case yourself, you will be responsible for those upfront expenses.
• Less money: Attorneys have years of experience in analyzing the particulars of a personal injury case, and they know when and where to look for more money. They are also expert negotiators who know when it’s best to settle and when it’s best to battle it out in court. Often, you will get much less money when you represent yourself.

 

While it’s true that some cases are more complicated than others and some require less work than others, the money you save by not hiring an experienced personal injury attorney could end up costing you more in the long run.

If you or someone you love has been injured in a car accident, contact Robert Armstrong’s office today.

 

If you’ve been injured in an accident and the other driver was at fault, the at-fault driver’s insurance company will do everything it can to give you as little money as possible. Unfortunately, that’s just the way insurance companies work.

Here are some common reasons why insurance companies could try to deny your claims:

• The insurance company places you at fault for the accident – Even if you know you weren’t at fault, if there is no citation from police, then proving liability is made more difficult. If it’s your word against the other driver, then the insurance company will most likely deny your claim and maintain that you were the one to blame for the crash.
• The accident was not serious enough for bodily injury – Often, an insurance company will deny a claim because the insurance company alleges that the impact and the speed factors in the crash were too low for you to claim that you were hurt. In other words, they think you are exaggerating or lying about the extent of your injuries, particularly if your injury is a sprained neck or whiplash. When this happens, a special team of investigators is called in to try to find evidence that proves you have been dishonest so the insurance company can deny your claim. That’s why it’s so important for you to keep impeccable medical records and transcripts of conversations with doctors.
• The person who caused the crash was not a permitted driver on the insurance policy – Most insurance companies make drivers list on their policies the names of people who are authorized to drive the car. If someone who is not on the approved list of drivers causes a crash while driving, then the insurance company can try to deny the claim because the driver — even though he or she caused the accident — was not covered under the insurance policy.
• The person injured waited to seek medical treatment – It’s always a good idea to see a doctor after a car accident, and it’s best if you do it as soon as possible if you sustained an injury in the accident – no matter how minor it may seem at the time. If you wait months to see a doctor, the insurance company will try to attack your credibility and deny your claim based on the fact that you waited too long. In other words, the insurance company will, again, accuse you of lying.

There are many other reasons why insurance companies will deny your personal injury claims, which is why it is important to hire an experienced personal injury attorney like Robert Armstrong to stop the insurance companies from wrongfully denying your claim.

If you or someone you love has been injured in an accident, contact Robert Armstrong’s office today.

 

 

 

If you’ve ever been in a serious automobile or motorcycle accident, it’s normal to feel off-kilter and out of sorts right after the crash. But how can you tell if that state of confusion stems from a traumatic brain injury?

You’ll need a doctor to determine that, but there are some signs and symptoms you should be on the lookout for in the days and weeks following your accident.

What are the symptoms of a mild traumatic brain injury?

If you have a feeling of disorientation, headache or confusion after your injury this could be classified as a mild traumatic brain injury, which is the most common type of traumatic brain injury. The Center for Disease Control clearly states that a concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury.

Here are the wide range of symptoms that are associated with mild traumatic brain injury:

• Being unconscious – either for a few seconds or up to a few minutes
• Feeling disoriented, confused and dazed
• Nausea, vomiting
• Headache
• Drowsiness and fatigue, wanting or needing to sleep more
• Feeling off-balance or woozy
• Blurred vision
• Strange or foul taste in your mouth
• Feeling sensitive to light and/or sound
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Mood swings
• Memory loss or trouble concentrating

If you experienced any of the above symptoms after an automobile accident, you should seek medical care as soon as possible, within one to two days of the injury.

What are the symptoms of moderate or severe traumatic brain injury?

To be classified a moderate or severe traumatic brain injury, you could have experienced any of the symptoms associated with a mild brain injury, in addition to the following troublesome signs:

• Being unconscious for several minutes or several hours

• Headache that won’t go away or gets worse over time
• Excessive vomiting
• Seizures or convulsions
• Dilated eye pupils
• Loss of feeling or numbness in your fingers and toes
• Unable to wake up from sleeping
• Drainage in the ears or nose
• Extreme confusion
• Slurred words
• Feelings of anger and aggravation

 

Keep in mind that the “mild,” “moderate,” and “severe” descriptions of brain injuries are there to portray the level of impact the injury will have on your brain’s ability to function. Even if it’s considered a mild traumatic brain injury, your ability to function as you once did may be compromised and you should still seek prompt medical care.

If left unchecked, the temporary symptoms listed above could worsen or become permanent. People older than 65 are at an increased risk of brain injury after an accident, as are patients who are on blood-thinning medications.

If you or someone you love has suffered a brain injury from an automobile or motorcycle accident, contact experienced personal injury attorney Robert Armstrong today.