Ways to Avoid A Car Wreck # 7

Columbus, Ohio. According to personal injury attorney, David A. Bressman, nearly 40,000 people die each year in car wrecks. Further, of the nearly 6 million car wrecks yearly, almost 50% involve an injury. The best way to avoid injury is drive safely and prudently. This, of course, is obvious but too few "experts" give any meaning to driving safely and prudently. The following series is designed to give you some practical pointers on HOW to do this.

#7: Drive with one hand between 8 o'clock and 9 o'clock and the other between 3 o'clock and 4 o'clock on the wheel. The traditional 10 and 2 o'clock positions can cause arm fatigue, especially on long drives, leading to less-than-optimal driver reaction time in emergencies. The traditional position also increases the odds that one of your arms will hit you in the face if your air bag deploys causing lost teeth or a broken jaw.

Questions For the Adjuster That Simply Won't Get Answered #1

Columbus, Ohio. Personal injury trial lawyer, David A. Bressman, has over 20 years of experience representing injury victims. Over that time period, he has come across many who have pretty basic, fairly easy questions that they would like the insurance adjuster to honestly answer. In his experience, most adjusters either refuse to answer or provide misleading information. He presents to you a series of questions, and likely insurance company responses.

If I use an attorney, I’m likely to recover more money in settlement than if I try to settle
the claim on my own?

ANSWER: Don’t be surprised if the adjustor says “no.” But why lie about this? Because a study by the Insurance Research Council (a nonprofit group funded by major insurance companies across the nation) and titled “Paying for Auto Injuries” found that the average total payout on claims that have an attorney is 4.8 times greater than those claims where the injured victim settled on his or her own.

This study showed that individuals who use an attorney receive 3.28 times more money after the attorney’s fee is paid. Most insurance claims adjustors are very aware of this study. So, if the insurance company wants to maximize profits it will train its claims representatives to go to
great efforts to dissuade people from hiring an attorney. Simply put, the insurance companies know that if you hire counsel you will likely get more money in settlement, even after deducting
the lawyer’s fee.

Common Insurance Company Arguments/Excuses #9

Columbus, Ohio. According to David A. Bressman, a personal injury lawyer who limits his practice exclusively those injured in car accidents, insurance companies use many standard arguments when trying to minimize payment to injury victims. Here is #9 in this ongoing series:

"Claiming That You Are Not Really Injured and/or Minimizing Injuries" Part 1

• There was no complaint of pain by you to anyone at scene of accident.

• There is nothing in the police report to indicate that you complained of pain at the accident
scene nor did you request an ambulance when asked by the police office nor did you, on your own, request that one be sent.

• There were no physical signs or injury at scene of accident like cuts, bruises, etc.

• You did not go to the emergency room/urgent care/family doctor, or otherwise received no treatment, on the day of the accident or in the days following the accident.

• You told the at-fault driver or other people at the scene that you felt “Ok.”

• You gave a statement to the insurance company, either yours or that of the at-fault driver, that you were not injured in the accident.

• There is no medical opinion substantiating medical causation between the accident and your
physical or subjective complaints.