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 Car Crash Tips Guide
Auto Insurance
Claims - Use The Benefits Of Your Own Policy As a Licensed Claims Adjustor, I have a lot of experience dealing with personal injury claims. Being in an accident is an unpleasant experience, especially when the accident is not your fault. When your car is totaled and you sustain injuries that require a lot of medical treatment and time out of work, it can cause you a great deal of stress. My job with Normand & Associates is to make that experience more tolerable for you by making sure you receive each and every benefit you are entitled to on a prompt basis, without hassle from the insurance company. Most people purchase automobile insurance to protect themselves in the event that they cause an accident and need adequate insurance to cover a third party. What they don't realize is that their insurance policy can work for them too, regardless of fault. The most important coverages on your policy are the Liability Coverage, Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage, and Medical Payments Coverage. LIABILITY COVERAGE: Liability coverage protects you in the event that you cause an accident that results in property damage and/or bodily injury to another party. In the State of New Hampshire, the minimum insurance coverage for bodily injury is 25/50. This means that you are covered up to $25,000.00 per person and $50,000.00 for any group of people injured in the same accident. Although this may sound like a lot of money, in this day and age, it really isn't. If a person's injuries are serious and the value of their claim exceeds your 25/50 limits, your personal assets will be at risk. You should talk to your agent about increasing your liability coverage. Although you will pay a slightly higher premium, you will protect your personal assets. Moreover, since liability limits have to match uninsured motorist coverage, higher liability limits protect you if you are hurt by an uninsured or underinsured driver. UNINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGE: Uninsured motorist coverage protects you when you are injured in an accident that was caused by an uninsured person. New Hampshire does not require every driver to carry auto insurance. The limit of this coverage equals the amount you choose for your liability coverage. For example, if you carry liability limits of 25/50, then you will have uninsured motorist coverage of 25/50. You can usually obtain higher liability and uninsured motorist coverage at little or no extra cost by simply increasing your deductibles in other areas of your policy. If you are hurt by an uninsured driver, you can pursue your injury claim against your own policy under the uninsured motorist coverage. Your insurance carrier may or may not advise you of these rights, and it is always a good idea to consult with an attorney to discuss your options. UNDERINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGE: This coverage goes hand-in-hand with your uninsured motorist coverage. In the event that the responsible party does not have adequate insurance coverage to compensate you for your injuries, you may be entitled to additional coverage on your own policy. For example, if the person responsible has liability limits of only 25/50, the most you can claim from their insurance carrier is $25,000.00 per person. If you sustained serious injuries and incurred significant medical expenses, the value of your case could well exceed $25,000.00. In this example, if you have uninsured/underinsured coverage of more than 25/50, you could pursue additional compensation through your own insurance carrier. Again, consult with an attorney. MEDICAL PAYMENTS COVERAGE: Also known as med-pay coverage, this coverage is designed to pay for any medical bills you or any passengers in your vehicle may incur as a result of an auto accident. The minimum coverage an insurance company must offer under New Hampshire law on an automobile policy is $1,000.00. Again, you have the choice of a higher coverage amount such as $5,000.00, $10,000.00 or higher. This coverage means that you are covered up to $1,000.00 per person for you and any passenger in your car who are injured in an accident. The coverage is there, regardless of liability, and will not affect your rates. You can get prompt payment of your bills and pursue the driver who was at fault later. That person's insurance company will not agree to pay your bills as you treat with doctors. Rather, they will want to make an offer to settle all of your damages in one lump sum, which will also include compensation for lost wages, and pain and suffering. If you must seek medical treatment, definitely contact your own carrier and use your med-pay coverage. That way your bills will be paid in a timely manner, helping you avoid hassles with collection agencies. You should think of it as health insurance on your car. Again, talk to your agent about increasing the amount of your med-pay coverage. You will find that the few dollars difference you pay in premiums will be worth it when you are injured in an accident. Finally, talk to your insurance agent about getting the best coverage that you can afford. Saving a few premium dollars a year could cost you significantly more if you are in an accident. Also, take time to actually read your automobile insurance policy to see what you are entitled to and are paying for. Don't assume that your insurance company will be looking out for you. WHEN YOU ARE IN AN ACCIDENT, NORMAND & ASSOCIATES IS HERE TO SERVE YOU. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS AND PROTECT YOURSELF. Avoid Work
Place Injury One of the toughest hardships to have to live through is a serious injury on the job that puts you out of work. Just one mistake today can cause pain, financial difficulty, and mental and emotional distress for years. It is your right to work in a safe working environment. The equipment you use and the vehicles you drive should be in good condition. If you work with chemicals, it is your right under State law to know the impact of those chemicals on your health, and to be adequately trained in their proper use. If your employer requires use of protective gear for certain tasks, be sure to follow those instructions fully. If you do have an injury or disability that is caused by your employment situation, check with a lawyer before agreeing to any settlement. Some insurance companies and employers may offer settlements to you that are primarily in their own interests, not yours. Your disability may be long-term, making it difficult or impossible for you to ever work in your profession again. In that case, a lawyer will look to obtain a long-term benefit for you. Medical Negligence
- Frequently Asked Questions I have been doing medical negligence cases for almost twenty years. Over that time span, I have spoken with many people about injuries sustained during the course of medical treatment, and whether they have any right of legal action against the doctor or hospital. Two common questions keep occurring, and the answers to these two questions go a long way toward determining whether a person has a medical negligence case or not. I. Was There Something More Than A Bad Result? It is not unusual (unfortunately) for someone to have a bad result during the course of medical treatment or hospital stay. Sometimes I will get telephone calls from people who have sustained terrible injuries during the course of their medical treatment, or even report to me that a loved one has died as a result of injuries sustained during medical treatment. They want to know whether they have a case. It is not enough for a patient simply to have sustained a bad result from a medical care provider. Medicine is not completely predictable, and there are occasions in which doctors must exercise professional judgment that turns out, in retrospect, to have been a mistake. A bad result, in and of itself, is not proof that a medical professional did something wrong. Moreover, under the law of medical negligence, it is not enough that the doctor may have even made a mistake in producing that bad result. What the injured patient is required to prove is that the doctor made a careless mistake. By "careless," we mean that the doctor or other professional medical care provider did not follow accepted standards of care in rendering medical services to a patient. If the doctor's mistake is a careless one, and damages result, then the patient has a right to pursue a medical negligence action. A good example of this might be a situation where a woman is undergoing a hysterectomy and, during the course of the hysterectomy, the surgeon places an incorrect suture that damages another organ. The doctor has certainly made a mistake, but it would be the patient's burden to prove that the mistake was one which occurred because the doctor was being careless, as opposed to simply being a risk or complication of the procedure, which can occur even when a doctor is exercising appropriate care. Depending upon the complexity of the operation and the area in which the doctor is working, injuring another organ during the course of a surgical repair procedure may or may not be carelessness by a medical professional. II. Has There Been Damage? The second misunderstood area of medical negligence law involves the requirement that the patient prove damages. As a practical matter, it is often not enough that the patient has sustained some damages. Because medical negligence cases are complex and costly to bring, there is generally a practical requirement that the patient has sustained substantial damages in order to make the significant efforts involved in litigation economically worthwhile. However, it is often the case that a doctor or hospital will make a careless mistake, and the patient will have suffered little or no damage. For example, a doctor may make a diagnostic error because of carelessness, but the error may be picked up by another physician before the faulty diagnosis has done any damage to the patient. Sometimes I am called by people who are quite upset with their doctors because of a careless diagnosis for which the doctor has not apologized. But no matter how careless the diagnosis, there is no case if the careless diagnosis did not contribute to some type of actual damage. For example, I have had appendicitis cases where the doctor should have made the diagnosis earlier than it was actually made. Nevertheless, given that surgery is required of appendicitis in almost all cases, there is often no damage from the misdiagnosis if ultimately surgery is successful in taking care of the appendicitis before there is a rupture. From the point of view of the law, medical negligence is not analytically different from negligence by a bus driver. Both a doctor and a bus driver are professionals in their fields, and both are required to adhere to certain standards of care, and are responsible under the law if they are careless and their carelessness results in injury. However, in deciding whether you should discuss your medical injury with a lawyer, it is helpful to keep in mind that you and your lawyer will be required to prove both carelessness by the health care professional who was treating you and actual damage resulting from that carelessness. Job Protection
For Injured Worker Several years ago there was absolutely no job protection for an injured worker under New Hampshire's Workers' Compensation Statute. The typical injured worker was not the CEO of the company and therefore did not have a detailed employment contract that provided job protection. If the worker was not a member of a union covered by a collective bargaining agreement, or worked for a progressive company that had a company policy in a handbook that allowed the injured worker to return to work after the recovery period, the employer could terminate the employee at any time after the work-related injury. There were two federal laws passed in recent years that are widely recognized as providing job protection. The Family Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act provide some job security for seriously injured workers. Under these federal laws, it does not matter whether the injury is job related. Unfortunately, these laws do not apply to the vast majority of the workers' compensation claims in New Hampshire. However, there are two recent amendments to the New Hampshire Workers' Compensation Statute that are not well known and provide more job protection to more injured workers than the federal laws. RSA 281-A:23-b became effective on February 8, 1994. This new provision obligates employers with five or more employees to develop an alternative duty work plan in order to provide injured employees with light duty work. The obligation to provide light duty is not unlimited. It is only intended to cover the period of time that the injured employee is recovering from the injury. The employee is not entitled to a permanent light duty assignment under this law. The other recent amendment to New Hampshire's Workers' Compensation Law is RSA 281-A:25-a which provides for the reinstatement of an injured employee to the employee's former position with the employer. There are numerous loopholes and limitations to this law. Nonetheless, it is an important addition to New Hampshire's Workers' Compensation Law because it clearly shows that the legislature intends to provide some job security for injured workers. Injured workers should consult with an experienced attorney to explore their individual rights. The IRS And
Your Personal Injury Award
If you receive a damage award which compensates you only for emotional distress, which arose without any physical injury, it is considered taxable income. This is an important concept to know in light of the increased awareness of sexual harassment/wrongful termination cases. In those cases, there is no collision or broken bones, but the victim may suffer significant anxiety, distress, or psychological problems. By way of example, assume you are in a bad car accident, and break both legs, incur $25,000 in medical bills, and lose $25,000 of income because you can't work. Obviously, you will undergo pain and suffering and suffer anxiety because you cannot work to support your family, you may experience depression as well. If the case settles for $150,000, all of this money is non-taxable. If, on the other hand, you are the victim of sexual harassment (even unwelcome touching that does not result in physical injury), suffer severe emotional distress requiring psychological treatment, and your employer pays $150,000 to settle your claim, it will be largely taxable by the IRS. These are only general rules, and you should certainly consult an attorney or accountant to determine the tax treatment that a settlement or verdict with respect to your claim will receive. Automobile
Accident Cases Which insurance company should I file my property damage claim with? If both you and the person responsible for the accident have insurance coverage, you have the option of submitting a property damage claim to your insurance company under the collision coverage of your policy, or submitting a claim against the other person's insurance carrier for the damage to your vehicle. The downside of submitting a claim to your insurance company is that you will have to pay your deductible to have your vehicle fixed. The upside is that often times it takes less time to process a claim with your own insurance company because, under your collision coverage, it does not matter who is at fault for the accident. Your insurance carrier only needs to determine the amount of the damages and not liability. If the other person's insurance carrier accepts liability for the accident immediately, it may be wise to file a claim directly with the other person's insurance carrier. That carrier will be responsible for reimbursing you for a rental vehicle, for a reasonable period of time until your car is fixed, and will also be responsible for paying the towing and storage charges. Regardless of which carrier you file your claim with, most times a reputable auto body shop can deal directly with the insurance company to reach an agreement on the appropriate amount to be paid to have the car repaired. If your vehicle is declared a total loss, you should find out the bluebook value of your vehicle as a guideline to what the insurance carrier should be offering you. Property damage claims are often times frustrating because the market value of the car is sometimes less than the outstanding loan and usually less than what the car is actually worth to you. Who will pay my medical bills? There are three potential sources of payment for the medical bills incurred as a result of an automobile accident: 1) your health insurance carrier; 2) your automobile insurance carrier; and 3) the automobile insurance carrier of the responsible person. Bills should be forwarded to your health insurance carrier. In the vast majority of cases, the responsible party's insurance will not pay the medical bills until the claim is settled. If you have automobile insurance, you should submit bills to your automobile insurance carrier for payment under the medical payments (med-pay) provisions of your policy. New Hampshire law requires med-pay of at least $1,000 be offered with every New Hampshire automobile policy. In many cases, that means the medical bills will be paid twice; however, that is perfectly legal. While your health insurance carrier usually has a right of subrogation to receive reimbursement for medical bills it paid once you settle your claim, New Hampshire law prohibits subrogation for medical payments coverage. As a courtesy to our clients, we submit the medical bills to our client's insurance carrier for payments under the med-pay provisions of the policy. We do not take a fee for this service. It is our goal to make sure each client gets the maximum amount of insurance coverage available, regardless of the source. How long does the claim take? The answer to that question is largely dependent upon the nature and severity of the injuries. If you are injured in an automobile accident that is someone else's fault, you are entitled to receive your lost wages, and reimbursement for medical expenses and pain and suffering. Because your future pain and suffering is an important factor in the value of your claim, it is not wise to settle a claim before you have reached your maximum medical improvement. Reaching maximum medical improvement does not mean you are pain-free. It merely means the active medical care has ended. Unless we have a final report from the doctor, it is extremely difficult to properly evaluate a claim for settlement. Accordingly, how long your claim takes depends on how long it takes to reach maximum medical improvement. How much is my claim worth? Once again, this depends on the nature and severity of your injuries as well as the amount of medical bills, lost wages, and lost earning capacity. Under New Hampshire law, you are entitled to receive full, fair, and adequate compensation for your out-of-pocket expenses, as well as your pain and suffering. Fair and adequate compensation for pain and suffering increases substantially if you have sustained a permanent injury that restricts you from either working or participating in hobbies or sporting activities you enjoyed prior to your injury. Each insurance carrier evaluates cases differently and it is helpful to know what information each carrier deems important. Do I need a lawyer? Allstate Insurance sometimes gives people who have been injured by Allstate-insured drivers a brochure which suggests the injured person will not need a lawyer in order to settle a claim with Allstate. Taking advice from an insurance company on whether you need a lawyer or not is like asking a salesperson who is selling time share units whether you are getting a good deal. While in some cases the advice may be accurate, it is always wise to get a second opinion. At Normand & Associates, we regularly speak to people free of charge and give advice on how to settle a small claim without a lawyer's involvement. Most clients appreciate our honest advice and end up referring cases to our firm in the future. If you should have any questions or need further information, e-mail jimnormand@nhattorney.com. New Hampshire's
Workers' Compensation Law I have been injured on the job, what do I do now? You must report the injury to your employer and then fill out a First Report of Injury form. Your employer is obligated by law to have the necessary forms available for you. As soon as your employer becomes aware of your work-related injury, the employer must file a report of injury with the New Hampshire Department of Labor. The employer must also notify its workers' compensation carrier at the same time. Workers' compensation coverage is mandatory under New Hampshire law. What types of injuries need to be reported to my employer? Any injury resulting in medical treatment or lost time from work should be reported to your employer. New Hampshire has a first aid rule which relieves the employer from the obligation of reporting the injury to the New Hampshire Department of Labor if it is a minor injury resulting in minimal amount of medical treatment. To be covered under New Hampshire's Workers' Compensation law, an injury must have occurred in the course of your employment. This includes cumulative trauma injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome and psychological injuries such as anxiety disorders, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition to physical injuries and stress disorders, you are entitled to compensation for occupational diseases and long-term exposure to hazardous conditions such as exposure to asbestos, loud noises causing hearing loss, and multiple chemical sensitivity disorder. What benefits am I entitled to? You are entitled to wage benefits if you are disabled from working due to the work injury. You will receive 60% of your average weekly wage. Your average weekly wage is calculated by taking an average of your earnings over the past 26 to 52 weeks prior to the injury. You will receive 60% of your average weekly wage as long as you are totally disabled from working and receive a doctor's note verifying your disability. If you are able to return to work on a light-duty or part-time basis, and if you are earning less than what you were earning prior to your work injury, you are entitled to receive 60% of the difference between what you were earning before you were injured and what you were able to earn after you returned to work. You are also entitled to vocational rehabilitation services if the work injury permanently disables you from returning to your prior occupation. Your vocational rehabilitation counselor will formulate a plan to return you to work. These plans (called "IWRPs") range from sending a worker back to school for up to one year to learn a new trade through simply helping the worker prepare a sum, and find job listings in the newspaper or employment security office. You may also be entitled to a permanent impairment award if the injury has caused you a permanent loss of function. A permanency rating is issued by a physician according to the guidelines prepared by the American Medical Association. The statute lists the number of weeks of compensation you will receive for the part of the body that is injured. The workers' compensation carrier or employer is also obligated to provide medical treatment for your injury. You are entitled to choose your own physician unless your employer has set up a managed care network through the Department of Labor. In that case, you must choose one of the physicians or medical providers listed within the network. Can I settle my workers' compensation claim? Yes. A lump-sum settlement can be approved by the Department of Labor. However, under New Hampshire law, you cannot lump sum settle your entitlement to medical bills. The employer or insurance carrier is responsible for medical bills related to your work injury, as long as those bills continue to be causally related to the work injury and are reasonable and necessary. Unfortunately, workers' compensation law does not permit any recovery for pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, or scarring or disfigurement. Accordingly, the settlement an injured worker receives in a workers' compensation case is usually much less than a person would receive with the same injuries in an automobile accident case or third-party claim. For this reason, your attorney should always explore the possibility of a third-party claim. Examples of a third-party claim in a workers' compensation case would be a product liability claim against the manufacturer of equipment that had a defective design, or a claim against a general contractor on the worksite who is responsible to maintain a safe construction site. You cannot sue your employer unless the employer intentionally caused your injury. Do I have any job protection? Recent amendments to the New Hampshire Workers' Compensation Statute provide that an employer with five or more employees must take reasonable efforts to return you to your job or an alternative work opportunity. This right of reinstatement only applies if you receive a doctor's approval to return to your usual job within 18 months from the date of your injury. In addition, employers with five or more employees are also obligated to provide light duty to workers who are temporarily injured and unable to return to his/her usual job. Do I need an attorney? Not all worker's compensation cases require the assistance of an attorney. However, most attorneys accept injury cases on a contingency fee basis and offer free consultations by telephone or in person. It is always a good idea to talk to an attorney who is knowledgeable in the practice area of your particular case. If you should have any questions or need further information, e-mail jimnormand@nhattorney.com. |
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15 High Street, Manchester, NH 03101 NH Toll Free: 1-888-646-5879 or 1-603-624-6655 E-Mail: info@nhattorney.com | |||
The
IRS has historically treated compensation for injury or sickness and
the emotional aftermath of injury and sickness as nontaxable items.
Any damages that constitute compensation due to injuries, whether
they are the result of jury verdict or voluntary settlement (including
workers' compensation awards) were tax-free. Historically, this would
also extend to emotional distress, anxiety, and depression that frequently
accompany injury. New IRS rules, however, provide that compensation
for emotional distress which does not arise from a physical injury
will now be taxable.