Category Archives: Insurance
Do I need a lawyer, or can I settle my own case after a car accident?
Risks include giving up all of your legal rights – and leaving money on the table
Here’s the most common scenario: You are involved in an automobile accident. Within a few days you receive a letter, a phone call, or even a knock on your door from the insurance company of the guy or gal who caused the crash. Most people (at least those who haven’t been injured in a car accident before) think they will be treated fairly. The insurance company tells you they would like to settle the matter. The adjuster also tells you that you do not need a lawyer. After some information is exchanged, they make an offer of settlement that ranges from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.
In exchange, the claims adjuster requires you to sign a full and final release in exchange for the small settlement offer. It’s natural to think that this is “free money” and doing this is in your best interest.
As an attorney, I’m often asked about these situations. Here’s the skinny: you have to be very careful. If you truly are not hurt and have no residual pain or problems, and the other insurance company wants to throw a couple hundred dollars your way, then you probably don’t need to hire an accident lawyer to help you.
What I see the most of, however, is the other side of things, such as insurance adjusters essentially stalking people and trying to throw money at them so they won’t hire a lawyer. When I was President of the American Association for Justice Truck Accident Lawyer Group, I remember a case where an adjuster for a trucking company that had just negligently killed a husband and father attempted to “settle” the case by buying the surviving family members a new Buick.
That case should serve as a warning. The insurance industry estimates that when an attorney becomes involved, the settlement value of any car accident claim increases fourfold. That’s why so many insurance companies essentially stalk accident victims – to prevent them from hiring an experienced personal injury attorney.
These claims adjusters will call you, knock on your door and visit you in the hospital, trying to get you to sign a release and settle your case before you talk to a lawyer – often for what is pennies on the dollar. And because information is one-sided, most people have no idea what their legal rights are or what kind of compensation they are entitled. Plus, at this point so close to the car accident, many people are still in shock, or have yet to fully understand how serious the injuries will become in the days and weeks that follow.
So there may be times when you don’t need a lawyer at all. But you are giving up quite a bit and taking a risk by signing any legal release. A release will extinguish any and all legal rights you have – whether that be for pain and suffering or in non-no fault states for wage loss and medical bills and other claims. Make sure you truly have nothing to lose before settling your case if you are approached by an adjuster and told you don’t need to hire a lawyer.
The Self Law Firm can help you get every penny you deserve.
Call 205-647-1000
You need a lawyer for the loopholes
Ever hear that most people can figure out the law, but you need a lawyer for the loopholes? Even a seemingly harmless “limited property damage” release can be very dangerous. Here is a true example from people who contacted our office when a mini-tort property damage release also contained language saying this was a full and final settlement releasing all personal injuries.
Too many people can rush into signing these documents without having the language reviewed by an accident attorney. In fact, it was insurance companies manipulating people and taking advantage of people that has led many states to bar direct contact between claims adjusters from the party that caused the accident with accident victims as the unauthorized practice of law.
Remember, no insurance company ever tries to give away its own money – unless it is in its own interest for doing so.
What is the Alabama Guest Statute?
One summer Saturday night in Hayden, Alabama, Bob and Ruth climb in Bobs’ car for a friendly drive to the movies. Unfortunately, Ruth’s life soon changed forever when Bob runs a red light and his car is hit broadside by a pickup truck. Ruth suffers severe injuries from the automobile wreck. She endures tremendous pain and suffering and mental anguish. Her injuries are permanent.
To add insult to injury, when Ruth makes a claim against Bob’s automobile insurance company for the injuries she sustained in the wreck, they inform her that she is not entitled to recover under Alabama law because she was a “guest” in Bob’s vehicle.
The Alabama Guest Statute prohibits a “guest” from bringing an action against a driver unless the driver is found to have willfully or recklessly operated a motor vehicle to the detriment of the “guest.” The guest statute applies in situations where the injured person was riding as “a guest while being transported without payment.” “Payment” does not necessarily mean cash for transportation as one would pay for a taxi ride. “Payment” could be in the form of some material and tangible benefit to the driver from the transportation or the transportation must be of mutual benefit to both parties.
Although the Guest Statute typically prevents any claim against the driver of a motor vehicle for injuries sustained by a guest, damages may be recovered by a guest if the injuries are caused by the willful or reckless misconduct of the driver. Typically, we are able to prove willful or reckless misconduct when there is evidence that the driver was operating his vehicle at an unsafe speed, was driving erratically, driving under the influence or was distracted while using a cell phone or texting.
Incredibly, Alabama is the only state left in the United State that has a Guest Statue. All the other states have invalidated or repealed this antiquated law. At present time, Alabama’s Guest Statute may still deprive persons injured in automobile accidents from receiving compensation. For a brief time in prior years, our courts recognized this inequity and allowed “guests” who could not demonstrate that the driver acted willfully or recklessly to make claims under their own uninsured motorist policies. However, in Ex parte Carleton, the Alabama Supreme Court reversed course thereby depriving injured “guests” of any claim for compensation. In fact, the practical effect of this decision was to leave “guests” in a position where they are unable to insure themselves from the negligent conduct of a driver. This is an injustice that can certainly be resolved by our legislature or addressed from a regulatory standpoint. Any solution should promote the public policy of allowing responsible persons to use their own insurance to protect them in the event they are injured while riding as a “guest.”
The Self Law Firm deals with cases like the one above on a regular basis. Even though this statute needs to be revisited by Alabama law makers, we are still able to develop evidence that may allow for a recovery. If you are injured in an automobile wreck and the insurance company raises the Guest Statute, you may still be able to recover if you contact us to discuss your case.
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