Washington Injury Law Blog

Think your MySpace, Facebook, or social network page is not really going to come back to haunt you someday? Think again — it could happen in the worse of circumstances. A recent King 5 story tells the story of a young Arlington, Washington woman, Marissa Schneider, who was in a severe car accident and suffered very serious injuries that have left her in a nursing home unable to talk or care for herself at 21 years old.

The car accident that hurt Marissa so badly was caused by a driver that crossed the I-5 median into oncoming traffic and hit Marissa’s Dodge Spirit head-on. Marissa and her family have sued the driver and Chrysler — the maker of the Dodge Spirit — due to an alleged design flaw. Chrysler’s attorneys are being very aggressive and have subpoenaed Marissa’s MySpace account records including her private blog entries.

Corporation and insurance company lawyers are conducting these kind of “cyber-investigations” more and more. Chrysler believes the information on Marissa’s MySpace page will lead to relevant evidence in her car accident case. Defense attorneys in fact promote these kind of tactics openly as can be found on this defense attorney blog. Corporation and insurance company lawyers are looking for things on your MySpace page that contradict your injury claims or “there could be interesting stuff we’d like a jury to see.”

Kind of makes your stomach turn a little doesn’t it? Anything you put out there on the web could someday be fodder for a jury to decide your fate. Ouch, that’s scary! It’s enough to make you second guess that video from Friday night’s party you were thinking about posting. Defense attorneys have discussed the possibility of subpoenaing your online “friends” as witnesses including using your “friends” access to your page’s private areas, or even trying to become on of your “friends” to spy on you. These kinds of sneaky and underhanded tactics are what big corporations and insurance companies do in an effort to attack your credibility in a car accident case.

You may be asking yourself, is my Facebook or MySpace page in anyway relevant to my car accident? Why should I have to turn over my private account information for something that has no relevance to my car accident injuries? I totally understand that feeling of frustration and it’s what nearly everyone of my clients feels when faced with questions from defense attorneys in areas that seem irrelevant to the car accident.

Rules that apply to Washington car accident lawsuits allow a broad scope of questioning by defendants. This area of questioning is called discovery. During discovery both sides get to ask each other questions that will help find the truth about what happened and how badly you were injured. The rules give a very broad scope of things that can be questioned and discovered about you.  Sometimes this results in over-reaching or requests for stuff that is out of bounds.

The ultimate question is given Washington discovery rules is your MySpace, Facebook or other social network page out of bounds in your Washington car accident lawsuit? Unfortunately, the answer is not clear. In some circumstances your MySpace page may be relevant because it shows you doing things your injuries should not allow you to do. Other times there may be nothing there. The general rule the courts follow is whether the information requested could lead to information that is relevant to the car accident lawsuit. So if there’s a possibility that information requested could lead to information that could be used in your injury case, then a judge is likely to grant access to your MySpace page.

Washington appellate courts have not had an opportunity to address a question regarding access to a person’s MySpace, Facebook or other social network page. However, it is only a matter of time before we see some rulings from the Washington high courts to give this area added guidance. Until then — it’s probably a good idea to speak with an experienced Washington car accident attorney about the effect your MySpace page may have on your car accident case. There are steps that your attorney can take to protect you in certain circumstances.

But for now — BEWARE — you’re private MySpace page may be an open book when you least want or expect it.

This post continues my series with answers to frequently asked questions about Washington car accident claims.

Q: I was on a jury and the plaintiff was asked for her medical bills to be repaid. The jury thought that the bills were probably all covered by insurance. Was this correct?

A: In Washington, as in most states, evidence about whether or not a plaintiff’s medical bills have been paid by insurance is kept from a jury during a trial. There are many reasons for this law. Sometimes, however, juries attempt to account for the fact that insurance has paid the medical bills and adjust their award accordingly.

If you are on a jury in a personal injury case you should not do this. The reason is that insurance is not simple and different insurance “rules” may apply to the claims at hand. In most cases the plaintiff has to pay back her insurance company out of any award, so she really was not insured at all! Almost all insurance policies require the injured person to pay back any amounts the company paid for the medical bills if the plaintiff wins her lawsuit.

Insurance policies differ and not every insurance policy requires this type of reimbursement. What the courts have done, however, to make the issue fair for everyone, is to simply take insurance out of the consideration of the jury.

If you’re a juror please don’t discount a plaintiff’s damage award because you think the medical bills have already been paid. In almost all of my cases my clients have to repay the insurance company that paid the medical bills. Insurance companies would love this to happen, but it really only hurts the injury victim.

If you’re called for jury duty please go. The justice system in Washington and all other states depends on citizens showing up for jury duty when called. I know it’s a pain and you get paid peanuts, but I need you and my clients need you. We need jurors like you to fight the greed of the insurance companies that force their customers to file lawsuits to get the insurance benefits owed.

This post continues my series with answers to frequently asked questions about Washington car accident claims.

Q: The insurance company for the driver who hit me says they need me to sign a document (medical records release) before they can pay my medical bills. Should I sign the medical release?

You should never, ever sign the medical release that it sent to you by the at-fault driver’s insurance company. While releases are sometimes important to the claim every release that I have ever seen from an insurance company is overbroad–contains no time limit–can be sent to anyone at all–and allows the insurance company to re-release the information to others. There is no requirement that you sign their release.

While you’re still going to the doctor treating your accident injuries there is no good reason for the at-fault driver’s insurance company to be monitoring your medical records. The only reason they want to see your medical records is so they can look for things to use against you–and ways they can weaken your injury case. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been called and told me the at-fault driver’s insurance adjuster is telling an injury victim that–they should have been healed by now–and they weren’t really hurt that bad in the car accident. Don’t fall for this tactic. Your doctor is the expert on the severity of your injury and how much treatment you need to recover.

My advice to you is that if an insurance adjuster calls you requesting you to sign anything, tell them to mail you the form and you’ll be happy to review it with your attorney.

Or better yet order my free book to Washington residents ”The Guide to Washington Injury Cases” by clicking here. The book will give you some good information about the whole car accident injury claim process before you speak with that pushy insurance adjuster.

This post continues my series with answers to frequently asked questions about Washington car accident claims.

Q: I have been involved in a Seattle car accident and the medical bills are mounting. The insurance company for the driver who hit me says they will pay my medical bills and give me a “little something” for pain and suffering. They have asked me to sign a release. Should I take them up on their offer?

No, especially if you are still under the care of the physician. Once you settle with the insurance company, that will be the end of your claim, even if your injury gets worse. Your medical bills will not be paid by the driver of the car that hit you as they are incurred. The other driver’s insurance company will only agree to pay your medical bills in exchange for a release of all claims, which ends any further payments of your medical bills or otherwise.

There may be other sources available to pay your medical bills while your claim is pending. You may have Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance on your own car insurance, which is specifically designed for paying your medical bills in a car accident regardless of whose fault the accident was. My previous post on PIP insurance (click here) explains this insurance more fully. Another source is your health insurance. Your health insurance will pay for your medical bills from your car accident. If you have either PIP or Health insurance these are the people you need to contact to get your medical bills paid while your actively treating your car accident injuries.

I often hear people say “Why should my insurance pay when the accident was the other guy’s fault? I don’t want my rates to go up.” Don’t fall into this trap. You purchased PIP and health insurance for the very purpose you are now facing after suffering injuries in a car accident. I can’t say for absolute sure, but in my experience I have not seen any of my client’s car insurance rates increase for making a PIP claim. The reason being is they are entitled to be repaid down the road when you do settle your case.

Both PIP and health insurance companies have a repayment right called a “subrogation interest” against your accident claim. If you hire an injury attorney to handle your car accident case he will negotiate and handle this repayment for you. If you don’t have an attorney, the insurance companies generally talk to each other and work out repayment between themselves. All you generally need to do is give the PIP adjuster or health insurance person the name, address, and phone number of the at fault driver’s insurance adjuster. I know this can sound complicated, but you can handle it with some patience and asking a few questions, or you can hire an attorney to take care of these details for you. 

An experienced personal injury attorney will be able to help you understand your rights. My advice to you is that if an insurance adjuster calls you requesting you to sign anything, tell them to mail you the release and you’ll be happy to review it with your attorney.

Or better yet order my free book for Washington residents ”The Guide to Washington Injury Cases” by clicking here. The book will give you some good information about the whole Washington car accident injury claim process before you speak with that pushy insurance adjuster.

This post continues my series with answers to frequently asked questions about Washington car accident claims.

Q: A friend was in a car accident and broke his leg. He got a lot of money. Will my case be worth as much as his?

Each Washington car accident case is different. Each injury affects a person differently. Even if you both broke the same bone, your pain tolerance might be different. You might need surgery to correct the problem, whereas your friend didn’t. Your friend might be a football player for the Seattle Seahawks, and as a professional athlete his broken bone means he lost months of work. Your situation is probably different.

It’s important to know how your injury has affected your daily life. Has it impaired your ability to do your daily tasks like tying your shoelaces, taking a shower, making breakfast, going to the bathroom, holding groceries and similar activities?

If you were to ask me when you should try to resolve your injury claim, like nearly every one of my clients asks when they hire me, my recommendation is that you shouldn’t begin the process of trying to resolve your injury claim with the insurance company until you have fully healed and recovered from all of your injuries, or your injuries have reach a point of maximum improvement and will not likely get any better in the future. Once you’ve reach this point, the value of your case is based upon all of your damages. So if your broken leg injury was so severe that you now will walk with a limp for the rest of your life, well that has more value than if your leg healed without any permanent limp. This is just one example of the kinds of factors that go into establishing a value of your Washington car accident injury case.

Since everyone is different, and injuries affect each person differently, the value for each case is different. I can tell is this, if the insurance company calls you right after the car accident and offers $500 to settle your broken leg injury claim, $500 is nowhere close to the true value of your case.

Anyone who suffers a serious injury in a car or other vehicle accident should get the advice of an experienced Washington injury attorney as soon as possible. Or better yet, order my free book for Washington residents “The Guide to Washington Injury Cases.” The book has good quality information for you to use before speaking with an insurance adjuster or meeting with an attorney for a “free consultation.”

As a Kirkland injury accident attorney I handle many cases involving very serious injuries. I am frequently asked questions by clients and family members about issues common in many injury accidents. I want to provide you with some good information and tips about serious injury cases in Washington, so I’ve decided to do a series of blogs on the frequently asked questions I get about injury accidents in Washington.

Q:   If an insurance adjuster calls me after my accident to ask me questions, can I talk to her?

Of course you can, but I don’t recommend it following a serious accident. The insurance adjuster is calling to get you to make statements (usually in a recorded call) about the events leading up to and including the accident. They will also ask you about your injuries and whether you went to a hospital or a doctor following the accident. They will ask how you’re doing and if you missed work. She will be looking for ways to limit your claim based on your answers.

The inherent problem with talking to an adjuster following a serious accident is that they’re probing and trying to make a record of your statement. They can then use it against you at a later time should you bring a lawsuit against the driver or owner of the other car involved in your accident. They will also use it against you even if you don’t have an attorney, they will often try to make you feel guilty for not have recovered from your injuries quickly enough or that you’re going to the doctor too much. Don’t fall for the insurance companies deceptive tactics.

If an insurance adjuster calls to talk to you, tell them you’ll be happy to speak to them, after you speak with your attorney. Or better yet order my free book “The Guide to Washington Injury Cases” by clicking here. My special report will give you some good information about handling injury accident claims before you speak with that willy insurance adjuster.

While walking home from work I stopped at a crosswalk before crossing the street. The way was clear so I started walking across the street when a car suddenly turned right in front of me and ran over my right foot. As a result my foot was broken and now I have permanent nerve damage that makes it so the bottom of my foot under my toes is always numb. This is the story of one of my client’s told during our first meeting, let’s call him Bruno.

Bruno was lucky that the car that ran over his foot had Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance, which pays for the medical bills of pedestrians injured in a Washington car accident. In most cases PIP pays for your injuries that you suffer when in a car accident. Only those in your car are covered. But when you hit a pedestrian your PIP insurance also pays for the pedestrians medical bills.

Washington voters recently approved R-67 (aka Fair Insurance Conduct Act), which is a new law aimed at holding insurance companies accountable for their bad faith practices in handling PIP claims. The Fair Insurance Conduct Act took effect December 6, 2007.  Bruno has had first hand experience with the insurance company handling his PIP claim wrongfully.

In Bruno’s case the PIP insurance adjuster is only paying a portion of each bill submitted by some of Bruno’s doctors. Washington law does not allow this kind of off the top discounting on the opinion of an insurance adjuster. When this happens a bad faith claim arises against the insurance company. The Fair Insurance Conduct Act established an advance notice procedure prior to filing a lawsuit to collect the PIP insurance benefits owed. Notice is sent to the insurance company and Office of the Insurance Commissioner for Washington (OIC) 20-days before a lawsuit is to be filed, giving the insurance company one last opportunity to resolve the dispute.

During the battle over R-67 the insurance industry claimed PIP bad faith was not a big problem. It appears as usual the insurance companies were lying to us consumers. There were about 56 notices sent to the OIC from Dec. 6 to Dec. 31, and about 11 more in the first week of January. Prior to the new law taking effect from May 2007 to the end of November 2007 there were about 78 consumer notices of bad faith conduct by insurance companies.

That’s a lot of lawsuits that are about to be filed against insurance companies because they’re treating their own customers wrongfully. If you are dealing with a PIP claim and the insurance company is refusing to pay your medical bills, it’s important that you speak with an attorney experienced in handling Washington injury cases. You paid for the PIP insurance and it should be available when you need it after a car accident.

In Washington during the height of winter the hours of daylight are few. Many people go to work in the dark and return home in the dark, never to see the light of day during the work week. Welcome to a Pacific Northwest winter! Add in a constant layer of grey clouds and a trip to sunny Zihuatanejo, Mexico and an ice cold Del Sol sure sounds appealing. Okay enough day dreaming, back to my point.

The streets of any city in Washington can be a dangerous place to be walking with all those dark winter days. According to today’s Seattle PI in the past three years, 23 people have been killed by vehicles while walking in Seattle, as reported by the City of Seattle. Another 1,500 more people were hit by cars or trucks, often suffering devastating brain or back injuries that permanently changed their lives. November, December and January are the most dangerous months for Seattle pedestrians with an average of 54 pedestrians being hit per month in Seattle pedestrian v. car accidents. Last month (December 2007), 55 pedestrians were hit by vehicles and two died according to the Seattle Department of Transportation.

I live and work in Kirkland, Washington.  The City of Kirkland has installed buckets of bright flags near busy intersections for pedestrians to wave as they cross, added flashes lights embedded in the roadway, and added median strips on wide streets that have traffic going in both directions to help slower walkers safely cross. All of these things improve pedestrian safety. Encourage your city to consider these types of safty enhancements. Pedestrian should always remember to cross the street in a marked cross whenever possible.

When there is a collision between a pedestrian and car, Seattle is one of the few cities that can charge the driver with assault under its criminal laws (Seattle Municipal Code 12A.06.010). The Seattle law provides for stiffer penalties for drivers who hit pedestrians. The State of Washington should follow Seattle and enacted a statewide criminal law that allows drivers in car v. pedestrian accidents to be charged with assault and suffer greater penalties.

When a Washington pedestrian accident occurs the injuries are more often than not very serious. The injured pedestrian often has to deal with life changing effects as does and his/her family. Serious injury claims or wrongful death claims often following Seattle pedestrian v. car accidents.

Please take extra care this time of year in your daily commute and keep an eye out for pedestrians.

Attorney Jonathan Stein author of the California Personal Injury and Insurance Blog has an interesting recent post about Allstate. It appears that Allstate thinks a Missouri judge and the Missouri Supreme Court do not know what the law is. This seems to be Allstate’s position in a bad faith case in Missouri. The bad faith case arises from a rear-end car accident that an Allstate customer caused and Allstate refused to pay the claims its customer owed for years. 

According to Joe Lambe of the Kansis City Star Allstate was ordered in September to turn over documents that plaintiff’s attorneys allege may show that in the 1990’s Allstate set up a claims payment systems that short changed clients while earning Allstate huge profits. The MO judge set the fine for Allstae’s refusal to produce the documents at $25,000 per day. In November the MO Supreme Court agreed with the judge, yet Allstate continues to refuse to produce the documents.

This is where it gets good. Allstate’s attorney told the MO judge that Allstate had a principled difference they’re “not able to resolve until somebody says what the law is.” Everyone generally knows it’s the courts who tell us what the laws is. The courts decide what the law is and we follow what it says, it’s that simple.  Allstate’s attorney then told the judge Allstate would not turn over the 12,500 documents without protective order sealing the records from public view. You have to wonder what is Allstate fighting so hard to hide?

The judge in response told Allstate he had told them what the law was. But Allstate seems to have decided the judge was wrong, the Mo Supreme Court is wrong, and the law doesn’t apply to them. Apparently, Allstate lives by some other set of laws that only apply to them. 

As Jonathan Stein said in his post Allstate is fighting awfully hard to keep these documents secret and I’ll bet that if made public they would strike a might blow to Allstate and its image of “good hands.” We’ll have to see how this turns out.

One of my goals in this blog is to help those of you handling your own injury claim. I found a great blog post by attorney Jonathan Stein at the California Personal Injury & Insurance Blog about the various levels of insurance adjusters that may shuffle through your case. Here is his post:

Their is a hierarchy of adjusters. It goes something like this:

Step 1:         When you first report a claim, if the report comes in as property damage only and it is a clear liability case, the claim is assigned to a fast-track adjuster. These people handle claims quickly, but do not deal with injuries or arguments about fault. Some insurance companies, if not most these days, use these people to deal with any non-injury claim.

 

Step 2:          Your claim involves clear liability (in other words, everyone agrees that the guy who hit the parked car is at fault) and an injury, then you get into an adjuster who handles injury claims. But, as you probably figured, there is a catch. Call them step 2A and step 2B.

              Step 2a:  2a involves clear liability claims with subjective injuries. In other words, soft tissue type claims like whiplash. There is one type of an adjuster for these cases, usually someone promoted from step 1.

              Step 2b: 2b involves clear liability claims with objective injuries. In other words, someone has a broken bone. This is usually a promotion from 2a.

 

Step 3:          Step 3 involves disputed liability claims with an injury. At this point, most insurance companies do not break claims down into subjective and objective. Disputed liability with an injury usually ends up here.

 

Step 4:          Attorney represented claims. Up until now, steps 1 through 3, the claims involved people trying to do it themselves. Once you get an attorney, you move to step 4. And you are lucky. Seriously. These are better quality adjusters with more experience who understand the system. They try to resolve most cases without lawsuits being filed.

 

Step 5:          Litigation adjusters. These are the adjusters who take step 4 claims after a lawsuit has been filed. Usually, they are the most experienced adjusters and understand how to resolve cases, and what a case is truly worth. These are, in my experience, the best adjusters.

 

Now, is this true for every insurance company? Of course not. But, it is true often enough. Now you will at least have some idea who you are dealing with and why you may be passed around like a hot potato.

In Washington the same type of adjuster switching occurs. Please remember that the insurance adjusters at all levels are trained how to speak to you and how to use your words against you. Don’t give that records statement or sign anything until you have ordered my FREE book – The Guide To Washington Injury Cases and get the basic info you need before speaking with any insurance adjuster.