car crash

Car Crash Checklist – Store in your Glovebox

Posted on Tuesday, August 11th, 2020 at 6:00 am    

Nobody wants to think about being in a car wreck, but being prepared is important.

This step-by-step checklist is an essential guide to make sure nothing is left out of the process should the worst happen on your commute.

Print it off and store it in your glovebox, send it to your family members, save it to your phone. And drive safely!

TOP 8 THINGS TO DO IF YOU'VE BEEN IN A CAR WRECK INFOGRAPHIC (3)

Top 8 Things NOT to Do If You’ve Been in a Car Wreck

Posted on Wednesday, July 1st, 2020 at 11:09 pm    

1. Agree not to call the Police and just handle it yourselves. 

It is important to call the Police so that you have a police report and independent verification that the wreck occurred.  You also need to exchange insurance and contact information with the other driver.  If the other driver promises to pay for the repairs to your car in exchange for you not calling the police or reporting it to their insurance company, chances are, you will never hear from the other driver again and you will have no recourse to force that person to pay for the repairs.  If the police refuse to come to the scene of the collision, at the very least, get the insurance and contact information from the other driver including their insurance agent’s name and phone number and policy number.

2. Admit fault. 

Do not, under any circumstances, admit fault or say anything like “I’m sorry, it is all my fault.” “Fault” is a legal conclusion and you are not qualified to determine whether it is or is not your fault.  That is a matter for the insurance companies and, if necessary, lawyers and the legal system, to determine.  If you make an admission of fault at the scene of the wreck, or even later to an insurance company adjuster, you may be harming your legal rights.

3. Say you aren’t injured. 

Quite often, at the scene of a wreck, most people are too shaken up to know if they have been injured or to know exactly what parts of their bodies have been injured.  It is only later, after their bodies have had a chance to rest, that the full effect of the collision and any injuries begin to manifest themselves.  If you tell the police or the other driver that you aren’t injured, and then you discover later that you are injured, it is very likely that the insurance companies (and later a jury) will not believe you and may think that you are lying.  It is better not to say anything and just wait to see how your body is feeling in the hours and days after the collision and to get a thorough exam from your family doctor to see if you have been injured.

4. Fail to take photos of the damage to the cars. 

The scene of the wreck is your one chance to take pictures of the other driver’s car. If your car is towed from the scene, it may be the only chance for you to photograph your car.  If the other driver gives you fraudulent information and you don’t take a photo of their license plate, chances are that you will never find them again.  Make sure to take as many photos from as many angles as possible and download them onto your computer for safekeeping in case something happens to your cell phone.

5. Talk to the other driver’s insurance company. 

Regardless of what the other driver’s insurance company tells you, you have NO obligation to talk to them and it will only hurt your case if you do.  If you talk to them, they will want to take a statement from you.  That statement will become a permanent part of your file and WILL hurt your case, even if you hire a lawyer later.  Insurance companies are smarter than you.  There isn’t anything you can do that they haven’t already thought of and you don’t have the ability to effectively advocate for yourself.

6. Fail to promptly seek medical treatment. 

If you are injured, you need to see your family doctor promptly and follow your doctor’s treatment plan. If you wait to seek treatment or don’t follow your doctor’s advice and have gaps in treatment, the insurance company and the jury will conclude that you weren’t injured at all and that you are making a fraudulent claim.

7. Post about the wreck on Facebook. 

Anything you say and do on Facebook can and will be held against you. Insurance companies and their lawyers look on Facebook for people who have been in wrecks to see if they are posting about their wrecks and to see what they have posted in the past.  If you post something there, they will know about it.  Even if you think your page is “locked down” and your privacy filters are secure, they can subpoena your account and make Facebook or you turn over your account and see what you posted.  They can find the posts where you joked about getting a lot of money because you were in a wreck, or where you posted photos about bungee jumping just a few weeks after being in a wreck, or where you listed that your motto is “I can’t drive 55.”  Be smart and don’t post anything at all that could harm your case!

8. Wait a long time before hiring an attorney. 

The sooner you hire an attorney, the better. We can keep you from making these mistakes and more.  Too often, people with legitimate claims lose their ability to obtain fair compensation because they wait too long to get an attorney.  Don’t let this happen to you.  Call Nelson Boyd at (206) 971-7601 today.  We have nearly 50 years of experience representing people who have been injured, fighting insurance companies, and obtaining justice for our clients.  We understand what you are going through and we can help you.

 


Top 8 Things to Do if You are in a Car Wreck

Posted on Tuesday, June 30th, 2020 at 10:59 pm    

Two-car_collision_in_the_USA

1. Call the Police.

It is important to have the police prepare a report, document the scene, issue citations, and collect evidence.  If you are injured, be sure to tell the police.  If you are unsure whether you are injured, do NOT tell the police that you are uninjured since injuries often may not be apparent until several hours, or even days, after the wreck.

2. Get the other driver’s insurance information.

Get the name of the insurance company, the name and phone number of the agent, the policy number, and the dates when the insurance coverage is in effect.  Do NOT call the other driver’s insurance company before you talk to a lawyer!

3. Take photos of the damage to the cars.

Take as many photos as possible on your cell phone, from several angles. Be sure to take a photo of the other driver’s license plate!  Take photos of the damage to your car too, this is especially important if your car is being towed away.  Download these photos to your computer as soon as possible for safe keeping, in case something happens to your phone.

4. Get the complete contact information for all witnesses.

Get their complete names, home addresses, email addresses, work, home, and cell phone numbers. Get their business cards, if possible.  Do NOT rely on the police to get this information for you or rely on the witnesses to contact you later with this information.  It is also helpful to find out what each witness saw or where they were and make a note of that.

5. Write down as much detail as possible about how the wreck happened.

While you are at the scene waiting for the police to arrive, or when you get home, write down as much as you remember about how the wreck occurred, and how you are feeling.

6. Call your insurance company.

Call YOUR insurance company and report that you were in a wreck.  Ask them if you have Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance.  If the other driver did not have insurance, ask if you have “uninsured motorist” coverage.  If they want to take your statement, tell them that you would like to wait a few days, until you are feeling better.  Be sure to talk to a lawyer before you give a statement.  DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES talk to the insurance company for the other driver.  Regardless of what they tell you, you have NO obligation to talk to them and it will only hurt your case if you do.

7. See your family doctor as soon as possible.

If you are seriously hurt, go to the emergency room via ambulance. If you are not seriously hurt, go to your family doctor within 24 hours, 48 hours at the very latest. It is important to have your doctor examine you thoroughly to check you for injuries. A chiropractor, physical therapist, or massage therapist is not a good substitute for an M.D. for purposes of determining whether you are injured or for documenting your injuries for purposes of your case.

8. Call Nelson Boyd at (206) 971-7601.

We have over 65 years of legal experience representing people who have been injured, fighting insurance companies, and obtaining justice for our clients. We understand what you are going through and we can help you.


Why You Always Need Update Your Lawyer If You See A New Health Care Provider

Posted on Wednesday, February 22nd, 2017 at 9:00 am    

Getting medical treatment after a being injured is a difficult and often annoying experience.  There are so many options: MDs, DOs, DCs, Naturopaths, LMTs, LACs, etc. You’ll probably find yourself thinking “Who should I call? Will it work? I just want to get better!” Every person is unique, so the medical treatment required for each person is unique, as well. The same collision may simply require some chiropractic treatment and massages for one person while requiring another to undergo surgery and physical therapy. No matter where you receive your medical care, ALWAYS KEEP YOUR LAWYER INFORMED!

It’s important to keep your lawyer up-to-date for a variety of reasons. Sometimes the healthcare provider (doctor, chiropractor, etc.) has a bad reputation. They may not be particularly good at what they do or they are perceived to be unethical by encouraging excessive treatment. An insurance company will balk (and you may get saddled with an excess bill) if you get 50 chiropractic treatments for an injury that most chiropractors would be able to treat with 10 – 15 visits. In other circumstances, the medical treatment being provided may not get you fully healed. For example, if you are feeling numbness or tingling pain after 2 months of chiropractic visits and massages, it may be time to refer you to a specialist.

We will need to obtain copies of your medical bills and records in order to prove your claim. To do this, we will need a complete list of all the places where you obtained injury-related medical treatment. It is also important for us to have a complete list so that we can double check and make sure that all of your medical bills have been paid, especially if an insurance company is responsible for paying those bills.

Making your way through the maze of insurance companies, healthcare providers, and medical bills can be confusing and frustrating and you likely have no experience dealing with this. We don’t expect you to know how to handle it or to go it alone. This is where we come in. We have decades of experience in helping injured people and fighting insurance companies.  We can help you find the right healthcare providers to treat your injuries and we can work with the insurance companies and healthcare providers to get their bills paid.

If you have been injured as the result of someone else’s actions, call Nelson Boyd today at (206) 971-7601.  We Care.  We Can Help.

 


Fact or Fiction: The insurance company needs my medical records ASAP!

Posted on Friday, February 17th, 2017 at 6:05 pm    

Within in a day or two of being in a car wreck, you will receive phone calls from a variety of insurance adjusters.  Some may be from your insurance company.  Others may want to talk to you about fixing your cars.  Others may say they want to help you with your medical bills.  At some point, at least one of them will ask you to sign a document allowing the insurance company to get copies of your medical records.  Don’t do it!

If you don’t already have a lawyer representing you, get one now.  You can’t possibly know what your obligations or rights are without having an experienced lawyer representing you.  If the insurance company asking for your medical records is YOUR insurance company, you may have to comply with the request.  Or maybe not.  If the insurance company asking for your medical records is NOT your insurance company, you do NOT have to agree to allow them access to your records.

The adjuster may claim that you are required to provide your medical records and threaten that they will “close your claim” if you don’t.  This isn’t true at all.  Ask yourself: (a) what do you want; and (b) what does the insurance company want?

You probably want someone to fix your car and pay your medical bills.  If the wreck wasn’t your fault, that’s a reasonable expectation.  The insurance company, on the other hand, wants to avoid paying you any money – or much money.  Everything the insurance company does after you are in a wreck is designed to pay you as little money as possible.  Never forget that.  An insurance company is not in the business of being “fair,” “reasonable,” or “caring about you.”  An insurance company is in the business of making money.

If an insurance company gets a copy of your medical records, it will be able to see all of the medical conditions you’ve suffered from, regardless of how embarrassing, personal, or unrelated to the collision.  The insurance company will use your medical records against you to say that you weren’t really injured in the wreck or that you suffered from the same conditions before the wreck.

There may be times during the course of your claim or lawsuit when you are required to turn over medical records, but you need to allow your attorney to decide which records need to be disclosed and when.  Allowing an insurance company access to your medical records before you hire an attorney is always a bad idea.  Don’t do it!

If you have been injured as a result of someone else’s actions, call Nelson Boyd today at (206) 971-7601.  We Care.  We Can Help.


What Your Lawyer Wishes You Knew: Your Prior Injuries Matter

Posted on Friday, January 13th, 2017 at 3:30 pm    

Xray Broken Bone

Your Prior Injuries Matter

People sometimes assume that things that happened to them before they were injured don’t matter. For example, why would anyone care if you had been in a car wreck five years ago or had surgery on your knee after a skiing accident three year ago? The fact is that these things matter. And they might matter a lot, depending on your case.

When you are injured as a result of someone else’s carelessness, that other person (or their insurance company) are required to pay you for:

  1. the injuries they cause
  2. prior medical conditions that they worsen
  3. dormant medical conditions that only started bothering you after this injury.

As personal injury lawyers, we are required to prove your case. We must prove that the other person’s conduct was wrong and we must prove how you were harmed as a result of that conduct. If you had suffered any prior injuries to your body in the areas where you were injured this time, we need to determine what those prior injuries were, how well you had recovered from them, and how badly your body was re-injured. This isn’t an exact science; it requires a great deal of work to be able to properly prove these harms.

If you suffer injuries to a part of your body that had been injured before, it is important that you tell your lawyer about this. It is also best for you to return to your original physician to have them take a look at your new injuries. They are in the best position to know how badly you have been re-injured. It’s all about comparing your physical condition “before” and “after” the incident.

If you’re in need of a lawyer, call Nelson Boyd at 206-971-7601.


What Your Lawyer Wishes You Knew: There Are No “Slam Dunks”

Posted on Thursday, December 29th, 2016 at 11:00 am    

Slam Dunk

There Are No “Slam Dunks”

Sometimes, people call us and say their legal case is a “slam dunk” and that it will be really easy. That is very rarely the case. In fact, nearly every case has at least one or two factors that make it complicated.

The law itself is complicated and there are often problems regarding:

  • insurance coverage
  • reimbursement requirements
  • joint and several liability
  • pre-existing medical conditions
  • liability concerns
  • causation problems

Cases require experience, strategy, and planning in order to bring them to justice. Unless you have practiced this type of law yourself in our jurisdiction, you can’t know everything that can come into play – and we don’t expect you to.

Instead, you need an experienced attorney who knows how to litigate personal injury and insurance cases. You need someone who can analyze all the legal issues – both the ones that you can see and those you can’t. You need someone who knows how to prepare a case properly and who will marshal their legal experience and knowledge for your benefit. This takes time. There generally isn’t a uniform solution to every case. Your case is just as unique as you are.

When shopping for a lawyer, instead of assuming that your case is a “slam dunk” and it will be easy, interview the lawyer you may select. Find out how they view the case, what their experience is with cases like yours, and how they plan to handle your case to obtain justice for you.

If you’re in need of a lawyer, call Nelson Boyd at 206-971-7601.


What Happens If The Car That Hit You Doesn’t Have Enough Insurance?

Posted on Thursday, March 31st, 2016 at 4:59 pm    

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The unexpected happens – you get hit by a car.  Fortunately, you live to tell about it, but then you find out that the person who hit you doesn’t have any (or enough) car insurance and no personal assets you can collect.  What happens next?  Well, that all depends on what you did to protect yourself.

All drivers in Washington are required to have liability insurance to protect people they may injure.  However, according to a study published by the Insurance Research Council in 2011, 16% of Washington drivers do not carry liability insurance, making Washington the 10th highest uninsured rate in the nation.  The national average of uninsured drivers is “just” 13.8%.

Even if drivers follow the law and purchase liability insurance, they are only required to purchase $25,000 worth of insurance.  This means that there is only $25,000 in insurance coverage to pay your medical bills, wage loss, and compensate you for your pain and suffering.  To make matters worse, insurance policies generally provide $25,000 per person up to a maximum of $50,000 per collision.    This means that, if the driver injures more than 2 people in one collision, only a total of $50,000 exists to compensate all the people who were injured, regardless of the severity of the injuries.

So – how do you protect yourself and your family, if the person who hit you has either no insurance or not enough (and no personal assets to collect)?  The answer is easy – purchase UIM insurance (known as uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance).

These are the top 10 important features of UIM insurance:

  1. It provides insurance coverage if the negligent driver who hit you does not have any
  1. It provides insurance coverage if the negligent driver who hit you does not have enough
  1. It provides insurance coverage if your car is hit by another car driven by a negligent driver.
  1. It provides insurance coverage if you are hit by a negligent driver while riding a bike.
  1. It provides insurance coverage if you are hit by a negligent driver while walking.
  1. It provides insurance coverage if you are a passenger in a car driven by a negligent driver who causes the wreck and who doesn’t have any or enough insurance (provided that you did not participate in, cause, or know about the negligence).
  1. It does not cause your insurance premiums to increase as a result of the claim.
  1. It does not cause your insurance to be cancelled as a result of the wreck.
  1. You may be able to resolve the insurance claim against your insurance company via the quicker and less expensive method of arbitration, instead of trial.
  1. Your insurance company owes you certain duties in resolving your claim and must treat you fairly (the insurance company for the driver who caused the collision has no such obligation).

Some people think it isn’t “fair” to have to use their own insurance or they worry about filing a claim against their own insurance company.  Why?  UIM insurance is a product, just like all of the other things you buy, and it is there to be used if you need it.  If you bought an umbrella to keep the rain off your head, would you feel badly about opening the umbrella in your hand if a rain shower passed over your head?  Would you think it was “unfair” to have to use your own umbrella?  Of course not.

Although all drivers are required to purchase liability insurance, it is simply unwise to ignore the fact that many don’t.  Instead, take personal responsibility for yourself and your family and purchase UIM insurance.  It is inexpensive and the benefits it provides are invaluable.  How much should you purchase?  As much as you can afford, but in no case should you purchase less than $100,000.

The attorneys at Nelson Boyd have over 50 years of combined legal experience in representing injured people and fighting insurance companies.  If you have been injured, if you have an insurance claim, or if you just have questions about insurance coverage, please contact us at (206) 971-7601Nelson Boyd – We Care.  We Can Help.  www.nelsonboydlaw.com