AUTO ACCIDENTS

Any motor vehicle accident is traumatic.  It is even worse when injuries occur.  The first priority is to make sure everyone is seen by a physician and properly treated for injuries.  Then you need to know some things in order to properly handle the settlement.

– Do not make statements to adjustors, investigators or even police about your injuries or about fault in the accident.  Honest people make quick and sometimes wrong assessments and later those words hurt your ability to recover damages. (Many people who are in shock at the time will tell the police that they are all right only to wake up the next morning with severe pain and stiffness.  They are not liars.  The body does work that way.)

– A ticket issued by police does not automatically guarantee that you will win nor does it automatically mean you will lose.  The standards of proof for traffic offenses and the standards of proof for civil actions are different.  And even a driver violating the law may not be the proximate cause of the accident.

– Be wary of insurance adjusters that offer quick checks.  While they often divide the case into property damage (rental car and fixing your car) and medical damages (lost wages, medical bills and perhaps pain and suffering), the way you settle one could affect the way the other is settled.

– Pick a serious law firm that is not just interested in trading paper and getting a quick settlement.  Make sure your lawyer is unafraid of going to trial. 

– Know that contingent fee arrangements mean that the lawyer may have a tendency to keep his or her contact with you to a minimum, often foisting it onto an assistant or paralegal.

– Go over damages before you give him the case.  You do not get-rich-quick in these cases. You receive compensation for your damages and for your pain and suffering.  Be wary of those that boost your expectations.

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE

If your treatment has been mishandled by a health care provider (a physician, a dentist, a hospital or others) you may have the right to sue for medical malpractice. 

Standard of Care.   Just because your treatment is not perfect does not mean that you can successfully sue your physician.  It must be clearly established that what he did was something that the industry agrees he should not have done it (or that he failed to do something that he should have done).  His negligence must violate the “applicable standard of care” for a similar health care provider.  Proving that is not automatic.

Expert Testimony. To prove any kind of malpractice case will require expert testimony as to the applicable standard of care under the circumstances.  Translation:  you must find another physician to testify that you were treated improperly. Of course you can expect that the doctor you are suing will also have an expert saying that what was done was correct.

Institutional Liability.  Under a legal doctrine a physician or a hospital may be responsible for the negligence of their employees depending on the facts and circumstances.  That means that if your nurse gives you the wrong medication or if an assistant is involved in mistreating you that the doctor or the hospital may well have to pay. 

Some Tips:

* If you have a problem with a physician you need to get a copy of your medical records early – before creating a dispute.  If your records then become lost or modified you have a copy to compare.

* An alternative to a civil suit is attempting to resolve the problem through the Medical Review Board. 

* Beware that the statutes of limitations may run from the date of the malpractice or the date that the health care provider stopped treating you even though you do not become aware of the malpractice until later.