Utah Personal Injury Attorney Question: What is a “Demand”?

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At McMullin Injury Law all of the work we do focuses on personal injury law.  Ultimately the goal of any personal injury case is to come to a fair and reasonable settlement—an amount of money that will compensate one party for injuries caused by the negligence of another party or parties.  We wish we could tell you that coming to a settlement were as easy as making a phone call to the liability adjuster and coming to an agreement over the phone.  The truth, however, is that the process of reaching a fair settlement requires meticulous documentation of everything that happens after an accident.  And that is where we are able to help someone who has been involved in an accident because we work with injured parties and liability adjusters every day to resolve personal injury cases.

For each client with whom we work, we submit a document known industry-wide as a “Demand” to the insurance company of the at-fault party.  The Demand is sometimes referred to as a “Settlement Offer.”  That is, it is a document in which the claimant (our client) offers to settle this case for the proposed amount of money.  Every Demand we submit is written for that particular client.  For that reason, some Demands have pertinent information for that specific case which we don’t have room to describe here, but every Demand includes documentation of the following:  an explanation of the facts of the accident, an itemization of all of the special damages, documentation of the pain and suffering our client experienced, and an offer of settlement.

The facts of the accident are clearly explained in a Demand.  If a police report was generated, we include it along with any relevant photographs.  Included in the facts are a description of the date and time of day of the accident, the names of all parties involved, and a “play by play” of what happened.  This set of details is provided in all accident scenarios including dog bites, slip and fall cases, Worker’s Compensation cases (where needed) and car accidents.  Essentially we lay out our clients’ cases from the very beginning so all the details are included.

We include an itemization of all of the medical bills to the liability adjuster. If you’ve been injured, you understand that there are multiple medical bills from many providers like the ambulance, the hospital where you were taken (not all people go to the hospital), doctors, physical therapists, radiologists, chiropractors, and other providers.  We collect all of the bills from all of the providers and present the total sum to the insurance company.  This comprises a list of “special damages,” or damages that in legal terms can be “specially proven” with a bill or a receipt.

We factor in our clients’ pain and suffering and a corresponding settlement amount to the liability adjuster as well.  Understandably, it is impossible to attach a dollar amount on anyone’s level of suffering, but we include a reasonable amount with justification why we seek that amount.

The “Offer of Settlement” is the amount of money that is being proposed to settle a case. Think of it as our client essentially saying, “I offer to settle this case for this amount of money.”  The settlement offer included in the Demand is derived not only based on your injuries and medical bills but also after we research what amounts have been awarded for similar types of cases both in and out of court.  We are prepared to negotiate on behalf of our clients when necessary.  It is important for you to know that we do not work for the insurance companies.  We work for our clients, and represent their interests. 

We do not send a “one size fits all” Demand when settling our clients’ cases.  While each Demand includes a description of the facts of the accident, a detailed description of that specific client’s medical treatment, an itemization of the medical bills as well as an explanation of the amount demanded for pain and suffering, we include pertinent information that is relevant only to that case.  Sometimes that includes a legal theory of liability.  Sometimes we cite relevant statutes that apply in that situation.  A great deal of time and attention is given to each Demand.

At our office we are skilled at documenting facts of an accident, understanding the law and applicable statutes as they pertain to specific accidents, and presenting a Demand to the liability insurance company so that your case can get settled.  If you or someone you know has been involved in any kind of a personal injury accident, contact our office at (435) 673-9990 for a free consultation.  We can show you your options and answer your questions.

At McMullin Injury Law, we are…In Your Community and On Your Side.

After a Utah Car Accident: The Value of a Police Report

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Let’s say that you’re driving to an appointment down a busy surface street and for a reason unknown to you, traffic comes to a stop.  While you’re waiting for the cars to begin moving again, the driver of the vehicle behind yours notices the slowdown a little too late and screeches to a halt.  Unfortunately, despite the fact that he slammed on his brakes, he still ends up rear-ending your car although the damage is, in your estimation, not too bad.  Owing to the backup in traffic, the fact that you’re in a hurry, and that the damage appears to be minimal, should you call the police?

The answer is yes, you should call the police despite thinking you shouldn’t.  The “minimal damage” scenario is the most common reason we hear when we learn that the police weren’t called to the scene of an accident.  Basically, people don’t call the police because they think that their accident is not worth the officers’ time.  We respectfully disagree.  Calling the police to the scene of the accident will help you later because the report that is generated lists all of the parties involved, verifies insurance coverage, describes the accident conditions, and often designates the at-fault driver(s).

Who was involved?  A police report is a document where all of the information about an accident is recorded.  The investigating officer(s) will gather the names, ages, and contact information of each person—including passengers—involved in the crash.  If witnesses are around, they may be interviewed and often are asked to fill out a separate witness statement wherein they write what they observed.

Obtaining verification of driver license and insurance coverage is another reason to call the police.  As the officer gets the names and contact information of each of the involved parties, he or she also verifies that each driver has a valid driver license and the required automobile insurance.  If the investigation reveals that someone’s license is not valid or a vehicle is not properly insured, appropriate action and penalties are initiated by the officer.  The license plate and Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) of each involved car are also recorded in the report.

A description of accident conditions is yet another valuable result of having a police report.  Not only does the report give a description of the vehicles, but it also is the repository of specific facts about the accident.  For example, the police report includes documentation of weather and road conditions, road hazards, the date and time of day that the accident took place, the speed limit, and the estimated speed of the vehicles involved at the time of impact.  The report further has a place for a diagram of the accident scene.  The officer can manually draw out the scene and include a caption of the description of the accident below the diagram.  This description essentially becomes a synopsis of the events leading up to the crash; it also shows a diagram of where the vehicles involved came to rest after impact.  Sometimes photographs are taken by the officer at the scene and those, too, are included in the police report.

Who was the at-fault party?  Most of the time the police report description assigns fault to a specific party or parties.  If specific traffic laws were violated, they are listed and a description is given as to who was cited or given a ticket for causing an accident.  These valuable details are considered by insurance adjusters when determining liability.

 We recommend that you get a copy of the police report after an accident and keep it for your records.  It is usually available from the police or highway patrol department five to seven days after an accident.  You will be charged a small fee for the copy.

If you or someone you know was involved in a vehicle accident and needs help obtaining a copy of the police report, contact our office at (435) 673-9990 for a free consultation.  We are familiar with the importance of this document and can order one for our clients.

At McMullin Injury Law we are… In Your Community and On Your Side.

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Following Doctor’s Orders

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At our office we represent people who have been injured due to the negligence of another party and it’s our job to ensure that our clients receive the best possible settlement available.  Most of our clients have injuries that require medical treatments—sometimes for extended periods of time—and we emphasize that they must take an active role in their own care.   Because we are not doctors, we do not direct our clients’ medical treatments; we leave that to the medical professionals. If you have been injured, how do you take an active role in your medical care? The best way to do that is to follow the orders of the physician who is treating you.

Mitigating Damages  The law requires that if you have been injured as the result of someone else’s negligence, you must do all within your power to mitigate your damages.  Simply stated, that means that you must take all of the steps necessary to lessen, or make less severe the injuries that occurred because of the accident.  It is up to you to improve your physical condition and recover from your injuries to the best degree that you are able.   We always suggest to our clients that they do these two things:  Keep all doctor appointments and follow the treatment prescribed by the medical providers.

Attend All Your Appointments If your injuries from the accident require regular appointments with medical providers, it is critically important that you show up for all of those appointments.  Let’s take, for example, a car accident victim whose doctor prescribes physical therapy three times a week for two weeks.  If the patient keeps each physical therapy appointment, the physical therapist can observe improvements made over that period of time.  The results are reported back to the doctor who will then decide on the next appropriate level of care.  Let’s say, however, the patient only comes once per week for a total of two visits.  The treatment notes will indicate a “No Show” for the missed appointments or that he missed four out of six visits—2/3 of the physical therapy treatment prescribed by his physician.  Later, when it comes time to settle the client’s case, it is likely that the liability adjuster will read those physical therapy records and take into account that the patient didn’t mitigate his damages. That is, from the records, because it appears that the patient was not serious about recovering from his injuries, it’s likely that adjuster will take the hardline approach and reduce the settlement offer because the claimant didn’t follow through with the prescribed medical care.

It is important to keep all of your treatment appointments.  If you need to cancel a medical appointment, please give as much notice as possible and then re-schedule promptly.

Follow Prescribed Treatment   Over the years we have noticed that it is common for the treating physician to approach a patient’s care with a multi-faceted plan.  Often that plan includes prescribed medications, periodic follow-up visits, and hands-on care such as physical therapy.  Additionally, a doctor may sometimes recommend that an accident victim refrain from working for a period of time. If the patient (our client) does not follow the recommended treatment schedule, his or her case may be adversely affected.   In fact, failure to follow your doctor’s advice or prescribed treatment can be used against you when it comes time to settle your case. Further, this failure can also be used against you in court if your claim proceeds to litigation or a trial.

Contact Our Office  If you or someone you care about is receiving treatment for accident-related injuries, be sure to follow the prescribed regimen from your treating physician.  At McMullin Injury Law we are experienced in working with accident victims in helping them settle their cases.  Contact us at (435) 673-9990 for a free consultation.

At McMullin Injury Law we are… In Your Community and On Your Side.

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Three Reasons to Use Health Insurance to Pay Accident-Related Medical Bills

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At McMullin Injury Law, our focus is personal injury law and one of our goals is to educate our clients about the process of settling a personal injury claim.  To that end, we are happy to answer questions that you might have about your case.  One that we get asked often by new clients is, “If I didn’t cause the accident, why do my medical bills get sent to my health insurance company? We believe this insightful question warrants an in-depth answer.

Determining Options  If, for example, you have been injured in a car accident and we represent you, one of the first things we determine are the options available for paying the medical bills.  Every case is different, but usually accident-related medical bills can get paid using a combination of the following four options:  No Fault (PIP) benefits, your own health insurance, out-of-pocket payments made by you, and the liability insurance of the at-fault party.

Utah’s mandatory No Fault (Personal Injury Protection, or PIP) benefits currently provide a minimum of $3,000 per person in an accident.  Granted, that amount doesn’t go very far these days due to the high cost of medical treatment, but we look to No Fault coverage as the first option for our clients.  After the No Fault benefits have been used up, or exhausted, the client’s health insurance (if they have it) is the next available option for paying those medical bills.  Now to answer the question we started with:  If a person didn’t cause an accident, why are the medical bills paid by their own health insurance?  There are three main reasons:

  1.     When a medical provider’s office bills your health insurance, that provider can be paid throughout the course of treatment. Because you pay for the coverage, and the purpose of health insurance is to pay for medical treatment, it’s beneficial to use it.  While it is likely that you may have to pay a co-pay for each visit, that is far less expensive than paying out of your own pocket for each visit.  Most providers are willing to work with our clients if the treatment lasts over a period of months.
  2. If you get treatment from a provider who is in your insurance network, the charges will be lower due to the contractual writeoffs that the provider agrees to accept as payment in full.  Therefore, each visit will not be as expensive as if you had to pay out of pocket.
  3. When your case settles, a portion of your settlement will go to reimburse your health insurance because the company has the right to be repaid for the treatment you received because your accident was caused by someone else.  While not always the case, sometimes our office is often able to negotiate with the insurance company to accept a lower reimbursement amount.

These are the three main reasons that medical bills generated as the result of an accident are sent to your health insurance company.  If you don’t have health insurance, contact our office to learn about how we can work out other options with medical providers.

As mentioned above, the final two options involve out-of-pocket payments by our clients and, finally, settlements from the liability insurance company.  Because each person’s case is different, we work closely with you and the medical providers when these two options are used.

If you or someone you know has accident-related medical bills and have questions about how to get them paid using health insurance, contact our office at (435) 673-9990.  We have the experience and skills to work with health insurance companies.

At McMullin Injury Law we are… In Your Community and On Your Side.

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Picture This: The Value of an Accident Scene Photograph

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You’ve probably played the memory game where you look at a group of objects on a tray for a minute. When the tray is taken away, you are supposed to write down every object that you can remember.   If there are a substantial number of objects, it’s unusual if someone can remember and name all of them.

In a similar way, the details of a car accident can quickly be forgotten.  At our office, much of our work involves documenting the facts of accidents, and that is why we recommend taking pictures at the scene of an accident whenever possible. Photographs show elements that may have been overlooked, but could strengthen a client’s case.

Who uses the pictures from an accident?   Accident scene photos are used by insurance adjusters, investigating officers, attorneys, and accident reconstructionists.  For starters, property damage adjusters use photographs to keep a record of vehicle damage.  Liability adjusters often use photos to compare the amount of vehicular damage to the severity of injuries made by a claimant.

Sometimes investigating officers will take pictures at the scene of an accident.  When pictures are available, our office will order copies of those pictures from the police or highway patrol departments.  In addition, attorneys for all involved parties rely on photographs to help piece together the facts of an accident.

If the situation warrants, we use accident reconstructionists—trained professionals hired to answer questions usually about the mechanics or physics of an accident.  They also use photographs in their investigations and we supply them with any and all photographs to aid in the reconstruction process.

What are the uses of the photographs?  Pictures from an accident scene also reveal other factors that may have contributed to an accident. For example, they can show road conditions at the time of the accident.  Were the roads icy?  Wet? Dry? Pictures reveal weather conditions, too.  Was it raining or snowing?  Sunny or foggy?  Finally, pictures document the time of day.  Did the accident happen in the morning or night?  Was it broad daylight or dusk?

It’s important to take pictures at the scene especially if there are conditions that could change after the accident.  For example, road hazards such as potholes or debris may be remedied shortly after an accident so it is best to take pictures at the time, if possible. If you go back later, the scene may look different because the condition that may have contributed to the accident may have been fixed.

Keep a camera with you.  Although the law does not require that you take pictures of the scene of an accident, we recommend that you keep a camera with you when you travel.  We recognize that most people carry cell phones with built in cameras, but in the rare event that a person does not have a camera available, please come to our office to pick up your free Accident Survival Kit.  This compact vinyl case contains a disposable camera.  The kit is designed to fit in a glove box and will also hold your insurance documents so you can easily retrieve them when necessary.  It also includes a checklist of what to do after a crash.

If you’re involved in a car accident, take photographs of the scene, the vehicles, the roads, and any other factors that you think may be important.  It is so much easier to have a picture instead of having to remember details about an accident that can be easily forgotten.

Bring your photographs to our office.  If you or someone you know has been involved in a car accident, contact our office at (435) 673-9990 for a free consultation.  Bring your pictures, too.  Our expertise in personal injury law can help you get your questions answered and show you what options are available to you.

At McMullin Injury Law we are… In Your Community and On Your Side.