I have been diagnosed with whiplash and tmj. Still suffering with painful tmj symptoms.
Question:
Not this Kind of Whiplash
I got into a car accident two months ago and got whiplash and tmj. still in pain medication and muscle relaxant. With PT exercises and chiro care. Does at fault insurance pays for all medical bills?
Answer:
You should contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in California.
This is the Whiplash we are Talking About
These are very common kinds of injuries that result fro a rear end collision. Only such a lawyer can help you obtain the compensation you deserve. You should be reimbursed for your medical expenses, be compensated for lost income and received money for your pain, suffering and inconvenience.
Make sure you can get the right kind of doctor
A PI lawyer can also oversee your treatment and make sure you are going to the right doctors. It is not unusual for injuries such as yours to progress to something more serious. If the PT and chiro care is not working after a few months, you should get an MRI and start treating with an orthopedic or pain management specialist. A PI lawyer can help you find those doctors and set you up to treat on lien basis.
Do not talk to the other party’s insurance company and more.
So you got in a car accident in California and you think the other driver may be at fault. Car accidents happen all the time in Los Angeles. Maybe you had a slip and fall at a supermarket like Vons or at a big box store like Walmart or Costco. You were injured and you think you might have a personal injury claim.
You know you can hire a personal injury lawyer but you believe you can represent yourself and make your own claim against an insurance company for your injuries. After all, a personal injury lawyer will end up taking one third or more of your money if your case is resolved in your favor. Do you really need a lawyer to make a personal injury claim? Of course you don’t. But you might be asking myself, “how do I know if I have a good personal injury case?” Here are the three things you need to have a good case.
PART ONE: FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
The first thing you need to consider is whether the party who caused the accident has the ability to pay, should you be successful in your case. In car accident cases, this almost always boils down to insurance. Did the other driver have insurance at the time of the accident? If yes, then there will be financial responsibility. If there is no insurance to cover the claim, you can still pursue your case but you need to understand you might be wasting your time. If the driver had no insurance, there is a good chance that driver will have no money or assets to satisfy any judgment you might obtain. What good is a large judgment if the only thing you can do with it is hang it on your wall?
In California, and especially Los Angeles, uninsured drivers are common. In fact, in 2012, 14.7% of all drivers were uninsured in California. If you are smart, you have your own insurance policy that covers uninsured drivers. This is called uninsured motorist or UM coverage. If you get in an accident with an uninsured driver, this UM coverage steps into the shoes of the other drivers nonexistent insurance and will cover your personal injury claim as if that driver had insurance. Because the accident was not your fault, your insurance rates will not go up even if your insurance pays your claim.
The next part of the financial responsibility analysis is to ascertain whether the other driver had enough insurance. If you have serious injuries, a $15,000 insurance policy is not going to do much for you. This is the minimum amount of insurance a driver is allowed to have in California. The flip side of this is that even without a personal injury lawyer, low insurance limits and serious injuries equals an easy case to settle for the full policy limits. One way around this limits problem is, again, your own insurance policy. If you have UM coverage, you likely also have UIM coverage, or under-insured motorists coverage. Just as with UM coverage, UIM coverage will step into the shoes of the other driver’s insurance policy to pay the amount in excess of his coverage that you have selected as the maximum limit.
If you suffered a slip and fall, the analysis is the same, i.e., look for insurance. If the accident was at a private residence, you can look for homeowners insurance to cover your personal injury claim. If the injury happed at a rental apartment, some tenants have renters insurance. You can also look to see if the landlord has insurance.
If your injury happed in a business, that business will commonly have some form of insurance like a commercial general liability policy. If the business is large enough, it will often be self insured. If that is the case, it will likely have a claims management department set up to process personal injury claims.
To sum up this part one about financial responsibility, if you are dealing with an individual who caused your personal injury, look for insurance and make sure there is enough of it. If not, check your own insurance. If you are dealing with a business, make sure it is insured or is large enough and successful enough so that it can afford to pay your personal injury claim. In parts two and three of this article, we will look at liability and damages.
Piering Law Firm by Rob Piering and John Beals, Sacramento.
Attorney for the Defendant:
Tiza Serrano Thompson & Associates by Gareth Umipeg, Sacramento.
The Experts
Plaintiff’s Medical Experts:
Thomas Revesz, M.D., family practice, Sacramento (treating physician).
Margaret Portwood, M.D., pain management, Sacramento (treating physician).
Defendant’s Medical Experts:
Eric VanOstrand, MD
Facts and Background
Facts and Background: Plaintiff, female age 56, was rear-ended while waiting at a stop light. Plaintiff complained of neck pain at the scene and was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with strain/sprain to neck.Plaintiff saw her primary care doctor three days later and was referred to physical therapy. Physical therapist reported 80% resolution of neck complaints three months after the incident. After finishing physical therapy, Plaintiff again went to her primary care doctor and reported that physical therapy was not much help. Primary care doctor then referred plaintiff to pain management specialist Dr. Peggy Portwood. Dr. Portwood provided trigger point injections to plaintiff’s neck with no benefit. She also referred plaintiff for epidural steroid of thoracic spine to address documented “pre-accident left rib pain”.
A few months later, Dr. Portwood referred plaintiff for neck medial branch block which plaintiff responded well to. Thereafter, plaintiff underwent four different radio frequency ablations to the neck which provided substantial pain reduction to the neck. Plaintiff was also seen by spine specialist Dr. Tyler Smith who testified plaintiff will need a two-level neck surgery in the next 5 years because of the accident.
Plaintiff had documented pre-existing conditions including the following: diagnosis of fibromyalgia, global pain syndrome, 45-year history of migraine headaches, 15-year history of non-migraine headaches, depression, chronic low back pain, chronic hip pain, chronic left rib pain, taking 3 Vicodin daily and 4 Tramadol daily since 2006 up through the date of the incident. Also taking Prozac and pain meds for migraines. Plaintiff additionally complained of neck pain 4 years before the incident, was referred to physical therapy with the records stating that headaches often included neck pain. Plaintiff also had urinary incontinence which defense argued kept her from running and working out. Plaintiff’s pre-accident activities included running, working out and gardening which she testified were impacted by the accident.
Plaintiff’s Contentions: That low-speed rear-ender caused neck injury with ongoing pain which required extensive treatment and will require future surgery.
Defendant’s Contentions: Per defense counsel, “no contention was made” and that this was a low speed rear-end impact.Per plaintiff counsel, testimony at trial for defense was that reasonable treatment post incident would have been 3-4 weeks and that all symptoms would have resolved in two months post incident. That plaintiff embellished her conditions and complaints. Also that her pre-accident activities were already impaired by pre-accident pain syndrome, migraines, chronic low back and hip pain as well as episodic incontinence.
Injuries and Other Damages
Physical Injuries claimed by Plaintiff: Neck injury, with facet and disc damage.
Special Damages
Special Damages Claimed – Past Medical: $39,485
Special Damages Claimed – Future Medical: $150,000-$190,000
Special Damages Claimed – Past Lost Earnings: None
Demands and Offers
Plaintiff §998 Demand: $74,999 (Per defense counsel: $150,000 until two weeks prior to trial, then reduced to $74,999 prior to trial.)
Defendant §998 Offer: $20,000
Additional Notes
Per plaintiff attorney: That because of the significant amount of pre-existing conditions and documented limitations, emphasis was made on the recovery of past medical expenses ($39,485) and future medicals ($150,000-190,000 for ablations and neck surgery). Plaintiff’s counsel sought past general damages ($40,000) equal to the past medical expenses and future generals equal to future medical expenses ($150,000).
Plaintiff counsel says that defense blackboarded $9,000 for past medical expenses, argued all treatment one month post incident was nothing more than continuum of pre-accident pain syndrome and degenerative disc disease; thus, defense argued no future medicals and nothing for future general damages. Defense did not suggest anything for past pain and suffering.
Technically I know most of these are not on tape but were captured on a data card of some kind. But they are still car accidents. Cant believe so many people have dash cams…
Most insurance companies will give some pointers on what to do if you are in an accident. Here is what Geico suggests:
What To Do If You Get Into An Accident
But first, here’s what to do before an accident.
The best way to deal with an accident is to be prepared for one. Here are some things you can do to right now to make sure you’re ready for the unpredictable.
Put your most important info in the glovebox (ID cards, vehicle registration, emergency contacts, health insurance cards, etc.)
Make sure your phone is charged and download the GEICO Mobile App. It’ll come in super-handy at the accident scene and throughout the car repair process.
At The Accident Scene
Be sure to:
Move your car to a safe nearby location, but be careful not to leave the scene.
Check to see if anyone is hurt and call 911 for medical assistance.
Contact the police. They’ll let you know if an officer needs to be present.
First, don’t reveal your policy limits or admit fault to anyone other than GEICO. Jot down or use the GEICO Mobile App’s Accident Assistance feature to collect the following information:
Names, phone numbers, addresses and email addresses of all occupants and witnesses
Location
Photos of the accident scene and all vehicles involved
Company name, policy number and phone number for other insurance companies
If emergency services respond: police report number, phone number, officer name and badge number, etc.
Welcome to my site about personal injury cases and the lawyers who handle them. We are here to discuss what happens if you get in accidents and the issues that can arise. We might talk about insurance companies and how they manage and process claims for your injuries. Mostly, we will focus on car accidents in Los Angeles. But we will also talk about slip and fall cases, bicycle accidents, pedestrian injuries, etc.
But first, here’s what to do before an accident.
Looking for the best personal injury lawyer advice in los angeles? Look here. 