Rogers & Strimban

Recent Case May Lead To An Awkward Thanksgiving

astrimban — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 20:57:12 +0000

A Bartow County jury recently awarded $127,500.00 to a man badly burned when he was trying to get an old lawnmower started with his father-in-law. The plaintiff sued his father-in-law for his injuries. Obviously, a lawsuit against your father-in-law will not help family dynamics, but it gets worse. Apparently when the fire started on the lawn mower, it also caught the plaintiff on fire. When this happened, the father-in-law grabbed a nearby hose to put out the flames. Faced with the decision of putting out the fire on the lawnmower first or the fire on his son-in-law, the father-in-law chose the old lawnmower. Obviously this choice did not sit well.

After hearing about this case, your in laws may not seem that bad.

Can The Font Used In Our Cars Make Us Safer?

astrimban — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 19:40:08 +0000

Drivers voluntarily expose themselves to many distractions. Whether it is texting, reading email, putting on makeup, or eating, we are taking our focus off the other cars on the road. Because of the dangerous multitasking that we are doing behind the wheel, any advancement that puts more of our focus on driving is a good thing. As it turns out, making the roads safer can be as simple as changing the font on our vehicles’ dashboard displays. Check out this recent article that explains by changing the font used on our dashboard displays, we could process information presented to us by our vehicles as much as ten percent faster. In many situations that translates into fifty feet, which could be the difference in avoiding a wreck. Hopefully these simple changes will be incorporated into our vehicles.

Has Your Health Insurance Company Ever Reimbursed Your Premiums?

astrimban — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 18:06:46 +0000

The title of this blog post is a rhetorical question, because the answer is assuredly “no”. It would be nice if health insurance companies reimbursed your premiums if you did not see the doctor. While it would be nice, it is not going to happen. The reason it will not happen is because you pay for insurance to provide you a safety net if something bad happens to you. You want to know you are covered if you get hurt or sick. Also, the entire scheme of health insurance is built on the model that other people’s premiums pay for your health costs. This model works and seems fair. The customer does not ask for premiums to be refunded, and the health insurance company pays doctors’ bills when they arise.

You expect the reverse to also be true. If you use your health insurance benefits to pay for a doctor, then your health insurance company should not ask to be paid back out of your pocket. You might be thinking there is no way a health insurance company would ask you for money in addition to your premiums, but in reality, health insurance companies ask for “reimbursement” all the time. A reimbursement situation arises when a person is injured by the negligence of another, typically a car wreck. When the injured person receives money from the person or company that was negligent, the injured person’s health insurance company demands that it gets paid back for the medical expenses it paid for. Many health insurance companies will go so far as to sue their own customers to get money back. The health insurance companies will even demand to be reimbursed in situations when the injured person is not made whole by a personal injury settlement.

Take for example a car wreck where someone suffers several broken bones that require surgery. The physical recovery from an injury like this can lead to missed time from work, and an extended and painful rehabilitation. Assume now that the medical bills for the hospital and surgery are greater than $25,000.00. Now assume that the person who caused the wreck does not have assets and only has minimum liability insurance of $25,000.00. It would not be fair for the health insurance company to get the $25,000.00 from the negligent driver. While it would not be fair, that is what many health insurance companies demand and even sue over.

I point out this out to make people aware that this happens, and to make sure people are informed that health insurance companies are not always entitled to “reimbursement.” State law differs from Federal law on this issue and much depends on where you receive your health insurance benefits. So please, if you ever have a question about health insurance reimbursement, please contact us. We handle these issues all the time and can help to guide you to a just and fair result.

The Underbelly of Underinsured Motorist Claims

astrimban — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 19:40:35 +0000

In the last couple of days, Progressive has received plenty of bad public relations for its refusal to pay on a wrongful death claim. The Associated Press reported that a Progressive insured died in a car wreck after she was hit by a person running a red light. The insurance company of the person who ran the red light paid its $25,000.00 policy limit, but when the family tried to collect the $75,000.00 worth of uninsured motorist coverage from Progressive, the deceased’s insurance company, Progressive refused to pay. Instead, Progressive went to court and tried to present evidence that the car wreck was the deceased’s fault. Ultimately, the jury returned a verdict against Progressive.

While this story may seem unfair and unreasonable, it is a good illustration of how your insurance company will treat you if you try to make a claim on your Underinsured/Uninsured Motorist (UM) Coverage. In a scenario such as this, your insurance company turns into your adversary. Your insurance company, in many instances, actually starts representing the person that hurt you. So despite all these commercials promising that you are “in good hands” and “like a good neighbor” you are instead treated like someone off the street that cannot be believed. Even though you have paid premiums, your insurance company will oppose you and help a complete stranger that actually hurt you. Why would an insurance company do this? The answer is simple, money. Insurance companies simply do not want to pay claims and part with money if they can help it. So instead of giving you the benefit of the doubt, your insurance company will instead look for any reason to deny your UM claim.

This played out in the Progressive case highlighted above. Rather than believing a grieving family and a neutral eyewitness, Progressive tried to exploit the comments of a passenger in the deceased’s car who was brain damaged in the wreck. Progressive made the decision to deny a legitimate wrongful death claim and prolong a grieving family’s misery, rather than pay $75,000.00. Fortunately, a jury saw through this and made Progressive uphold its obligation.

For a more detailed description of UM Coverage please check out an earlier Rogers & Strimban blog post.

If you ever have a question about UM Coverage or some other car wreck related issue, please contact us.

Kind Words From A Juror In Our Last Trial

astrimban — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:38:31 +0000

Beginning on April 25 Randy and I started a three day jury trial in Bartow County Superior Court. The case involved a hotly disputed car wreck where our client suffered a torn rotator cuff. After three days of trial, and three and a half hours of deliberation, the jury returned a Plaintiffs’ verdict. Randy and I felt like we tried a good case, but late Friday night we got confirmation from a juror that we did in fact do a good job for our client. In an email, one of our twelve jurors wrote the following:

Mr. Strimban and Mr. Rogers,

I felt the need to reach out to you since leaving the courthouse today. For what it is worth, I wanted to make sure you knew that I personally thought you did a wonderful job in presenting this case. It was well organized and thorough. I would have been proud to have you represent me. I have never been summoned or selected for jury duty, so this was my first experience with this process. It was a very unique and challenging experience. It really made me look at things in a different light. We all did not agree on every aspect of this case and it was very hard to persuade a few of the jurors. We had to make compromises which were frustrating. I took this role seriously, listened to all the evidence before making my decision and tried my very best to debate and reason with my fellow jurors.

Thank you for your time. Again, just wanted you to know that I thought you did a good job in proving your case.

Words like that make all the hard work and sleepless nights bearable.

Where Do You Place Your Hands On The Steering Wheel?

astrimban — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 19:03:41 +0000

I was taught you are supposed to have your hands at 10 and 2 when driving. Turns out, 10 and 2, according to AAA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is no longer the safest way to hold onto the steering wheel. 10 and 2 can lead to serious injury when there is an airbag deployment. Now the suggested place to grip the steering wheel is 9 and 3. Check out this recent article explaining the dangers of 10 and 2.

Please be careful out there, and if you think about it, put your hands at 9 and 3!

When To Call A Personal Injury Lawyer

astrimban — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 20:09:47 +0000

Do I need to call a personal injury lawyer? This is never a question you want to have. If you have to answer this question it means that you or someone you know has been seriously injured. It also means that there are issues arising in your life that you typically do not spend much time thinking about. Questions such as: (1) What happens if the person who wrecked into me did not have liability insurance? (2) Who is going to pay for the medical bills that are piling up? (3) Should I contact my insurance company? (4) Do I speak with the insurance company representing the person who ran into me?

These are only some of the questions that will arise that most people do not know the answer to. And why would you? If you are not a lawyer or you have never been seriously hurt in a car wreck, you would have no reason to research this information. For a quick reference, here are the answers (1) if the person does not have liability insurance, look to see if you or a relative that you live with has Uninsured Motorist coverage. (2) Unfortunately, medical bills will initially be paid by you. By that I mean either you pay cash, or you have insurance that pays. Do not expect the responsible party to pay for medical bills as they arise. Your personal injury lawyer will fight for you to recover any money you paid for medical bills from the responsible party. Unfortunately, the money reimbursing medical bills paid comes at the end of the case and not when a person is treating. (3) You should contact your insurance company whenever you are in a car wreck and you have been hurt. Often times your car insurance contract will have notice requirements that you must abide by. (4) Do not speak with the responsible party’s insurance company. That company’s representative is not out to help you.

Answering questions like these are important and, if handled improperly, could lead to problems on your case. In addition to answering questions about insurance, a personal injury lawyer will also start building your case. This includes visiting the wreck scene, obtaining pictures of the vehicles involved, hiring competent experts if an expert is needed and interviewing witnesses. If this information is not obtained quickly, it is often lost.

Finally, hiring a personal injury lawyer soon is important because it allows you to concentrate on getting healthy. So many of our clients tell us that their health improves after they hire us because they are now focused only on their physical health, and not legal issues. Our clients do not need to worry about calling insurance adjusters, or dealing with hospital billing offices. This work is handled by us.

So to answer the question posed in the title of this blog post, you should call a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. If you or a loved one has questions about a personal injury related issue, please contact us for a free consultation. We are here to help.

Incredible Advances Coming From University of Georgia

astrimban — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 18:41:02 +0000

For all you Dawg fans out there, you have one more thing to be proud of about your University. UGA is spearheading research for a new bone growth gel that is being called “fracture putty”. This new product gets injected into broken bones to help the body regenerate bone faster. Please read this article about the product.

Anything that could reduce the healing time for fractures and get people back to normal following an injury is great news. Hopefully doctors will be using this product on injured people in the near future.

Policing Our Own

astrimban — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 20:59:38 +0000

Recently the Georgia Supreme Court disbarred two lawyers who should have been kicked out of the profession years ago. You can read the full opinion here. These lawyers were guilty of hiring “runners.” Runners are non-lawyers paid by an unscrupulous lawyer to go out and find personal injury clients. This is where we get the term “ambulance chasers”. These runners, and lawyers that are hiring runners, are unethical people that are taking advantage of injured car wreck victims. A typical practice of these unsavory characters is to scan police reports and contact innocent victims of car wrecks. Once in contact with the victim, the runner will often lie, and use other high pressure tactics to get the injured person to sign up with the lawyer that is paying them. This is not only distasteful, but it is also a clear violation of the Georgia Code of Professional Responsibility.

I point out this recent decision to applaud the Supreme Court for disbarring these guilty lawyers, and also to inform people that hiring runners is a practice used only by the worst of the worst. If you are ever approached by a runner, first of all, please do not sign up with that outfit, and second, report the lawyer and the runner to the Georgia Bar. These bad apples give honest lawyers a bad name.

If you are in need of a lawyer, please ask a friend, co-worker or family member for a recommendation. Whatever you do, never hire a lawyer that calls you out of the blue.

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Court of Appeals Declines Punitive Damages For Cell Phone Use

astrimban — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 14:50:18 +0000

In a recent Georgia Court of Appeals decision, Lindsey v. Clinch County Glass Inc., the Court held that the plaintiff could not seek punitive damages when the defendant caused a car wreck because he was using his cell phone.

The facts of the case are relatively straightforward; the defendant was driving his truck to a job site when he looked down at his cell phone to find a telephone number. Because he was looking at his cell phone and not the road, he did not see that the traffic in front of him had stopped. The defendant failed to notice the cars in front of him until it was too late, and he rear ended the car in front of him.

The injured plaintiff sued seeking punitive damages in addition to compensatory damages. For those of you who read this blog that are not lawyers, punitive damages are pretty rare, and are awarded when there is evidence of intentional conduct or a “conscious indifference to consequences”. The damages awarded in most personal injury cases are called compensatory damages. These are damages for lost wages, medical expenses and pain and suffering.

The Court declined to allow punitive damages in the Lindsey case because using a cell phone in Georgia while driving is permissible. The Court also said that the defendant was not speeding, was not under the influence, nor did the defendant have a history of distraction related accidents showing a pattern dangerous driving.

This case is interesting because it says that cell phone use by itself will not lead to punitive damages. The Court, however, leaves the door open for punitive damages claims when cell phones are involved and there are other aggravating circumstances. So for example, if a person is speeding while using a cell phone, this may lead to punitive damages. Or if a person has caused a wreck before because of cell phone use, then there could be a potential claim for punitive damages.

Bottom line, be careful when you are driving and using a cell phone. The best policy is to not talk on your cell phone when you are driving.

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