Claims adjusters are trained in obtaining favorable recorded statements to benefit the insurance company. They know and have studied when is the best time to call a person who was injured in a car accident to obtain favorable testimony. They are trained what question to ask and how to phrase the questions to benefit the insurance company.
Before you decide to answer any questions or sign a medical authorization as the claims adjuster if they have already done video surveillance on me? If so could you get a copy of the video.
The next thing you can ask is will you give me a copy of any “index” information that you have on me or will obtain in the future. Index information is the information complied by all cooperating insurance companies of all the claims you may have made in your life through anyinsurance company. Every time you make a claim the insurance carrier records the date of the claim the nature of the claim the injury complained of and other relevant information.
After the adjuster answers that question ask him or her if they will give you any financial information they have already obtained on you. You would be surprisedhow much information the insurance company obtains on injury victims all in a effort to refrain from paying a fair amount for the claim. Remember, Insurance companies make their money from collecting premiums and not by paying claims.
Before you decide to give the claims adjuster a recorded statement or sign a medical authorization or a wage loss verification ask him or her a few simple questions. The answers you get may suprise you.
Will you give me copies of the recorded statements that you have already taken from the witnesses? The answer will usually be something like we can’t do that because it is not the policy of the insurance company to give out that information. Some times they will say my manager or boss does not allow me to give out that information. Another classic answer is: I will ask my manager after I take your recorded statement.
Next ask the adjuster what is the reserve on the file or how much money have you set aside for my claim. I have never heard of an insurance company answer that question.
If you are considering signing a medical authorization ask the adjuster if he or she will mail you copies of all the medical records they obtain with your signed release at no charge. Also ask them what medical providers will they request your medical records from. The answers you get from the adjuster should guide your decision on how to proceed.
After you have been an automobile car crash the defendants insurance adjuster will usually call you requesting a recorded statement or for you to sign a few forms. Many people will not know what to do, or what questions to ask the adjuster, before deciding to give a recorded statement or sign the forms they want signed.
The first question to ask the adjuster is how mush insurance does the defendant driver have. A good follow up question is was the driver the owner of the car ? If the driver was not the owner of the car be sure to ask the insurance adjuster if he insured the driver or the owner. Once you find out that information ask him how much insurance the owner or driver carried.
The next question to ask the adjuster is: will you put it in writing that the car accident was not my fault? I have not seen or heard of any adjuster agreeing to do that.
The third question to ask the adjuster is: If I give you a recorded statement, will you give me a copy of the transcript of the recorded statement of the other driver who caused the accident. The answer to this question will guide your decision on wheter to give the adjuster a recorded statement.
More information to come in a later post !
A recent appellate court case held that the owner of a dog who was mauled by a neighbors dog could recover the total cost of the veterinary bill even when the bills exceeded the value of the dog. In that case the trial court ruled in favor of the plaintiff when his dog a daschund was mauled by the neighbors dog, but only awarded the plaintiff $200.00. After the mauling the plaintiff took his daschund to the vet which charged him $4,784.00 to return the dog back to his original health.
The appellate ruled the plaintiff was allowed to recover the full value of the veterinary bills $4,748.00, and not just the value of the dog. It is a good day for dog lovers all across Illinois.
Dorota Dziezuta fell 20 feet off a roof in Crystal Lake on February 16, 2008. He was transported to Lutheran General Hospital by the Flight for Life Helicopter. It is reported that the Crystal Lake Fire Department transported him to the helicopter.
The length of time necessary to conclude your automobile accident injury case depends upon a number of factors. The amount of time it takes you to recover from your injuries usually determines how much time is necessary to conclude your case. The amount of time before you receive a check for your injuries also depends on whether your case is settled, goes to trial or is appealed.
You should not settle your claim until you have been released by your treating physician or he can estimate the cost of your future medical expenses. If you attempt to settle your case prematurely, the insurance company will realize the case is not ready for settlement and this will usually result in you recovering short money. As a rule of thumb, you should not expect your case to be resolved either through settlement or Trial until after you finish your medical treatment or achieve maximum medical improvement from your injury.
The value of a case depends on a variety of factors and cannot be determined without analyzing information regarding your injury, medical bills, loss of income, and permanency of your injury. There is no rule of thumb, and each case involves a different set of facts and injuries results in a different amount of damages.
Damages resulting from a Personal Injury Automobile Accident case can include cost of medical bills incurred, future medical bills, lost wages, disability, disfigurement, past pain and suffering, future pain and suffering, loss of a normal life and risk of future injury. The amount of money awarded for each element of damage depends on the individual person.
An experienced reputable personal injury attorney will not give you an estimate as to the value of your case at the initial interview and will need to read the medical records and analyze the case before evaluating the value of the case.
Dog bites to both children and adults are fairly common. It has been reported that dog bite cases ate the number one claim made under a homeowners insurance policy. In McHenry County, Illinois, there were 393 animal bite investigations done by the McHenry County Animal control Department in 2006. In 2007 there were 335 bite investigations. There is no way to determine how many unreported bite incidents occurred in McHenry County. It may surprise you to learn that the majority of bite victims were female in both 2006 and 2007.
There exists in Illinois the Animal Control Act which is found at 510 ILCS 5/16 . The Animal Control Act eliminated the “one free bite rule” found in the common law.
The Animal ControlAct at its relevant part states “id a dog or other animal, without provocation, attacks or injures any person who is peaceably conduction themselves in a place where he may be, the owner of such dog or other animal is liable in damages to such person for the full amount of injuries sustained.
The recoverable damages include, but are not limitted to disfigurement, scaring, medical bills future medical bills, loss of a normal life and psychological damages.
The anterior cruciate ligament, acl is a ligament in your knee. the ACL is usuatty torm or damaged as a result of a quick deceleration, hyperextension or rotational injury. This typy of injury usually accour with a sudden change of direction. A person who has an ACL injury usually feels a popping sensation. In a car accident this type of injury occurs uasally when the knee is slamed into the door or center counsel after the impact. This type of injury is found in T-Bone type crashes.
The ACL is one of the most common injured ligaments in the knee. The normal ACl injury or tear is a result of a sport injury such as football, basketball and soccer. The ACL tears are also commonly associated with car accidents. It is reported that there are about 200,000 ACL injuries annually and about 100,000 ACL reconstructive surgeries done each year.
If you are in a car accident an your knee collided with the inside of the car door and you heard or felt a pop, your knee is swollen, you have less than full range of motion and it hurts to walk, then there is a good chance you an ACL injury. Usually an MRI of the knee is taken to confirm the ACL tear diagnosis. If a person is diagnosed with an ACL tear the normal course of treatment is surgery, or if the person is older and leads a sedentary life then conservative treatment like physical therapy is done to strengthen the muscles around the knee. the non surgical option usually takes four months.
The recovery time after surgery varies by each person.
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November 5, 2009 8:55 pm | 
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