car accident claims

Published on: October 22, 2011

Dealing with Claims Adjusters at Insurance Companies after an Auto Accident in Georgia

MSN Money has a few tips for persons involved in car accidents in Georgia.None of these tips are a surprise to Atlanta car accident lawyers, but many motorists fail to understand how doing the wrong things soon after an accident can damage their claim. Insurance companies have extremely experienced insurance adjusters who handle claims for personal injury and wrongful death. Unfortunately, a great deal of what impacts a claim for personal injury often occurs before the victim has counsel. It is during this timeframe that insurance adjusters have their greatest impact on the outcome of injury claims.

One of the first people that you will meet after an auto accident is the claims adjuster from the other driver’s insurance company or from your insurer.A claims adjuster’s job is to identify fraud in an auto accident claim.As Atlanta car accident lawyers, we often find claims adjusters trying to confuse an accident victim, by trying to get accident victims to settle as quickly as possible.Unfortunately, when a driver says or does the wrong thing after an accident, it can negatively impact the claim. In one recent case, an insurance adjuster was able to get a person with a serious spine injury to settle for an extremely small amount of money thereby eliminating his claim for future damages.

A claims adjuster may also try to fool you into comprising your claim by encouraging you to visit a “preferred repair shop. “ Often, these repair shops will underestimate the damage to your car or fail to have the vehicle properly repaired because they are endeavoring to lower the cost to the insurer. Each person who has been in an accident has a right to go to the repair shop of his or her choice.

Published on: September 8, 2011

Insurance Companies Held to a New Standard on Health Insurance Premiums? Not Exactly.

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Georgia’s Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens is going to set insurance companies straight- well, he can try, but likely will not succeed.The piece from the national healthcare reform puzzle which requires insurance companies to justify rate increases will become effective on September 1, 2011.If this change helped to hold down rates, then persons injured in car accidents could better afford the premiums while they are out of work trying to recover. Unfortunately, if you are injured in an auto accident, you are likely to see your health insurance premiums continue to rise. This could be resolved once the new healthcare law’s mandatory provisions take effect. However, as Georgia personal injury attorneys have warned, if the healthcare law is declared unconstitutional thereby eliminating universal coverage, the problem with personal injury victims getting the treatment they need while unable to work will continue indefinitely.

The rate justification requirement forces insurers to publically post any rate increases over 10% and explain why the increase is reasonable.This 10% rule only applies to policies covering individuals and small businesses.All new double-digit rate filings will be submitted with much more documentation now. It is then left to the state to decide if the increase is reasonable based on health care costs and other factors.

We are relying on this new rate review process to save us from the big, bad insurance company, right?Unfortunately, Georgia law ties the hands of the insurance commissioner’s office by giving him no authority to reject rates submitted by the insurers.The insurance commissioner’s office “enforces and regulates laws enacted by the state legislature under Title 33 of the Official Code of Georgia.”In other words, Georgians will have to rely on unreasonable rate hikes to be handled by the federal government.

Published on: December 3, 2010

Medical Lien Secrets Every Injured Car Accident Victim Should Know

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A number of personal injury victims sign medical liens every year.The victims often times do not know the consequences that a lien can have on their personal injury settlement.Signing a medical lien could be a fatal mistake that can wreck your personal injury claim.

Receive Treatment for Your Injuries

Whatever your case may be (lien or no lien) it is important to receive treatment and continue that treatment if necessary.Your recovery is critical to you and your family.Receiving treatment will help to ensure your injuries do not get worse after your accident.

Published on: February 22, 2008

Million Dollar Personal Injury Settlement by Distracted Driver

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Cell phone liability is back in the news again. Last week the Fulton County Daily Report highlighted the recent International Paper personal injury settlement. International Paper ( "IP") paid out $5.2 million to settle a personal injury suit for an automobile collision that an IP employee caused by talking on a cell phone.

IP employee Vanessa McGrogan was talking on her company-supplied cell phone when she rear-ended a vehicle driven by Debra Ford. The collision pushed Ford into a ditch on the right side of the road. The car overturned and dragged the driver’s side across the roadway. Ford’s arm was caught between the door and the asphalt. Ford, a widowed mother of four, had to have her arm amputated at the shoulder.

McGrogan had her cruise control set at 77 mph. In addition to this, she was talking on her cell phone to the point of distraction. The plaintiff raised the issue of intentional negligence. The trial court in ruling on a motion for partial summary judgment allowed the plaintiff to seek punitive damages. The case was set for trial in March and settled this month.

Published on: October 29, 2007

Cell Phone Use Causes Auto Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

October 29, 2007

Recently, the Georgia Court of Appeals reversed a grant of summary judgment to the defendant in an interesting case involving the use of a cell phone by an employee enroute to work.In Hunter vs. Modern Continental Construction Company, the employee shift supervisor was enroute to work when he was involved in a car accident with the plaintiff.Plaintiff sought to bring her lawsuit against not only the driver/supervisor, but his employer as well.

The employer moved for summary judgment (a dismissal of the case before it gets to trial) on the basis of established case law that driving to and from work is an act for the employee’s own purposes and not in pursuit of the employer’s business.

Published on: September 19, 2007

Uninsured Motorist Coverage for Car Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The state of Georgia requires all motor vehicle owners to secure minimum liability insurance coverage for their vehicles.This insurance provides for payment for damages in the event the other driver suffers a personal injury in the car accident.However, there is no requirement that motor vehicle owners secure uninsured motorist coverage to pay for their damages if the other driver is at fault and they have suffered a severe personal injury in the auto accident.See Jenkins & Miller Georgia Automobile Insurance Law (2007 ed.) 29:3.

Uninsured motorist coverage has aptly been called “insurance against lack of insurance”.See Jenkins & Miller Georgia Automobile Insurance Law (2007 ed.) 29:1.It is available and recoverable only when the fault causing the car accident is found to be that of the uninsured or underinsured vehicle’s driver.Id.It is an important form of insurance since it allows the injured person to recover their damages.

The purpose of UM coverage “is to place the injured insured in the same position as if the offending uninsured motorist were covered with general liability insurance.”Another way of explaining the purpose of UM coverage is that coverage is available to protect innocent injured drivers against irresponsible drivers who fail to secure coverage for auto accidents.The coverage is not available for the benefit of the irresponsible, but for those injured or caused to incur damages by the uninsured’s negligence.

Published on: September 19, 2007

What is Medical Payments Coverage and When Should I Use It When Injured in an Auto Accident?

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Commonly, insurance policies include an endorsement which provides the insurer “will pay reasonable expenses incurred for necessary medical and funeral services because of bodily injury caused by accident and sustained by an ‘insured.’”Medical payments coverage for car accidents is optional under Georgia insurance policies and is available to the insured regardless of fault.These endorsements typically provide for recovery up to a certain amount for a certain amount of time, generally three years.Furthermore, the insurance carrier must pay benefits within sixty days of the demand by the insured who has suffered a personal injury in a car accident.

The question of who is covered under a medical payments endorsement for medical bills incurred due to a personal injury in a car accident is set out by statute.OCGA § 33-34-2(1) provides: “Coverage shall be available to the named insured, resident spouse, and any resident relative while occupying the covered motor vehicle, and to any other person legally occupying a covered motor vehicle.”

Individuals injured in automobile accidents should look to their health insurance carrier for payment of their medical bills first, as coverage is provided under contract with the health insurance carrier.The injured should then look to the medical payments carrier which will pay funds directly to the injured party and will reimburse the injured insured for any out of pocket expenses not paid by the injured insured’s health insurance carrier.It is important to remember that most automobile policies contain notice provisions which will also apply to medical payments coverage and in all cases, the injured insured should notify their own insurance carrier as soon as possible.