I was in a car wreck yesterday. I thought I was ok but I woke up this morning and feel absolutely horrible. Should I go to the doctor, or should I just tough it out?
You should see your doctor and accurately report the nature and extent of your concerns. Call and make an appointment to get in and see the doctor as soon as you can.
Why? There are three reasons. First, your doctor may uncover a problem that is more serious than you think it is.
My brother got killed in a car wreck. Can I file a wrongful death lawsuit for him?
You can file a wrongful death lawsuit for your brother under only limited circumstances. First, if you are named the executor of his will you have the right to file suit. Second, if the court names you the administrator of your brother’s estate you will have the right to file suit. Third, if you brother was not married, had no children, and your parents are dead you would be considered "next of kin" and you would have a right to file suit.
The right to file suit is different from the right to control the litigation. For instance, if your brother was married and his wife is competent, it is very possible that a court would let your sister-in-law control the lawsuit even if you were named executor of your brother’s estate.
I was hurt in a personal injury case about six years ago. As part of the settlement I received an annuity that pays me $3000 per month for the rest of my life (I am 35) or at least for another 25 years.. I have found myself in some financial trouble and I need some money now. There are companies that advertise on television that indicate that they will buy my annuity and give me case now. Should I do that?
You almost certainly should not do that and, before you do, you should seek the advice of a financial counselor who can guide you through your decision-making process.
I have no respect for the companies that purchase structured settlements. The price paid for them is ridiculously low – often 40 cents on the dollar or even less. Your structured settlement will pay you a guaranteed $900,000 in the next 25 years – tax fee – and if you live a normal life expectancy you will receive another $500,000 or even more. You should not throw that away for pennies on the dollar.
I was hurt in a car accident. I talked to a lawyer and he sent me a proposed contingency fee agreement. The agreement says that I have to pay the expenses he incurs in prosecuting my case and that interest accrues on the expense money. Is that normal?
It is normal for a lawyer handling a contingency fee case to ask the client to re-pay the lawyer for the money spent on case expenses out of any settlement achieved in the case. It is not normal, however, for lawyers to charge interest on the expense money they advance for case expenses, although it seems like more and more lawyers are charging interest.
The lawyers who charge interest may have a contract with a private company that charges them interest, and then they pass the interest that they pay while the case is pending onto you as their client. The interest rate may be very high – much higher than the “prime rate.” The lawyer does not profit from this, but simply passes the cost of the interest on to you. Sometimes there are additional fees associated with this service that are passed on to you.
I live in a small town in Middle Tennessee. I just had an addition put on my house. The building inspector from my town came and approved the work done on the house, including the electrical work. Two days later the entire house burned. The cause of the fire was improper wiring work on the new addition. Can I sue the building inspector for failing to discover the bad wiring job?
No. Under Tennessee law a local government cannot be sued for negligent inspection. Thus, even if you could show that the building inspector did a bad job, neither the inspector nor his employer can be sued.
You may have a claim against the electrical contractor and perhaps even the general contractor. An experienced trial lawyer can help you investigate this claim and determine what rights, if any, you have.
I am a Tennessean. I was received some broken bones in a car wreck earlier this year. I spent a couple days in the hospital and missed six weeks of work. The case was just settled and I received a check for a significant amount of money. Do I have to pay income taxes on the money I received?
No, you do not have to pay federal income tax on the money you received
As of today (and for many, many years) there is a special federal law that permits people who receive money in personal injury cases where there has been physical harm to exclude the monies received in a settlement or lawsuit from their income for federal income tax purposes. You do not need to report it to the government and you do not need to report it.
My lawyer just settled my personal injury case. At the time the lawyer distributed my share of the money to me, he withheld $322.56 for airfare and $150 for a hotel bill. When I asked him what those expenses were for he said he had to travel to New Orleans to take the deposition of a witness in the case. Can he do that?
Yes, if the fee agreement that you signed provides that he is to be reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with the case. That type of provision is part of the typical fee agreement in personal injury cases and therefore I would not be surprised if the fee agreement you signed contained that provision. Your lawyer will give you a copy of your fee agreement if you cannot find the your copy.
Of course, the expenses incurred should be reasonable. What is reasonable? A Motel 6 is on the cheap end and a Ritz Carlton is usually too expensive. Something in the middle should do nicely. Most attorneys do not asked to be reimbursed for first-class air travel, although some may do so for international flights or cross-country flights. You shouldn’t expect that your lawyer is going to eat at Taco Bell, but you should not be asked to pick up the tab for a big meal and expensive wine at a five-star restaurant.
I was hurt in a car wreck and told my insurance company about the wreck. The claims adjuster said that I had $10,000 in medical payments coverage and that if I would send the bills in the insurance company would the bills up to $10,000. Why should my insurance company have to pay for my medical bills when the wreck was not my fault?
Your insurance company will pay because you paid for this insurance coverage. It can be very helpful to you if the wreck was your fault or if the you cannot find the driver who hit you. It can also be helpful to help you pay co-pays and deductibles not covered by your health insurance.
The fact that your insurance company pays some or all of your medical bills does not let the other driver or that driver’s insurance company off-the-hook. You can still seek payment of the bills from your insurance company and, if the other driver is liable for the crash and the bills were reasonable and incurred for necessary medical services in connection with the wreck then you can collect them again from the at-fault driver and that driver’s insurance company. However, your insurance policy probably requires you to re-pay them if you receive payment for your medical bills from the at-fault driver and that driver’s insurance company.
Our house caught on fire and three members of my family got burned. The fire department said that the cause of the fire was a kerosene stove we were using to supplement the heat from the furnace because it was really cold outside. Do we have any rights against the manufacturer of the kerosene stove?
Perhaps. It is essential that you contact a lawyer who has experience in products liability cases as soon as possible. It the meantime, preserve whatever is left of the heater and do not allow any further damage to the premises or start the repair / clean-up process.
You will need the stove itself so that you can determine what went wrong with it (if anything). You need to preserve the scene until an expert can confirm that fire department’s opinion of the cause of the fire. The fire department might be correct on the cause of the fire, but if the department does not have a lot of expertise in cause and origin of fires their opinion may be questioned.
My personal injury case settled three days ago. I signed the check and gave it to my lawyer. I still haven’t got any money. What is going on?
When a personal injury case is settled, the insurance company sends a check and a release to the claimant’s lawyer. The lawyer asks the claimant to sign the release and endorse the check. When the check is endorsed, it is deposited into the lawyer’s trust account. The lawyer cannot immediately write the client a check because the insurance company’s bank has not yet paid the check. It can take as many as 10 business days for a check to "clear." As soon as the check clears the lawyer’s bank the lawyer will be able to write you a check.
The lawyer may not be able to write you a check for all of the money to which you are eventually entitled. For example, if you received Medicare benefits in connection with your personal injury, Medicare must be re-paid from the proceeds of the settlement. Medicare is horribly slow about getting settlement figures to lawyers in these cases, so the prudent lawyer holds out more money than is probably required so that he or she can be assured that there will be enough money to repay Medicare. Thus, the lawyer may write you one check now and another check after the Medicare issue has been worked out.
