That Time I Rear-Ended a Sheriff

Posted on by Horman Nichols, LLC

What to do after getting into a car accident, even a fender bender with a Deputy Sheriff.

Written By: Andy Nichols

If you’ve been involved in a car accident, even a minor one, you know it’s a bad experience.  You know what makes a bad experience worse?  When you rear-end a car in traffic and a police officer in uniform steps out of the car you just hit.  Your stress level goes through the roof.  You begin to wonder if you paid that last parking ticket you got downtown, you hope your headlights are all working correctly and you begin to think who your one phone call from jail will be.  

This happened to me.  We were in bumper-to-bumper traffic and I looked down at the radio display, looked up and traffic was stopped.  I couldn’t stop in time and I bumped the Toyota in front of me.  Imagine my response when a deputy sheriff stepped out of the Toyota.  Thankfully, the deputy I hit could not have been nicer.  We pulled over into a parking lot, made sure everyone was okay, exchanged information and went our respective ways.  

It is worth noting that in Maryland, if you get into a car accident and your vehicles are able to be driven, you can move them off the roadway.  If you need to take pictures to memorialize where the vehicles were respective to road signs, lanes of travel, etc., do so, but once you’ve done that, you can move your vehicles.  Not only will your fellow commuters and drivers thank you, for obvious reasons, it’s the safe thing to do.  

While even minor accidents are stressful, here are a few tips to help reduce that stress.  

If you think you may be at fault:

(1) take pictures of the other vehicle(s) to document property damage, particularly if it’s minor.  

(2) Call your insurance company on the spot if you can.  This allows the insurance company the opportunity to speak with the other driver and document any injuries they may be claiming and whether or not they were alone in the vehicle or had passengers.  

(3) Don’t admit fault.  Even if you think you’re at fault, there may be circumstances you’re not aware of at that time that may shift some or all of the liability to another person. 

If you believe the other party is at fault:

(1) Take pictures of the other driver’s license plate, vehicle, driver’s license and insurance card.  Call the other driver’s cell phone immediately and make sure it rings to the phone they have.  This a is great way to make sure you’ve got the number stored. 

 (2) Call their insurance company on the spot because this allows you to confirm they have insurance coverage.  

(3) Even if you’re not feeling any injuries, be very careful how you word a response if someone asks you if you’re injured.  Don’t lie, but consider saying, “I’m not feeling anything right now.”  

Be safe and don’t drive distracted!

4 Tips in a Personal Injury Case

Posted on by Horman Nichols, LLC

Not everyone wants to hire an attorney for their personal injury case, and if you consult with an attorney, you should know you have the right to negotiate a settlement with the insurance company without an attorney and you have the right to file a lawsuit without an attorney.

Whether you choose to represent yourself in your negotiations with an insurance company, or you’ve retained an attorney, here are four things to keep in mind.

 

Important Changes to Car Insurance in Maryland

Posted on by Horman Nichols, LLC

One area that we often touch on in our blog articles is auto insurance.  In January of this year we discussed the topic of how much insurance coverage you should think about covering on your liability policy.

Another component of insurance that we haven’t spoken about is uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage (“UM or UIM”).  Everyone is required to carry it in Maryland and as a default, your UM/UIM coverage limits mirrors that of your liability limits.  So, if you carry $100,000.00 in liability coverage, you also have $100,000.00 in UM/UIM coverage.  This means if someone who has no insurance, or limits under $100,000.00 causes injury to you or your passengers in your car, you can recover up to the limits of your UM/UIM policy.  So, for example, if the at-fault driver has a $30,000.00 policy and your damages exceed that, you can pursue a claim under your UIM policy for up to $100,000.00.  It is important to note that you do not get to “stack” the two and get $130,000.00.  Your recovery is capped at your UM/UIM policy limits and you can recover the difference between the at-fault party’s liability policy and your UM/UIM policy from your insurance company.  Which, in this example is $70,000.00 (100,000 – 30,000).

In Maryland, these UM/UIM limits have been capped at your policy limits, no matter how many vehicles you have insured.  So, using the same example above, even if you have 3 vehicles under that policy, you are capped at $100,000.00 cannot stack the policies on each insured vehicle for a total of $300,000.00.  Some states allow this and it is a huge benefit to individuals injured by someone else who carries no or very little insurance.  The difference in have $100,000.00 in possible recovery versus $300,000.00 can be very important if you’re dealing with serious injuries.

Beginning July 1, 2018 in Maryland, you can purchase Enhanced Underinsured Motorist (“EUIM”) coverage on all NEW automobile policies issued in Maryland. You may be able to also add this coverage on existing Maryland automobile, but this option will vary depending on your insurance company.

We strongly encourage you to contact your insurance agent to see if this coverage is available to you under your existing policy and if you are purchasing a new policy of insurance, you should look into EUIM coverage.

 

When Simple Becomes Complicated

Posted on by Horman Nichols, LLC

Currently, car accident cases center on determining human error – which driver was responsible for the accident.  The evolving world of car technology is going to change the future of how some car accident cases are litigated.

Self-driving cars, such as Tesla, are being touted as the future of cars.  However, there have been accidents involving these cars.  As recently as March 23, 2018, a Tesla Model  X SUV, with the Autopilot feature engaged, slammed into a concrete highway divider and caught fire, killing the driver.

When a car accident cases goes to court now, generally the judge or jury listens to testimony from each driver and based upon whose testimony they found to be more credible, they make a determination of who is at fault.  Occasionally, experts such as accident reconstructionists will offer testimony to aid the judge or jury, but usually just the drivers and/or witnesses who saw the accident will testify.

With more and more self-driving cars and cars with technology such as auto-braking, we may see some cases move from the a determination of driver error to a product liability case where the manufacturer of the vehicle will be a defendant as well.  This will also require expert testimony if these cases go to trial.  A judge or jury will have to review the evidence of competing experts in order to make their determination on liability.  This change will possibly create an economic “trickle down” affect wherein the increased cost to vehicle manufacturers for insurance and the cost of litigation may be passed on to the consumer with higher vehicle prices.

Additionally, on average, most car accident cases settle without going to court because insurance companies, through their own investigations may determine that its own driver(s) were at fault, and a settlement will occur, which allows the injured party to be compensated fairly quickly.  However, with a product liability case, you could be talking about years before the case is resolved or adjudicated.

Technology generally makes our lives more convenient, but you always have to consider the law of unintended consequences.

How Much Car Insurance Coverage is Enough?

Posted on by Horman Nichols, LLC

In December of 2016, we wrote about the various types of car insurance.  Today, we are focusing on why it’s important to make sure you have enough insurance.

The amount of your policy limits under your liability insurance is the maximum amount of money your insurance company will pay on your behalf if someone files a claim against you for personal injury.  This can be a claim that never goes to suit or it can be a lawsuit that has been filed.

Maryland requires you to carry liability insurance of at least $30,000.00 per person and $60,000.00 per incident ($30,000/$60,000).  Your options for liability insurance can range from the minimum, up to $250,000/500,000.  These limits can vary depending on the insurance carrier.  The per person limits are the most that any single person can recover from the accident and the per incident amount is the most your policy will pay out in total.  So, if an accident injures 4 people and you have policy limits of $250,000/$500,000, the total amount of money that can be paid out is $500,000.00, but no matter how serious any single person’s injuries are, they cannot recover more than $250,000.00 from your policy.

So, how much is enough?  Even relatively minor accidents where the injured party only receives conservative treatment can involve thousands of dollars in medical bills. The law allows an injured party to recover all of their economic damages, (usually medical bills and lost wages).  Additionally, they can recover non-economic damages too (pain and suffering).  A policy with limits of $30,000/$60,000 can be exhausted very quickly.

What happens if you find out after a claim has been filed against you, that you don’t have enough insurance?  You will not be able to purchase a policy that will retroactively apply.  Assume you have a policy with limits of $30,000/$60,000, the case goes to trial and a verdict is returned in favor of the injured party for $50,000.00.  How is the extra $20,000.00 paid?  There are a couple of possibilities.  If the injured party has enough underinsured motorist coverage, their policy will pay it.  However, their insurance company has the right to sue you to recover any money they pay to their insured.  Another possibility is that the injured party can enforce the excess verdict against you personally.  They can garnish your wages, attach a lien on your property and utilize any number of procedural tools to enforce the judgment.  This may also force you into filing for bankruptcy.

Your policy limits can also impact the amount of coverage available to you and your family if you are injured by someone who is uninsured or underinsured.  We’ll discuss this in more detail in our next blog post.

In addition to increasing your policy limits, it may also be worthwhile to purchase an umbrella policy as well.  This is a policy that kicks in additional coverage when your primary coverage is exhausted.  Call your insurance company or agent to discuss what policy limits are appropriate for you.

 

Can an Attorney Help Me Get More Money for My Injuries?

Posted on by Horman Nichols, LLC

If you’ve ever been home sick on a Wednesday morning and spent some time watching the TV, you’ve seen the commercials – “Have you or someone you love been hurt in a car accident?” and the tag line is that “If you don’t get paid, we don’t get paid.”

Remove the cheesy and sometimes slimy nature of some of these commercials and you’ll see the message is that if you have been injured through no fault of your own, you should get a lawyer.  It’s also true that for the vast majority of personal injury cases, attorneys work on a contingency basis, which means they get paid a percentage of what they recover on your behalf.

Retaining an attorney will usually lead to a higher recovery on your personal injury case. There are several reasons for this, but here are a few primary ones:

1.  An attorney can assess the strength of your case and potential value.

2.  Hiring an attorney lets the insurance company know you’re not afraid to take your case to trial.  If you negotiate the claim yourself, the insurance adjuster knows you likely don’t want to go to trial.

3.  Hiring an attorney allows the attorney to become involved in communicating with the insurance adjuster earlier on in the process.  This can help you avoid any potential missteps in what you say to the insurance company or what personal information you authorize the insurance company to obtain about you.

4.  An attorney can advise you on ensuring that your medical records and treatment notes are properly documented to assist you in maximizing your recovery.

Consulting with an attorney for a personal injury case is almost always free with no risk to you. Trust your gut – if you feel uncomfortable with the attorney you’ve consulted with, speak to another attorney or firm.  Do your research and find attorneys that get consistently good reviews online (i.e., Yelp, Google and Facebook).

I’ve Been in a Car Accident – Now What?

Posted on by Horman Nichols, LLC

Getting into a car accident can be very stressful, especially if it wasn’t your fault.  One of the things we get asked the most is what to do after you’ve been in a car accident.  Here is a quick list of some of the things to do and remember.  This list contains some pointers, but by no means should be considered an exhaustive list that covers all situations and scenarios that can surround a car accident:

  1. CALL 911:  If anyone is injured, immediately called 911 and ask for an ambulance, as well as the police.
  2.  EXCHANGE INFORMATION: Make sure you exchange information with the other driver, including your names, phone numbers, addresses, make and model of the vehicles, including license plate numbers, and insurance information from any drivers involved.  An easy way to store some of this information is to take pictures of driver’s licenses, license plates and insurance cards.  If there are passengers in any vehicles or witnesses that identify themselves, try to obtain their information as well.
  3. TAKE PICTURES:  Take pictures of any damage to vehicles involved in the accident, the accident scene, or anything that may have contributed to the accident (i.e., road construction, objects in the road, icy patches, etc.).
  4. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY:  It’s completely appropriate to check on drivers and passengers in the other car(s) and see if they need medical attention or help. However, never admit fault for the accident, not even to the police.  Even if you think you were at fault, it may not be immediately clear who was actually at fault or contributed to the accident.  DO NOT allow the other driver’s insurance company to take a recorded statement from you.  If you have any suspicions that the other driver(s) may try to blame you for the accident, you do not have to speak with their insurance company at all.
  5. CALL YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY: Contact your insurance company as soon as it’s practical.  While you should answer any questions about the accident truthfully, be mindful of what you say, especially if the insurance company is taking a recorded statement.
  6. IF YOU’RE INJURED, SEE YOUR DOCTOR:  Delaying your medical treatment can impact your medical diagnosis and recovery time as well as have an effect on how your case is evaluated for settlement by the other driver’s insurance company.
  7. DON’T SETTLE TOO QUICKLY:  Some insurance companies will offer you a quick payment in exchange for a settlement of your case and a release of all claims.  In the state of Maryland, as a general rule, you have 3 years from the date of the car accident to file a lawsuit, so before settling your case, it’s important to make sure all of your injuries have been diagnosed and if possible, treated.  Once you settle your case, you cannot come back for more money.
  8. IF IN DOUBT, CONTACT A LAWYER: If you’re unsure of your options, including what costs and expenses you can recover and what your case is worth, contact an attorney.  Consultations for these types of cases are almost always free.