Car Accidents

Mistakes That Can Wreck a Seattle Car Accident Injury Case: Statements made to doctors and massage therapists

January 21, 2018 Andrew Cherin Car Accidents, Insurance, Tips

As a Seattle personal injury lawyer, I have seen many things that can help or hurt a car accident injury case. Here are some of the top mistakes or misconceptions that clients have that I have seen that hurt Seattle car accident injury cases. A misconception is that doctors, chiropractors, massage therapists, and others will only write in your records what helps

What you say to your doctor, massage therapist, chiropractor, or any medical personnel will be put in your medical records and potentially used against you. You may think that because your doctor has treated many people injured in car accidents before that they know what will hurt your case and what will help your car accident injury case. However, most doctors and other medical personnel have no clue about what will help your case and what will hurt your case. They are simply a recording device and focused on you getting better.

Doctors, massage therapists, and other medical personnel want to see you get better. In fact, it is their number one goal to get you better from the injuries you suffered in the car accident. Their goal is to get you better as fast as possible. When they see that you state that you are feeling good, they write it down. When you say you are no longer feeling pain in a certain area, they write it down. They often will not differentiate between how you are feeling right now and how you felt last night after work or how you felt as you drove home from work yesterday. However, the good ones will.

It’s important to understand that you are not lying and they are not lying when they put down this information, only that it is not the complete truth. A lot of time doctors will ask how you feel right now, which is fine but you need to be honest with them and tell them how you felt last night, how you felt driving here in the car, and how you feel when you do something that causes you pain too. This will allow them to put this into their notes as well.

It’s not a lie to tell them you are feeling ok right now because you are just sitting here. Additionally, a lot of people are anticipating feeling good because of past experiences and comfortability with your doctor, massage therapist, chiropractor, etc. who have made you feel good in the past. This can dull the senses in some ways and make you think of the future instead of the past.

What can you do to make sure that you are not hurting your case when you talk to your doctor, massage therapist, physical therapists, or chiropractor? When the doctor asks you how you are feeling right now, always think of they are asking how you have been doing since they last saw you. Think of the time you had a lot of pain with your car accident injuries since you last saw this doctor. It’s important to report both the good and the bad.

A lot of times doctors will focus on the good because they want to see you improving so they feel satisfaction with their being a part of your healing, which is great but give them the whole story.

If the defendant doesn’t pay for medical bills up front, who is going to pay now?

January 20, 2018 Andrew Cherin Car Accidents, Insurance, PIP

In a Seattle car accident injury case, the defendant will not pay for your medical bills until you settle with them. You don’t want to settle with them until you have gone through 100% of your treatment and are back to normal. The question remains then, how do you pay for your medical treatment up front until you get your settlement?

There are many ways to pay for your medical bills while you are waiting to settle with the insurance company for the person that caused the car accident. This includes PIP insurance, medical insurance, cash, and paying on a lien.

You can pay for your medical treatment immediately if you have personal injury protection on your car insurance policy. This is a great insurance policy to have and should not be skipped over. Some people may think that their medical insurance will pay for their medical bills so they don’t need to pay extra for personal injury protection insurance. However, most medical insurance policies will not cover car accident injuries without a lawyer showing that there is no other way to pay for the medical treatment you need. Additionally, your medical insurance probably will not pay for chiropractic adjustments and massages, which are great to help her ripple heal faster from a car accident.

The best thing about PIP is that you don’t need a referral for PIP to pay and they will cover just about every medical treatment procedure or treatment that you need from car accident related injuries. This includes ambulance bills, hospital, massage, doctors visits, chiropractors, acupuncture, physical therapy, surgery, X-rays, MRI’s, and more. PIP will even pay for your lost wages, baby sitting, child care, and landscaping or housekeeping if you can’t do it but used to before.

Medical insurance will cover some bills such as hospital bills, physical therapy, ambulance bills. However, most medical insurance policies will not cover chiropractic or massage therapy. Additionally, they may be reluctant to cover any bills if they are related to a car accident and you don’t have an attorney. This is because they believe the defendant who caused the car accident will pay or other insurance is primary. However, if you can show you have exhausted your PIP insurance and have no other way to pay right now, so long as your policy covers the treatment normally, it will be covered.

Getting medical treatment on a lien is available to most people who are injured in a car accident and have a lawyer representing them. This is because most medical providers are reluctant to provide treatment to people injured in car accidents with a promise to pay them back out of the settlement alone. Most will trust a lawyer to sign a lien and guarantee payment out of the settlement. This is a good alternative to paying out of pocket and not getting the treatment that you need.

If you are injured in a car accident, you need a Seattle personal injury lawyer to represent you now. Consultations are free and car accident injury lawyers are paid out of the settlement. Therefore, everyone can afford a Seattle personal injury lawyer but you can’t afford not to have one against the insurance companies in a car accident injury case.

Do baby on board stickers work or hurt?

January 19, 2018 Andrew Cherin Car Accidents, Driving Tips

You know the stickers. You have seen them everywhere. They are usually in the back corner of the rear windshield and is yellow stating baby on board. Does it help people avoid Seattle car accidents? Does it save babies lives in car accidents? What affect does it have on people driving?

Notify Emergency Personnel: The biggest reason people put the baby on board sticker on their cars is in a car accident injury situation to give emergency responders notice that there is a baby in the car so please come to this car first to check on the baby. Another thought is that the baby on board sticker alerts the first responders to not forget about the baby in case there is a car accident and people are injured.

People Drive Slower: Baby on board stickers are good because they can warn people around them to drive carefully because there is a baby on board. This will help them avoid car accidents because Seattle drivers will drive more carefully around them. The thought is that people will drive more carefully around these cars because they want to protect the baby, they have had their own baby and know how important and fragile babies are, or that the person driving the car with a baby has a lot to think about so they may drive a little more erratic with a baby or young children screaming, throwing things, or otherwise distracting them.

Make Moms a Target: Some moms in mom groups believe that baby on board stickers actually puts a target on their car for thieves and potential kidnappers. For this reason, some moms will shy away from putting the baby on board sticker on their car. Mom groups also think that the sign will be a target for stalkers to stalk you and learn your daily routine to steal away your baby or make you an easy target. However, many moms in these forums point out that you can just as easily tell a baby is in the car with the huge car seat in the back seat so the sticker is not a big giveaway as you might think.

Distraction: There is one thought posted in a British website that baby on board stickers actually cause more car accidents because some people fashion the baby on board sticker in a spot that blocks the driver’s view out the back window. Most people know to place stickers that do not block their view in a car so that you can see out the back window. However, if the sticker is placed in an area that blocks part of that view, a Seattle car accident can occur because you may not see someone coming up behind you as you want to switch lanes.

It seems that the best reason to have the sticker is for emergency personnel to go to your car first to check on the baby, who may be more prone to being injured in a Seattle car accident. Additionally, you may see the added benefit of people driving slower and more cautious around you. I mean, who wants to cut off a car with a baby or drive erratic around them? No one.

If you have been injured in a Seattle car accident, call a Seattle personal injury lawyer today for a free consultation. Seattle car accident injury lawyers are paid out of the settlement so everyone can afford one but you can’t afford not to have one.

Seattle Car Accident Injury Commercial Myth Buster

January 18, 2018 Andrew Cherin Car Accidents, Insurance

I am sure you have seen them on television, as they are everywhere. You know, the Seattle car accident injury lawyer commercial where they show the person on television saying they got $250,000 when the insurance company only offered them $25,000 but they look perfectly fine. How are these people allowed to have commercials so obviously deceiving? It also doesn’t say how much these people actually got in their pocket after very expensive medical bills are paid and attorney fees are paid.

News Flash: these people on television were not the people that were actually injured. In very small lettering at the bottom of the screen it says that these people are actors portraying other people. This is so deceiving it is ridiculous. I don’t understand how they are able to have someone who was not injured come on television and say this law firm got them $250,000 for their car accident injuries without saying in big letters this is not the person and the person injured was actually severely injured.

People that are perfectly fine are not people that get $250,000 for car accident injury cases. What these commercials are failing to show is what injuries these people that actually got $250,000 suffered from. I can tell you right now, $250,000 case is a case where there were either broken bones, surgery, or some other permanent type injury. This is not the type of reward you get from whiplash and seeing the chiropractor for 6 to 9 months with nothing else going on.

These Seattle personal injury lawyers are deceiving the Seattle people left and right. Some people who have not been in a car accident and believe that society is too litigious will believe, how did these Seattle personal injury lawyers con the insurance company to give this person who is obviously not injured $250,000?! They will look at these commercials and believe that lawyers and people that are in car accidents are faking injuries or taking advantage of insurance companies raising their premiums.

Other people that have been injured in a Seattle car accident will think how are these people getting all this money when I am in so much more pain than these people on television who look perfectly fine?!

These Seattle personal injury lawyers need to either show the people that were actually injured in the car accident and have them say what there injuries suffered in the car accident were or they need to stop making these commercials. They are too deceiving to be on television.

If you have been injured in a car accident in the Seattle area, give me a call for a free consultation. Seattle personal injury lawyers are paid out of the settlement so everyone can afford a personal injury lawyer but you can’t afford not to have one against the insurance companies.

Washington Ranked 5th Worst Driving State: Will light rail help?

January 17, 2018 Andrew Cherin Car Accidents, Driving Tips

Washington State was ranked 5th worst state for driving in 2017 according to Quote Wizard. Quote wizard looked at accident rates between states to rank the drivers. No surprise on who was number one on this list, California. However, two through four on states with the most car accidents was a surprise – Minnesota, Utah, and South Carolina.

Accident rates as a whole have been going up across the country as more and more people are hitting the road with a booming economy again. Additionally, car accident related deaths are also on the rise according to the New York Times. Car accident related deaths rose a whopping 6 percent in 2016 compared to 2015. However, in Washington State, traffic related deaths fell 5% in 2016 from 2015 but rose 15% since 2014.

Why does Washington have so many car accidents, especially recently? The reason is almost certainly due to the influx in people coming to Washington State everyday for new jobs from Amazon, Facebook, Google, Starbucks, Microsoft, and more. In 2017, the Stranger posted an article stated that 1,000 people are moving to Seattle every week! More people on the road means more chances for car accidents.

More people on the road coupled with less room on the road, at least in the short term, equals more car accidents. However, it doesn’t seem like more room on the road is actually going to happen any time soon. Instead, Seattle and King county is focusing on actually decreasing the room on the road in favor of creating more room for mass transit systems like the light rail. King county just recently took down the express lanes on I-90 in favor of using those lanes instead for light rail.

Light rail so far has done nothing to decrease congestion on the roads and it probably won’t do anything to lessen traffic on the roads for a very long time. It’s not because the option is not there, it is more because people do not feel comfortable riding light rail and would rather have the ability to chose their own destiny and be on the road, no matter the cost. In fact, a light rail booster even said that light rail will do nothing to decrease traffic in King County.

Right now, it is faster to drive downtown than it is to drive to a park and ride and take two transfers on a bus to get to your destination. This could change but not for a very long time. Unless light rail gets giant park and rides in every neighborhood, I really don’t see how many people are going to be taking light rail versus driving in. Unless congestion gets to a point where it takes longer to drive than to drive to a light rail station and park your car by probably at least an hour, I don’t see it happening.

In fact, one study published in the Washington Post showed that light rail actually had no affect on traffic congestion. The study took place in London from the 90’s to 2000’s.

If you have been injured in a car accident, please contact a Seattle personal injury lawyer for a free consultation. Seattle personal injury lawyers are paid out of the settlement so everyone can afford a lawyer but you can’t afford not to have one against insurance companies.

If there are no road lines painted on the road, is the state at fault for a car accident?

January 17, 2018 Andrew Cherin Car Accidents, Insurance, Liability

With all the construction around Seattle it is not uncommon to see areas of road that are not painted in fully. I noticed one stretch of road recently going across I-90 to the mountains where the lanes do not have lines painted on the cement to divide the lanes of traffic. I-90 in the mountains is constantly getting new updates to the roads as a large lane expansion is happening. Someone must have forgot to paint the lines and they don’t have time to repaint them, which is not a good excuse because people’s lives are now at risk.

Car accidents in and around Seattle can occur when two cars believe they have the right to a lane. Merging car accidents are some of the most common forms of car accident injury cases. Who is at fault in a merging car accident case is one of the most difficult things to determine if two cars merge into the same lane at the same time.

If a lane of traffic is not painted, a car could reasonably swerve into another lane because they though it was their lane of traffic. Who is at fault in this scenario? The state and construction company are at fault for any resulting injuries for a car accident caused by road repair gaffs like forgetting to paint lane lines.

The same principal applies to any other road construction take like leaving equipment in the middle of the road, making the road have a divot, and anything else that creates a hazard for other drivers.

If you have been injured in a Seattle car accident, you need a Seattle personal injury lawyer immediately. Consultations are free and we are paid out of the settlement so there are no out of pocket expenses. Everyone can afford a lawyer but you cannot afford not to have one against insurance companies.

When should you hire a Seattle personal injury lawyer?

January 13, 2018 Andrew Cherin Car Accidents, Insurance, PIP

The best time to hire a Seattle personal injury lawyer for a car accident injury case is right after a car accident.

Why hire a Seattle personal injury lawyer immediately after a car accident? The insurance company will not have an opportunity to pressure you into settling your case early for far less than you deserve. Additionally, the insurance company will not have an opportunity to put words in your mouth by unnecessarily leading questions in your recorded interview with them so they can use against you.

Moreover, you will feel no pressure to settle so that you can freely get the medical treatment that you need to get 100% and not settling for anything less. Also, a Seattle personal injury lawyer can find ways to get you the medical treatment you need whether it be by your medical insurance, your auto insurance policy, or paying back the medical professionals out of the car accident settlement. The defendant insurance company will not pay for your medical treatment until after you settle with them which can make it difficult to get medical treatment because most providers will not allow treatment without a signed lien by an attorney in this way.

Who should hire a Seattle personal lawyer for a car accident injury? EVERYONE. Studies have shown that those who hire a car accident injury lawyer to represent them against insurance agencies put double the money in their pocket than those that don’t have a lawyer representing them.

Here are some misconceptions of times when people believe you should only hire a Seattle personal injury lawyer for a car accident in Seattle –

1.Going to Trial – People mistakenly believe that by hiring a Seattle personal injury lawyer that you are going to have to go to trial for your car accident injury case. While some times it is necessary to file a lawsuit for a car accident injury case, this is not the norm. Most Seattle car accident injury cases can be settled without filing a lawsuit.

2. Insurance not accepting liability – People mistakenly believe that you only need to hire a Seattle personal injury lawyer if the insurance company is not accepting liability. If the insurance company is not accepting liability for your case, this is a good time to hire a Seattle car accident injury lawyer but is not the only time.

3. They are not that hurt and only needed 3 months of chiropractic or massage – Contrary to some belief, needing any type of medical treatment for more than a few months are good car accident injury cases worth a decent amount of money to the car accident victim.

If you have been injured in a Seattle area car accident, call a Seattle personal injury lawyer today for a free consultation. We are paid out of the settlement so everyone can afford a personal injury lawyer but you can’t afford not to have one against the insurance company.

Is it safer to drive with your doors locked versus not?

January 12, 2018 Andrew Cherin Car Accidents, Driving Tips

There is a rumor out there that it is safer to drive with your doors unlocked versus locked. The reason for this rumor is that if your doors are unlocked you will be able to easily be able to get out of your car in case of a car accident. If your doors are locked, this says that your doors may not unlock and you will be more likely to be stuck in your car and unable to get help in case of a car accident.

I did a search of the internet to see if this rumor was true or not. I came to a blog by well know car experts Tom and Ray Magliozzi. They actually had done a show about this very question in 2011. In the show the caller had the very same question, is it safer to drive with your car unlocked in case of a car accident so paramedics can get you out or you can exit in case your car catches on fire.

In the 2011 article titled “how do locked doors help during a car accident”, Tom and Ray stated that it is actually more likely you would be injured in a car accident if you drive with your car doors unlocked. They stated the reason behind this was because the doors being locked actually creates a tighter seal on the car and better allows the car’s body to protect the people riding in the car. Additionally, by the car doors being locked, there is far less chance of the doors being loosened and being opened in case of a car accident.

If your car doors open in a car accident, you are more likely to fall out of the car, be hit by debris or other objects outside of the car, and the car’s stability rating on the outside is less able to absorb impacts.

Most new cars these days come with automatic locks so it is much harder if not impossible to unlock your doors while cars are moving.

If you are injured in a car accident, contact a Seattle personal injury lawyer for a free consultation. Personal injury lawyers are paid out of the settlement so there are no hourly fees and out of pocket costs. Everyone can afford a Seattle personal injury lawyer because of this but you can’t afford not to have one against the insurance companies.

Why a chiropractor is a must for someone injured in a car accident?

January 11, 2018 Andrew Cherin Car Accidents, Insurance, Law, PIP

If you are injured in a car accident in Seattle, there are few better places to seek treatment than at a chiropractor, assuming you didn’t need to go to the hospital first.

Car accident injuries have a tendency to primarily injure the spine and neck regions of a person, among other injuries. Of course you can injure other areas of your body in a car accident but almost all car accident will cause injury to the spine and neck as well. This is because seats and safety restraints in average cars do a good job of sitting you up right but do not fully restrain you into the seat during a jolting car accident. This is why you see people in Nascar who are securely restrained to the seat suffer far less injuries to themselves than the same type of impact to a normal car.

Chiropractors primarily focus on treating injuries to the spine and neck to make sure that your spine and neck are primarily in line so your body can function as optimally as possible. Chiropractors do this by a number of different ways including tiny corrective adjustments to the spine and neck region.

Chiropractors are a great first stop for anyone injured in a car accident because they can take x-rays of your spine, do an exhaustive examination of your range of motions in your neck and back, refer you out for an MRI, and refer you out to a specialist if you need a consultation with an orthopaedic surgeon.

In addition to spinal adjustments, many chiropractors create and instruct physical therapy routines for their patients. The injured person can then use on their own to strengthen key supportive muscles that may have been weakened in a car accident.

Some chiropractic facilities also provide massage therapists, acupuncturists, and physical therapists on site so that you can receive all the treatment you need in a one stop shop versus running all over town to different appointments. This creates a wellness team that can really multiply the healing hands on a person that is injured in a car accident in order to get them better and back to their daily routine as quick as possible.

From a car accident injury lawyer standpoint, I can tell you that from the clients of mine that have gone to a chiropractor versus the ones that do not, the clients who go to a chiropractor regularly get better much faster and fuller than those that do not.

A Seattle personal injury lawyer can help you navigate the insurance coverage and non coverage in order to make sure you can get the chiropractic care you need. Even if you don’t have insurance, some chiropractors are willing to wait until you receive a settlement to get paid, but will require you to have a Seattle personal injury lawyer guarantee payment out of the settlement.

Who has the right of way at a two way intersection?

January 11, 2018 Andrew Cherin Car Accidents, Law, Liability

I came across this very scenario the other day while driving but couldn’t figure it out so I let the other guy go first to avoid an accident. If you are approaching an intersection with a stop sign on your side and a stop sign on the other side but non in the center, who has the right of way if you and another car going the opposite way arrive at an intersection and you want to turn left and the want to go straight? Note that you both wait a second for traffic to clear before proceeding.

At a four way stop if this had occurred, you would have the right of way because you were first in time. However, this is different as you are planning on turning left and they are going straight in a two way stop. In this situation, it would appear that you must give way to the person going straight across the intersection.

If there was a collision with the vehicle going straight and you turning left in front of them, there is an argument that could be made that you were first in time so you have the right of way. However, they may be able to point to the law regarding vehicles turning left and giving the right of way to the vehicle coming straight from the opposite direction.

In the alternative, if both vehicles were turning left and a collision occurred, you would have a great argument for being first in time and would in fact have the right of way in this instance. However, you would need an independent witness in order to verify your statement and prove that you were in the right.

RCW 46.61.185

Vehicle turning left.

The driver of a vehicle intending to turn to the left within an intersection or into an alley, private road, or driveway shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicle approaching from the opposite direction which is within the intersection or so close thereto as to constitute an immediate hazard.

If you have been injured in a car accident, you should contact a Seattle personal injury lawyer in order to preserve your rights and learn about your potential rights moving forward. Consultations are free and Seattle personal injury lawyers are paid out of the settlement so there is no high hourly fee. Everyone can afford a Seattle personal injury lawyer but you cannot afford not to have one against the insurance companies.