personal injury attorney

April 15, 2018

Avoid These After a Car Accident

Preparing yourself for what to do after a car accident is important. But, it can be equally as important to remember what not to do.

Do not make any statements to your insurance company unless and until your coverage is explained to you. You do not have to consent to the conversation being recorded either.

Do not just take what the insurance company or contractor say is their belief of your total loss. This number may be lower than what your actual property loss is. It is important to also obtain legal advice and representation before you sign any documentation with the insurance company or their contractors. This is especially true when it comes to settling your claim. Do not let your personal circumstances affect your ability to get the most compensation possible. Along with not accepting any documentation from your insurance company that requires your signature, do not accept a check from them that purports to be a settlement of all your claims even though you have not signed anything.

April 15, 2018

Car Accident Claim Checklist

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

After experiencing a car accident, it is important to know what to do next. If you are injured in the accident, you may plan on going directly to seek medical care. En route, if you can, contact your insurance. It is always best to contact them first, and as soon as possible. Hopefully, you have quick online access to your insurance policy or a copy in your car. The next thing to do is to have that handy so that you can review it while on the phone with insurance.

All communications with your insurance company should be recorded by you in some manner, like taking notes during or after the conversation. You should know who you talked to, direct contact numbers and titles of the persons you communicate with. In any conversation you have, make sure you tell the truth and leave nothing out.

Once you have contacted insurance and have had medical attention, you might next want to investigate whether you have other insurance policies that may cover you. These are commonly known as “umbrella” policies, or coverage through your homeowner’s insurance, renter’s insurance or self-employment insurance.

April 14, 2018

Don’t Talk to an Insurance Company Without a Lawyer

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

After you are in a car accident, the insurance company is not supposed to be there for you. You will be in a battle with them to get that to which you are entitled. This is because insurance companies are only profitable if they do not pay out claims. This is why it is very important to hire experienced Massachusetts personal injury attorneys like those at the Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers to avoid begin taken advantage of by the insurance company.

Insurance adjusters will pretend that they care and are your friend. This is to get your guard down to take whatever they offer. It is also to get you to say things, like admitting fault, which results in the company not having to pay out a claim.

The insurance company may demand documentation that they do not really need. They are always looking for more information to close their investigation. The more information they get their hands on, the more likely it is they can trump up an excuse not to pay your claim.

April 14, 2018

Contingency Fee and the Personal Injury Case

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A contingency fee is what your lawyer is paid from whatever you are awarded in a personal injury case. The fee comes from the settlement or trial award. The fee is disbursed once the settlement is finalized with the insurance company. The benefit of a contingency fee, besides not paying your lawyer up front, is that you did not need to think about how many hours the lawyer works. The fee is based on a percentage of the ultimate award.

Before you begin a case with your attorney, make sure you have a written agreement. The agreement will detail what to expect once you do receive an award. It basically lays out the percentage that will be taken from the ultimate award and paid to the attorney. Your attorney will determine what percentage will be deducted, at the outset of your relationship, based on the following factors: the difficulty of the case, his or her experience in such cases, the severity of the injuries, how soon after the accident the attorney is hired, the likelihood of trial, and the unique needs of the client.

In the unusual circumstance that you are not awarded anything in your case, you will not have to pay your attorney’s fee. In this kind of case, you know that your attorney wants to recover compensation for you as much as you do. Otherwise, all the time put into your case does not get compensated.

April 14, 2018

Fictions Surrounding the Personal Injury Case

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

The attorneys at the Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers want to eliminate the fictions and misunderstandings that pervade the personal injury clients world before they come into our offices. Depending on your misunderstandings of personal injury matters during your case can actually harm the attorney’s ability to be successful on your behalf.

Potentially less severe injuries: Thinking you do not have to report a less severe injury to law enforcement. False! Report every pain and bruise. Anything you leave out can come back to haunt you and diminish your credibility.

Uninsured motorists: Thinking that you cannot pursue compensation because the other driver was not insured. False! If you are insured, your own insurance can cover your bills and compensate your pain and suffering. This depends on your policy.

April 14, 2018

Information the Insurance Companies are Keeping from You

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Did you know that if you have an attorney representing you, you are much more likely to get your claim paid by the insurance company? The insurance company actually does not want you to have a lawyer, and they will make attempts to get you to believe that.

Every time you speak with an insurance adjuster, you are being recorded. They are trying to preserve any holes in your story as excuses to not pay out your claims. This is why you never want to talk to insurance adjusters, and simply direct them to your attorney.

An insurance adjuster will make you think they are doing you a favor by offering an out of court settlement. However, such a settlement is most beneficial for them. So don’t believe their bluff when they act like they will be prepared to go to court on your claim. They really do not want to. It is far more costly for them.

April 13, 2018

When Should I Hire a Car Accident Lawyer?

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

When people are debating whether or not they should retain legal counsel for assistance in filing a claim following a car crash, the individuals are usually having one or more internal debates. In many cases, people have some initial doubts about whether an attorney would handle their case.

hire Boston personal injury attorney

If the accident does seem like the kind of case that a lawyer would handle, then the next concern is usually paying that attorney. Some people begin convincing themselves that they’ll be able to keep more of their money by handling cases themselves.

April 13, 2018

Workplace Injury Results in $8.25M Jury Award

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

On April 12, 2018 a Massachusetts jury returned a verdict in favor of Brian Goodrich in the amount of $8.25 million. The award comes after years of litigation beginning in 2013 when Mr. Goodrich’s head was nearly crushed because the jack holding up a piece of equipment failed. He suffered horrendous injuries which included facial disfigurement, blindness and loss of cognitive function.

The jury found, after hearing 11 days of testimony, that the company which designed the equipment was a majority at fault. Mr. Goodrich was changing the oil on the equipment meant to melt asphalt and fill cracks in the road. Although Mr. Goodrich acknowledged not using the safety pin with the jack which held the machine up, the company failed to include safety warnings and failed to manufacture the machine appropriately knowing such accidents were possible.

March 14, 2018

Are Sunroofs Safe? Feature Grows in Popularity, But Regulations Stagnant

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

More than a dozen years ago, a teenager was paralyzed in a single-vehicle crash after being thrown from the closed sunroof of her sport utility vehicle. She and her family filed Hankins v. Ford in a federal court in Mississippi, alleging her severe personal injuries were the result of a defective sunroof that was unreasonably dangerous and defendant car maker was negligent in failing to warn them of the risk.

The case dragged on for years, but ultimately ended with Ford prevailing under the argument that there is no government regulation that requires a sunroof (even one that is closed) to keep occupants inside a vehicle, particularly in the event of a rollover crash.

Fast-forward to today, and there are still no government regulations that require sunroofs to be safer, despite the fact that there are hundreds of ejections via sunroof every single year. Continue reading

March 21, 2017

Court: Mental Health Facility Owed No Duty for Actions of Discharged Patient

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Victims of violent assaults may find themselves reeling, both physically and emotionally, struggling to overcome the trauma. While the criminal justice system may take action to punish the offender, that doesn’t necessarily help the victim and the expenses they have incurred – the medical bills, the lost wages from time off work, the cost of therapy and other expenses.

In some situations, it can be worthwhile to pursue legal action in civil court. Such action is sometimes taken against the actual attacker (although insurance does not cover intentional acts, so collecting on damages against defendants who aren’t independently wealthy can be tough). More commonly, though, action is taken against third parties. Third parties can be liable for damages to a crime victim if the defendant breached some duty of care owed to plaintiff. For example, property owners may be liable for failing to protect residents and/or guests from conditions that might invite a criminal assault.

In a recent case before the New York Court of Appeals, the question was asked whether a mental health facility could be liable for injuries sustained in a criminal attack carried out by an adult male patient who had recently been discharged. Plaintiff alleged the facility was negligent in discharging the man, and if it had held him longer, the attack could have been avoided. Continue reading