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I was in an auto accident and I went to the emergency room.
I don’s have any health insurance but I would like to go to
a doctor because I am still hurting. Do I have to pay out of
my own pocket? No. We can generally arrange for you to see a doctor with no money up front but depending upon where you live you may have to travel. I was in an auto accident last year. The insurance company said they would take care of everything but now they won’t call me back. Do I need a lawyer? If you are really hurt the answer is yes. If it is just a minor accident and all you have is an ER visit you can probably deal with them yourself, although I would not be in too big a hurry to settle your claim because once you accept their money and sign the release the claim is forever barred. So make sure that you are really OK before signing anything. If you’re not call a lawyer. A family member died after an operation and the doctor’s explanation did not make sense to us. We asked for a copy of the medical records but the hospital gave us the run around. Is there anything that we can do to find out what happened? Contact a lawyer. What my office routinely does is have the family sign an authorization for medical records and then obtain the records and have them reviewed by a nurse expert or a doctor to determine if there is a medical malpractice case that is winnable. I had a car wreck over a year ago. Is there a time limit for me to do something? Yes. The statute of limitations in Texas and in Oklahoma is is two years although it may vary in other states. This means that you must file a lawsuit within two years or the case is time barred. How long does it take to get a recovery out of my personal injury case? The answer varies widely depending upon the insurance company that is involved, the nature of the injuries and the place where the accident happened. Generally, 1 to 2 years if a lawsuit is required, 6 months to a year if the case can be settled without filing a lawsuit. These are just estimates and you should not expect that your case will necessarily fall within that range. I was in an auto accident and the person that hit us had no insurance. What can I do? File an uninsured motorist claim with your own insurance company. You are going to need a lawyer on this because it gets complicated but generally there is a remedy if you carry uninsured motorist insurance. How do I know what my injury claim is worth? The value of a personal injury claim is determined by the nature and extent of the injuries and the locale of the accident. Jury verdicts do vary considerably from state to state and even county to county therefore the value of the claim is dependent upon where it happened. The worse that the injury is the more the claim is worse. Also some claims are inherently hard to prove, such as whiplash, even though the injuries are real. Only a lawyer familiar with personal injury verdicts in the general region can value a personal injury claim. What am I entitled to recover for pain and suffering from my accident? This goes along with the last question. The value of pain and suffering is subjective. A jury can place any amount on it that they want to. There is no formula required or imposed by law. Therefore the answer is that what you will receive will be determined by where your case is tried and what the nature of the injuries are as well as how well the jury relates to you as a person. I was hurt on the job and I am not getting a check. What are my rights? The answer in every state except Texas is file a workers compensation claim. Most states have a form available on the website of the state workers compensation board. You can download the form and fill it out and file it with the state workers compensation board. The website in most cases will tell you where to mail it for filing. That should get your compensation checks started. Some employers will file comp claims for their employees. You should hire a lawyer to handle your comp claim if the injuries are serious. In Texas, the answer is harder because many employers no longer carry workers compensation and have replaced it with other types of coverage. In Texas you will need to call a lawyer to determine what type of compensation is available to you. I live in Oklahoma. I had an accident out of state while on the job. What are my rights? Generally you need to file a workers comp claim in the state where the accident happened or where you were hired. These cases usually come up in the context of interstate truckers or people who work for large construction firms. The benefits may vary so which state you file in can make a difference in what you receive. A lawyer will need to research the benefits available in the state that the accident happened in to determine the benefits available to you. Is there a time limit for filing my workers comp claim? Yes. It varies from state to state but generally you must file the claim within 1 or 2 years (depending on the state) from the date of the accident. Also you must give notice of the accident to your employer within 30 days of the accident in most states. This is to prevent fraudulent claims. |