Personal Injury Settlements Can Be Impacted Due To Covid-19

 

During the coronavirus pandemic, many people suffered injuries due to auto accidents, slip and fall accidents, and other ordinary accidents. If you were one of these accident victims, you may bring a personal injury claim against the responsible party. However, the COVID-19 closure of many offices and businesses, and other issues, may affect your case, according to top rated personal injury lawyers.

Please be aware that the court system has been shut down for the most part during the outbreak and is now slowly reopening. A personal injury case will take more time than usual to move through the courts. While it is true that most personal injury cases will be settled out of court, most cases undergo at least one court hearing before a satisfactory settlement is reached. You may need extra patience while awaiting such a court date.

Millions of Americans are feeling the financial strain caused by the pandemic lockdown. Perhaps you feel that you urgently need compensation for the injury you suffered in an accident, most particularly if you are unemployed. Although accepting a settlement quickly from an insurer would be tempting, avoid making this mistake. An early settlement offer is not the final offer, and it is in your best interest to wait. Consult with your attorney if you are under financial pressure to settle.

Should your case proceed to trial, you might encounter stronger resistance on the part of the insurer. The coronavirus pandemic has affected every business, and the insurance industry is no exception. Insurers will tend toward minimizing settlements and are likely to delay or use other tactics to keep their settlement costs down. Be prepared to proceed further into litigation than you might have expected previous to the pandemic.

If you are suing a business that is not currently insured, you are likely to face considerable challenges in collecting a settlement. An uninsured business may not be able to pay a settlement and may even file for bankruptcy. If that would happen, you would wait a long time to receive a settlement or you may never receive the full settlement amount.

If you have been in a car accident, it is possible that the other driver has not kept up with insurance premiums due to unemployment or the recession. The other driver may be uninsured, which complicates your situation as the injured party, according to car accident lawyers. You may need to pursue benefits through your own uninsured/underinsured motorist policy with your insurer. If this should be the case, remember that your own insurer is now an “adverse party” and not “on your side.” Consult with your attorney about the best strategies and practices.

It is important that you receive medical treatment for your injuries, and during the pandemic you may have felt reluctant to visit a doctor or hospital. You must seek medical treatment as recommended by your doctors. Documenting that you have received care is extremely important to your personal injury case. Of course, always follow CDC guidelines on wearing face masks, social distancing, and so on.

Even if you are actively seeking medical treatment for your injuries, you may find there are delays in receiving medical appointments because health care providers are overwhelmed with coronavirus patients. This could mean you should postpone filing or settling your personal injury case. Your attorney will guide you in these important decisions.

Personal injury cases are more complicated in the era of COVID-19. Don’t delay making an appointment with an experienced personal injury attorney to discuss your case and the critical next steps.

This blog was originally posted on https://www.pa4law.com/personal-injury-settlements-can-be-impacted-due-to-covid-19/

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Car Accidents Involving 18-Wheelers and Commercial Vehicles: What To Do

Because of the sheer size of 18-wheelers (as much as 80,0000 lbs.) and other commercial vehicles, accidents involving these vehicles often result in serious injuries or death. These accidents are less likely to occur on back roads, at night or on weekends. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, many crashes of these kinds occur on interstate highways, and three out of four occur on weekdays between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Top rated personal injury lawyers will tell you that the best course of action following such an accident will differ from an accident between two passenger cars. If you are involved in an accident with an 18-wheeler or commercial vehicle, you should know there are differences in:

•    Insurance liability coverage

•    Complexity of investigation

•    Standards for owners of commercial vehicles

•    Standards for drivers of commercial vehicles

Insurance liability coverage

Operators of personal vehicles typically have insurance coverage ranging from $30,000 to $250,000. The amount you might receive following an accident between passenger cars generally will be constrained by the amount of liability coverage held by the owners of the automobiles.

Businesses obtain much higher amounts of liability coverage so that the business is protected from any large claim. Trucking companies will have a minimum coverage of $1 million, and often are insured for multi-millions. A driver or passenger of a car involved in an accident with a semi-truck or 18-wheeler will be pursuing these larger damages.

Complexity of investigation

Investigating an accident with an 18-wheeler or commercial vehicle is nearly always more complex than investigating an accident between passenger cars. There may be several cars involved in an accident with these huge vehicles. The accident might have been caused by cargo falling off the truck, or by an issue with the truck itself that should have been discovered during inspection or maintenance. Authorities will have more potential witnesses to interview and technical inspections to conduct, and so will top accident attorneys.

Standards for owners of commercial vehicles

Businesses operating commercial vehicles are required to keep safety and maintenance records for every vehicle. Semi-trucks are subject to daily inspections before each shift. These higher standards are in place because a defect in a huge vehicle may result in greater damages and injuries on the highway than a personal passenger car. Businesses also are required to provide training to drivers, and to keep records that show whether drivers are following rules for commercial drivers.

Standards for drivers of commercial vehicles

Your car accident lawyer knows that many truck drivers drive long hours, and this raises the risk of truck drivers falling asleep at the wheel and causing a serious accident. That is why there are rules about how many hours a truck driver may drive in a day. Truck drivers are also required to keep a log book of their driving hours.

There is a lot to know about how to handle a personal injury case between a car and a commercial vehicle. Your first course of action is to contact an experienced attorney at Perna & Abracht LLC, who will take all the steps necessary to protect your rights and seek fair compensation for your injuries.

This blog was originally posted on https://www.pa4law.com/car-accidents-involving-18-wheelers-and-commercial-vehicles-what-to-do/

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