As anyone who has been through this situation will know, the process of obtaining proper compensation from an insurance company after a car accident can be arduous and stressful. Insurance companies, whether your own or that of a liable party in your case, are always looking for loopholes and excuses that will get them out of paying major funds, and they’ll often go to great lengths here.
At the Law Offices of William Rawlings & Associates, we’re proud to offer you quality car accident injury attorney services that will help balance the scales here. We’ve spent years dealing with both liable parties and their insurance companies, with many former insurance adjusters in the fold who understand exactly how these companies work – and how to fight against some of the tactics they’ll use.
One particularly stressful area in some auto accident injury cases is what’s called prolonged recovery. Lucky car accident victims may recover quickly from physical injury, or may even have very little such injury to begin with, but many less fortunate people will suffer back pain, neck pain or other symptoms that linger on for weeks or months after the accident. In these cases, insurance companies will try a few specific tactics to avoid covering this prolonged care – let’s look at each of these tactics and how we’ll help you fight back against them.
Insurance companies often like to put a sparkly bow on even some of their most negative behaviors, and this area is a good example. Representatives are obviously instructed never to tell someone outright that they’re faking or exaggerating an injury – instead, they’ll use the term “malingering.”
Really, though, you know what they mean. This is often the first argument made against providing compensation for treatment that comes weeks or months after an accident, one where the insurance provider claims you don’t actually need the treatment and are exaggerating.
If the malingering excuse doesn’t work, many insurance companies will next move to pre-existing conditions. As the term suggests, they’ll go out of their way to try and prove that your current physical symptoms are not a result of your vehicle accident – rather, that they’re due to a previously present condition of some kind. They’ll dig deep into medical records, even going years back to previous physical therapy or any other evidence that might suggest the injury came from somewhere else.
Finally, if both of the above are unsuccessful, the insurance company may just argue that the treatment you received wasn’t relevant for accident-related injuries. They may ask why you didn’t go to the ER directly after the accident, for instance, and then use that fact to claim that future treatments are not connected because you clearly weren’t in pain right after the accident (a straw man argument our attorneys can quickly poke holes in, as not all accident injuries are immediately visible).
For more on ensuring you have the proper compensation for prolonged treatment after a vehicle accident, or to learn about any of our personal injury attorney services, speak to the staff at the Law Offices of William Rawlings & Associates today.
For those who ride motorcycles as a primary form of transportation, safety is vital. Motorcycle riders are eight times more likely to be injured in an accident than passengers in a vehicle, and these injuries are often severe due to limited protection for those riding them.
At the Law Offices of William Rawlings & Associates, LLC, we’re here to help if you have a motorcycle accident injury and believe you may have a case for damages against a liable party. Unfortunately, there are a few strange misconceptions out there that may impact the way your case goes – let’s clear these up and look at some common statistics and case values for motorcycle accidents, plus how you can get your just compensation.
There are a high number of motorcycle accidents in the United States each year, and while precise figures vary based on the source, there’s no question that over 5,000 drivers die each year due to motorcycle collisions. Nearly another 90,000 will be injured in such accidents.
As we noted above, these accidents often come with major injury risks. Even minor motorcycle collisions pose significant such risks to those riding them, especially if any safety equipment is lacking at the time.
Unfortunately, there’s a common prejudice that may make its way into certain folks’ opinion of motorcycle-related accidents. Like it or not, some people view motorcycles as inherently dangerous or flashy, and thus will attempt to pin the blame for any accident involving them on the motorcycle driver – even if the incident clearly was not their fault in reality.
Speaking of reality, it doesn’t line up with this perception. A high percentage of motorcyclists are at least 40 years old, not the daredevil youths some are imagining, and well over half of all collisions involving motorcycles are actually caused by drivers of other vehicles. An experienced personal injury attorney will be able to highlight these important realities to all necessary parties during your case.
Per information form Jury Verdict Research, motorcycle injury verdicts are often quite high, with a median approaching $75,000 per case for years in the early 2000s (amounts that have gone up since due to inflation and other factors). Know that if you’ve been injured in such a situation, you could potentially have a claim for a high dollar value.
Unfortunately, like with other car accident formats, your insurance company is not actually always trying to help you here. Rather, they’re trying to find reasons not to pay out compensation for an accident, such as attempting to prove you were at fault when this isn’t the case. Luckily, our attorneys are here to represent your interests to these bodies and get you the compensation you deserve, whether through a fair settlement or even a trial process.
For more on motorcycle accidents and liability, or to learn about any of our personal injury lawyer services, speak to the staff at the Law Offices of William Rawlings & Associates, LLC today.
While certain car accident injury cases are relatively straightforward when it comes to assigning blame and liability, many others are not. There are numerous situations that lead to and cause car accidents, possibly including multiple parties and liability areas, and it can sometimes be more complex to determine precisely who was at fault or is liable.
At the Law Offices of William Rawlings & Associates, our auto accident injury attorneys are here to help no matter the complexity of your case. One area that may require a careful hand? Passenger claims, or cases where passengers in a given vehicle type have liability claims against the driver of either their own vehicle or others involved. One such issue is when a passenger van is involved in an accident – here are some important facts and themes to understand for these cases.
Passenger vans are defined as those that can accommodate between 12 and 15 occupants, or sometimes even more. They’re commonly used by many different groups, from resort and tour companies to airport shuttles, church groups and many others. They’re also regularly used for daycare, senior care and similar areas.
Passenger vans, by definition, are larger than other vehicle types. They’re longer, taller and wider, meaning driving them requires different skills than most other cars. Side mirrors are required more often for changing lanes, for instance, and braking needs to be applied more liberally during all situations.
And unfortunately, passenger vans are also at greater risk for collisions. Rollover risk are much higher due to the weight of people in the van, and other factors like negligence or improper maintenance may play a role as well.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is an overview body that helps govern several related areas here, and it treats passenger and commercial vans as something of a gray area vehicle. While the NHTSA recommends that passenger vans have commercial driver’s licenses, this is not a legal requirement in most areas.
The NHTSA has other areas it recommends as well, but again, no hard requirements. It highly advises checking tires for proper inflation levels to prevent rollover issues, especially on longer trips. It also recommends proper cargo placement within these vehicles – too much reliance on roof-top luggage racks will increase rollover risks. Finally, passenger vans should never tow anything, and all passengers should remain seated with their seatbelts on at all times while in these vehicles.
If you’ve been part of a passenger van accident that left you injured, you could have a case for compensation from the party liable for the accident. Our attorneys are here to go over the details of your case and advise you on your next steps.
For more on passenger vans and liability, or to learn about any of our personal injury attorney services, speak to the staff at the Law Offices of William Rawlings & Associates today.
Known medically as an intra-cranial injury, a traumatic brain injury is a significant traumatic event that leads to damage in the human brain. Most often seen in car accidents, but also possible in several other situations, traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) can have a wide range of symptoms.
At the offices of William Rawlings & Associates, our personal injury attorneys are here to help if you fear you or a loved one sustained a TBI during a vehicle accident or any other situation where another party may be liable. Let’s go over some basic facts on these injuries, the symptoms you may notice, and the multiple areas where you may see the impact of these injuries in your daily life.
Brain injuries can range from mild to extremely serious, and on the far end of this spectrum, they are responsible for about 200,000 American deaths each year. They’re also largely responsible for roughly another 500,000 non-death hospitalizations each year, including many that lead to future issues, often permanent ones.
Unfortunately, many TBI cases simply go undiagnosed, even some of the more severe ones. Many who suffer from them try to cover them off as nothing but headaches or similar symptoms, often because they don’t want to believe anything more serious is happening.
As you might expect, auto accidents are one of the top causes of traumatic brain injuries. Here are some specific types or related conditions to be aware of:
It’s important to note that with TBIs, there’s both a physical element to consider and a cognitive/emotional one. In addition, there are often delayed symptoms – people might feel completely normal after a traumatic injury has occurred, before showing symptoms hours, days or even weeks later. In cases like vehicle accidents where another party might be liable for the injury, it’s vital to retain the services of an auto accident attorney even if symptoms seem minor or nonexistent after a head impact (or many other injury types, of course).
For more on traumatic brain injuries and liability, or to learn about any of our other personal injury attorney services, speak to the pros at the offices of William Rawlings & Associates today.
Certain kinds of car accidents are inherently more dangerous than others, and on the very riskiest end of this spectrum sits wrong-way accidents. As the name suggests, these are accidents where vehicles collide, usually head-on, after one driver begins driving the wrong way on a given road or highway.
At the offices of William Rawlings & Associates, LLC, we have experienced auto accident attorneys who will help you receive proper compensation if you or a loved one has been impacted by a wrong-way vehicle accident or any other type of car or truck accident. Let’s look at some simple statistics behind these accidents and what makes them so dangerous, plus how many jurisdictions will respond harshly and punitively to these kinds of incidents.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, abbreviated NTSB, nearly 400 highway deaths are caused per year by wrong-way driving accidents in the United States alone. As we noted above, nearly all such incidents are head-on collisions between the driver going the wrong way and other driver(s) going the correct direction.
Unfortunately, the numbers also showcase how much more dangerous these wrong-way collisions are than average. While only about 1 percent of standard vehicle accidents involve a fatality, over 20 percent of wrong-way collisions include a death, making them over 20 times more likely to result in a fatality.
There are a few possible causes of wrong-way driving accidents, including some that may overlap with others. A few of the most common include:
For many years, the NTSB has recommended that judges and juries assign strict, punitive penalties to those who contribute to wrong-way crashes, particularly those who do so while impaired. If you’ve been injured by such a driver, consult with one of our car accident attorneys, who can prepare you for the kinds of damages you’ll be able to seek.
For more on wrong-way driving accidents, or to learn about any of our personal injury attorney services, speak to the pros at the offices of William Rawlings & Associates today.
There are several potential causes to vehicle accidents on the road, and one of the most common and dangerous is distracted driving. Distracted driving is a broad category that can refer to several specific types of distraction, from visual ones to manual or even cognitive issues.
At the offices of William Rawlings & Associates, LLC, we’re here to tell you that regardless of which type of distraction was the cause, you could be owed damages if you were injured in a car accident caused by a distracted driver. Here are some basics on defining this term, how an auto accident injury attorney can help, plus an investigation into a few specific examples of distracted driving – including a couple that some people mistakenly think don’t put them at risk for liability if they cause an accident.
Simply put, the law defines distracted driving as any behavior or activity that turns the driver’s attention away from the task of driving. Many of the basics here come back to simple science: Even a single second spent looking away from the road in front of you will cause you to be unaware for a huge amount of ground covered, particularly if your vehicle is traveling at a high rate of speed.
This is a bit more of a nebulous category, but distraction can also be easily caused by our own mental picture. Daydreaming or distraction are particularly common for tired drivers, part of the reason you often see reminders to pull over and rest if you feel tired while driving.
It’s often used as the butt of jokes due to it’s silly-sounding name, but rubbernecking – or slowing down and losing focus on driving so as to view accidents or other things happening on the side of the road – is extremely dangerous. It’s the cause of numerous additional accidents, in fact, and is a form of distracted driving that is not viewed favorably by courts.
For more on the common types of distracted driving, or to learn about any of our car accident or personal injury attorney services, speak to the staff at the offices of William Rawlings & Associates today.
Hopefully this never happens to you, but if you’re ever bitten or otherwise injured by someone else’s dog, it’s possible this party will be liable for your injuries. Dog owners are generally liable for these kinds of injuries with a few exceptions (trespassing, abuse or taunting of the dog, etc.), and this liability may extend all the way to future pain and suffering just like many other personal injury case types.
At the offices of William Rawlings & Associates, we our personal injury attorneys are here to help if you’ve been injured in a dog bite case. How should you respond if you’re bitten or otherwise injured by a dog that isn’t yours? Here are some important areas to make sure you cover.
The most important thing after any injury is your own health and safety, and you should see to this first. Seek medical attention right away if your injuries justify it – this includes any puncture wound, even if it doesn’t seem too serious. This is because you never know the cleanliness of that dog’s mouth (it’s likely not great), and you could be at risk for infection even for smaller wounds that aren’t bleeding much.
Wherever possible while seeking medical attention, look for ways to document the services you receive. If you have to attend a hospital or doctor’s office, ask for copies of your bills with detailed lists of the injuries treated. In cases where your face is injured by the dog, you might consider a plastic surgeon for cosmetic areas that standard doctors are not trained on.
As quickly as possible once you’ve addressed any injuries and are sure you’re safe, begin to obtain information on the incident. The most important piece of information here is on the dog itself and its owner, which will enable you to find out whether there’s a rabies risk or the possibility of other disease.
You should also, however, collect information on the entire circumstance. If any witnesses were present, take their names and ensure they speak with any investigators on the scene – if none are present and witnesses are looking to leave, try to convince them to stay or take their statement yourself.
While all dog bite incidents should be reported to animal control, this is of particular importance if you’re not able to identify the owner of the animal. In these cases, it’s imperative that the animal be located and tested for rabies or other conditions that could harm the public.
And finally, if you feel you may have a liability case against the dog’s owner, you should immediately contact our offices. We have several great dog bite lawyer options available for you, with significant experience in the field and proving fault to help you get the compensation you deserve.
For more on this, or to learn about any of our personal injury attorney services, speak to the staff at the offices of William Rawlings & Associates today.
If you’ve just been involved in a vehicle accident, particularly one where another party could be at fault, one of the most important things to consider in the immediate aftermath is documentation. While ensuring you and anyone with you is safe is the top priority, the very next set of steps you should take includes assessing the damage and beginning to document it for vital future use.
At the offices of William Rawlings & Associates, a personal injury attorney can help you understand the kinds of documentation that are important for any car accident situation. In today’s modern age, with smartphones in most pockets, pictures are some of the most detailed and valuable pieces of evidence you can collect – but what exactly should you be taking pictures of? Here are some details on the major areas to make sure you snap good pictures of.
For starters, you should try to capture as much of the overall crash scene as you’re able to. The goal here is to include as much detail as possible, so look for both wide-angle shots that cover most or all of the scene plus more specific photos of individual areas.
These photos shouldn’t just be on the damaged areas of the vehicle, either. They should also include any pertinent road signs or stoplights, plus any skid marks, broken glass or other results from the crash that may have ended up on the road. These kinds of materials can often help investigators understand the pattern that led to the accident when determining fault.
Another vital area to document in detail, even if it’s a little gross, is any injuries you sustain during the accident. These can be as minor as scrapes or cuts or much more significant – as we noted in the introduction to this blog, serious injuries should be attended to as the first priority.
While it’s only partially related, know that injury documentation involves elements well beyond just photographs. Certain injuries cannot be seen immediately or at all, such as concussions or whiplash, and medical records will be another vital part of this documentation.
It’s also important to take specific, detailed pictures of the vehicles involved in the crash and the damage they incurred. This includes not only your vehicle, but also any others involved, no matter how minor their involvement may have been. Try to get photos from multiple angles if possible, while of course remaining at a safe distance from any hazards like fire or broken glass.
For more on the kinds of pictures you should be taking to document a vehicle accident scene if you’re involved, or to learn about any of our car accident attorney services, speak to the staff at the offices of William Rawlings & Associates today.
At the offices of William Rawlings & Associates, we’ve seen virtually every variety of personal injury case out there. While the most common in this category are car accidents and those involving other vehicle types, we also handle cases involving various other injuries, dog bite claims and even trampoline-related injuries.
There are other cases where events no one could have predicted lead to injury cases. Often these are incidents between fans, such as fights or similar events. If you’re unsure whether such an event qualifies, ask one of our personal injury lawyers, who can clarify for you.
For more on whether or not an injury sustained at a sporting event might leave you with a personal injury claim, or for information on any of our personal injury attorney services, speak to the staff at the offices of William Rawlings & Associates today.
Through our years of assisting clients with a variety of personal injury cases at the offices of William Rawlings & Associates, we’ve noted a number of trends. Whether due to changes in technology, laws, or some combination of other factors, there are stretches where certain kinds of cases become much more common.
In a process we’ve gone over in this space in the past, ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft continue to be on the rise throughout the country. This is particularly true in larger metropolitan areas like Salt Lake City, where there are tons of drivers working for these services – and not all of them are safe or properly qualified.
Also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), drones are also experiencing a huge surge in popularity in recent years. They’re used in both the professional and recreational spaces, with a number of practical and entertainment uses.
The primary causes of many vehicle accidents have shifted over the years, and one of the top items on the list in recent years is distracted driving due to cell phones. Our smartphones offer more information and entertainment than ever before, and even despite hands-free and car-safe formats, many people still continue to use these unsafely while on the road. Distracted driving itself is not new, of course, but both law enforcement and safety organizations are highly interested in curbing the cell phone usage that often causes it today – and these issues are important parts of resulting personal injury cases, as well.
For more on which areas of personal law are becoming more common, or to learn about any of our personal injury lawyer services, speak to the staff at the offices of William Rawlings & Associates today.