Monthly Archives: April 2012

How To Deal With Insurance Adjusters After Accidents

This article provides several tips and important information for dealing with insurance adjusters after you have been involved in an accident.

Serious Car Accident Picture

Serious Car Accident Picture

Being involved in a car accident, bus accident, trucking accident, motorcycle accident, or any other accident with serious injuries can be devastating. In addition to the ever-rising medical bills, you are left to struggle to meet the costs demanded of daily living: paying the rent, buying food, and taking care of your family and children. When you are facing serious accident injuries and tremendous medical bills, you may be tempted to accept the first personal injury settlement offer presented to you by an insurance company or insurance adjuster. This article will hopefully provide you with valuable information about how to deal with insurance adjusters after accidents.

The First Offers From Insurance Companies Are Usually Low

The first accident injury settlement offer an insurance adjuster makes is usually on the low end, even if it sounds like a lot of money to you. Remember, insurance adjusters work for the insurance company and are trained to settle claims for the least amount of money possible. This is their business. Hiring an experienced Florida accident injury attorney can help level the playing field for you and your family. Our firm’s aggressive Florida accident injury attorney team consists of strong advocates fighting for your best interests in obtaining you maximum compensation for your insurance settlement.

Insurance Adjusters Think Accident Injury Victims Don’t Know The Value Of Their Claim

Serious Bus Accident Picture

Serious Bus Accident Picture

Many accident injury victims are not aware of the value of their claim and jump at the first offer from the insurance company. This is where an experienced accident injury attorney can help you deal with the insurance companies. Our experienced accident injury attorneys can help you calculate both immediate and future damages of your accident injuries. Some examples of serious damages from accident injuries include the following:

  • medical bills,
  • time missed from work (both now and in the future),
  • loss of earning potential,
  • impact of injury on lifestyle,
  • pain and suffering and
  • any other out-of-pocket expenses you may have incurred as a result of being involved in an accident.

What You Say To An Insurance Company Can Minimize The Value Of Your Claim

When an insurance adjustor contacts you to “help you settle your claim,” remember that he or she may try to get you to say things that will minimize the value of your claim. For this reason, it is important to have an experienced Florida accident injury attorney that knows how to deal with insurance adjusters after accidents and either negotiate a settlement or file an accident injury lawsuit on your behalf. Even if you try to cooperate with the at-fault party’s insurance company, your statements may be used against you and misconstrued to diminish the amount of money that you are legally entitled to receive for your accident injuries.

Early Contact By The Insurance Company Is A Strategy To Minimize Your Claim

Insurance Adjuster Waiver of Damage Form

Insurance adjusters also commonly try to contact accident victims soon after an accident before the victims are able to fully assess their injuries and/or damages. Often times, injuries take time to show up and are not discovered immediately after an accident. Some injuries even require significant treatment into the foreseeable future. By executing a waiver or any documents proposed by the insurance company before you are unaware of the full extent of your injuries and how they may impact your future, you may waive your right to receive compensation that could help get you back on your feet and back to work. It is best to refuse to speak to an insurance adjuster until you consult a qualified Florida accident injury attorney about how to deal with insurance adjusters after accidents.

After reaching a fair settlement with an insurance company, you may be asked to sign a “Release and Waiver” form. This form prevents you from filing additional claims or additional lawsuits in the future and asks you to give up certain rights that you may otherwise be entitled to. It is a good idea to have an experienced Florida accident injury attorney look over a “Release and Waiver” form before you sign it to make sure your best interests are protected.

A sound practice is to hire an attorney to handle all communication with an insurance company or insurance adjuster. Our experienced accident injury attorneys are generally able to settle accident injury claims for more money than accident victims who try to settle claims on their own. Remember, if you have been injured in a car accident, bus accident, trucking accident, motorcycle accident, or any other type of accident resulting in serious injuries, please call our experienced Florida accident injury attorneys toll free at (888) 252-0048 to receive a free consultation for your accident.

Brain Injuries: How To Identify Brain Injury and Traumatic Brain Injury Symptoms

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can easily overwhelm a family psychologically and physically. TBI symptoms, which are easily overlooked, can make matters even worse and will sometimes be so discreet and hidden that doctors will fail to diagnose them. If these signs and symptoms are ignored, untreated brain symptoms may contribute to more intense brain damage, disability, or even death.

Mild symptoms of TBI Concussion

Example of Coup Injury and Contrecoup Injury

Example of Coup Injury and Contrecoup Injury

Mild traumatic brain injury symptoms, sometimes referred to as a concussion, are less obvious and vary depending on the victim. Someone suffering from a concussion may only be unconscious for a few seconds or minutes, or they may not be knocked out at all. Actually, someone who experiences a mild brain injury may only be stunned momentarily or, surprisingly, remain fully aware of their surroundings.

Some generally mild TBI symptoms include lightheadedness, unconsciousness for no more than thirty (40) minutes, part-time memory loss, blurry eyesight, foul taste in mouth, and confusion. Mild traumatic brain injury symptoms or signs of TBI might not show up right away; since these symptoms are often triggered by inflammation of the brain, which occurs at a slow rate, days or even weeks may go by before there are any signs of these symptoms. Any evidence of depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, severe headaches, daydreaming, or memory loss can indicate more severe, long-term brain damage.

Instant mild TBI symptoms

  • Confusion
  • Temporary memory loss
  • Tinnitus (ringing of the ears)
  • Nausea
  • Slurred speech
  • Headache
  • Unconsciousness (under 40 minutes)
  • Lethargy
  • Dilated pupils

Secondary mild TBI symptoms

  • Mood swings
  • Intense headaches/migraines
  • Inability to sleep
  • More serious memory loss
  • Noticeable difference in the way things smell and taste
  • Attention problems
  • Depression
  • Exhaustion
  • Sensitivity to bright light and loud noise
  • Vertigo

Moderate to severe symptoms of TBI

Examples of Brain Injuries

Examples of Brain Injuries

Moderate to severe traumatic brain injury symptoms or TBI signs are more defined and include headaches that intensify or linger, unconsciousness for greater than 40 minutes, nausea and/or vomiting, bowel control problems, slurred speech, memory loss, seizures, dilation of at least one pupil, and paralysis or lack of sensation in extremities.

Bleeding inside the head, or intracranial bleeding, is also a common side effect. The amount of intracranial bleeding is measured with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography scan (CT scan), or intracranial pressure monitor (ICP). This sort of internal bleeding can have horrible implications because even if it is addressed, it can contribute to chronic problems and even death.

People suffering from moderate to severe brain injury often enter a comatose state and may never regain consciousness. A coma is a very serious complication which stems from TBI, but once a victim reaches a state of coma, it does not mean that they are definitely going to die. TBI patients can be in a coma for days or weeks before reacting to any outside stimulation. Physicians gauge comas with the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) or the Rancho Los Amigos Coma Scale. These two scales serve as a guide to figure out the level of a coma’s severity and whether the victim has a chance to come out of it.

Instant moderate to severe TBI symptoms

  • Unconsciousness (greater than 40 minutes)
  • Unsteadiness
  • Breathing at a slower pace
  • Tiredness
  • Confusion
  • Dilated pupils
  • Blurry eyesight or total loss of vision
  • Reduced heart rate
  • Vomiting
  • Severe headache or migraine
  • Ringing of the ears or worsened hearing

Secondary moderate to severe TBI symptoms

  • Incoherency
  • Spinal fluid (clear liquid) excreted from ears or nose (indicates severe brain injury)
  • Jumbled speech
  • Loss of feeling in extremities (indicates severe brain injury)
  • Coma (indicates severe brain injury)
  • Amnesia
  • Paralysis (indicates severe brain injury)
  • Emotional instability (e.g., short temper, depression)
  • Inability to verbally communicate
  • No control over bowels (indicates severe brain injury)
  • Epilepsy or seizures (indicates severe brain injury)

Symptoms related to mild, moderate, or severe traumatic brain injuries or TBI are not easy to pinpoint. The slightest of symptoms may not appear immediately and can be hiding serious brain damage. Thus, it is critical to seek immediate medical attention to diagnose, treat, and help the victim deal with potential traumatic brain injury or TBI. If you or a loved one have suffered what you believe to be a traumatic brain injury or TBI from an accident, contact our firm to speak with an experienced accident injury attorney to help you get the compensation you deserve to help get you through this devastating injury.