Category Archives: Bus Accidents

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.

Bus Accidents

The Florida Bus Accident Attorneys of Gilman Law LLP are Here to Help You.

Accidents: Car Accidents | Truck Accidents | Motorcycle Accidents | Bus Accidents | Bicycle Injuries |Pedestrian Accidents

Millions of people rely on buses to carry them safely to work and to school. But because buses are often used in high-traffic and urban areas with other cars and trucks, accidents are inevitable. When bus accidents occur, dozens of passengers can be injured, as well as pedestrians and other motorists.

Legal issues involving bus accidents can become complicated when a bus is operated by a city or other government agency. Because of these complexities, obtaining compensation for injuries from a bus collision can require legal expertise beyond that required in a routine car accident.

The Florida bus accident lawyers of Gilman Law LLP have the expertise to protect your rights and ensure you receive the compensation you deserve.  If you or a loved one has suffered injury as a result of a bus accident, call Gilman Law LLP at 1-800-LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636) for a free consultation or use our online form. We serve clients across Florida, including Naples, Fort Myers, Marco Island, Cape Coral, Lee County, Collier County, Everglades City, Golden Gate, Immokalee, Bonita Springs and Sanibel.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration defines a bus as a motor vehicle designed to car 11 passengers or more, including the driver. It defines a school bus as a bus sold for the purpose of carrying students to and from school and other events.

How common are accidents involving buses? They happen much more frequently than most people realize.

There were approximately 11,000 bus accidents in the United States in 2006. They caused 21,000 injuries and 331 fatalities, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

From 1997 to 2007, 1,541 people died in school bus-related crashes—an average of 140 fatalities per year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Most people who lost their lives in those crashes were occupants of other vehicles. In fact, about 70 percent of bus accident victims are people driving or riding in other vehicles. Buses are bigger and heavier than most other vehicles on the highway, which is why accidents involving buses typically cause injury to others beyond just the passenger of the bus.

School buses are nearly eight times safer than passenger vehicles, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Even so, too many school-age students die each year in bus accidents. Of the buses involved in fatal crashes, school buses represented the largest category, with 116 school buses involved in fatal accidents and 136 fatalities.

Bus accidents occur for a number of reasons. Driver distraction and negligence, defective equipment, dangerous roads or weather conditions and inadequate bus maintenance can all play a part in causing a bus accident. Legally, a bus is considered a “common carrier,” and bus drivers must use great care when transporting passengers. When they fall short in their duties, bus drivers or bus companies can be held liable for the injuries that result.

The Florida bus accident attorneys at Gilman Law LLP understand the intricacies of this area of law and have helped people injured in bus accidents receive compensation to get their lives back in order.

The experienced bus accident lawyers at Gilman Law LLP are skilled at evaluating the factors of an accident and will help you identify all potential defendants to ensure fair and appropriate compensation for your injuries. If you have been injured in a bus accident caused by the negligence of another, we will work hard to make sure that you receive the compensation you deserve. Please fill out our online form, or call 1-800-LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636) to discuss your case with one of the experienced lawyers at our firm.