Personal Injury Resources
Personal Injury FAQs
I’ve been involved in a collision with a motor vehicle, now what?
There are certain actions that can facilitate your injury case if you know what to do. If you are physically able, never leave the scene of an accident without obtaining as much of the following information as possible:
- The full name of the driver of the other vehicle, his/her address and a telephone number
- The full names of any witnesses, their addresses, and telephone numbers
- The name of the other driver’s auto insurance carrier, policy number if available, and a telephone number for the insurance claim department – this should be on the back of their proof of insurance card which all drivers are required to carry in their vehicles.
- The license numbers of the vehicles involved, noting the one that hit your vehicle and how the others were involved. Include any notes like make/model, the type of vehicle if not a car, and whether or not the vehicle was a commercial vehicle.
- If there are injuries, call 911 and wait for the police and emergency vehicles to arrive. Get the name of the police officer and case number.
- If there are no injuries and the police do not come to the scene, spend some time to take detailed notes of how the accident occurred, what streets and lanes were you and the other vehicle traveling? What direction were you each moving? What were the road conditions and visibility that day? Were their any traffic signs or signals? What damage did you notice to your car and the other vehicles or property involved?
- If you have a camera on your cell phone, take photos of the damage and injuries. If you don’t have access to a camera, photos can be taken later by your attorney or someone you know.
- Call your insurance carrier to report the accident and initiate a claim.
- If you were driving your vehicle or a company vehicle in the course and scope of your employment, notify your employer of the accident and any injuries you may have sustained. In addition to your claim for personal injury, you may also have a claim under workers’ compensation law.
- If you experience increasing pain or stiffness or any otherwise unexplainable headaches, dizziness, nausea see a medical doctor immediately to assess and document your condition, relieve your pain and symptoms and initiate the most appropriate treatment to maximize recovery.
As a general rule, do not sign any statements or documents releasing liability for your claim or future benefits without first consulting with a qualified attorney. Insurance companies (even your own) and employers are first and foremost, businesses. They are looking out for their interests, not yours. They aren’t necessarily trying to take advantage of you; they are simply looking to limit their losses.
When do I need to involve an attorney?
In many cases, your insurance company will initially pay certain medical expenses, property damage and wage loss. Unfortunately, actions taken or not taken on your behalf early in the process may substantially affect your entitlement to benefits and compensation in the future. It is in your best interest to speak with a qualified attorney immediately after the accident. If payment of medical expenses and/or lost wages are prematurely stopped, your attorney can more readily take the legal action necessary to re-instate payment for expenses and losses directly related to your injury. Additionally, you may be entitled to other benefits through civil proceedings against the driver of the other vehicle or vehicles involved. A qualified attorney can assess your situation and initiate all pertinent claims on your behalf.
My insurance company wants to write me a check to make my claim “go away.”
It is very common for an insurance company to seek to close their file on your claim by offering you a premature settlement of your claim. Be cautious that you are not prematurely giving up your right to compensation. At a minimum, make sure you have seen a doctor who can advise you of your potential need for future treatment.
How long will my case take?
There are many variables that determine the time it takes before you see any money awarded by a judge/jury or negotiated through a settlement. The more complicated your case, in general, the longer it will take to complete. Complicating factors that can lengthen the time it takes including how many parties are involved, the severity of injury and how many body parts involved, how many medical providers are involved, the extent and number of previous injuries, how many insurers are involved, how many defendants are involved, if wage loss is demanded, the number of employers involved, etc. In general, the more parties involved, the longer it may take to obtain the information needed to establish the amount and support the basis of your claim(s). Additionally, depending on the nature and type of claim being made – and there can be many claims per injury – there are conditions that must be met before a demand can be made.
What is No-Fault?
If you are involved in a motor vehicle accident, regardless of whose fault the accident was, you are entitled to certain benefits under Minnesota’s No-Fault law. No-Fault law requires that everyone who owns a motor vehicle carry no-fault insurance as part of their auto insurance coverage to ensure that these benefits are always available to anyone who is involved in a motor vehicle accident. Under No-Fault, you are entitled to 100% of reasonable and necessary medical care including prescription and medical mileage expense reimbursement up to the maximum limits of your insurance policy. You are also entitled to 85% of your gross wages (maximum $250 per week, non-taxable) up to the maximum limits of your insurance policy, if your doctors determine that you must be off work due to your injuries. Although No-Fault benefits ultimately become exhausted based on the limits of your policy, you may also have opportunity to collect benefits for medical expenses and wage loss, among other benefits, by filing a civil claim against the insurers of the other vehicle or vehicles involved in the collision up to the maximum of their policy limits.
Do I have a Civil Claim?
In order to have a civil claim as a result of a motor vehicle accident you must meet one of the following criteria.
- You’ve been medically released from work a minimum of 60 days by your treating physician due to your injuries.
- You’ve incurred a minimum of $4000 in non-diagnostic medical care (for example, you can’t include the cost of MRI’s, x-rays, EEG’s or other tests used for diagnosis)
- Your treating physician has determined that you have a permanent disability or limitation in physical performance as a direct result of your injuries.
- You die as a result of your injuries.
One of the pieces of information that can make or break a claim is your doctor’s determination that your injury is permanent and to what degree as a direct result of your accident. Unless an injury is very severe and clearly irreversible through any course of treatment – like an amputation, brain damage, paralysis, death, etc. – doctors generally will not make a statement regarding permanency until you have had at least a year of treatment to get you as close to 100% of your pre-injury status as possible.
I got a letter from my insurance company saying that I need to have an IME with a doctor I don’t know. Do I have to go?
Yes. Your insurer has the right to request that you be examined by a doctor of their choosing commonly referred to as an IME (independent medical examination). Although these exams are anything but “independent,” it is necessary that you attend this exam. The IME doctor will not provide any treatment and you are not charged for the exam. The IME doctor then prepares a report providing his assessment of your injuries as well as the reasonableness or necessity of your treatment that is sent to both the insurer, you, and your attorney if you’ve obtained one. This report is often accompanied by a letter from your insurer telling you that they will no longer pay for certain or any medical treatment, expenses or wage loss based on the findings of the IME report. You should not be overly alarmed or concerned about what is said in the report. The report is typically adverse. When you receive this letter it is called a Denial of Benefits, this is when a dispute occurs and your attorney will step in to defend your rights and make a claim to re-instate payment of benefits on your behalf.
I received a letter saying that I must appear at a deposition? What do I do? How do I prepare?
A deposition is a formal statement taken under oath from witnesses, doctors, claimants and defendants. During the course of the claim process, you may receive a letter from either your attorney or the opposing parties’ attorney requesting that you appear for a deposition. There is no need to panic or worry. All they will be doing is asking questions to learn the facts surrounding the claim from your perspective. Simply tell the truth whether you think it hurts your claim or not. It only hurts your claim to lie. If there is anything you think may be damaging, however, make sure your attorney knows about it. A good attorney can deal with the facts, regardless of what they may be – what causes problems for your attorney are surprises. So make sure there are no surprises for your attorney and always provide the truth as best you can recall. If you don’t remember the details surrounding a fact, simply say so. No one expects you to remember everything.
If you’ve never been involved in a deposition, you may have many questions such as: What do I wear? Do I need to bring anything with me? What if they ask questions I can’t answer? First, don’t stress. You don’t need to bring anything with you unless you were asked to bring something. Regarding what to wear, you want to be viewed as credible and be seen in the best possible light. The opposing side will be making a judgment as to whether a jury will believe you and take you seriously. So dress like you would for a job interview and put yourself in the best light possible. Dressing up just a bit will also help you feel less intimidated, which will in turn help you feel more comfortable and confident. Remember, they are just asking you questions to learn more about your claim from your perspective. If you are a client of Meuser & Associate, your attorney will meet with you prior to the deposition to go over the process and answer any questions that you have to help put you at ease. Your attorney will attend your deposition with you. Your attorney’s job is to make sure that the questions asked are fair – anything that is irrelevant or unfair, your attorney will object to; the question will then be withdrawn and you will not have to give an answer.
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