August 15, 2011
Law Basics: Dog Bite Law
Oklahoma dog bite law is relatively straightforward. The dog’s owner is liable for damages if:
- The attack was without provocation; and
- The victim had a lawful right to be there
Oklahoma’s statute on dog bite law is accessible here. As a frame of reference, the national dog bite claim currently exceeds $24,000. Of course, there’s no telling how many dog bite injuries there are without an insurance company actually getting involved.
August 11, 2011
Obtaining Medical Records
Any personal injury lawsuit will require copies of medical records. People are often surprised to see a bill for $300 just to get a copy of their records.
Under Oklahoma law, medical providers and doctors can charge $1.00 for the first page and $.50 for each subsequent page. X-rays or other photographs are not to exceed $5 or the actual cost of reproduction. The providers can charge for the actual cost of mailing the records but cannot charge a fee for searching, retrieving, reviewing, or preparing the medical records.
Also note that refusing to furnish records is a misdemeanor.
August 3, 2011
Car accident, but don’t want to sue
The person that hit me is really nice, but her insurance company won’t even pay all of my medical bills. I don’t want to sue her, but what else can I do?
I see this all the time. People that get into a car accident that is no fault of their own rarely want to get involved with a lawsuit. They simply want to be reimbursed for what is fair. Unfortunately, insurance companies often force people to file a lawsuit to get anything done. It saves them money by “denying and delaying.”
If you want to get reimbursed for your medical bills, lost income, and pain & suffering, you’ll likely need to file a lawsuit. Even then, the insurance company may not offer anything reasonable. That’s why we have car accident jury trials.
Related articles
- Car Accident Lawsuits and Common Misconceptions (oklahomalawyer.com)
- Waiting to file a car accident lawsuit – how long? (oklahomacaraccidentlawyer.com)
July 26, 2011
Lost Income and Car Accidents
I was in a car accident 6 months ago. I had to miss 3 weeks of work immediately after the accident because I was in so much pain. I used my vacation time for the first two weeks, and was unpaid the 3rd week. The insurance company is claiming that my lost income claim is for one week. Are they correct?
No. The insurance company is just giving you the runaround. You should be able to recover for the three weeks of missed time.
July 20, 2011
Insurance company isn’t being reasonable
The auto insurance company for the guy that hit me won’t even pay all of my medical bills. I’m through with treatment and I’m getting past due notices on the bills. What can I do? I can’t afford all the medical bills – especially for something that wasn’t my fault.
Well, if you want to get compensated for your medical bills, it looks like you’re going to need to hire an attorney. Oftentimes insurance companies will change their settlement offer after an attorney is hired. Obviously, this is not always the case. To get a reasonable offer, at the very least, a lawsuit may need to be filed to get the insurance company to do anything. Even then, there’s no guarantee that they will ever be reasonable on your claim. That’s generally why car accident cases go to trial.
You should remember that besides your medical bills, you should be able to recover for any lost income, as well as something for your pain and suffering.
June 30, 2011
Car Accident Insurance Policy Limits
I’m afraid my medical bills are going to be really high. The insurance company for the guy that hit me won’t tell me what his coverage is. Can they do this?
Yes. Insurance companies aren’t required to disclose policy limits before a lawsuit is filed. These are discoverable, however, once a lawsuit is filed. Remember that our state requires at least $25,000 in liability coverage.
Related articles
- The goal in filing a car accident lawsuit (oklahomacaraccidentlawyer.com)
- Car Accident Lawsuits and Common Misconceptions (oklahomalawyer.com)
June 9, 2011
Medical Bills & Personal Injury Settlements
Do I have to pay all of my medical bills when my personal injury case settles?
No, but you should. Note that medical providers typically file a lien on their patients that have a personal injury case. They do this to make sure they get paid for the work/treatment they performed. The insurance company will be required to include any lien holders on the settlement check once the case settles.
June 8, 2011
Hourly Cost For Medical Experts
What’s the hourly cost for a medical expert to review a medical malpractice case?
It can range from $150 to $1000/hour. It really depends on what type of medical expert is reviewing the file.
For example, I have a dermatologist lined up to review a burn case. He charges $400/hr. Note that a “certificate of merit” is required to file a medical malpractice lawsuit in Oklahoma. This just adds to the cost of litigation and is generally unnecessary. It would be foolish to file a lawsuit without first having a medical professional review the case.
June 3, 2011
Car Accident Black Box Report
Here’s a black box report for an auto accident case I handled last fall (click on the image for the full size):
If you’re interested, here’s the full report: Black Box Report
May 18, 2011
Car Accident Lawsuits and Common Misconceptions
There are a TON of misconceptions when it comes to lawsuits. Car accident lawsuits are no exception. Here’s a few I’ve gotten lately:
“The at fault driver’s insurance company paid for my car. That means that they’ve accepted liability.”
Not necessarily.
It’s seems counterintuitive, but the insurance company may decide to fight your case on liability – even if they’ve already repaired your car (or paid for it if it was totaled).
Why would they do this?
- If your car is totaled, you will likely be racking up rental car expenses. If the other driver is held liable, and the expenses were reasonable, the insurance company would be on the hook for these.
- You can get attorney’s fees awarded in property damage cases.
- It’s a business decision for the insurance company.
“Well, the jury will be able to easily decide liability once they find out how much the insurance company paid for my car.”
That would be true if the jury is allowed to know if there is insurance in the case. In most cases under Oklahoma law, juries are not allowed to know if a defendant has insurance.
This can obviously make things frustrating for jurors. There are car accident cases tried before a jury that are limited to damages only (basically the insurance company values the claim lower than what the plaintiff does). In this case, liability is not an issue. In cases like this it’s common for the property damage to have already been settled.
If you like to read our state statutes, take a look at 36 O.S. §6091 and 12 O.S. §2411:
No settlement made under a motor vehicle liability insurance policy of a claim against any insured thereunder arising from any accident or other event insured against shall be construed as an admission of liability by the insured, or the insurer’s recognition of such liability, with respect to any other claim arising from the same accident or event and no testimony with respect to such settlement shall be admissible in evidence with respect to any other such claim.
Evidence of the existence of liability insurance is not admissible upon the issue of negligence or wrongful action. This section does not require the exclusion of evidence of liability insurance where the question of possession of liability insurance is itself an element of the action, or when offered for another purpose, including proof of agency, ownership, control, bias or prejudice of a witness.
Guess what happens if the jury asks if the car has been repaired or if the driver has car insurance?
They aren’t allowed to know. They are instructed to look at the issue (damages). In reality, nearly all car accident cases involve car insurance. The defense lawyers (and their medical experts) are all paid by the insurance company on the case.
What happens if the jury asks if the plaintiff has health insurance?
They still won’t get to know. A lot of people don’t want to give a plaintiff “double the amount.” BUT, if a personal injury plaintiff’s medical bills have been paid by their health insurance company, and he/she gets a settlement or verdict, those payments will generally need to be repaid to the health insurance company.