Law Blog

Accidents are a part of life, right?  That’s why they have erasers on the ends of pencils.  Because when you make a mistake you learn from it.  And even if you don’t, in today’s modern society there are all sorts of fail-safes to ensure that even when you screw up, there will always be someone or some way to make it all right again.  Which is why if someone rams into you with their car, you have nothing to worry about.  Other than the increased insurance premium that you’ll likely have to pay, the person responsible for the accident will pay for their mistake, or at the very least their insurance carrier will.  So everything works out in the end, cake and ice cream for all.

Not quite.  According to the latest statistics from LegalMatch, of the cases received relating to automobile accident claims, nearly a quarter of them are against defendants who aren’t insured.  Weird, right?  Seeing as how it’s illegal (in most states) to drive uninsured.  But is that really a surprise?  I mean, when was the last time that making something illegal was able to deter a hundred percent of people from committing the prohibited act?  It’s like training a cat to use the litter box, at some point their instincts will kick in and they’ll want to use something more natural.

LegalMatch’s statistics fall in line with what’s happening on a national scale.  In 2007, it was estimated that about 23 percent of drivers in America remained uninsured.  It’s a pretty frightening statistic considering the average costs associated with a car accident, let alone the cost to simply own a car.  With medical bills on the rise, one bad accident can easily wipe you out if you have no one (or way) to cover.

And don’t think that those of you who are uninsured can get off free either.  Because you’re just as susceptible to everything I mentioned earlier with one exception.  You also get the pleasure of possibly being racked up on criminal charges.  Nice, huh?

Still, like I said earlier, criminal penalty along has never been a perfect method to deter bad apples.  So what is there to do if you’re on the receiving end of a rear-ender from a dead-beat driver?

Well, you better hope your insurance is up to date and that you have good enough coverage to get you through the nightmare that’ll ensued.  You might also want to consider going after the person responsible for your injury by filing a lawsuit.  But as we all know, no one likes to file suit against another person if they can’t get money out of it.  It’s a fruitless endeavor right?  Again, not necessarily.  If someone is broke, they’re broke.  But at the very least you’ll be able to recoup some of your losses.  It may not seem like much, but when you’re in a really bad accident, every little bit counts.  Plus, you also get the satisfaction of having your claim and plight justified before the eyes of the law.

I know, I know, money is still better…

Besides the pimply skin, awkward fitting clothes, and the occasional loud nonsensical mood swing, being a teenager is great.  It’s a carefree time where you feel invincible and the world is full of wonder.  The rare few years where the biggest worry in your life is what you’re going wear to the house party this weekend and whether or not one of the cooler seniors will be able to get their college-bound brother to buy everyone beer.  It’s a time of first kisses, long verbose soliloquies about love, and recognizing that the girl you like the most isn’t the popular cheerleader, but the tomboyish best friend living next door since you were kids.  Where the only music topping the charts are by Paula Cole and Pacey has yet to try and steal said tomboyish best friend from you…

Alright, I’m pretty sure I’m getting my realities confused here.  Amazingly melodratic teenage dramas aside, I think the only thing most of us remember about being a teenager, other than the bad skin, was that we didn’t have to shell out all our cash to pay off a giant pile of bills everyday.  Not me, of course, I worked and therefore lacked a proper childhood unlike all you middle to upper-class kids, you spoiled bunch of…umm… Anyway, my horrible traumas aside, from what everyone tells me, the best part of being a teenager was having a car.  A car meant freedom from your parents and the chance to go wherever you wanted to, and best of all the only costs you ever bore to keep it was the occasional tank of gas and washing it when it got dirty.

And then you got older.

Cars are expensive to keep.  With insurance, gas, and maintenance alone, the average cost of owning a car in America can cost you anywhere between $6,000 to over $10,000 a year.  Not to mention the price of the car itself.  Ha!  Who’s laughing now?  Suddenly a deprived childhood where you have to face the harsh realities of life when you’re 10 doesn’t seem so bad now, huh??  I’ve been prepared, yo.

But by far the worst and most expensive thing about owning a car is the inevitable accident.  The price to resolve one can be astronomical once you figure in not only the damage to the car, but the time you’ll waste negotiating with your insurance company, loss hours at work, and medical bills – not to mention the emotional toll.

The latest statistics from LegalMatch show that the avere medical costs associated with an automobile accident is well-over $100,000 and in some cases can even be in the millions depending on the severity of the injuries.  The average for lost wages is over $40,000, but a really bad accident can sometimes mean losing your ability to work.

So what does this all mean?  Well, I suppose it means that if you don’t happen to be fortunate enough to be born into the top ten percent of our society, one serious car accident can easily wipe you out.  Here are some tips on what to do if ever get into an accident.  And if those aren’t enough to calm your fraying nerves, don’t worry.  That’s why our society invented lawyers.  By far, the best way to resolve a car accident is with the assistance of an experience personal injury lawyer, get one who specializes in car accidents and you should be even better off.  Because remember, even though you probably can’t have mommy or daddy fix your mistakes anymore, you can always get a surrogate parent in the form of an attorney who you can cry your little eyes out to.

Huh?  What?  No, no, I’m not bitter at all.  Why do you ask?

What is an “auto product” you might be wondering? Your steering wheel, your car-seat, and your airbag are all examples of products that come together to make up your automobile. As with any other product, these things can malfunction. In the context of a moving automobile, when these things fail it can sometimes lead to serious consequences. This being America, what do people want to do when they are hurt? Sue!

In the past 12 months LegalMatch.com has been the destination for quite a few people looking for attorneys in their defective auto product claims. I decided to look at what injuries these products were causing, and here is what the data was telling me:

• Anxiety: 19%
• Difficulty sleeping: 14%
• Headaches: 12%
• Nausea: 4%
• Difficulty breathing: 4%
• Cuts and bruises: 3%
• Impaired vision: 2%
• Broken bones: 1%

A little while ago, we had an article debunking the myth that car accident lawsuits were a golden ticket to retirement. In reality, insurers fight these actions tooth and nail. Common injuries that do not exhibit obvious physical marks-such as neck and back pain-make a case more difficult to win.

This sage wisdom is relevant here because most of the injuries listed above aren’t visible. Maybe these folks have a perfectly valid warranty claim, but as far as product liability goes they may have an uphill battle. 

In fact only 6% of the above are the type of injuries that a doctor (and a jury) can see. The rest are based on doctor’s opinions and trusting someone’s word. Of course we all want to take someone’s word for it, but the insurance company that is being told to pay $100,000 because someone can’t sleep at night isn’t going to go down quietly. These plaintiffs should be ready for a fight.

GM, Ford, and Chrysler are all clamoring to be next in line to receive billions of dollars of taxpayer money. Should they get it? If they don’t, will bankruptcy lead to the economic catastrophe recently forecasted by Big 3 executives on Capital Hill?

Absent a bailout, the Big 3 are looking at Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Chapter 11 is a corporation-specific type of bankruptcy that calls off the dogs and gives a company breathing room to restructure. In the case of the big 3 automakers, most experts agree that Chapter 11 bankruptcy would cut jobs, gut costly labor contracts with unions such as UAW, eliminate pension obligations to current and future retirees, and close unproductive factories.

Although shedding billions in health care costs, pension benefits, and operating costs might look good for a company’s balance sheet, the picture is not so rosy for everyone else. The UAW was a major supporter of President-elect Obama and will not be pleased if the democratic government they helped elect turns their back on them. Furthermore, where will they go for health care? Many-especially those who will inevitably lose their jobs-will go to Medicaid.

Then there are pension benefits. What happens when a company like GM can’t make its pension obligations? Under the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, the federal government insures pension plans in the American auto industry; this agency is already $14 billion in debt.

Lastly, one of the most important parts of corporate restructuring under Chapter 11 is debtor-in-possession financing. This allows a bankrupt corporation to take loans to stay afloat, with the creditors of the needed capital jumping to the front of the claims line. With the economy in a tailspin and credit lines essentially non-existent however, economists like Nobel Prize winning Paul Krugman worry that no one will make any loans. No loans means no production; no production means this turns into a Chapter 7 liquidation.

No one wants to see what will happen if the big 3 simply cease to exist. Experts predict that the potential ripple effect would cost 2.5 million jobs in the various industries that depend on companies like GM. Many unemployed would inevitably end up in government unemployment lines.

There is no question that fundamental restructuring needs to be done. Some job loss and benefit cutting is inevitable. A bailout with strict conditions similar to a bankruptcy hearing, however, could prevent a far larger potential catastrophe. The government’s loan would operate similar to debtor in possession financing necessary to keep the production lines rolling and save millions of American jobs. Significant strings could be attached: the Big 3 would need to do major restructuring of their labor contracts, close unproductive plants, get rid of incompetent management, and make fundamental changes to their business model. Some creditors may need to take a significant pay cut or agree to restructure their claims. At the same time, some of the more horrific consequences of liquidation and massive unemployment would be avoided, and at a fraction of the cost to our economy should the big 3 all go bust.

Just like the original bailout, none of the options look good. Sometimes, however, you have to pick the lesser of two evils.

We’ve all heard of people getting into minor fender-benders, hiring an attorney, and suddenly hitting the jackpot.  Some people have even been arrested for purposefully staging car accidents with hopes of making it big. 

My experience has shown: the gold-rush days of auto accident recoveries have long ago passed.  If you get in a car wreck, don’t expect to retire anytime soon.  You’ll likely get some money, but nowhere near an amount you’ll think is fair to make up for all your pain and suffering, inconvenience, and lost time.   

Worse, people with legitimate injuries now must fight for proper compensation from auto insurance companies.  If you get into a car accident, and suffer anything less than a broken bone, prepare for a fight. 

This is bad news for many LegalMatch consumers who have automobile collisions.  I went through and tabulated the most commonly cited injuries they suffered from auto accidents in 2008.  Next to each injury, I cite the percentage of people who cited the ailment when posting their auto accident case on LegalMatch:

1. Neck pain 49%
2. Lower back pain 42%
3. Headaches 39%
4. Shoulder pain 37%
5. Upper back pain 34%
6. Difficulty sleeping 31%
7. Anxiety 25%
8. Cuts and bruises 20%
9. Loss of feeling in part of body 12%
10. Broken bones 10%

Of the thousands of auto accident cases posted on LegalMatch in 2008, it’s not surprising that the most commonly cited injuries are neck and back pain.  Many people in auto crashes suffer traumatic whiplashes from blunt force impacts, which inevitably lead to neck pain and headaches.  And with any of the ailments noted above, they can make it very difficult for someone to sleep properly.         

The only physical manifestations of an injury noted above are “cuts and bruises”, which 20% of people suffered, and “broken bones”, which 10% of people cited.  The rest of the injuries are not visible injuries that a doctor can see.  This makes it very difficult for insurance companies to determine who is telling the truth and really suffering, and who is trying to milk them for an unmerited windfall.