To car insurance companies, it makes more business sense to pay out a minimal settlement amount rather than work with you to resolve your claim. Insurance adjusters may try to coax car wreck victims into settling their claims quickly with low-ball offers or quick checks. Having your claim open costs the insurance company time and money. Bottom line: Don’t fall for a quick check from your insurance company. It may cost you later.
Unfortunately, what most car wreck victims don’t understand is this:
When car wreck victims sign a quick check, they have entered a binding contract representing themselves. They have settled both their bodily injury and property damage claim for one lump sum.
Often, car wreck victims will start seeing unresolved issues, like unpaid medical bills. They may begin to receive collection notices for past medical bills for which they are responsible. Their health insurance company may refuse to pay due to injuries sustained in a car wreck. Their medical treatment may be more intensive than initially thought.
When car wreck victims represent themselves, they may find themselves in a trap they didn’t know existed with car insurance companies. Even a minor accident with minor injuries can result in a financial downfall when uninformed decisions are made. Hiring a personal injury lawyer like Henry Queener will ensure that car wreck victims get the best outcome. Let our highly experienced legal team work for you while you focus on recovering.
Contact Queener Law today for a free consultation.
Hiring a Personal Injury Attorney After a Car Wreck
How Much Does It Cost?
Hiring a personal injury attorney after a car wreck should be the first thing you do. With Queener Law, you’ve got a great team who’s going to work for your best interest against the insurance company. When we take your case, we handle everything. We gather evidence and hire experts to prove your case. When finish your medical treatment, we gather medical records and bills to submit to the insurance company.
Don’t try to figure out the rules of the crazy insurance game by yourself when you can have a team of professionals that know how these insurance companies work.
All you need to do is focus on your medical care so that you can get back to where you were before the car wreck happened. Hiring Queener Law after a car wreck allows you to not worry about dealing with lost future earning capacity or the reduced ability to earn a living for yourself and your family. Remember, the insurance adjuster only wants to close your claim as quickly and cheaply as possible. This could be very detrimental to your physical, mental and financial health.
Leave it to Queener Law to play the car wreck game and take care of the insurance companies for you.
We work on a contingency basis, meaning that we handle all the upfront costs and only get paid when you receive a settlement. This depends on the amount of the settlement and case expenses. Contact us today for a free case evaluation and with any question.
Car wrecks in snow and ice happen in the mountains, on highways, and even on your way to work.
Drivers have important duties when driving in snow and ice. All drivers have a duty to drive at a safe speed for the conditions, even if that means going well below the posted speed limit. Drivers also have a duty to maintain control of their vehicle, even if they hit an icy patch. And equally importantly, drivers must follow at a safe enough distance to stop without hitting the car in front of them, regardless of the road conditions.
When people get in car wrecks in snow and ice, the at-fault party almost always blames the weather.
They say it’s the ice’s fault they crashed into you and caused you injury. That’s not how the law sees it. When a driver hits you during snow and icy conditions, they are still responsible for the injuries and damage they cause.
At Queener Law, we regularly represent people who have been injured in car wrecks in snow and ice.
The injuries from these types of wrecks can be severe and long-lasting. We will ensure that the insurance company for the responsible party takes accountability. The team at Queener Law will get you compensated for the harms and losses you suffered because another driver failed in their duties.
After nearly four years of fighting, Queener Law won a jury verdict in Arapahoe County, Colorado, against Starbucks.
For years, Starbucks Coffee Company knew that its roof and downspout leaked onto the sidewalk. In the colder months, the water on the sidewalk froze solid, covering the entire corner of the pavement. Customers walked across that pavement to get to their cars after spending money on coffee and tea at Starbucks. Employees complained. Customers fell and were injured. Yet Starbucks did nothing to fix it.
Sometimes Starbucks threw ice melt on the sidewalk. Sometimes they shoveled it. Most of the time, they did nothing.
In 2019, our client stopped at Starbucks to get tea on his way to a business meeting. When he was walking back to his car, he came around the blind corner and stepped on the sheet of ice. His feet flew out from under him and he landed on his back and outstretched arm. He tore his shoulder and suffered multiple, severe injuries to his spine. Our client went to the emergency room and a series of specialists. He had shoulder surgery, spinal procedures, and years of rehabilitation.
What did Starbucks do? Nothing. They did not make an incident report. They did not offer to pay his medical bills.
Starbucks offered him a $50 gift card and their well wishes.
It took our client nearly $200,000 in medical debt to get his shoulder fixed and his spine back to the point that he could still work. His spinal injuries are permanent and he will never be the same. But all Starbucks offered him was that $50 gift card.
Queener Law’s history shows our team wins trials.
We took the case on his behalf and pushed Starbucks to take accountability.
During the litigation, Starbucks’ representatives testified that Starbucks maintains “a culture of safety,” but admitted that nothing was done on the day our client fell to treat the ice, warn customers, or make it safe. Nothing. Their team of attorneys created false scenarios about our client, claiming he was faking his injuries, exaggerating his losses, and maybe didn’t even fall in the first place. The Starbucks team tried any and every tactic they could to avoid taking responsibility.
At trial, our team showed video from the scene of the fall. We called our client’s doctors in to testify that not only are his injuries real, they are permanent. We had an economist testify about the financial hardships Starbucks’ negligence caused him. The proof was clear.
The Arapahoe County jury returned a verdict quickly and clearly.
They found that Starbucks was negligent and responsible for our client’s injuries. Their six-figure verdict put our client back on the road to recovery.
We are beyond grateful to our client for trusting us with his case and to the jury for bringing justice.
When Queener Law litigates cases, our team wins trials. We see justice done or we don’t quit pushing.
What should people look for when seeking legal representation for a car wreck case?
What should people look for when seeking legal representation for a car wreck case? In my opinion lawyers are a lot like doctors. So, if you’re going to have a shoulder surgery go to an orthopedic doctor who specializes in shoulder surgeries. Your odds of a greater outcome will increase.
Likewise with attorneys, if you have been involved in a serious accident with a tractor trailer, hire a personal injury attorney who has extensive knowledge of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety rules and regulations. Please don’t hire the local criminal lawyer or the estate attorney who handled your mom’s will. If you hire an attorney who does a little bit of everything…you know the saying, “jack of all trades, master of none”. How does this attorney stay on top of all those different areas of law? They don’t.
It is very important to do your research and ask questions when you hire anyone. When you call an attorney for a consultation, it’s okay to ask what types of personal injury cases the attorney has handled. Ask how often they go to trial and if they have experience working with your specific type of car wreck injuries.
Insurance companies also factor in the capabilities of the attorney on the other side. Your car wreck settlement can be affected by your attorney’s knowledge and abilities to work through the case. Choose who you hire very carefully.
Is a GoFundMe Account a Good Idea After a Car Wreck in Tennessee?
Attorney Henry Queener
Starting a GoFundMe account after a car wreck may sound like a good idea, but did you know that it could affect how your car insurance pays out? Let me briefly illustrate a scenario for you.
Let’s say you are in a car wreck, caused by someone who was distracted by their cell phone. In this situation, you have no health insurance, and your medical bills total a whopping $35,000. The guy who ran the stop sign has no car insurance. You have full coverage under Tennessee law, including uninsured motorist (this covers you when the at- fault driver does not have car insurance). However, your underinsured motorist policy limit is $25,000. Since your medical bills total $35,000, you decide to start a GoFundMe account and successfully make up the $10,000 difference. Time to celebrate this brush with medical debt? Nope.
Under Tennessee law your underinsured motorist carrier gets a credit for any money you raise from any source. Yep, that’s right! So, your check from the insurance company is only for $15,000, not the policy limit of $25,000. The $10,000 you raised from your GoFundMe account saved the insurance company from paying its policy limit of $25,000. You essentially worked for an insurance company for free and still have $10,000 in medical bills!
Before you talk to an insurance company or agree to any settlement offers give our Tennessee Accident Attorney Henry Queener a call. If you deal with them first, you could forfeit your right to fair and appropriate financial recovery. When you need a Tennessee accident attorney contact Queener Law for a free case evaluation.
