If you are in a car accident, regardless of who is at fault, you may use the “medical payments” coverage on your car insurance policy to pay medical expenses for treatment related to the accident. However, your car insurance company will only pay up to the amount of your “medical expenses coverage. You can find out the amount of your “medical payments” coverage by looking at your policy or contacting your insurance agent. Typically the coverage offered is $1,000, $2000, $5,000, $10,000 or $25,000. The amount of coverage you should have depends ofcourse on how much you can afford along with the protection you want. The cost of this coverage is relatively small compared to the overall cost of the policy. Your insurance agent would be able to quote you the premioum differences.

If you have car insurance but are also covered by a private or government sponsored health plan, both plans are generally available to pay your medical bills that arise out of an automobile accident. Some group plans state that the auto “medical payments” plan is primary meaning that insurance must be used first. However, if possible, it is generally better to procees your medical bills through your group health insurance first. This is because the group health plans will almost always have co-pays and deductables. Once the bills are processed by your group health plan, the health care provider will send you a bill for the balance, that is, a bill for your co-pay or deductable. This relatively small bill can then be sent to your car insurance and they will pay it out of your”medical payments” coverage. This method of payment will allow you to extend the life of your “medical payments” coverage and relieve you of having to pay medical co-pays and dedutables out of your own pocket.

This all may sound a little complicated. If you retain our law firms services for your accident claim we will manage the payment of your bills through our office as a service to you.

Recently we’ve seen the one and only Captain Kirk appearing in ads for a Milwaukee personal injury law firm.  We’ve had people call us up and ask how in the world could that firm afford Shatner as their pitchman.  Well, there’s something everyone needs to understand about law firm advertising.  Most of it is produced generically and sold at cut rate prices to regional law firms.  For a fee, they’ll insert any law firm name into these canned commercials.  The dawn of the Shatner commercial caused me to go out and see how many were out there.

As expected, the ads aren’t exclusive at all. See for yourself:

Here’s a commercial for a Michigan personal injury firm.  Here’s their website with the Shatner template.

Here’s a similar commercial for a Tulsa Oklahoma personal injury firm.  Here’s the same commercial for that Michigan firm.  Very original.

Here’s one.  It’s the same, but no Shatner.

How about this nondescript bankruptcy law firm.

Here’s a list of some of the other law firms he has shilled for:

Malaise & Davis.

Law offices of Brown & Crouppen.

Connecticut attorney Mark E. Salamone.

The Law Offices of Joe Bornstein.

The Mike Slocumb Law Firm.

Law Office of William Gee

When you need legal representation, get excellent local representation.  Get Sigman Janssen.

Please feel free to submit your case for a FREE EVALUATION by our attorneys.

There are two primary components to your personal injury claim, commonly identified as economic and noneconomic.

Economic damages are those amounts that you can easily quantify.  In other words, costs that you have incurred as a direct result of the injury.  For example, your doctor may have ordered you to miss several days of work.  In that case you would have a claim for wage loss. Your doctor will charge you for their services.  Your economic claim will include those medical bills. You may have suffered an injury that causes a permanent disability.  If you are no longer able to work, you will be entitled to lost future earnings.  Again, economic claims are those that can be specifically quantified and are supported by evidence.

Noneconomic damages are those that are not easily valued.  They include pain, suffering, inconvenience and loss of enjoyment of life. Obviously, it is difficult to place a value on these aspects of your claim.  If your claim goes to a jury trial, the jury will decide on the value of these noneconomic claims.  Settlement discussions on your noneconomic claims will usually center on how both parties believe a jury will value your claim.

Understanding the components of your claim is the first step toward understanding the value of your claim.  It is important to work with an experienced attorney who will know how a jury will view your claims.

Please feel free to submit your case for a FREE EVALUATION by our attorneys.

Your work accident-related medical bills should be submitted directly to your workers compensation insurance company.  Those bills should be paid by the workers compensation company, not your primary health insurer.

Total Temporary Disability benefits (commonly referred to as TTD) is paid on a weekly basis while you are off work due to a work injury.  It is valued at 2/3 your average weekly wage, before tax.  The average is generally calculated by average the 52 weeks immediately prior to your injury date.  It can also be calculated based on you hourly wage.  For example, if your average weekly wage for the 52 weeks prior to your injury was $520.00, your TTD benefit, would be $346.67 per week (2/3 of $520).  This is a general rule.  There may be some rare cases when a different calculation is appropriate.  In those cases

Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) is assessed by your doctor after your healing is complete and you have residual permanent disabilities. Permanent Partial Disability payments (commonly referred to PPD) are calculated base on a schedule of injuries and the benefit rate as of the date of the injury.  That schedule can be found in Chapter 102 of the Wisconsin Statutes, under §102.52.  For example, the schedule determines that an employee’s loss of their arm at the shoulder is valued at 500 weeks of benefit.  An injury which occurs in 2010 would have a benefit rate of $282 per week.  Therefore, the value of a claim for loss of an arm at the shoulder would have a value of $141,000.00 paid over the course of 500 weeks (about 10 years).  If, however, the employee suffered an injury to their shoulder, but it was not amputated, the doctor will set a percentage of disability.  For example, if the employee undergoes a surgery for a rotator cuff tear, the doctor will examine the employee and determine whether there is a permanent disability the Doctor could conclude the employee has 95% use of the arm, therefore it is disabled by 5%.  In such a case, the benefits are calculated by multiplying  the disability percentage (5%) by the base rate (500 weeks) and conclude the benefit of $282.00 should be paid for 25 weeks.  In that case the value of the PPD claim is $7,050.00

Injuries to parts of the body not listed in the §102.52 are called nonscheduled injuries. Typical areas considered nonscheduled are the head, neck, back, internal, etc. Nonscheduled injuries are calculated using a base-rate of 1000 weeks.  For example, an injury to an employee’s back resulting in a 10% disability would require payment of 100 weeks of benefits; under the current rate, a total claim value of $28,200.00 You also may be entitled to make a loss of earning capacity claim if you have an unscheduled injury and you can not return to your regular job due to permanent work injury limitations.

Please keep in mind that there many different situations where additional claims may be appropriate.  Some of those additional claims may involve a right to be retrained for another occupation, claims for scarring, death claims and various penalty claims.  An employee may have a claim for an employer’s wrongful refusal to rehire.  There are many more different claims.  It is always best to talk with an attorney to know YOUR rights in YOUR particular case.

Please feel free to submit your case for a FREE EVALUATION by our attorneys.

If  you’ve been in an automobile accident, you likely have a claim for the damage to your car.

We frequently get this question:

“How do I figure out the value of my property damage claim?”

In Wisconsin, the answer to that question is simple, your claim is valued at the cost of repairs or the pre-accident value of your vehicle.  Nothing more, nothing less.  It doesn’t matter when you purchased the car.  It doesn’t even matter what you owe on the car.  You need to figure out how much it will cost to fix it and what the value was before the accident.  Once you get those two numbers, the value of the claim is the lower of those two amounts.

In order to determine the cost of repairs, you need to have your car inspected by someone who knows what they are doing.  the insurance company will send an adjuster to look at the car.  They may bring the car to a repair shop for an estimate.  You can do the same.  Bring the car to someone you trust.  Make sure they look it over thoroughly.  If the insurance company’s estimate seems low, ensure they have a shop who is willing to do the work for that amount.  If not, you’re free to reject that valuation.

In order to determine the pre-accident fair market value of your car, you need to do a little research.  there are two common online sources for car values.  www.kbb.com and www.nadaguides.com.  Follow the instructions and enter accurate information.  These pages should give you a good idea of your car’s value.  the insurance company may use a private valuation company.  If they do, and the value is significantly lower than the amount you find on the do-it-yourself, you should shop for “comparables”.  Go online, look in the newspaper, visit local dealerships, to find a car like yours.  Make sure it is the same year, and close in miles.  Check the options and make sure they are similar to your car.  Call the dealer up and ask what they would sell it for.  Have the insurance company to verify the cost with the dealership.

If it is determined that the value of your vehicle is less than the cost of repairs, your vehicle will “totaled”, meaning it is a total loss.  If your vehicle is considered a total loss, they will take the vehicle and pay you the fair market value plus title and registration fees, plus sales tax for your old vehicle.  Alternatively, you may keep the vehicle.  If you choose to do this, the insurance company will pay you less money for your vehicle.  They will not pay tax, title or registration.  They will also take a few hundred dollars off of the value to cover what they will lose in not being able to sell it for scrap.

Once you understand how your property damage claim is calculated, you are more capable to discuss your claim with the insurance company.

Please feel free to submit your case for a FREE EVALUATION by our attorneys.