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.