Labor Day Accident. Don’t do this.

Labor Day Accident. Don’t do this.

Question: My son is leaving for his first Labor Day holiday without me. Any advice if he gets into trouble?

BILL: He can get into a lot of trouble over the Labor Day holiday … but I don’t think you called in to hear about my youthful adventures. Instead, let me focus on something that may be more useful … his driving.

First, a young person may think they are invincible and can’t get hurt or hurt anyone else. That is just untrue. I help injured people every day. Accidents happen, and as a driver of a multi-thousand-pound piece of high-tech machinery, he needs to do everything he can to ensure he’s as safe as possible.

Now he knows the basics – get medical care, help others, and stay on the scene until the police arrive. But here is something he may not know. If in a severe accident, at some point, he will be asked to give a recorded statement to the other person’s insurance company. DON’T DO IT. At least not until you speak with an attorney. This information can be used against him, which can be disastrous here in Alabama.

If your son can be taught that insurance companies want to pay you the least possible, he will have learned a valuable lesson. I have heard every excuse in the book not to pay a claim. In fact, I heard three today. Don’t give the insurance folk any reason not to pay you.

Now, look, I’m not faulting insurance adjusters. This is what they do; this is their job. But they’re not on your side. Here is what one client told me happened. The adjuster said, “We want to take care of this claim ASAP, so just give us all the details.” I’m glad my client listened to me and told the adjuster nothing.

And don’t talk about any pre-existing conditions. I have a case right now where my client is 58 years old and had a back injury at 18 — and hasn’t had any problem or treatment since then. The insurance company is saying he was already “damaged.” Can you imagine?

One final thing: I am not saying you must hire a lawyer … just talk to one. Any lawyer worth their salt will tell you whether you need one.

CALL BILL

Injured? You can call Bill directly at 251-255-5000. He will talk to you for free. Plus, watch Bill every Sunday night at 10:30 on NBC 15 LawCall, our legal TV show, here in Mobile. Hosted by Andrea Ramey, it is on right after the news.

Why is the hospital putting a lien on me?

Why is the hospital putting a lien on me?

Question: I was in a wreck a couple of months ago, and I had three broken ribs and a broken leg. Since then, I received a letter from the hospital that they put a lien on me. What is this about?

BILL: In brief, this is about the hospital getting paid. It might not surprise you, but the state of Alabama has passed a law that favors medical facilities (they have a pretty big lobby effort to protect their interests).

Filing a lien is standard practice so they can protect their rights. Don’t be overly concerned. No one is coming after you … at least not right now.

What the hospital is trying to do is make sure an insurance company does not settle with you before seeing that the hospital bill is paid. They really don’t want to fight with you directly if they can avoid it.

So here is what surprises many of my clients – by law, the hospital and other emergency providers can claim part of your lawsuit settlement to pay off the bill.

Again, don’t panic. Here is the reality. If you have insurance, this is not a problem. Everyone will get paid. However, this is why you need a lawyer. What the hospital charges and what needs to get paid is a negotiation. I do this type of negotiation every day. This might surprise you, but when I first started out, I was on the insurance company’s end, fighting to pay out the least. Now, I work 100% for injured people to get them the most money. My years working for the insurance guys taught me a lot about their tricks.

Here, in very simple terms, is what could happen. We sue the guy who hit you, and his insurance pays. He doesn’t have enough? We will go after your own insurance to pay up. You don’t have any or enough insurance? We go after the hospital to greatly lower or forgive the bill. They often do this because if you don’t have insurance, and I mean this respectfully, you probably don’t have much cash in the bank to pay them.

I tell clients all the time that though this sounds scary, it is what a lawyer does. We understand the system and how it works.

CALL BILL

Injured? You can call Bill directly at 251-255-5000. He will talk to you for free. Plus, watch Bill every Sunday night at 10:30 on NBC 15 LawCall, our legal TV show, here in Mobile. Hosted by Andrea Ramey, it is on right after the news.