Personal Injury Paparazzi? October 7, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury.Tags: injury settlement, insurance settlement, wisconsin personal injury, Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney
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It sounds kind of weird, doesn’t it? Why have a professional photographer take pictures of a personal injury victim? Well, in every case that involves scars, permanent bruises or disability the at fault insurance company asks for pictures to evaluate the claim.
Why not have the injured victim just meet with the at fault adjuster? Many times the adjuster is in some far off office, hours from injured victim. Usually, insurance companies have “round table” discussions about these types of injuries. This means that a bunch of adjusters will get together one day and pass around photographs of scars, permanent bruises etc. and give their opinion of the “value” a jury would award for the injury. That is how at fault adjusters come around to offering a personal injury settlement.
So, back to the professional photographer. An injured party needs to have pictures that truly represent the injuries. Just as if they were standing there in the conference room with the adjusters “round tabling” the claim.
Don’t get me wrong, nowadays many digital cameras will do a great job and take quality pictures. But, in order to give the at fault adjuster as true a representation of the injuries I’d recommend a professional photographer.
Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in Oostburg, Marinette, Wisconsin Dells and Wauwatosa.
Editorial on Drunk Driving October 6, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury.Tags: Drunk Drivers, Drunk Driving, Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney
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Mike Nichols wrote an editorial last Saturday about drunk driving. It was kind of a follow up to his story on the collision Cimermancic caused.
I agree with the jist of Mike’s editorial: Drunk drivers in Wisconsin get way too many chances to get back in their cars, drunk, and endanger the rest of us.
New Blog on the Block October 2, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Personal Groth.Tags: Marquette University Law School
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You may already know (if you visit Jon Groth in a Nutshell) that I attended Marquette University Law School. If you didn’t know, now you know. Anyway, MU Law has a new blog. Now you’ll know what Law Professors are thinking about.
Update on Cimermancic September 30, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury.Tags: Drunk Driver, Drunk Drivers, Drunk Driving, Wisconsin car accident lawyer, Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney
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A while ago I posted about a young man who had a long history of Operating After Revocation and drunk driving. While driving drunk (BAC .168) he drove the wrong way on the highway and hit my client head on.
He was sentenced by Judge Mac Davis last week, September 26, 2008. The sentence included one year in jail with work release privileges and 5 years probation.
The Journal Sentinel sent a reporter to the sentencing hearing:
Driver gets one year in wrong-way crash
Waukesha — A Richfield man who was intoxicated on Jan. 8 when he drove the wrong way on Highway 41/45 and collided head-on with another vehicle, seriously injuring the driver of that car, has been sentenced to one year in jail with work release privileges.
John D. Cimermancic, 26, pleaded guilty in July to injury by intoxicated use of a vehicle and was sentenced Friday by Waukesha County Circuit Judge J. Mac Davis.
According to the criminal complaint, the crash occurred about 11:40 p.m. Jan. 8 on Highway 41/45 at County Line Road in Menomonee Falls.
Two vehicles crashed head-on in the northbound lanes of the highway.
What the Journal Sentinel didn’t report was some outrageous comments by John Cimermancic’s attorney. This attorney said he didn’t believe that prison does much as a deterrent. I just don’t get this comment. Look at Mark Benson for example. He wasn’t supposed to be on the road. His license was revoked. That didn’t stop him from driving? If he was in prison would we be talking about how he killed a mother and her kids?
The same goes for this case. John Cimermancic should NOT have been on the road. He didn’t have a license and didn’t own a car. He borrowed his girlfriend’s car and got drunk and drove the wrong way on the highway. Prison is a deterrent in the sense that it takes a multiple drunk driver off of the road. That in itself deters drunk driving. It should be said that in September of 2007 John Cimermancic was charged with drunk driving.
Judge Davis was thoughtful and, at least it appeared to me, that he was concerned about the victim in this case. He said that impact on the victim is very substantial and that nothing we can do will make the victim whole. Judge Davis disagreed with Cimermancic’s attorney, saying there is more protection of the public if the defendant is in prison.
But Judge Davis points out, if Cimermancic is out working there is the potential for the victim to be compensated sooner rather than later.
Cimermancic is now a felon. He can’t vote. Can’t own a gun. Must maintain sobriety. Must attend AA or some other program. Must maintain full time employment. Loses his driver’s license for 2 years. And he must pay restitution starting immediately.
As a father I feel badly for the family of the John Cimermancic. He was pretty badly injured also. He is an Iraq war veteran. He suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. According to Judge Davis he has a better chance of successful rehabilitation because of his family support.
All in all this is a terrible situation. Was the Judge’s decision on sentencing correct? Let me think about it. Ask me when my kids turn 16. I’m sure I’ll have a different opinion then.
Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in Kansasville, Marinette, Milton and Wauwatosa.
No TXT while DRVNG in CA September 29, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury.Tags: auto accident, Wisconsin car accident lawyer, wisconsin personal injury
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The Governator just signed a bill banning texting and emailing while driving. If you are caught texting or emailing while driving in California you will be fined $20 the first time and $50 each subsequent offense.
The bill was drafted, in part, after a study that showed that most Americans who text also text while driving.
I can’t imagine it will be long before a bill like this is introduced in Wisconsin.
Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in Crivitz, Janesville, Plymouth, Wauwatosa and Germantown.
Nursing Homes In Wisconsin September 27, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Personal Groth.Tags: Nursing Home Abuse, Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney
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The PKS blog has a good post from September 24, 2008 about a recent report published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services of the worst Nursing Homes in America. Four of them are found in Wisconsin.
A large part of our practice is Nursing Home Abuse. I have a lot of family in Marinette, Wisconsin and have some knowledge of the Luther Home there. If you have any questions about nursing home abuse feel free to contact me.
Time part two September 26, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury.Tags: Certified Medical Records, HIPPA, hiring a lawyer, medical care
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I previously wrote a post ending with a question for the blogosphere. The general question concerned the remedies involved when a hospital destroys medical records before the mandated 5 year holding period. Well, Michael Brown of Peterson, Berk and Cross emailed me with an answer:
A provider’s destruction of medical records would also violate HIPAA federal privacy law. Your client could file a HIPAA complaint to Dept of Health and Human services, but the best that will yield is a slap on the wrist to the provider, with no civil claim or damages.
If the records were destroyed at a time the provider should have reasonably contemplated litigation would occur (e.g. if a hospital destroys records of a patient who suffered injuries during a medical procedure and is likely to file a malpractice claim), there may be spoilage law that applies. In the federal context, you can check out the landmark Zubulake cases, which set forth serious standards and penalties for document retention. Keyciting the Zubulake cases may lead you to influential State law cases concerning spoilage.
Thanks for the answer Mike. I think there should be more someone could do when their medical records are lost or destroyed. Any legislators out there that can help us out?
Rated? September 25, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Personal Groth.Tags: Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney
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I’m not sure what Avvo is all about. But, I’m thankful for it nonetheless. It seems that I’m “superb” according to their rating system. Also, thanks to Attorney Sean Sweeney for the endorsement.
Thanks Avvo! Thanks Sean! You may know more about me than I do! Keep up the good work.
Should I give a statement to the insurance company? September 24, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury.Tags: Allstate Insurance, hiring a lawyer, insurance settlement, recorded statement, wisconsin personal injury
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If you were in a collision and the at fault driver had insurance I’m sure you’ve asked yourself this question. That’s because one of the first questions out of the at fault insurance adjuster’s mouth is, “Can I record a statement?”
My standard answer to this questions is no. Don’t give a statement. If the at fault insurance company insists on a statement then wait until you hire a lawyer before giving a statement. You hire a lawyer to stand by your side and serve as your advocate through the entire process. Why give a statement before having that advocate by your side. (Remember my April 21, 2008 post talking about Allstate’s Claim Manual saying that Allstate knows that victims with insurance settle for 2-3 times more than unrepresented victims).
Remember, insurance companies are in the business of making money. That is certainly not wrong or illigeal by any means. But, what that means is they want to take in premiums and pay out as little as possible. That’s just the basic economics of insurance. So, insurance companies teach their insurance adjusters how to make sure they pay out as little as possible. That starts right away after the collision with the recorded statement.
This is especially important if liability it at issue. The at fault insurance wants to pin as much fault on you as possible. The facts are the facts but many times confusion, pain meds, frustration or other things get in the way of an injured person’s ability to clearly describe what happened.
So, if you are involved in a collision I recommend talking with an attorney before you give that statement to the at fault insurance company. I’m sure you’ll be glad you did.
Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in West Allis, Crivitz, Plymouth, and Germantown.
What to do: Dog Bite September 23, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury.Tags: dog bite, dog bite attorney, Pit Bull Dog Bites, Wisconsin Dog Bite Law, Wisconsin Dog Bites
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I’ve written a lot about dog bites and my experience with litigating cases where pit bulls and other dogs have attacked and injured kids and adults.
But, right after the dog attacks what are you to do? I found this helpful check list written by a Doctor that is pretty easy to read. Knowing what do to after a dog bite should take some of the stress out of the already very stressful situation.
Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in Janesville, Kenosha, Wauwatosa and Lomira.
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