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National Be Kind To Lawyers Day April 14, 2009

Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury.
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It’s that very special day!  How will you celebrate it?

I was a little surprised to hear that this day actually exists.  Read the “story” behind the day at the “official” website.  Enjoy the day.

“Independent” Medical Exams April 3, 2009

Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury, Personal Injury Law, Wisconsin Auto Accidents.
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Actually, there is rarely anything “Independent” about medical exams requested by an insurance company.  The insurance company pays for the exam.  It’s easy to understand that the doctor is biased.  This quote from an “Independent” medical doctor is eye opening:

“If you did a truly pure report,” he said later in an interview, “you’d be out on your ears and the insurers wouldn’t pay for it. You have to give them what they want, or you’re in Florida. That’s the game, baby.”

Read the story from the New York Times.  It deals with workers’ compensation in New York but it is certainly relevant for Wisconsin’s workers’ compensation claims.

Something interesting about this article is the changes that NY has implimented for its “I.”M.E.’s.  They allow the exams to be tape recorded or videotaped.  Seems reasonable to me!  In Wisconsin personal injury law plaintiffs’ attorneys who ask that an exam be taped or recorded receive a strong objection from the insurance company.  Sometimes even having a friend or family member attend an exam isn’t allowed.

Last I checked no Wisconsin Appellate Court has held whether a Defense Medical Exam (that is a more accurate description) performed for a personal injury claim may be tape recorded or videotaped.  Federal Courts have held that a Defense Medical Exam regarding a psychiatric examination may be recorded.  Zabkowicz v. West Bend Co., 585 F. Supp. 635 (E.D. Wis. 1974). (See this outline from an Insurance Defense Firm located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin).

Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in West Allis, Sheboygan,  Plymouth,  and Germantown.

If you’d like to submit a question or case please complete a case submission form.

Part Two: Speed Defeats Right of Way April 2, 2009

Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury, Motorcycle Collisions, Personal Injury Law, Wisconsin Auto Accidents.
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Matt made a great comment about my earlier post.   I found a jury instruction (Wis JI-Civil 1157 Right of Way: At intersection of Highways; Ultimate Verdict Question) and Wis. Stats. Section 346.18 to support my position:

Another safety statute provides that the operator of any vehicle operating at an unlawful speed on a highway is negligent and forfeits any right of way which he would otherwise have.  Thus, before you can find negligence for failure to yield the right of way, you must first find that the vehicle on thh right was being operated at a lawful speed.

So, the question is for the jury.  The above paragraph is read by a Judge to the Jury before they begin to deliberate on who was at fault.   I assume a jury would be lenient on a person going 46 in a 45 compared to someone going 70 in a 45.

As to Matt’s question regarding the Governor’s budget.  I have to plead ignorance.  All I know is what Belling and Sykes have said.  I have to read the budget myself before I jump into that battle.

Thanks again for the comment Matt!

$2.15 Million March 26, 2009

Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury, Personal Injury Law.
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You don’t want to be a $2.15 million victim.

I’ll get a call once in a while from someone who sees a television ad from a certain law firm(s).  The question or comment goes something like this, “That guy on tv is a client of Attorney X and he got  $500,000.00.  I’m hurt, if you can’t get me $500,000.00 then I’ll just go to Attorney X.”

My usual response is you don’t want to be that $500,000.00 client. And, depending on the type of injuries a jury would not award that amount of money no matter who your attorney is.

It is always odd to talk about the value of an injury.  Only the victim truly knows the effects of her/his injury.  Our system of civil justice uses money as a way to compensate victims for pain, suffering, lost wages, inconvenience and medical expenses.

A $500,000.00 case means you are very seriously injured.

It’s important to talk with a lawyer about what the law allows a victim to recover.   Not all cases are the same.  I think it is a little misleading to put someone on television who looks as healthy as can be and say that that person received a very large settlement.  Especially, when the fine print on the screen says “actor portrayal” or something like that.

For example, I recently settled a claim for $2.15 million dollars.  The victim was a young boy who lost his arm in a collision.  The at-fault driver stole her grandmother’s car and went for a joy ride.  A residual of Cocaine was found in her system after the crash.  Also, she was not on certain drugs that were prescribed to her.  The settlement included compensatory and punitive damages.

Anyone reading this would NOT want to be that victim.

Do your research before hiring an attorney.  Hire an attorney based upon a referral, research and a long conversation about the claim.

If you have questions about the value of your claim feel free to contact me at 800-950-9882.  I’d be happy to discuss your situation.

www.jonpgroth.com

Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in Cascade, Lomira, Janesville and Wauwatosa.

Speed Defeats Right of Way March 24, 2009

Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Drunk Driving, FAQ Personal Injury, Personal Injury Law, Wisconsin Auto Accidents.
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A Marinette, Wisconsin man was driving on U.S. 41 when a car pulled onto the highway.  The Marinette man struck this vehicle.  The Marinette man survived.  Everyone in the other vehicle died.

If this is all you heard you may say that the other vehicle was at fault.  Why didn’t they see the Marinette man’s vehicle?  They should have yielded the right of way to the vehicle on U.S. 41.

In Wisconsin “speed defeats right of way.”  So, if you are speeding on the road and another car pulls out in front of you, guess what?  You, the speeder, are at fault.

That is what happened in this case.  Plus, I should mention that the Marinette man was intoxicated.  An accident reconstruction specialist estimated the Marinette, Wisconsinite was driving between 77 and 81 in a 45 mph zone.

The Marinette man killed the driver of the car, his three daughters (two were pregnant so two kids were killed) and his son.

The Marinette man was allegedly at a bar where his wife worked for 9 hours prior to the crash.  He told the police that he was distracted when the collision occurred.  He was changing the radio station in his car.

Read the AP’s full story at jsonline.com.

If you have questions about an accident involving a drunk driver or whether someone is “at fault” in Wisconsin feel free to contact me at 800-950-9882.  I’d be happy to discuss your situation.

www.jonpgroth.com

Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in Wausaukee, Kenosha, Janesville and Wauwatosa.

I Never Think “Mild” When I Think of Brain Injuries March 4, 2009

Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury.
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But, we have to be able to describe the different degrees of all injuries.  So, “mild” will have to do.

Anyway, Medical Legal Art has a well researched and informative post about car accidents and damage to a victim’s brain.

In most cases, no evidence of injury will show up on CT or MRI scans unless this injury results in hemorrhage from contusions or vascular injury. Usually, the injury is microscopic occurring to individual cells or clusters of cells. This is where axonal shearing comes into the conversation. The movement of the brain within the skull can cause disruption of the various nerve cells (neurons) that make up the brain tissue. These injuries to the neurons, and particularly to the long vulnerable axon portions of the neurons, are called axonal shearing or shear injuries.

Low velocity, rear end collisions are some of the toughest for any attorney to prove the relatedness of injuries.  I’ve used Medical Legal Art in the past and have found their work to be extremely helpful.  Simply because a picture is worth a thousand words.

I’m Glad I Hired You To Handle My Lawsuit March 3, 2009

Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury.
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I get comments like that a lot.  I think it is more of a colloquialism than anything.

Injured people should hire an attorney to avoid a lawsuit.  Personal injury attorneys can do more good for you the earlier you hire them.  (That is a post for another day)

If a dog bite, car accident or other incident happens and you hire a lawyer a few days later my best guess is that their is less than a 10% chance that the case will go to a jury trial.   I can say that by looking at my current caseload.

So, just by hiring a personal injury attorney you have not filed a lawsuit. At that point it is probably more accurate to say that you have a “claim” against the at fault party.  If a lawsuit is necessary we’ll certainly file it (and I can tell you as a personal note I’ll enjoy taking depositions and going to trial if need be) but in many cases a lawsuit won’t be necessary.

You hire a lawyer to protect you from accusations from other drivers (i.e. in order to reduce/remove allege contributory negligence that insurance companies will throw at you).  You hire a lawyer to make sure you include every bit of compensation that the law allows.  You hire a lawyer to make this process as painless as possible.

Now don’t get me wrong.  I’ve handled a large number of cases where my client didn’t come to me until months or a year or so after the collision.  Sometimes the insurance company strung the person along and then when the unreasonable offer came I was the very next call.  In those cases there isn’t much we can do.  A lawsuit needed to be filed.

These are all things about which you’ll need to talk with your personal injury attorney.

Next:

Why hire a personal injury attorney right away?

www.jonpgroth.com

Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in Cascade, Lomira, Janesville and Wauwatosa.

What’s This Talk About a Jury Trial? March 2, 2009

Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury, Personal Injury Law, Wisconsin Auto Accidents.
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I think I need to write about a few things that I commonly hear from clients and a few things that I commonly say to clients.

First, about something I say.  Whenever someone asks about the value of a claim or what we will “go after” for compensation I always say something like “the law allows us” or a “jury would be allowed to consider” or “we could ask a jury.”

I don’t use these phrases to scare clients and make them think we are going all the way to a trial.  In fact, the vast majority of my clients never see a courtroom.  I say these things because ultimately, the only way to force an insurance company to compensate an injured victim is by taking the case to a jury.  Once the jury decides and decides on a verdict that is what the insurance company has to pay.  (Obviously there is always the possibility of appeals but that is a post for another day…if jury trials are rare I’m sure you can imagine how rare appeals are).

Settlements made presuit or after a suit is filed are all based on guessing what a jury would award.  That is why you really hire a lawyer.  You hire a lawyer to give you an educated guess as to what a jury would award considering the law, facts and all the miscellaneous things out there.

No one knows what a jury would award.  But, who better to give you advice on the value of a personal injury matter than an attorney who has dedicated his career to knowing what amount of money a  jury would use to compensate an injured person and his/her family.

Next time I’m going to write about:

Thanks, I’m glad I hired you to handle my “lawsuit.”

www.jonpgroth.com

Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in Cascade, Lomira, Janesville and Wauwatosa.

Take The Time To Read Your Policy February 17, 2009

Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury, Personal Injury Law.
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John Bryan a West Virginia Car Accident Attorney recently wrote about the effect of your personal auto policy on a rental car.  In short, he reminds everyone that just because you have auto insurance this does not mean your policy will cover you when you rent a vehicle.

Many of the policies out there cover rental cars being driven if their primary vehicle has broken-down or is otherwise being worked-on or out of commission.  However, many of those same policies do not cover rental cars being driven if the policyholder’s primary vehicle is operational – for instance if you rent a car while on vacation.  This means that if you choose not to purchase the insurance on the rental car and you are involved in an accident, you may be liable to the rental car company for the complete property damage to the rental car.  This is because you will be signing a contract with the rental car company agreeing to pay for any property damage that is not covered by insurance.

Before you rent a vehicle make sure you’ve read your auto insurance policy to see whether you have coverage.  Believe me, the last thing you want is to be driving around without any car insurance.

What Your Case Might Look Like? February 10, 2009

Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury, Personal Injury Law, Wisconsin Auto Accidents.
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For those of you who have not been through a civil jury trial I recommend checking out Miller and Zois, LLC’s links to an entire auto accident jury trial.

According to Miller and Zois, LLC the facts are:

The case deals solely with the question of who was negligent in the car accident. The plaintiff alleged that a tanker-trailer carrying fuel oil cut him off in traffic, causing him to swerve into the adjacent lane, where he was struck from the rear by another vehicle.  He filed suit against the owner of the tanker truck and the driver of the vehicle that struck him from the rear.  The defendants claimed that plaintiff was responsible for the car accident. The case was tried on the issue of liability only, pursuant to a stipulated verdict agreement.

It’s a great thing to read if for no other reason than to get a feel for what happens.  Now it isn’t exactly what will happen in Wisconsin but it’s close enough.  Also, because damages are stipulated, the length of the trial is a little shorter than “normal.”

Anyway, if you are an injured victim and considering whether to hire an attorney read the transcript and bring those questions to your attorney.  Like I’ve said in earlier posts I really appreciate it when client’s come with questions about the civil litigation process.

In my experience the more a client is “in the know” the happier the client (and lawyer).

Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in Wauwatosa, West Allis, Sheboygan,  Plymouth,  and Germantown.

If you’d like to submit a question or case please complete a case submission form.