Horrific Car Wreck in Napa July 25th

As we were driving home from Napa late last night we were suddenly stopped on Highway 29 southbound. Emergency vehicles fought to get through from both directions, including Sheriff, Fire Department, Paramedics, and virtually everyone in the county who responds to major accidents. The wreckage strewn across the highway covered the entire road surface, and the vehicle was horribly damaged. As I drove past the remains of the car involved, I snapped this photo of the fire rescue worker responding at the scene.

This was yet one more scary reminder of the risks of drinking and driving. This appeared to be a one-car accident, and may have been due to losing control of the vehicle and rolling over and over. As Californians, we love visiting the Wine Country of Napa, Sonoma, St. Helena, and the other gorgeous towns that encompass the region. We may taste wines at several wineries and wind up the evening with a fine dinner at one of area's many splendid restaurants, especially on a beautiful summer weekend in July. Underestimating the effects of alcohol, drivers brave the roads to get home, tired and under the influence, and horrible and fatal accidents can be the result.

I was glad that I had been driving cautiously, keeping the speed between 50 and 60, at or below the speed limit, and with a large distance between our car and vehicles ahead. Keeping adequate distance while driving on the highway is the safety rule most drivers ignore as they tailgate and try to pass the cars ahead of them. Remember, a distance of 3 to 4 seconds behind the vehicle ahead of you on a highway provides you with the time you need to see a risk ahead, slow down and stop without a problem. This is particularly true on weekend evenings during the summer, wherever you may be, and particularly in the Wine Country of Northern California.

Cliff Blackman, personal injury attorney

http://www.blackmanlaw.com/

What Do I Tell My Doctor About My Injuries?

So, you were in a car accident and now you are having pain in your neck, back, head and have numbness and tingling down your main right arm. But, as fortune would have it, you had some neck problems for the past six months before the accident for which you had been seeing a chiropractor once a week after you had sprained your neck playing basketball with some friends at the club.

Now you are going to see your primary care physician who you haven't seen since you had that terrible sore throat a year ago. What should you tell him about your accident and the injuries from the accident? What should you tell him about the neck problem and the chiropractic care you have been getting?

You know that you are making a claim against the other driver's insurance company. Should you feed the doctor the information you think is best for your claim? Should you omit the prior neck problem?

Many people believe that since they are going to the doctor just for the accident related injuries that they should not tell the doctor about the pre-existing problems or other treatment they have been getting. Actually, it is the opposite that is true.

Tell the doctor about all your problems, including ongoing treatment for another injury.

It is important that you tell the doctor about the previous neck problem and the treatment you have been getting from the chiropractor for it. Explain how your neck problem has worsened after the car accident, however, and if the pain is different in the neck, explain the difference. It is likely that later on when the attorneys involved in your accident claim question the doctor they will already know about the prior neck problem and chiropractic care. If they can "trap" the doctor into making statements such as "all the neck problems came from the car accident" or that "he had no neck problem before the car accident" then the doctor will lose his credibility. It is much more important for the doctor to have all the known information before he gives his opinions so that they cannot be attacked for being based on limited or incorrect information.

When you go back to your chiropractor be sure to tell him how the neck problems have changed since the car accident. He will be asked later on to "apportion" the problems with your neck and the treatments for them between the pre-existing problem and the accident-related problems.

The best approach is always to provide the doctors and therapists who are treating you with an accurate and complete medical history. Their opinions in your case will be worth a lot less if they are based on inaccurate or incomplete information. If they know everything about you and your medical history their opinions in your case will be much more believable and persuasive.

How Much UM Coverage Do You Have?

A car accident caused by a hit and run driver caused injuries to the driver of this car, but he did not have adequate UM coverage. What does that mean?

When buying car insurance most people focus on the limits of liability coverage and don't pay much attention to the Uninsured Motorist Coverage. That is because the law requires all cars to carry at a minimum liability insurance to protect others against the risk of loss caused by a car accident. The law does not require Uninsured Motorist coverage, which is intended to protect the driver and occupants of a car against injury by another driver that is uninsured, or has inadequate insurance coverage.

Ask yourself, "How much UM coverage do I have?" Do you know the answer? If not, you better check your policy to be sure that (1) you have the UM coverage, and (2) the limits of coverage are high.

Why would you want a high limit of coverage on the UM portion of the car policy? Well, that is the part that protects you and your family if injuries are caused by an uninsured driver, hit and run driver, or driver with inadequate coverage.

Most insurance companies will not allow you to purchase more UM coverage that liability coverage, so if you buy 30,000/60,000 liability coverage (30,000 per person/60.000 per accident), then you would not be able to purchase more UM coverage than that.

A client was seriously hurt recently when a hit and run driver crashed into him, causing very serious injuries to his head and back. Our early estimation was that the case had a value in excess of $200,000 based on similar cases. Unfortunately for the client, the limit of his UM coverage was only $30,000. Unless his company was guilty of bad faith refusal to settle for that limit, there would be very little chance of ever recovering more than that.

The lesson: (1) Check on your UM coverage today

(2) consider increasing the coverage substantially

If you have any questions about this, talk to your auto insurance agent. While you are at it, check on your Med Pay coverage and consider raising that limit also.