Blog Archives

It's important to keep your lawyer informed

1/23/2015

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

Hello everyone. This is Robert Mansour and I wanted to make a brief video today about keeping your lawyer in the loop. This is something that happens to me on many cases even though I tell my clients this over and over again. If you receive anything in the mail that is related to your case from anybody - an insurance company, a doctor, a billing company, an ambulance service, anyone at all - make sure you make a copy of it and send it to your attorney's office. Fax it to them, email it to them.

Always assume that your lawyer is not getting copies of these things because it is very common for clients to receive correspondence in the mail and they just assume that the lawyer's office must be getting these things. It's not true. Many times these things are sent to the client and the lawyer's office has no idea that the client is getting these things in the mail. You have to always make sure that your lawyer's office is in the loop on everything that you receive from anyone regarding your accident case.

Also if you receive a phone call from anybody - an insurance adjuster, a doctor's office, a billing company, a collection agency - you have to notify your attorney's office. They have to know about those things because otherwise we don't just have dreams about these thing that will come to me in a vision. I have to be made aware. The best thing to do is to routinely make copies of everything and send it to the lawyer's office.

This dovetails with something I've spoken about before. If you receive bills from a hospital or from a doctor or from another healthcare provider, an ambulance service, a collection agency, you can't just ignore those bills. You must take action on those bills. Do something, at the very least talk to your lawyer's officer about it. Ask them if you need to pay this. Ask them if it needs to be sent to the health insurance company. There are many things that you can do but do not assume that your lawyer's office is getting all these stuff in the mail just because you are.

Thank you very much for watching this video. I hope you found it helpful. Call (661) 414-7100 if you need help with your personal injury case.

Why so many different adjusters are handling your case

1/12/2015

Sometimes clients call me and wonder why their case has been apparently handled so many different adjusters. It might seem like there are many different people handling your case, especially at the very beginning. When you first place a call to the insurance company for the responsible party, or even your own insurance company, you're often greeted by an intake person. This person's job is simply to take the call, get the relevant information, and then turn the matter over to the appropriate department or the appropriate adjuster. These intake people are often very friendly and in some cases may give you false hope that everything is going to be simple and easy. Keep in mind, they have no reason to be unpleasant with you, and in most cases, they are so nice that you may have a false sense of security that everything in your case is going to turn out just fine. They assure you that they're going to take care of everything, that there's nothing to worry about, and so on. I'm not suggesting these folks are lying to you...I'm just suggesting their pleasant demeanor is not necessarily indicative of everyone you're going to encounter.

The next adjuster who might help you is usually the property damage adjuster. This person's job is to help you resolve your property damage claim. Whether or not it is your insurance company or not, this adjuster will often arrange for your vehicle to be inspected either by their own in-house inspectors, and/or the body shop. Sometimes, the property damage adjuster will send an inspector to take a look at your car wherever it might be. They will often give a preliminary assessment and in many cases write up an estimate. If your vehicle is a an obvious total loss, sometimes that's all it takes. In some cases, your vehicle will be taken to a shop where you will receive a more detailed estimate. The property damage adjuster may also arrange for you to get a rental car. Make sure that the rental car arrangement is strictly between the insurance company and the rental car company. All you need to do is pick up the car and return the car. If your vehicle is a total loss, you might hear from a "total loss" adjuster.

Another adjuster you might hear from is the bodily injury adjuster. If you are making an injury claim, your case will be assigned to a bodily injury adjuster whose job it is to review your medical records and bills and compensate you for your injuries. Keep in mind, this person does not have your interests at heart. They work for the insurance company, and their job is to take a very conservative stance when it comes to your medical bills. Don't believe it when they tell you they will "handle" all your bills and just to send it to them. If the bills get too high, the adjuster will argue your bills are too high and will not want to pay them. If you treat for too long, the adjuster might give you a hard time about that as well.

You need to know there are many different people at the insurance company that might handle your claim. Some insurance companies have even gone to a "team approach." Every time you call, you might get somebody different. The person taking your call might work for a particular team that handles your file. In some cases, this is very convenient because you don't have to speak with the same person every time. You don't have to play as much "phone tag." By the same token, the inverse is true, as it could also be very frustrating because you may have to rehash what you spoke about even though they try to keep copious notes at their end.

If you need help with your personal injury case, call our office at (661) 414-7100 to see if we can assist you. Thank you so much for visiting our website.

Make sure you have the correct insurance coverage for your car

1/2/2015

I was recently hired by a new client who was not only the victim of a severe head-on collision, but she was also probably the victim of poor (or perhaps no) advice from an insurance agent.

You see, she had just purchased a new $20,000 vehicle. When she called her insurance agent to obtain insurance, she expressed that she wanted to get the "least expensive" policy possible.

Therefore, without any discussion, he simply put her in a "liability only" insurance policy with the lowest limits of $15,000. That meant that if she was responsible for an accident, she would be covered for liability up to $15,000. However, the policy did not provide for anything else. She trusted that he got her adequate coverage, because after all, he was a professional insurance agent. As it turned out, the coverage was too basic for her needs.

After the head-on collision, she came to my office for advice. I explained that the only way she could get her car fixed was by going through the other party's insurance company. In other words, the other party would have to concede to fault. She couldn't turn to her own insurance company because she didn't have "collision" coverage under the policy.

Also, because she didn't have health insurance, she had no way to get medical treatment until the other side conceded fault. She also didn't have "medical payments coverage" under her auto policy so she was unable to seek medical care through that avenue. I told her that we might be able to proceed on a lien basis (where the healthcare providers would defer payment till she collected from the other party), but it was too risky to do so without knowing what the police report said for sure. Otherwise, she might be digging herself into a financial hole full of medical bills.

I trusted that the accident wasn't her fault, but that doesn't prevent other people from saying otherwise, including a police officer. I've come to learn after over 20 years of practicing law, that a 2 car accident often results in 4 different stories!

The lesson is this: It is an insurance broker's responsibility to recommend and provide the correct coverage to a client. Then, after figuring out what the "correct" coverage is, he/she can look for a competitive price from a good company. Selecting the cheapest policy is not a service to the client, especially when they are not adequately insured.

Also, when you shop for insurance, your focus shouldn't be only on the price. You should be asking yourself whether or not you were getting the correct kind of coverage for you and your family. That way, you won't be dependent on an opposing insurance company when you get into an accident and need help.