Posted by rozeklawoffice on May 5, 2010 under Bicycle Accidents, Car Accidents, Motorcycle Accidents, Pedestrian Accidents, Personal Injury Cases, Truck Accidents | 
In our 14 years of practicing law, we have never seen an individual who is prepared for an accident. No one anticipates being unable to work. Having their car banged up. Suffering pain that will not go away. We have had clients come into our office after an accident and seem pain-free. Then their condition worsens and they need surgery. We have also had clients come in after an accident in tremendous pain. Wearing the typical padded collars to ease whiplash discomfort, having trouble sitting, or having trouble standing. We have accepted these injuries cases and watched as clients heal quickly and are shortly back to their old self. The point I am making is that you never know if an accident will cause immediate injury, slow on-set injury, injury that will heal, or injury that will get worse and possible pain that will never go away. Even doctors do not really know if someone will heal and be back to how they were before the accident.
So, what should you do?
Unfortunately, in Wisconsin, and most predominately the City of Milwaukee, you do not have to do a thing. Attorneys, intermediaries, legal and medical coordinators, insurance agents and representatives of doctors offices will be flying to you. Your telephone may right. Someone may tell you that the hospital has assigned you a doctor or a lawyer. You Many find a business card in your door or mailbox. You may notice an attorney is now “following” you on twitter.Your mailbox is filled with promotional literature on personal injury attorney firms!
There are other variations of this scene and its important to know it is all a scam. “Runners” sometimes drive around with police scanners in their car. You may have an accident, and they appear asking if they can drive you to a doctor or lawyer. I have heard of tow truck drivers or body shops that also do this. There are reports of runners walking hospital hallways and entering rooms or striking up conversation in hospital waiting rooms, all while passing out their business cards. Runners may call themselves “Legal Referral Service” or “Medical Referral Service” or something similar. Don’t be fooled.
There are stories of people who have been injured and riding in the ambulance when the ambulance attendant passes them a cell phone to speak with an attorney. Others have reported that the tow truck drivers have dropped off their car at the auto repair shop and then offered to drive the injured person to a lawyer’s office.
The following are things that you should know if you have or are ever in an accident.
Hospitals do not assign anyone an accident or injury lawyer. A patients file including phone number and other contact information are kept confidential and never distributed without your permission. If the hospital refers you to a doctor other than your family doctor, they usually will give you a list of doctors with several names to chose from, which is ok.
The people running around with business cards, calling you, following yo9u on twitter, or offering to drive you to a doctor or lawyer (called “runners”) are not doing so out of pure kindness. They are getting paid. In the most outrageous cases, lawyers may offer you money directly. This is illegal. These are the kind of professionals that give all lawyers and doctors a bad rap. You should not want an attorney or doctor that gets patients this way. Any lawyer or doctor that would pay cash for a case can not be any good. The best lawyers act legally and ethically. They are the ones that do not call you first.
Insurance companies know who the dishonest lawyers are. They have departments staffed by retires law enforcement agents whose only job is to discover fraud. Even if you have a legitimate injury and case, if your lawyer is known to be dishonest, you may be investigated and watched.
So, how should you find an ethical personal injury attorney?
First and Foremost, you should be looking for an attorney that is not looking for you! Toss all the mail solicitations, block attorney “followers” on twitter, politely take business card from an y runner or person lingering in the medical facility and then throw them away. You have 3 options left: turn on TV and listen to 30 second attorney commercial (won’t learn much about the firm beyond “one call that’s all” or “don’t drop the ball, just call” ); pull out the yellow pages (not much here either since there is limited space and again filled with slogans and jargon; go to your computer and search for your type of accident or injury (finally, you will be getting solid facts, listings of experience and even free information). We would recommend searching for your type of accident using the location in your search terms (ex: Wisconsin Bicycle Accident Attorney) or your type of injury using your location in your search terms (ex: Wisconsin Brain Injury Attorney).
Once at the website, we recommend spending some time, clicking around the site to find useful information that the firm provides. Are there any free guides that you can order? Are there any injury tools available such as a migraine diary? Are there any symptom checklists that you can print off for your use? Does the site have a blog that you can go to to find more information on your injury?
Once you have read over the information from various sites, contact the attorney using the contact method that you feel most comfortable. The firm should have on their website multiple contact options that you can choose from (i.e. instant chat, case evaluation form, email address, phone number, etc.).
Once you have contacted the attorney, ask him/her questions that help you determine who will actually be handling your case from start to finish, what is their experience with the particular injury you have sustain, who are their experts on these injuries, if the case does not settle, are they prepared to go to trial? (Very important note: If the attorney says he can get you a “quick” settlement, politely finish the conversation and move on to the next attorney. Quick settlement discussion at the onset of your case can only mean less compensation for you the injured individual).
Good luck in your pursuit for justice and your road to recovery, both financially and medically. If you would like to speak with an experienced Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney, please do not hesitate to click on the link, view the website, and contact Attorney Randy Rozek.
Tags: attorney commercials, dishonest personal injury lawyers, ethical personal injury lawyers, legal referal service, medical referal service, milwaukee personal injury attorney, personal injury firm website, personal injury on twitter, quick settlement to injury case, wisconsin accident and injury, wisconsin brain injury attorney, wisconsin car accident, Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney, wisconsin whiplash
Posted by rozeklawoffice on April 21, 2010 under Bicycle Accidents, Car Accidents, Pedestrian Accidents |
According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, there are more vehicle fatalities in Milwaukee (47 in 2008) than any other county in the state. Waukesha County came in second with 27 fatalities in 2008, almost half that of Milwaukee County.
In a report released by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation siting 2008 statistics, across the state, the months of February and August were identified as having the most car accidents fatalities, with the most incidents occurring on Thursdays and Saturdays. In Milwaukee County, the most car accidents with injuries occurred during the months of January and July.
Surprisingly, throughout the State of Wisconsin, the most car accidents occur during the timeframe of 3:00 – 4:00 pm.
The study showed that Wisconsin bicyclists and pedestrians that were between the ages of 10-14 and drivers between the ages of 25-34 were injured most often.
Whether traveling by bicycle, vehicle, motorcycle and/or walking in urban areas across the state, males were more likely to be in an accident than females.
____________________________________________________________________
If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident in Milwaukee County, contact an experienced Milwaukee Car Accident Attorney.
Posted by rozeklawoffice on April 6, 2010 under Bicycle Accidents, Wisconsin Law |
Spring in Wisconsin is finally here and summer is quickly approaching. The snow has melted making way for greener pastures and clear bike routes. By now, you have heard the safety message, “Wear A Helmet” so we will only repeat it once…”Wear A Helmet”… it’s the #1 form of protection from injuries resulting from bicycle accidents.
The second most important protection you can have is adequate uninsured/under-insured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage. If you are an active Wisconsin bicyclist and have the misfortune to be hit by a car and the driver flees the scene, the vehicle is considered under-insured; therefore, your UM/UIM insurance will likely cover your damages, medical bills, lost pay, and pain and suffering.
It is recommended that your UM/UIM limits are at least as great as your bodily injury limits. In short, UM/UIM protects you from the negligent actions of others while bodily injury protects others from your negligence. Both equally as important, not only for drivers, but for bicyclists as well.
If you have been injured in a bicycle accident and want to understand your rights to under-insured/uninsured motorist coverage, be sure to contact an experienced Wisconsin Bicycle Accident Attorney.
Posted by rozeklawoffice on February 23, 2010 under Bicycle Accidents |
Each year there are over 1,000 Wisconsin bicycle accidents that result in serious injury. In the majority of these accidents the driver of the automobile is at fault for causing or contributing to the crash.
Fortunately, bicycle accidents in Wisconsin have declined over the past several years. Many believe this decrease is due to an increase in designated bike lanes and increased bicycle safety awareness.
Considered a “vehicle”, bicycle riders must follow the rules of the road. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is the agency in which sets forth the state bicycle regulations. here is a quick summary of these regulations:
Lane Positioning: Always ride on the right, in the same direction as other traffic. Ride as far to the right as practicable. Practicable means safe and reasonable. Below is a list of a few situations when it is not practicable to ride far to the right:
- When overtaking and passing another vehicle traveling in the same direction;
- When preparing for a left turn at an intersection or driveway;
- When reasonably necessary to avoid unsafe conditions, including fixed or moving objects, parked or moving vehicles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards or substandard width lanes.
One Way Streets: Bicycles on a one-way street with two or more lanes of traffic may ride as near the left or right-handed edge or curb of the roadway as practicable.
Use of Shoulders: Bicycles may ride on the shoulder of a highway unless prohibited by local authorities.
Riding 2-Abreast: Riding 2 abreast is permitted on any street as long as other traffic is not impeded. When riding 2 abreast on a 2 or more lane roadway, you both have to ride within a single lane.
Hand Signals: Bicyclists are required to use the same hand signals as motorists. Hand signals are required within 50 feet of your turn.
Passing: A motorist passing a bicyclist in the same lane is required to give the bicyclist at least 3 feet of clearance, and to maintain that clearance until safely past. A bicyclist passing a stopped or moving vehicle is also required to give at lest 3 feet of clearance when passing.
Use of Sidewalks: The Wisconsin Statutes allow local units of government to permit vehicles on sidewalks through local ordinances. When bicycles are allowed to be operated on sidewalks, bicyclists must yield to pedestrians and give an audible warning when passing pedestrians traveling in the same direction. At intersections and other sidewalk crossings, a bicyclist on the sidewalk has the same rights and duties as pedestrians.
Bicycling at Night: Bicycling at night requires at least a white front headlight and a red rear reflector. These are required no matter where you ride, street, path or sidewalk.
Duty to Report Accident: The operator involved in an accident resulting in injury to or death of any person shall immediately give notice of such accident to the police. Injury means injury to a person of a physical nature resulting in death or the need for first aid or attention by medical personnel, whether or not first aid or medical treatment was actually received.
Red Traffic Signal: A bicyclist facing a red signal at an intersection, after stopping as required, for not less than 45 seconds, can proceed cautiously through the intersection before the signal turns green if no other vehicles are present at the intersection to actuate the signal and the operator believes the signal is vehicle actuated. The bicyclist shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicular traffic when proceeding through the green signal at the intersection.
If a bicycle rider is injured in a Wisconsin bicycle/car accident and he failed to abide by the Wisconsin Bicycle Rules of the Road, that does not mean he does not have a legitimate personal injury claim. An experienced trial lawyer will compare his actions to the actions of the motor vehicle operator. If the bicyclist is found to be 50% or less at fault, then he will be entitled to recovery. Oftentimes, a jury will determine that the motor vehicle operator was more at fault because of a general understanding that motorists should be more careful when operating near bicyclists.
If you have been in an accident, you should contact an experienced Wisconsin Bicycle Personal Injury Attorney.
