P.I. Lawyers: Bad Rap for Important Service
A lot of folks in Des Moines have never made the distinction between a Des Moines personal lawyer and a Des Moines personal injury attorney, but get injured in an accident and it will quickly become all too clear that there is a big difference. Generally, when an accident occurs, especially when there is injury severe enough to limit one’s day to day activities, the focus is on getting healthy. When the mending takes awhile or when the cost of treatment begins to impact one’s financial capabilities, then the victim may become aware of the ads on the side of the bus or friends will advise them that they should get a lawyer.
Jane was running an errand in her car when she stopped at a red light. There were two cars in front of her, a Mercedes and a Volvo. She saw a flash in her rearview mirror, heard the skidding of tires from behind and was slammed into by a Toyota Prius. Her car, a Samurai Suzuki, was launched into the Mercedes and the Mercedes hit the Volvo in front of it. Jane hit the steering wheel and fell back into her seat as the airbag exploded. She immediately pulled herself from the twisted metal and walked around in daze getting information from all the other drivers. A kind policeman called a towing service for her totaled vehicle and allowed her to sit in his car assessing her torn up knees, elbows and deeply bruised collar bone.
Jane thought she was okay and did not go to the emergency room. She got back to her house, took a few Tylenols and crawled into bed. The following day she called all the insurance people and started the ball rolling. Since she had only the most minimal coverage she was unaware that someone’s insurance could pay for a car rental until she could get her car fixed or buy a new one. She had to miss the next few days of work while she tried to find alternate transportation.
Several days later, Jane woke up with stabbing pain running into her neck and back. She couldn’t move her neck or bend. She managed to get to an emergency room, where x-rays were performed. The x-rays revealed no fractures, so the doctors said she had whiplash, gave her a neck brace, pain-killers and anti-inflammatories released her. Jane couldn’t work. Jane had no car. Physical Therapy and Chiropractic Care was recommended, but she she was working as a waitress and wasn’t able to pay for either of those as her minimal health coverage required a large deductible. A friend suggested that she should hire an attorney.
After hearing her story, the lawyer friend was very happy to take her case, even though it wasn’t the kind of law he normally did. He said that it looked like she could get a big payout as the other cars were barely touched and hers was totaled. He told her to keep keep a record of what she spent for health care. The problem was she couldn’t afford to spend on health care and not being an expert in this kind of law, he didn’t know that they based the amount of injury settlement on how much medical attention, as defined by dollars, had been gotten. Jane was let go from her job as she was unable to continue at the previous pace and her neck would never be the same again.
One year later, a resolution was reached. Bt this time her lawyer had nearly forgotten about her case and often reminded her that this was just a favor for a friend of his. In the litigated case there were four plaintiffs. The Mercedes had two people suing, the driver and a passenger and the Volvo driver. Though their vehicles suffered only cosmetic damages, they had, as advised by their personal injury lawyer, received as much treatment as possible. They spent it on weekly massages and therapy. She was the only one who missed any time off from work . The judge based his personal injury settlement on the amount of medical bills on file. Though her car was destroyed and she had obviously been the most grievously injured other plaintiffs received double what Jane received.
Jane discovered the hard way that while personal injury lawyers sometimes receive a bad rap, when you have an accident and it is not your fault, it helps to call in the experts.