Young Driver Deaths on the Rise

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Did you know?

…Deaths among 16 and 17 year old drivers have increased by 11% from 2010 and 2011.

Statistics released by the Governors’ Highway Safety Association (GHSA) notes that 23 US states saw increases in teenage motorist deaths over the one year period.

The GHSA suggests two reasons for this sudden, significant increase in auto fatalities among teenagers:

1. Improved economic conditions mean more teenager drivers on the road.

2. The impact of phased-in driving privilege programs (Graduated Driver Licensing), implemented in the mid-90′s, whose effects are continuing to be felt.

If you or someone you know has suffered injuries as a result of a teen driver, or any at-fault driver, contact our office immediately to discuss your rights. We want to help you get the compensation you deserve.

Call us today: 1-800-6700-LAW.

Please Note: Nothing contained herein should be considered to be legal advice. Opting to read or submit a comment on this blog topic does not constitute an attorney-client privilege. If you feel you have a claim and would like to receive a free case consultation, please call our office toll-free at 1-800-6700-LAW.

Doctors Tell Tall Tales…

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An alarming study released this week found that 10% of doctors admitted to lying to their patients.

About what? Most frighteningly, they lied about their mistakes. In a survey of almost 2,000 doctors, 1/3 said they didn’t agree with telling patients about serious medical errors. Over ½ admitted that they did not always tell their patients about the risks and advantages of medical procedures. To read the full study, click here.

What does this mean? You could be at risk. If a doctor has made a mistake (missing a diagnosis, delaying treatment, failing to order tests etc.) that is called negligence. Negligence can result in serious injuries and in the worst cases, death. At Goren, Goren and Harris, we have decades of experience in helping you navigate this difficult area of law.

Help us keep your doctors honest. We are experienced with handling a wide variety of medical errors ranging from neurosurgery to podiatry.  We have handled delayed diagnosis of meningitis, failure to give timely antibiotics for sepsis, untimely delivery of a baby with fetal distress and many other conditions.   Contact us. We want to help.

Please Note: Nothing contained herein should be considered to be legal advice. Opting to read or submit a comment on this blog topic does not constitute an attorney-client privilege. If you feel you have a claim and would like to receive a free case consultation, please call our office toll-free at 1-800-6700-LAW.

Attendant Care or Replacement Services: What’s the Deal?

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As Michigan No-Fault/Auto Accident attorneys, our clients constantly ask us, “What’s Attendant Care?  And how about Replacement Services?  And how do I make submissions for payment?”

First, there are several differences between Attendant Care and Replacement Services that every No-Fault benefits claimant should be aware of:

Attendant Care implies “skilled nursing care,” to be administered to the auto accident victim in the comfort of their own home.  These “nursing services” can include tasks such as supervising the injured person, administering medications, wound care, assisting with personal hygiene tasks such as bathing, dressing, grooming, bathroom assistance, and transportation for the injured person.  An accident victim has the option to contract with a home health company, but in many cases will appoint a family member or friend to care for them instead.  Attendant Care is typically claimed at $20 per hour, for however many hours per day the injured person’s physician deems necessary.

Replacement Services are also known as Household Services.  These care services are intended to provide an injured person with household help.  Replacement Services include tasks such as sweeping, mopping, or vacuuming the injured person’s home, doing laundry, meal preparation, child care, miscellaneous cleaning, and yard work.  The auto insurance company will pay up to $20 per day to reimburse the care provider.

To ensure payment of these care services, auto insurance companies typically require:
1. That the injured person’s physician prescribe these care services, and;
2.  That the person providing the care complete monthly affidavits itemizing the services they provided to the claimant.

Goren, Goren & Harris, P.C. have assisted hundreds and hundreds of people with their No-Fault/PIP benefits.  We have over 40 years of experience and proven success for auto accident victims.  Contact our office toll-free to discuss your auto accident claim at 1-800-6700-LAW.

Please Note: Nothing contained herein should be considered to be legal advice. Opting to read or submit a comment on this blog topic does not constitute an attorney-client privilege. If you feel you have a claim and would like to receive a free case consultation, please call our office toll-free at 1-800-6700-LAW.

No-Fault Medical Mileage: Is it Really Worth My Time??

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Some of our clients are annoyed with the idea of tracking their medical travel after they’ve been in an auto accident. Here they are, injured and in pain, and now their lawyer is telling them to record every time they set foot in a car to go to the doctor or hospital?  The client’s first reaction is usually “No way!”.

But as we’re about to demonstrate, even an intensive, short-term medical treatment plan can really place a drain on an auto accident victim’s bank account.  With gas prices hovering around $3.50 a gallon these days, this is a benefit that every auto accident victim should take advantage of.

Case Study: Susie Q
Client Susie Q has suffered a cervical lumbar injury, let’s say a disc herniation or neuropathy.  Susie Q’s doctors have wisely prescribed her with physical therapy, to be completed 3 times a week for a four week period.  Susie lives 10 miles from the therapy center and drives a car that averages 20 miles to the gallon.

Round-trip mileage for physical therapy: 20 miles
Gallons of gas per trip: 1 gallon; 1 gallon of gas= $3.50
Cost of gas for 1 trip: $3.50

$3.50 in gas x 3 physical therapy sessions/week= $10.50 per week.
$10.50/week x 4 weeks= $42.00

So for a single round of physical therapy, Susie Q has spent $42.00 in gas alone!!

In the State of Michigan, arguments have be made that in addition to the cost of gas, Susie Q’s vehicle is requiring greater maintenance and repair due to the additional travel.  The Auto Accident Attorneys at Goren, Goren & Harris, P.C. pursue medical mileage reimbursement at .585 cents per medical mile, a reasonable adjustment for the wear and tear on your vehicle.

Susie Q’s Medical Mileage
20 miles/visit x 3 visits/week= 60 miles/week.
60 miles/week x 4 weeks= 240 medical miles
240 medical miles x $.585= $140.40

In Susie Q’s case, a month of physical therapy (totaling 240 medical miles traveled) could mean a medical mileage reimbursement of over $140!!

Please Note: Nothing contained herein should be considered to be legal advice. Opting to read or submit a comment on this blog topic does not constitute an attorney-client privilege. If you feel you have a claim and would like to receive a free case consultation, please call our office toll-free at 1-800-6700-LAW.

RSD: A Painful and Expensive Disease

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The sad truth is that RSD victims, or those diagnosed with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, suffer on multiple fronts. Not only do they have horrible pain radiating through their body, but they also have piles of medical bills often with no way to pay them because the victim can no longer work.

Take, for example, a 50-year-old RSD victim who has the disease in her right foot and leg and can no longer work. Her RSD is being treated by medication, biofeedback, and physical therapy. A patient like this may need a spinal cord stimulator implanted and nerve blocks.

Because she will need weekly, monthly, and quarterly visits with various doctors, pain management specialists, and therapists, her annual medical expenses will easily exceed $10,000. The cost of nerve blocks, bone scans, MRIs, spinal cord stimulators, nerve conduction treatments, and other blood tests will also cost tens of thousands of dollars. Finally, she will need to pay somebody to help her around the house with cleaning, shopping, laundry, and meals all while being unable to return to work. In sum, the cost of her medical expenses, household services, and ten years worth of lost income will amount to millions of dollars in damages.

If you’ve been injured and now have RSD, you need a lawyer who knows the seriousness of your illness and will fight for every dollar you deserve. The nature of the disease is terrible enough, and you should not have to worry about where you would get the money to keep your family afloat. Goren, Goren & Harris has been helping clients get the money they deserve for more than 40 years. Many of our clients have RSD, and we are asked by lawyers from all over the country to assist them in representing their clients who have RSD. If you are thinking of bringing a law suit for your injury, contact us today for a free consultation. We don’t get paid unless you win.

Please Note: Nothing contained herein should be considered to be legal advice. Opting to read or submit a comment on this blog topic does not constitute an attorney-client privilege. If you feel you have a claim and would like to receive a free case consultation, please call our office toll-free at 1-800-6700-LAW.

Know Your Auto Rights!

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In the State of Michigan, there are 3 potential cases an auto accident victim can bring:

1. First Party (No-Fault PIP Benefits)
An auto accident victim pursues a Michigan No-Fault/PIP case with his or her own insurance company.  Under the Michigan No-Fault Insurance Act, accident victims are entitled to benefits that include coverage of accident-related medical expenses, wage loss for up to three years following the accident, household care, reimbursement for medical mileage and prescription costs, as well as attendant care (personal medical/hygiene care).
To protect your rights to your No-Fault claim, you MUST SUBMIT a NO-FAULT APPLICATION to your insurance carrier within ONE YEAR OF THE DATE OF THE ACCIDENT or you will lose any benefits.  Also, claims submitted to your insurance company will not be paid until they have a No-Fault Application on file.

2. Third Party (Pain and Suffering)
Third party cases arise when someone becomes injured as a result of a negligent driver.  In these cases, the injured party sues the at-fault driver for pain and suffering as well as any excess economic loss.  The injured party has up to three years to sue the at-fault driver before the Statute of Limitations runs.

3.  Mini-Tort (Property Damage)
Under Michigan law, auto accident victims can only recover up to $500.00 in damage to their vehicles.  This means that even if your car is wrecked in the accident, the maximum award you can expect to receive is $500.00 from the at-fault driver or his/her insurance.
To make a claim for a mini-tort payment, you first need to identify the at-fault driver’s insurance company (this can be found on the police report).  You’re then going to need to submit a copy of the police report, an estimate of repairs on your vehicle, any pictures of the car that you may have, and a copy of your auto insurance’s declarations page.

Goren, Goren & Harris has handled hundreds of auto accident cases- Call Us Today for additional information. We Want to Help.

Please Note: Nothing contained herein should be considered to be legal advice. Opting to read or submit a comment on this blog topic does not constitute an attorney-client privilege.   If you feel you have a claim and would like to receive a free case consultation, please call our office toll-free at 1-800-6700-LAW.

How Do Cases Settle? (Or When Will I Get My Money?)

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In every personal injury or tort case, there are two parties, the Plaintiff, or injured party, and the Defendant, the individual or entity accused of negligence and damages.

When an attorney takes on a personal injury/tort case, the claim usually takes one of three routes before the client gets paid:

1. Negotiation

Negotiation is basically a back-and-forth process between the injured party’s attorney and the Defendant, his/her attorney, or an insurance adjuster. Your attorney will typically compile your medical records, bills, and documents such as wage loss information to give the Defendant an idea of your damages. The attorney may also provide a verbal or written summary of your pain and suffering.

2. Alternative Dispute Resolution

Alternative Dispute Resolution, or ADR, is when both the Plaintiff and Defendant’s representatives agree to submit the facts of the case to a third party (or uninvolved individual) for an objective evaluation of the Plaintiff’s claim against the Defendant. ADR’s take on many forms in many states, from a Court-sanctioned Case Evaluation, a mediation organized by opposing counsel, or Case Arbitration, where the results are binding, or permanent.

3. Litigation

Litigation is probably the most long-term and costly option. If Plaintiff and Defendant aren’t seeing eye to eye, chances are your claim will end up in litigation. The litigation process begins with your attorney filing a complaint, which must be submitted before the state’s Statute of Limitations expire (see previous article for more info on this). From this point, a Plaintiff can expect a long period of Discovery, when attorneys seek information from the other side about the accident, their clients’ backgrounds, and the materials and witnesses the other side is expecting to use at trial. Depositions are commonly taken, where individuals with information about the incident or Plaintiff’s medical treaters may be interviewed under oath to gather more information regarding the case. If ongoing negotiations or alternative dispute resolution fails, the Plaintiff may find himself in a jury trial. The longer the litigation lasts, the higher the case’s costs can go.

Goren, Goren & Harris has handled hundreds of personal injury cases- Call Us Today for additional information. We Want to Help.

Please Note: Nothing contained herein should be considered to be legal advice. Opting to read or submit a comment on this blog topic does not constitute an attorney-client privilege.   If you feel you have a claim and would like to receive a free case consultation, please call our office toll-free at 1-800-6700-LAW.

King of Pop’s Doctor Death Convicted- A Victory for Medical Malpractice

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After only 9 hours of deliberation, a jury found Dr. Conrad Murray, personal physician to Pop legend Michael Jackson, guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009 as a result of overdosing on propofol, a powerful intravenous anesthetic that Dr. Murray had been using to treat Michael’s insomnia.

Prosecutors were able to secure the guilty verdict through carefully explaining the medical malpractice concept, “Standard of Care”.  Through testimony given by various medical experts, it was determined that Dr. Murray had been negligent in his decision to administer the highly potent drug in a private home without livesaving equipment on standby.  Additionally, Dr. Murray fialed to keep a vigilant watch of the patient while under the anesthesia, resulting in his death.  Experts declared these acts “Grossly Negligent”.

When a doctor fails to meet the Standard of Care outlined by his/her education and professional standards, they put their patients at risk.  Goren, Goren & Harris has handled countless cases where even a well-intentioned doctor had a slip in judgment or simply decided not to double-check their patient’s condition.

Goren, Goren & Harris has handled hundreds of auto accident cases- Call Us Today for additional information. We Want to Help.

Please Note: Nothing contained herein should be considered to be legal advice. Opting to read or submit a comment on this blog topic does not constitute an attorney-client privilege.   If you feel you have a claim and would like to receive a free case consultation, please call our office toll-free at 1-800-6700-LAW.

Caution! No-Fault Benefits At Risk!

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If you are a Michigan resident and get into a car accident, the chances are that you are entitled to have all your car accident related medical bills paid for by Michigan No-Fault insurance, for as long as you continue to require accident related treatment. This includes medical expenses like surgeries, physical therapy, drug prescriptions and medical devices — for the rest of your life, if necessary. Depending on the severity of your car accident injuries, millions of dollars might be at stake.

One of the first steps to getting your car accident related medical expenses paid is to complete a Michigan No-Fault Application for Benefits, and to submit the application to the correct insurance company. The problem is that the Michigan No-Fault Application for Benefits is complex, and it is easy to make mistakes when filling it out. In fact, it contains traps that are well known to our team of experienced Michigan car accident lawyers.

For example, it’s important to describe in detail the injuries you suffered as a result of the car accident. If you don’t, a No-Fault insurance company can deny you benefits, claiming that you didn’t provide it with proper notice of all of your injuries. This is why we spend time with our clients to ensure that their injuries are fully described, using the language that our experienced car accident lawyers know will help get your medical bills paid.

Another danger is submitting the application to the wrong insurance company. Michigan car accident laws govern which car insurance company is responsible for paying your bills. It may be yours, a family member’s, the other driver’s, or someone else’s. The choice is not always obvious, and it depends on the circumstances. The sad truth is that if your application is submitted to the wrong Michigan No-Fault insurance carrier, your application may be denied costing you thousands or even millions of dollars in No-Fault car accident benefits.

Again, if your Application for Michigan No-Fault Benefits is filled out incorrectly, or if you submit it to the wrong Michigan auto insurance company, you may lose some or all of your benefits. At Goren, Goren & Harris, we help car accident victims get the No-Fault benefits they deserve every day. Let our Michigan car accident lawyers help you with your Michigan No-Fault Application for Benefits so that your claim will be error free.

Goren, Goren & Harris has handled hundreds of auto accident cases- Call Us Today for additional information. We Want to Help.

Please Note: Nothing contained herein should be considered to be legal advice. Opting to read or submit a comment on this blog topic does not constitute an attorney-client privilege.   If you feel you have a claim and would like to receive a free case consultation, please call our office toll-free at 1-800-6700-LAW.

Statutes of Limitation- A Ticking Time Bomb

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Did you know that for every claim, there is a Statute of Limitations? This means that if you are injured, you only have a limited period of time to file a lawsuit against the person that harmed you. If you run out of time, your claim will be forever barred.

The Statute of Limitations depends on the type of lawsuit you want to bring, and where you want to bring it. For instance, the Statute of Limitations for a dog bite lawsuit may be different than the Statute of Limitations for a medical malpractice lawsuit. Likewise, the Statute of Limitations for a Michigan car accident may be different than the Statute of Limitations for an Ohio car accident.

Keeping track of when your lawsuit has to be filed requires knowledge about the law in your area. That’s why it’s important to speak to a personal injury lawyer right away. Any delay may cause you to lose whatever claims you have.

Call us today for a Free Consultation and to check your Statute. If we’re unable to help, we may know of an attorney near you that can.

Goren, Goren & Harris has handled hundreds of personal injury cases- Call Us Today for additional information. We Want to Help.

Please Note: Nothing contained herein should be considered to be legal advice. Opting to read or submit a comment on this blog topic does not constitute an attorney-client privilege.   If you feel you have a claim and would like to receive a free case consultation, please call our office toll-free at 1-800-6700-LAW.