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Ohio Personal Injury Blog by Cincinnati Accident Attorney Anthony Castelli

Posts Tagged ‘auto accident ohio’

How Do I settle my Accident injury What is it worth

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

 Many accident injury victims want to know what their case is worth and how can they settle it. The temptation is to buy one of those self help books. Let’s examine what they really have to offer.  The reality is that they can not take the place of an experienced personal injury lawyer, and in fact cost you more. And most of them end up saying if your case is really serios hire a personal injury lawyer.

What is the single greatest thing I can do to increase the value of my claim? Pray tell. I bet it’s to buy Your book.

Answer:  Buy my book.

Auto Accident Personal Injury Insurance Claim (How To Evaluate and Settle Your Loss)

Contains the exclusive BASE Formula that places a specific value on personal injury including “pain and suffering”Sorry folks there are no formulas that you can aply to each case . Each case is as different as a snow flack. There are multiple factors to consider but no formula such as 3 times your medical bills

However, the book also says that where the services of a lawyer or other professional is called for, such advice should be sought accordingly.   In fact it specifically states: “…if your medical diagnosis includes bone fractures, a herniated disk, serious aggravation of a pre-existing condition, prenatal difficulties, or almost anything diagnosed to be more complicated than a “soft tissue” type of injury, it’s not wise for you to handle your claim yourself. You should engage an attorney to represent you.” 

That’s a direct quote from the advertisement for the book!

Allaboutcaraccidents .com has some great free articles. If you can not find the information you seek about your injury settlement take a look there. Here is an example about what they say about how much a car accident injury settlement is worth.

http://www.all-about-car-accidents.com/accident-settlement-value.html

Multiple of Specials  (Let’s See what they say)

To determine accident settlement vlaue, you add these elements of damage together . . .

  1. Medical bills.
  2. Lost income.
  3. Pain and suffering damages. (How about loss of enjoyment of life) This is a line itme damage in addition to pain and suffering

The insurance company may challenge the amount of medical bills and lost income that you claim.  The much more difficult question to answer is . . . how much are you entitled to recover for your pain and suffering?

One common method of estimating the unknown — pain and suffering damages — is to multiply the known — the out-of-pocket expenses for medical bills and lost income — times an arbitrary multiple. The out-of-pocket expenses are called “special damages” or “specials.” In a case that does not involve serious or permanent injuries, and where fault is reasonably clear, accident settlement value is determined under this system by multiplying “specials” by somewhere between 1 1/2 and 4, depending on the circumstances of your case.

Again I say  there is no such thing as a multiplier. what if your leg was amputated in the emergency room and your medical bills were $50,000. what multiplier is even close . There is none. There’s a multitude of factors that drive value, but a multiplier is not one of them.

But the amateurs trying to sell books keep pumping out this garbage. here’s another one of their examples.

If you received a neck injury in your car accident, incurred medical bills of $2,500 and missed a week of work, which cost you $1,000, your “specials” are $3,500. Depending on the other facts in the case, the accident settlement value of your claim is somewhere between $5,250 (1 1/2 times specials) and $14,000 (4 times specials). THERE IS NO SUCH FORMULA.

HERE ARE SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER.

Whether there are any aggravating circumstances in the accident, such as drunk driving or driving under the influence of drugs. If there are aggravating circumstances damages will be higher.

The seriousness of your injuries. Obviously, more serious injuries demand more compensation than less serious ones. For example, broken bones are considered more serious than soft tissue injuries. (My experience, however, is that soft tissue injuries (sprains and strains) can be quite serious, causing significant long term problems. Don’t let insurance adjusters scoff that you “only have soft tissue injuries” if there is nothing “only” about your injuries.)

How long your recovery took. For example, a 6 month recuperation normally entitles you to more than a 2 month recovery.

Whether you recovered completely. If you will have permanent consequences, you are entitled to more. In fact, if you have a permanent injury of any significance, I recommend that you consult with a car accident lawyer about your case.

Finally, before deciding on the most reasonable multiplier to use to calculate your accident settlement value, take a common sense look at the case. If the out-of-pocket monetary expenses are particularly high compared to the injuries, use a lower multiple. An example is someone who is taken to an emergency room from Why do they keep talking multiplier. the insurance company will deny it and the jury’s won’t by it. It’s not logical.

  A Per Diem Approach is the best. How many days did they suffer and will they suffer in the future. You were given a job. a job you did not want. you job was to endure pain and limit your activities.

One author recommends that you use $3,000 per month as compensation while your injuries were being treated. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2006, this was the approximate median income for U.S. males. Your reasoning, therefore, is that dealing with pain from your injury while it was acute was at least as difficult as doing the average job in this country. more months of symptoms, the total pain and suffering amount under the per diem system that I recommend is $11,000, and, when the out-of-pocket expenses are added, the total accident settlement value is about $14,500.

Another way of using a per diem approach is to use your actual income figures as a measure of damages for the time you were in active treatment, reasoning that dealing with your injury was at least as difficult as the job that you normally do. I prefer this method of determining accident settlement value for several reasons. First, it gives you a reasonable answer to the question “how did you get that figure for pain and suffering?” Second, it is a method of valuation that you can use if your case goes to court.

In court, the multiplier approach  ais not formally recognized. You can’t stand in front of a judge or jury and tell them you want 3 times your special damages. At least judges and juries are not supposed to calculate damages that way. Instead, they are supposed to award the amount that they decide is reasonable, fair and adequate for each compenent of damages — medical bills, lost income and pain and suffering. Therefore, you can use this system to explain to a judge or jury what you claim and why you claim.

And I submit this last method is worthwhile to explore. It ties your injury to something tangable. One more thing. The jury better like you and you better not seem greedy or a whiner. You won’t recover much if that’s the case. Human Nature Prevails.

by Cincinnati car accident injury lawyer  Anthony Castelli Call For a Free no Obligation evaluation of your case 1-800-447-6549

 

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Get the Secret Item of Fair Compensation For Car Accident Damage

Saturday, November 6th, 2010

If your car was damaged in a car accident by the fault of another you need to know about this item of damage so you get full compensation. This little known secret item of damage to your car is called dimuniation in value.

This is what it is . Its the decrease in value to your car because it was in an accident. Even though your car may be repaired to you satisfaction, you are still entitled to more money from the insurance company if you will not be able to sell your car for a fair amount because it was in a car crash . The leading case in Ohio is Rakich v. Anthem Blue Cross .

So if you want to know how you are going to get fair value for the damage to your car from a car accident tell the insurance company you also want dimuniation in value. This works best with a fairly new car and damages of at least $4000. The best way to prove this is to ask your dealer to write a letter stating they would pay you less because for the car was in an accident.

by Cincinnnati car accident lawyer Anthony Castelli . Call to get your questions answered 1-800-447-6549

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Cincinnati Attorney Calls For Ohio State Ban On In Car Texting

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

Recently the city of Cincinnati enacted an oridinance prohibiting in car texting. Here is an article describing the 8-1 vote by cincinnati city council. http://www.wlwt.com/news/24929549/detail.html

The Ohio legislature passed a no texting bill in March and the senate of Ohio needs to acton it. Personally these bills need to go farther and ban the use of cell phones while a vehicle is in operation. The logic is the same for both bills. To prevent car accidents from distracted drivers.

It just takes a second of innattention fo a serious car accident to happen. Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, announced that distracted driving-related crashes claimed 5,474 lives and led to 448,000 traffic injuries across the U.S. in 2009. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) research, distraction-related fatalities represented 16 percent of overall traffic fatalities in 2009. Although 2009 showed the lowest fatality and injury rates since 1950, the numbers show that distracted driving remains an epidemic in America.

By Cincinnati Car Accident Attorney Anthony Castelli . Anthony focuses on serious accident injury cases and welcomes your call for a free no obligation consultation at 1-800-447-6549 or 621-2345

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Cincinnati Injury Times Newsletter

Friday, August 27th, 2010

Your may me interested in the latest Cincinnati Injury Times newletter available to my clients as well as friends here or on facebook or twitter. In fact it does not deal directly with personal injury law. But on occasion there may be an article related to it.

This first edition includes information on:

              How to help your credit score. 

             What is going on with twitter and jurors. 

              A  Indian prayer from a friend’s memorial.

             My favorite internet finds.

If you would like me to mail or email it to you on a regular basis . Send to me privately your email or postal address to tony@castellilaw.com 

       Click this link to view he Cincinnati Injury Times  newsletter

      by Cincinnati Accident injury trial attorney Anthony Castelli. You can reach me at 1-800-447-6549 .

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Cincinnati Attorney How to Find an Injury One

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

 Unfortunately you have been injured in a car , truck or motorcycle accident . Your injury occured in Cincinnati Ohio. So you want to hire a cincinnati car accident injury attorney.

With the advent of web sites the one determining factor can be video .  Legal tube television discusses the impact of video .  Of course they charge attorneys to place their video so just because someone is on legal tube doesn’t mean they are a great attorney. But their comments about video are realistic.

“One of the key factors when people find a lawyer, or any other professional service provider, is compatibility based upon a variety of individual personality factors, which have previously been best expressed in a person-to-person meeting, but now online attorney videos help people find the best lawyer for their needs without leaving their homes

When someone turns to the web to find an attorney today, they are greeted with such a large number of options that it is difficult for someone to know if he or she is method to find the best lawyer for that specific legal need. With many attorney web searches yielding millions of listings of lawyer web sites, web news articles about lawyers, online attorney directories and other attorney advertising, many people report confusion and even frustration when trying to find a lawyer online.

Lawyer videos provide users are an insight into the level of personnel service they will receive as well as the knowledge and experience of a lawyer in a specific area of the law and demonstration of special skills, such as being bilingual, an important factor for persons wishing to personal  injury accident attorney.  These and other minute details that allow a prospective legal client to get that special feeling about a lawyer in order to retain that attorney or law firm’s legal counsel.”

 Look for attorney videos that help answer some of the questions you have about your case.  You can go to my channel on you tube  for instance find How to hire an attorney or What not to say to the adjustor.  Or you can search google video. Type in the key words. Always include the geographical area such as Cincinnati . But there are many key words you can use to bring up a Cincinnati attorney video. Here are just a few:

accident attorney,  accident lawyers,  accident claim,  accidents attorney

auto attorney,  auto injury attorney,  auto accident attorney,  accidents injury lawyers accident claim,  accident claims,  car injury,  car lawyer, car attorney, car crash attorney car crash lawyers, claim injuries,  injury compensation, injury law firms, injury attorneys injury claim, injury settlements, personal injury,  claim amounts, lawsuit injury,  personal injury firm, personal injury law, vehicle injury,  truck accident, tractor trailor accident lawyer , motorcycle accident lawyer, motorcycle injury attorney

by Anthony Castelli Cincinnati Mason west chester personal injury and accident attorney. Call 513-621-2345 for a free consultation.

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Cincinnati Accident Attorney Talks Toyota Recalls

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

 Cincinnati Car Accident Attorney talks about Toyota recalls and Why be Concerned

   In case you missed it Toyota has allegations of unintended acceleration against many of its car models. This has led to actual recalls by Toyota.  The first issue is that the gas pedal was getting caught on the floor mat and not returning.

However there have been cases reported where the gas pedal was not stuck on the mat but was actually going fully depressed without anyone stepping on the pedal. There has been no actual recall for that reason as of yet, as Toyota has not admitted this is a problem  Here is the story on the mat recall. This information is taken directly from the Toyota website.

FLOOR MAT PEDAL ENTRAPMENT RECALL  
 
Which models are involved in the floor mat pedal entrapment recall?
Toyota
2007 – 2010 Camry
2005 – 2010 Avalon
2004 – 2009 Prius
2005 – 2010 Tacoma
2007 – 2010 Tundra
2008 – 2010 Highlander
2009 – 2010 Corolla
2009 – 2010 Venza
2009 – 2010 Matrix  
 
Lexus
2006 – 2010 IS 250
2006 – 2010 IS 350
2007 – 2010 ES 350
 
What is the condition that has prompted this floor mat pedal entrapment recall?
There is the potential for an unsecured or incompatible driver’s floor mat to interfere with, or entrap, the accelerator pedal in the worst case, in the wide-open position.  A vehicle with an entrapped accelerator pedal may be difficult to control and/or stop.  
 
 
  
Vehicles with any genuine Toyota or Lexus accessory all-weather floor mat will be provided with newly-designed replacement driver- and front passenger-side all-weather floor mats.
 
Are the all-weather floor mats being replaced in involved vehicles?
Yes.  Toyota will be replacing the front driver and passenger-side floor mats.   
 
Is Toyota recalling the old style floor mats and what are you doing with them?
Yes, Toyota is recalling the old style floor mat as part of this recall to completely remove them from the market. At some point in time, in the future, these mats will be recycled into other products such as road surfaces. Toyota has not completed the details of the recycling actions.  
 by Cincinnati Car Accident Injury attorney Anthony Castelli . Call today for the help you need if you are injured in a car accident 1-800-447-6549   KS7X3XHCP7QU

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