If an automobile accident leaves you traumatized, injured, and vehicle-less, are you prepared to respond? Most people can’t absorb that type of financial shock without turning their lives upside down. So, what happens if the driver responsible for your accident is uninsured or underinsured?

You suddenly find yourself left with all of the injuries and no way to obtain financial compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. You don’t need to accept this type of situation and deal with the ripples for years to come. By making sure you’re covered with uninsured motorist insurance, you won’t be left in the lurch.

Do You Have Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) Coverage?

UM/UIM coverage is nothing short of essential to every single driver on the roadway. State statutory laws require insurers to offer UM/UIM insurance that provides compensation if you’re injured by another driver without insurance. UM coverage even comes to the rescue in hit-and-run situations when you have no other way to track down the person who hurt you. Continue reading “Uninsured Motorist Insurance: What Is It and Do I Need It?” →

Unexpected tragedy can strike at any moment throughout your day. You could be involved in a car wreck, injured at work, or hurt when you fall down the stairs. If another person’s negligence is the cause of your injuries, you shouldn’t have to cope with the legal and financial implications yourself.

If you’ve been wronged by another person, it’s essential that you hire an attorney. Only an experienced personal injury attorney can help you navigate the confusing world of insurance claims and demand that you receive the compensation that you deserve.

An Attorney Helps You Handle Serious Injuries

Sustaining a serious injury in an accident can permanently alter your life. You might require long-term care, develop a lifelong disability, or be forced to leave your job.

These significant impacts on your life cannot just be overlooked. They need to be properly handled by a personal injury attorney so you can receive compensation to cover the medical expenses, loss of salary, and other hardships you endure as a result of your injuries.

An Attorney Will Stand Up to Insurance Companies

Insurance companies aren’t known for jumping at the chance to provide substantial payouts. It is very likely that the insurance companies involved in your case will look for any way to minimize the amount of money you receive from your injury claim.

The only way to force an insurance company to give your case the attention it deserves is to hire a personal injury attorney. Your attorney can use specific legal techniques to demand a fair settlement payout from the insurance company. If that fails, your attorney can help you take your case to court. Continue reading “Why It’s Important to Hire an Attorney When You’ve Been Wronged” →

The Family Medical Leave Act was put in place so people would be able to take time off from work in order to either care for someone in their family who is ill or for pregnancy. Employers who try to fire someone when they attempt to take their leave or prevent an employee from taking their leave is acting illegally, and is liable for lost wages and attorney fees.

Who Can Take a Leave?

The FMLA covers up to 12 weeks of leave over a one-year period. This can be used for the birth of a baby, to care for an immediate family member with an illness, to deal with a personal serious health condition, or to respond to an urgent need or demand related to an active service member who is immediate family. Twenty-six weeks are given if an immediate family member needs to care for an injured service member.

What Does Retaliation Look Like?

If you decided to take your leave non-consecutively, your employer might dislike this practice and retaliate against you. This retaliation can include giving you the same amount of work despite the fact that you are supposed to be working less. They may also try to demote you or pay you a lower salary despite the fact that you are entitled to a leave of this kind through the FMLA. If you decided to take your 12 weeks all at once, it is required that upon your return, your position still be available to you – or at least an equivalent position. You may be facing retaliation if you have been demoted, lose seniority, or are required to do an entirely different job upon your return. Continue reading “FMLA: Your Right to Family Leave” →

When our loved ones get older, they often end up no longer being able to live on their own and care for themselves. We put our trust in nursing homes to provide them with professional medical treatment, and to treat them with the kindness and respect they deserve. Unfortunately, there are many instances where nursing homes take advantage of the vulnerability of the elderly and are negligent in their medical care or even abusive emotionally. If you suspect your loved one is suffering from nursing home neglect, it is important to take the necessary steps to right this injustice.

Document Everything

Document everything you see with photographs. You cannot simply rely on the nursing home’s medical records, especially if you suspect they are being noncompliant with health standards. One common sign of neglect is deep bedsores; these can develop if the staff are not regularly rotating the patient on the bed. These sores can progress until they reach the bone, and will continue to worsen if the staff does not treat the wound correctly. Also be sure to look for any bodily wounds and take photographs if you find them. You should also take any photos of unclean or unsafe conditions that you come across. Continue reading “What To Do if You Suspect Nursing Home Neglect” →

Water damage is one of the most common reasons that homeowners file insurance claims, but it’s also one of the claims most commonly denied by insurance companies.

What Is Water Damage?

Water damage can occur in many different forms: flooding, sudden accidents, sewer backups, storm water damage, and gradual damage. In general, insurance defines water damage as any problems caused by water before it comes in contact with the ground:

• A severe rainstorm that soaks through your roof and damages walls and floors
• A pipe that bursts, saturates ceiling below
• A toilet that overflows and soaks bathroom floorboards
• A hailstorm that breaks windows and allows water to enter

Continue reading “What Happens If My Homeowner’s Insurance Denies My Water Damage Claim?” →

Even if you are a safe driver, there’s always a risk that a negligent driver on the road will cause an accident that leaves your car damaged and your body injured. As soon as an accident occurs, it’s essential for you to respond with these five steps. Taking the right measures will help you increase your odds of being awarded compensation for your pain, suffering, and financial costs.

Call the Police

After checking for injuries, call the police immediately. Even a relatively minor accident should still receive police attention in order to formally document the events. Get a copy of the police record for yourself as leverage in your insurance claim.

Collect Information

It is essential to collect the insurance information of the other drivers involved in the accident. Write down the name, address, phone number of each individual, as well as the name of their insurance company and policy number. Also jot down the car’s make, model, and tag number.

If any other drivers or bystanders witnessed the accident, take down their names and phone numbers as well. You could even ask them to record a statement of the accident, since memory fades quickly after such an event. Continue reading “Involved In a Car Accident: 5 Things You Need to Do Right Away” →