Maryland Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Finding a Good Lawyer For Your Personal Injury Lawsuit

Mon, 13 May 2013 21:38:12 -0500

Because accidental injuries are unexpected, the need for a good lawyer can be immediate and unplanned. Too often people randomly select lawyers based on a television ads, phone book ads, or internet marketing. Selecting a lawyer solely on the basis of advertising precludes a well-balanced understanding of the lawyer's actual capabilities.

However you find your potential list of lawyers--whether from advertising, a referral from a friend, or even a lawyer you used long ago, it's a good idea to dig a little deeper to make sure that the lawyer is best equipped to help with your problem. Here are five things to look for:

Number 1: A Lawyer Who Handles Your Kind of Case

If your potential lawyer does bankruptcy, divorces, wills, car accidents and patents, you have found someone who, whether he admits it or not, is a general practitioner. Those types of lawyers might be okay in small towns or from 150 years ago, but modern law has become so complex that a general practitioner may not be able to keep up with changing laws in four or five different areas. Your lawyer should be focused on one or two practice areas. These are some examples of practice areas:

Personal injury
Bankruptcy
Family Law
Social Security Disability
Criminal Law
Trademarks and Patents
Contracts
Collections

Our firm only handles personal injury. There are several subsets of personal injury cases, but they are similar enough that it is manageable to keep up-to-date on all of them. Personal injury cases include:

Tractor-trailer accidents
Motorcycle accidents
Slips-and-falls
On-the-job injuries (workers' compensation)
Medical malpractice
Product liability (defective drugs, medical devices and other products)

That's complicated enough without adding patents and trademarks to the mix.

Number 2: A lawyer who has been recognized by reputable organizations and peer-review

There are so many different rating systems out there that it can be difficult to tell the legitimate ones from the systems which are mostly advertising--designed by lawyers to simply pat themselves on the back. The top rating system is Martindale-Hubbell, which uses a 5.0 rating system to score lawyers. You can check with the state bar to see if your lawyer has ever been disciplined. If so, it is important to look into the reason. Most mistakes are simply that--mistakes. But if your lawyer has been punished for stealing from clients, you might take a second look.

Number 3: A lawyer who continuously betters himself

Your lawyer should never rest on his or her laurels. Instead, your lawyer should persist in reading legal books, attending seminars and going to continuing legal education events. It's called the practice of law for a reason--there is no perfect. But if your lawyer is not striving to better his or her technique, that lawyer will stagnate. When interviewing, find out when your potential lawyer's last CLE (continuing legal education) event was. If your lawyer doesn't attend at least two every year, it is time for a new lawyer.

Number 4: A lawyer who will talk with you

Every firm works a little differently. In some, your primary contact will be with a paralegal. In others, your lawyer will assign a junior associate. In others, you may get the ear of the senior lawyer in charge of your case. It is important that you have the full confidence of your lawyer. Your lawyer should never be reluctant to meet with you or take your calls. When you first meet with your potential lawyer, find out who your primary contact will be. If it's not with the interviewing lawyer, you should med the person who is responsible to you.

Number 5: A lawyer who will go to trial

Reputation, though not everything, is really, really important. The insurance companies keep tabs on lawyers--they know which lawyers are settling most of their cases, and which lawyers are refusing to accept lowball settlement offers by filing lawsuits and going to trial. Insurance adjusters are afraid of the lawyers who file cases--those lawyers should be getting verdicts that are higher than the settlement offers in most cases. Not to mention that taking a case to trial costs the insurance company more. The end result is that lawyers who take cases to trial get better settlement offers, and when they don't get offers that are good enough for their clients, they will take the insurance companies to task at trial.

Contact Us

If you need help with a Maryland personal injury accident, call us at 443.850.4426, send an e-mail directly to a lawyer at jcord@charmcitylawyer.com, or send us a description of your problem online. We will evaluate your claim and can help to guide you through the legal process.

Distracted Driving: Voice to Text

Tue, 07 May 2013 23:34:17 -0500

I finally replaced my ten-year old car a few months ago, and have been happily learning about all of the new technology in modern cars. It's like a candy store, especially compared to my old vehicle which was limited to power locks and a car alarm.

One feature that I was surprised to learn about was voice to text. When a text message comes in, the car will connect to my phone and will ask permission to read it. The voice recognition software will pick up my command (yes or no), and the pronunciation, even for uncommon words in text messages, is remarkable. Then, it will extraordinarily ask me if I want to reply. I speak, and it will create a responding text message. This is also amazingly accurate.

Two things: first, this will make things a little more complicated for attorneys who are litigating distracted driving lawsuits. In Maryland, as you know, it is against the law (not to mention unsafe) for drivers to use handheld phones while driving. That means no e-mailing, no texting, and no holding the phone up to your ear. The exception is the hands-free option--right now, we are allowed to use the phone as long as it is through some sort of hands-free technology, like bluetooth. One common source of discovery in accident cases is for the negligent driver's cell phone data--was the driver receiving or sending texts at the time of the accident? If so, that is important evidence to show distracted driving. Now, however, lawyers must find out if the negligent driver's vehicle has these voice-to-text features, because those are within the boundaries of the law.

The second part of this, though is that the claim could be made that it is unsafe to use those features. One study (here's the Mashable cliffs notes, and here's the study) has found that there is no appreciable difference between manual texting (using the phone and typing out a message) and using a voice-to-text software like Siri. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it appears that the same degree of concentration is involved whether a driver is looking at the phone or not, and it yields the same amount of distraction.

Research like this hasn't really penetrated the consumer consciousness, but as it is developed it is likely that it will be recognized by the public and legislators. There are bound to be some states which will proscribe the use of a phone, even hands-free use, while driving. In a lawsuit, the standard of care is what a reasonable driver under similar circumstances would do. Could there be a day when a reasonable driver would not use hands-free?

For more information about distracted driving, or if you were hurt in an automobile accident, contact us at 443.850.4426 or online.

Collateral Source: Double-Recovery for Car Accidents

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 17:14:48 -0500

Maryland has a rule called collateral source. This is an important part of making sure auto accident victims get full value for their claims. It is the reason that accident victims can recover for medical expenses and lost wages through their personal injury protection (PIP) insurance (see our webpage here, and a recent blog post here) and, at the same, recover for those losses from the negligent driver's insurance company.

Here's why it matters: let's assume a car accident results in a hospital visit, some x-rays, and a couple of weeks of physical therapy. The total medical bills are $2,000, and the lost wages are $250. If the auto accident victim has $2,500 in PIP insurance, all of those medical expenses would be paid, and 85% of the lost wages would be reimbursed ($212.50). Then, the auto accident victim could recover full losses from the negligent driver's insurance company, getting $2,250 for the medical expenses and lost wages, and some other amount for noneconomic damages (pain, suffering, inconvenience, etc...).

Let's say the total settlement was a very modest $5,000. With PIP, the victim would recover a total of $3,545.83 after payment of all attorneys' fees (at 33.33%) and medical expenses (and including the lost wages paid through PIP). Without PIP, the victim would only recover $1,333.33, more than $2,000 difference.

If you are handling your Maryland auto accident lawsuit on your own, be careful. Many insurance adjusters will tell you that they are not responsible for paying medical expenses or lost wages that have been paid by PIP. This could be because they don't know the law, or because they are trying to get away with paying you less money.

If you need help negotiating a Maryland car accident settlement, call us at 443.850.4426, or send us a message about your case online.

Talk to your insurance adjuster, raise your PIP

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 16:41:50 -0500

We recommend that all of our clients get as much Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance as they can--it's inexpensive, and it makes a huge difference in your Maryland auto accident case.

PIP is a type of no-fault insurance. In exchange for a small premium, it pays medical expenses and a portion of lost wages for the driver, passenger and pedestrians who are in an accident. Because of Maryland's collateral source rule, auto accident victims can recover for these medical expenses and lost wages twice--once through their own automobile insurance, and once from the negligent driver's insurance.

Most Maryland insurance policies are set for the default $2,500. That means the most any one person can recover is $2,500 for incurred lost wages and medical expenses. In exchange for slightly (barely perceptible) reduced premiums, drivers can waive PIP (there are very specific rules about the form of the waiver, and improper waivers are ineffective).

In combination with medical payments coverage, Maryland policyholders can typically get PIP coverage up to $10,000. I just got my policy renewal, and I'm being charged $4.00 per month for $2,500, and $6.00 per month for an additional $7,500 in medical payments coverage. This means I'm paying a total of $10 per month for $10,000 in coverage.

Not sure if it makes financial sense? Look at it this way: if you have high PIP premiums, let's say $8.00 per month for $2,500 in coverage, you are paying $96.00 per year. If you have one accident in 26 years, the premium would pay for itself. How many of us are that lucky?

If you want to learn more about personal injury protection insurance, visit our Personal Injury Protection webpage. If you need help dealing with your insurance company after a Maryland auto accident, contact us at 443.850.4426, or send us a message online.

Maximize Your Auto Accident Non-Economic Damages

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:44:15 -0500

Maryland allows auto accident victims to recover for non-economic damages. These are injuries that cannot be easily calculated, and they include items as stated in the typical jury instructions:

In an action for damages in a personal injury case, you shall consider the following:
The personal injuries sustained and their extent and duration;
The effect such injuries have on the overall physical and mental health and well-being of the plaintiff;
The physical pain and mental anguish suffered in the past and which with reasonable probability may be expected to be experienced in the future;
The disfigurement and humiliation or embarrassment associated with such disfigurement;
The medical and other expenses reasonably and necessarily incurred in the past and which with reasonable probability may be expected in the future;
The loss of earnings in the past and such earnings or reduction in earning capacity which with reasonable probability may be expected in the future.
In awarding damages in this case you must itemize your verdict or award to show the amount intended for:
The medical expenses incurred in the past;
The medical expenses reasonably probable to be incurred in the future;
The loss of earnings and/or earning capacity incurred in the past;
The loss of earnings and/or earning capacity reasonably probable to be expected in the future;
The "Noneconomic Damages" sustained in the past and reasonably probable to be sustained in the future. All damages which you may find for pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, disfigurement, loss of consortium, or other nonpecuniary injury are "Noneconomic Damages";
Other damages.

It is a relatively simple matter to show what the economic damages are--lost wages and medical expenses can often be calculated with exactitude. But non-economic damages are fuzzy--their value will depend on two things--how well the auto accident victim testifies at trial, and the feelings of the decision-maker (either a judge or jury).

Lawyers have a limited ability to choose the decision-maker. We can decide sometimes whether to try a case before a judge or jury, and sometimes we can choose which county the case is tried in. For jury trials, we have a limited ability to select the actual jurors who will select the case. The universal factor for a significant non-economic damages verdict, however, is how much the decision-maker likes the plaintiff-victim.

So, the plaintiff-victim must testify at trial, and must explain to the decision-maker how the injury affected him during treatment and, if the injuries are permanent, after treatment. The difficulty at trial is for the plaintiff to remember the specifics of how the injury affected him. We recommend that our clients keep a log during recovery. Make notes about missed opportunities, like exercising, going out with friends, or playing sports. Keep a log of medication used to show how often you were in pain. Record what household chores were difficult to do, and what you needed help with (laundry, mowing the lawn, etc...). Most importantly, keep a good record of how the injury made you feel. Listless because it was hard to be mobile? Frustrated because you constantly dropped things? Embarrassed because of a limp? Feeling inadequate because you have to miss work for doctor's appointments?

Use strong words to describe your feelings. Judges and jurors don't understand "pain." We can say that pain was a 6 out of 10, but that doesn't mean anything because everyone has a different understanding of pain. Unless the injuries are so horrific, it's likely that a description of "it hurt every day," is next to useless in convincing a judge or juror to render a high verdict for non-economic damages. Ask your friends and family about what they observed during your recovery (or better yet, give your lawyer their names and numbers so he can do it for you).

This isn't something that can be done on the fly at trial. Most people don't like to describe their pain and emotions like this--no one wants to come across as whiny. But if you give this information to your lawyer, he can help you to present it appropriately at trial.

If you have questions about an auto accident or other Maryland injury claim, contact our personal injury lawyers at 443.850.4426, or send us a message online.

Limited Insurance Proceeds

Sat, 05 Jan 2013 21:59:48 -0500

I've had a few sad cases recently. In each case, my client was injured in an accident. In each accident, there were other people injured, as well. My clients went to the hospital, and were treated for their injuries. Neither of my clients had health insurance. Neither of them had UM/UIM insurance (neither of them drove a car, and neither lived with a family member who drove a car).

After they finished medical treatment, we sent demand letters to the insurance companies. In each case, the adjuster informed us that they could not settle our claims because there were limited insurance proceeds available, and that other victims were either still treating or hadn't submitted their demand packages, yet. The limited insurance proceeds were in compliance with the Maryland minimums--$30,000/$60,000. That means that the most any one person in an accident can recover is $30,000, with the total allowed for all people in a single accident as $60,000.

So, not wanting to wait, we filed lawsuits. Other victims of each collision did, as well (though not all). When it was time for the insurance company to answer the complaint in one case, and when their discovery responses were overdue in another, they cried "uncle." They tendered policy limits in each, and washed their hands of the whole matter saying "you plaintiffs divide it up."

So we did in one case (the other case we're still working on). For the one that fully resolved, my client received something along the lines of 60% of her medical expenses. There were too many other victims, many of them with injuries far more serious than my client's. We were able to get other medical expenses reduced, and thankfully there was Personal Injury Protection (PIP) available, so my client had a little bit of a take-home. But, it wasn't what it should have been. And sadly, there was no other source of recovery--no UM/UIM, and no chance at recovering personal assets of the defendant driver.

So how do you divide up limited insurance proceeds with other claimants? It's tough, because the process pits a plaintiff's lawyer against other plaintiff's lawyers, and we usually like to be on the same side. However, we must each zealously advocate for our clients. These are some considerations if you ever find yourself in the same boat:

Perhaps the simplest way is for each automobile accident victim to get a pro rata share of the proceeds based on total medical expenses. So, if the total insurance available is $60,000, the total of all medical expenses is $100,000, and your client had $20,000 in medical expenses, your client would get total of $12,000. ($100,000/$20,000 = 20%; 20% x $60,000 = $12,000). This method has some appeal--it is completely objective, and there is no need to compare amounts of non-economic damages (pain, suffering, inconvenience, etc...).

For cases that warrant the expense, a mediator or arbitrator (often a retired judge) can be brought in to help settle the matter.

Another method is to allow the court to decide--everyone files a lawsuit, the cases are consolidated, the defendant admits liability, and the judge or jury decides what everyone gets. Or, the defendant could place the money into the court with an interpleader action, basically inviting all of the plaintiffs to come to court and fight it out.

One particular consideration should be other means of recourse. Some accident victims may have UM/UIM insurance coverage available--meaning that they are more likely to be able to recoup their losses elsewhere. Lawyers who have access to other potential sources of recovery may be hesitant to take a discount on the first part of the case, though, until they have some assurance about what they can indeed recover from the UM/UIM insurance company.

In any event, everyone is going to end up with less than they deserve. This is one reason why it pays to have good UM/UIM insurance. We recommend everyone get as much as they reasonably can afford. The increase in premiums isn't significant, and $100,000 is the bare minimum. We highly recommend more.

Do you owe more on your car than it's worth?

Tue, 01 Jan 2013 22:27:45 -0500

Our usual recommendation to people is that when they lease a car, purchase GAP (Guaranteed Auto Protection) insurance. GAP insurance makes up the difference between fair market value of a car and what you owe on the car (the second figure is sometimes higher). This type of insurance is important because in an accident, you are only entitled to the fair market value of the car. The trap is that if you owe more than the Maryland property damage settlement amount, then you certainly won't have enough money to buy or lease a or new car. Then, you end up renting a car for far too long (which you won't get completely paid back, either). It's a terrible cycle of debt, and hard to get out of.

Now, some people will have another option (which they rightfully expected to have in the first place). The Daily Record wrote up an article, 4th Circuit Backs Consumers Whose Cars Are Totaled which outlined a new decision in Decohen v. Capital One. There, a consumer leased a used car. The lease included a debt cancellation agreement. Unlike insurance, debt cancellation agreements are not regulated by the Maryland Insurance Administration. It is simply an agreement between the lender and the person leasing the car that, if there is a problem, the most they will owe is the fair market value of the car. The lender simply forgives any excess owed. In exchange for this benefit, the consumer pays a little extra. In Mr. Decohen's case, he paid $600 extra for this added security.

Unfortunately for Mr. Decohen, the lender sold his account to Capital One (play Imperial Death March here) who decided to fight Mr. Decohen. Their argument is long and convoluted, but suffice to say that the evil bank argued that federal banking regulation override Maryland state law. Maryland's consumer-oriented laws were somewhat more favorable than the actual contract. The contract stated that the difference between the fair market value and another value would be cancelled. That other value was the larger of (a) cash paid by an insurance company; (b) the NADA value; or (c) the Kelley Blue Book value. Maryland law only permits (a) the cash paid by the insurance company. In Mr. Decohen's case, the bank argued that it didn't have to cancel the debt because the actual value of the car (it claimed) was higher than what the insurance company paid for it.

In Mr. Decohen's case, the consumer victory is grounded in the fact that the loan was assigned to a national bank. Had the loan (with the really bad language) been kept by the lender, the result may have been different.

The lesson for Maryland consumers who lease a vehicle is clear--if you are going to rely on a debt cancellation agreement, you should carefully read the contract and make sure that, under any scenario, you will not have to pay more than the insurance company pays you if the car is totaled. It might be better to simply get GAP insurance from your insurance agent. If you have questions, contact us.

More Maryland Automobile Accident Information

Maryland Insurance Administration: GAP Insurance versus Debt Cancellation Agreements
Charm City Lawyer: Automobile Accidents
How to Get Your Car Repaired After An Accident

Spying on Texting Drivers

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 23:48:45 -0500

The Federal government wants to know whether you've been texting and driving. They have authorized grants to two states, Connecticut and Massachusetts, for anti-texting enforcement programs. Each state will get $275,000.00.

This money will be used to train police officers on how to detect texters--not only from their patrol cars, but from highway overpasses and more covert locations. I'm not sure how this will work, exactly. One police officer on a bridge, watching traffic come toward him. That officer radios to another officer on the road below, and tells him which car to pull over. Maybe it's as simple as that.

One thing is for sure--some people who flaunt Maryland's cell phone use laws are getting crafty--many keep the phones down below window-level to avoid police detection. Of course, that makes it harder to see the road, which is more likely to cause crashes.

Maryland automobile accident lawyers should have an arsenal of discovery ready to determine when illegal cell phone use may have contributed to an accident. In some cases, this involves written questions, requests for production of cell phone records, and subpoenas to cell phone companies.

See the U.S. Department of Transportation's press release and Ray LaHood's blog.

How Much Will Maryland Save With Scooter Helmet Law?

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 22:37:12 -0500

We posted recently about the new law requiring moped and scooter riders to wear helmets, procure insurance and have their vehicles titled (Maryland Helmet Law Now Extends to Scooters). An interesting question is what this will do for Maryland's finances?

One article cites that there are 3,500 scooters in Maryland--with a price tag of $25 for the title and decal, that means the state should get about $194,000 in net revenue.

But wait, there's more! The requirement to wear a helmet means that some injuries will be prevented entirely, and others will be less serious. It is estimated that it will save Medicaid $120,000.00 per year. That's money that they won't have to spend on serious, long-term care of people who were injured. Though, one wonders if there might in fact be more injuries--a rider without a helmet might be killed, though a rider with a helmet in the same accident might have a severe and permanent brain injury. It's hard to know where these estimates come from. Only time will tell, and that's only if someone comes in and analyzes the data.

Maryland Helmet Law Now Extends to Scooters

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 21:49:38 -0500

Effective today, moped and scooter riders must wear helmets.

Maryland has proudly required motorcyclists to wear helmets since 1992 (though, the law is not without its detractors, who try to repeal it at every opportunity).

This makes sense, of course: we require seatbelts, carseats and booster seats in cars, and the occupants there have two tons of steel to protect them other vehicles, trees, and the roadway. In a motorcycle accident, the sheer size and weight of any vehicle, compared to the slight size and weight of a motorcycle, can cause terrible injuries in what would otherwise be a minor impact. Motorcyclists are easily ejected from their bikes, and suffer a range of serious and permanent head injuries, if not death. There seems to me to be little difference between a motorcycle and a scooter or moped.

The new law also requires that mopeds and scooters be titled and insured. This brings motor scooters and mopeds one step closer to cars--in most respects, they are treated like bicycles.

In a motorcycle accident, and a moped or scooter accident, we argue that a rider's failure to wear a helmet is inadmissible. The rule in Maryland for car accidents is that non-use of seatbelts are inadmissible. The theory is that, if the negligence of the defendant caused the automobile accident, then the fact that a seatbelt/helmet was not used is basically irrelevant. Furthermore, we don't want judges or juries blaming the victim for his injuries, when they are primarily caused by the defendant driver. Of course, we'd be happier if all riders would just wear helmets. If it means fewer lawsuits, so be it.

Pedestrian Deaths in Maryland

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 22:53:58 -0500

Oftentimes, pedestrian-versus-car accident cases are among the toughest to litigate. It's rare that we see that perfect liability scenario:

The pedestrian, observed by traffic cameras, dutifully waited her turn to cross from one end of the street to the other. The approaching traffic stopped, she got the white "walking man" signal, and after looking both ways, she proceeded across the cross walk to the other end. At that point, the independent and disinterested witness observed, the defendant ran the red light at twice the speed limit, hitting the pedestrian."

What we usually see is something like this:

The pedestrian, unobserved by anyone or anything, was crossing the road in the middle of the street, about 20 yards from the crosswalk. He said there was no traffic approaching at the time. When he was about 2 feet from the opposite curb, he felt the impact from a vehicle that "just came out of nowhere." Of course, he was listening to iPod at the time of the collision.

The reality is, in a state like Maryland where contributory negligence is the order of the day, plaintiff pedestrians probably lose 75% of the time (yes, this is a completely off-the-cuff and made-up-on-the-spot statistic). And, lawyers won't even take the really unlikely case. Contributory negligence is the rule that says, even if the defendant driver is 99.99% negligent, a plaintiff must lose his entire case if he is 0.01% negligent (we're hoping the Court of Appeals might change this arcane rule of law soon).

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said recently that 80% of pedestrian deaths in 2010 were due to jaywalking. A little research indicates that 79% of pedestrian deaths were at "non-intersections." Not quite the same as jaywalking, and not quite the same as "caused by." As the article states, sometimes there is no crosswalk anywhere in the area; sometimes cars jump curbs and kill people at "non-intersections."

Of course, this is all largely irrelevant. The important point that Lahood wanted to make is that pedestrians should pay attention to traffic, not their cell phones, when crossing the street. Surely that's going to save a couple of lives.

Proving The Defendant Was Texting While Driving

Fri, 24 Aug 2012 06:00:02 -0500

With so many accidents caused by distracted driving, it's a fair bet that, in any given accident, the negligent driver was on a handheld phone or handling e-mail or text messages while driving. In many cases, that fact is not important: if the defendant admits liability, or if liability is clear (for example, the garden variety rear-end collision).

In other cases, though, proving that the defendant was distracted can go a long way toward showing that their version of events is likely wrong (if not an outright lie). Yesterday I deposed a representative of AT&T to find out everything I could about the phone usage of an automobile accident defendant at the time of the accident.

These types of depositions take a lot of legwork. When I get the transcript, I'll post it on the website. If you have a case where you suspect illegal cell phone use at the time of an accident, here are some things to think about:

Even before a lawsuit is filed, immediately send a preservation letter to save any cell phone owned by the defendant, and the content of any text messages on the phone at the time of the accident
Either get the defendant to sign an authorization, or send a subpoena requesting all cell phone records (including voice, data and text messaging records) for the time of the collision
Once you have those records, work with the cellphone carrier to set up a corporate designee deposition to decipher what the records mean--they typically come to you in spreadsheet form with various codes and abbreviations
During the deposition, identify the meaning of every column and term generically
During the deposition, figure out if you can verify whether there was any use of the phone during the collision

AT&T, for example, does not keep records of the content of text messages--they can only tell what time those messages were sent or received (they can't tell what time the messages were read). In a catastrophic injury case, a forensic computer specialist may be able to dissect the phone to determine that type of information. Your best bet is showing a string of text messages back and forth near the time of the accident. Even better is a phone call log. Data usage (Apps, Facebook, internet usage) from a smartphone can be more difficult--many programs run in the background, so the fact that a phone is uploading or downloading data does not mean that someone is actively using the phone.

Finally, be sure to find out in discovery whether the defendant gets e-mail on his phone. If so, request a copy of all e-mail messages sent and received near the time of the accident.

Texting and Driving Infographic

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 22:51:21 -0500

Courtesy OnlineSchools.com

$250,000 Per Leg: Texting Motorcycle Accident Case Settles

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 22:34:47 -0500

The New Jersey couple who were hit by a texting driver while riding their motorcycle settled their case against the driver for $500,000. Both Mr. and Mrs. Kubert, who were on the motorcycle, lost a leg because of the motorcycle accident.

We wrote about this story in May (Distracted Driving Lawsuits: Suing the Sender, and Lawsuits Against Text-Senders: Conclusion). There, the trial judge ruled that the plaintiffs did not have a case against the person who sent the text message, only the driver who read it. The lawyer in the case is appealing that decision, though I still wonder how he will get paid if he wins.

The $500,000 settlement only applies to the driver of the car. It looks like that is the policy limit, so the driver's insurance paid everything it had.

For more on distracted driving lawsuits, see our archives.

Backlash Against Progressive

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 22:43:20 -0500

The internet has been in a furor over Progressive's treatment of a Maryland family following the wrongful death of young woman in an auto accident. Is the furor justified? Check out our Generation J.D. blog post to find out: Evil Insurance Company? Following the Law? Both?