Cases arising out of automobile accidents are by far the most common type of personal injury case in our court system today. Generally, people who operate automobiles must exercise “reasonable care under the circumstances.” A failure to use reasonable care is considered negligence. A person who negligently operates a vehicle may be required to pay for harm to a person or property, caused by his or her negligence. The injured party, known as the plaintiff, is required to prove that the defendant was negligent, that the negligence caused the accident, and that the accident caused the plaintiff’s injuries. If you have been involved in a motor vehicle accident, do not hesitate to seek legal counsel from a personal injury attorney experienced in automobile accident cases in order to best protect your interests.

Immediately after being injured in an auto accident, you are thrown into an adversarial legal system that is complex and confusing. While you are still receiving initial treatment for your injuries in a hospital emergency room, the parties at fault have already notified their insurance company of the accident. Every insurance company has a team of adjusters, investigators and attorneys whose sole responsibility is to limit the liability of the insurance company and minimize the amount of money they will be required to pay “innocent” auto accident victims. You need the assistance of a qualified auto accident lawyer to guide you through the system to ensure that you receive the maximum compensation allowable by law for your injuries. There are many mistakes that can be made during the initial stages of a Personal Injury claim that cannot be undone by even the most experienced attorney. Auto Accident Attorney Ted Bills can help “level the playing field” by providing auto accident victims with an accurate straightforward source of information regarding the legal and practical aspects surrounding the auto compensation system.

Claims Process

1. PRELIMINARY FILE PREPARATION AND INVESTIGATION: Attorney Ted Bills will notify all involved insurance companies of his representation on your claim. He and his investigators will review police reports and other official investigation files. The facts of the accident will be documented with on-scene data, photographs, and affidavits, if necessary, to prove the extent of the other parties’ fault and to determine the strength of your case. In some instances Attorney Ted Bills may also recommend a lawsuit be filed early to deal with special issues or circumstances.

2. ASSISTANCE WITH YOUR INSURANCE OR OTHER BENEFITS: Your insurance company may owe you benefits prior to the settlement. After Attorney Ted Bills notifies your insurance company of his representation in writing, he will follow up with them by telephone and fax to expedite payment of your benefits. This phase of the process may be brief or it may take considerable time: some companies are understaffed and slow. It doesn’t “speed up” your benefits to sue. Attorney Ted Bills will provide information to influence prompt payment. He can help, but remember, the insurance company writes the checks and controls the payments.

3. DOCUMENTATION OF DAMAGES: Attorney Ted Bills will contact all of your doctors and hospitals to obtain copies of their billings, records, and reports. He will also obtain information concerning any loss of income resulting from your injury. He keeps in touch with your doctors so that he can document the extent of your injuries and your prospects for a full recovery. Documenting the medical part of your claim takes as long as it does for your injuries to heal. You will want to be certain you’ve reached a point where your injuries are fully understood before trying to settle your claim.

4. FINAL DOCUMENTATION AND SETTLEMENT DEMAND: When your injuries have healed to a point that your damages can be determined, Attorney Ted Bills will secure final opinions, reports, and billings from everyone who treated you. He will then prepare a Settlement Demand, which is a written documentation summarizing your injuries and the facts of the case. When he believes you are ready to begin negotiations, he will submit your settlement demand to the insurance company who insures the adverse person. It may take several weeks for them to review and evaluate your claim. Their response time depends on seasonal caseloads and other factors beyond the immediate control of Attorney Ted Bills.

5. SETTLEMENT NEGOTIATION OR LAWSUIT: Most cases are settled by negotiation, even when a lawsuit is filed against the adverse party. The process of negotiation is quite variable: if there are few issues or questions about the cause or the extent of your damage, a prompt settlement may be made. But, if there are serious questions about possible fault on your part, or dispute about the extent of your injuries, this takes time and patience to work out. If the issues cannot be resolved with the insurance company, Attorney Ted Bills may recommend a lawsuit be filed to resolve these conflicts. Lawsuits can be settled without going into a courtroom.

6. DISTRIBUTION AND PAYMENT OF THE PROCEEDS OF YOUR CASE: When you have authorized Attorney Ted Bills to settle your case, or a court awards you damages, you must sign a final release giving up any further claim. Attorney Ted Bills will then obtain the settlement funds from the insurance company, retain his fee, pay any outstanding medical bills, and remit the balance to you. This ends the process of your claim. Our handling of your case assures a professional result with less stress on you.

This brief summary is a basic guideline. If you have any questions, please contact your attorney on our staff.

Auto Accident and Personal Injury Attorney Ted Bills is an experienced Auto Accident and Personal Injury Attorney. You may be entitled to recover damages for your lost wages, property damage, medical bills, and pain and suffering. Auto Accident and Personal Injury Attorney Ted Bills handles a great number of auto accident and personal injury claims and understand the intricacies of the human anatomy and how it can adversely be affected by sudden impact. Auto Accident and Personal Injury Attorney Ted Bills knows how to deal with insurance companies in order to negotiate the best result for you.

If you have any questions about your rights, telephone Auto Accident and Personal Injury Attorney Ted Bills for a free consultation.

Here are some of the critical questions you should ask an auto accident attorney:

In what percentage of your cases do you represent the victims of auto accidents or other personal injuries?

With Auto Accident and Personal Injury Attorney Ted Bills you will find an Attorney where almost all of his clients were victims of auto accidents, malpractice, or some other form of personal injury. He prides himself on representing individuals, not insurance companies or corporations.

What kind of results have you achieved?

While no attorney can guarantee you results-that is unethical, Attorney Ted Bills is proud of the fact that his practice is limited almost exclusively to Auto Accident and other personal injury claims and that he has been successful to the point where he can devote his full energies to serving the need of victims of auto accidents, malpractice, or some other form of personal injury.

What do you do if you have been involved in an auto accident?

Every week, Auto Accident and Personal Injury Attorney Ted Bills is contacted by individuals who want to know what to do after a car, motorcycle, or truck accident.

Here are some rules to help you understand what to do: Immediately at the accident scene, you should:

1. Try to remain calm – not an easy chore, but take deep breaths and do your best to be as calm as possible.
2. If possible, stop in a safe place out of the stream of traffic, but don’t take any additional risks.
3. Make certain no one is hurt badly enough to need immediate medical care.
4. Call 911 and ask for the police and an ambulance if necessary.
5. Get the other driver’s name, address, and telephone number. Record his vehicle registration number. If you believe the other driver is intoxicated, tell the police officer.
6. Get the names, addresses, and phone numbers of any witnesses.
7. Ask the police officer for the police report number and where and when a copy will be available.

Afterwards:

1. Contact Auto Accident and Personal Injury Attorney Ted Bills before you have any discussions regarding settlement.
2. Contact your insurer.
3. Get prompt medical treatment and continue to get all the medical treatment you need for as long as you need it.
4. Do not speak, or give recorded statements to the insurance company for the other driver. Instead, tell the insurance company representative to call Auto Accident and Personal Injury Attorney Ted Bills.
5. Have someone take photos of the cars and any skid marks on the road (skid marks start to fade within days).
6. Keep track of all the places where you have received medical treatment, the physical ailments that you have, and how the injuries affect your day-to-day life as well as the day-to-day life of family members.

Damages to your automobile:

An automobile accident is always stressful. You are not alone. This advice has been prepared to help guide you through some of the steps you should take to insure that your property damage claim is handled speedily and that your interests are protected.

Immediately following the accident, or as soon thereafter as you are able, you should contact the property damage adjuster of the responsible party’s insurance carrier and make arrangements for your vehicle to be seen. This can be done either by the adjuster coming out and looking at your vehicle and estimating the damages, having you take the vehicle to one of the insurance company’s drive through shops, or by having you obtain two or three estimates on your own from shops of your choice.

You may have the right to have your car repaired at the body shop of your choice. You need not accept the insurance company’s property damage appraisal of the actual repair costs. Take your car to your selected body shop and present a written estimate to the insurance company. Make sure you retain 2 or 3 written estimates from different body shops.

Do not rely solely on an insurance company’s estimate. Be satisfied that your car is returned to pre-collision condition before signing any insurance company check or property damage release. Otherwise, you may waive your right to further repairs. Once an estimate of the damages has been determined, the insurance company will either issue you and the shop a check, or will pay the shop upon completion of the work.

If you receive the check up front before your repairs are done, do not give it to the shop until the work is done and you are reasonably satisfied. If you pick up your vehicle from the shop and notice something that has not been taken care of, let the shop and the adjuster know immediately.

If your automobile has been damaged in an auto accident, you are entitled to have your automobile repaired, or if your vehicle is determined to be a “total loss,” you are entitled to be paid the value of that vehicle. If you had other personal items damaged in the accident, you are entitled to be reimbursed for those losses as well.

If an accident is another’s fault, that person’s insurance company should provide you with a rental car while your car is in the repair shop or until the insurer makes a reasonable offer to settle a “total loss” on your vehicle. If the at-fault driver is uninsured, your right to a rental car is subject to the terms of your own insurance policy.

• Contact the insurance company for pre-authorization of all rentals. They will direct you to local car rental companies.
• If there is a delay in obtaining a rental car, you may be entitled to compensation for the “loss of use” of your vehicle for each day you have been deprived of its “use.”
• Household services: (“Essential Services”) Some insurance policies have a per-day payment to pay someone else to perform those household tasks which the injured person would have done if they had not been hurt. You should always ask if such coverage is available. Insurance companies seldom volunteer such information.
• Sometimes, when there are liability issues involved, you may experience long delays in getting a response from the responsible party’s insurance carrier regarding what position they are taking concerning your claim. Therefore, some clients may prefer to have their own insurance carrier handle their property damage claims.

Personal Injury Law – Auto/Car Accidents – Pain and Suffering – Dog Bites – Broken Bones

There is a large body of law that governs your right to recover financially for personal injuries you sustain. This body of law covers the various causes for the injury from auto accidents, slip and fall injuries, defective or dangerous products, even slander or libel. Most importantly, there is the matter of making timely claims.

If you are injured in an accident or due to the fault of someone else, do not let yourself be victimized by an insurance company or the guilty party who will likely want to pay you as little as possible. See your primary care physician at once to determine the seriousness of your injuries and consult with a personal injury attorney early to see if you have an actionable claim.

Automobile accidents and work injuries can have a devastating consequence, not only to you, the injured party, but your family members (spouse, children, parents, grandchildren) as well. Adding to pain and suffering may be huge medical and hospital bills, lost income because of an inability to work, special medical rehabilitation costs, and other costs.

To protect your interests, you need to be aware of your rights. To make correct decisions about your future, you need to be aware of your rights. You can’t count on insurance companies to protect your interests or make correct decisions about your future – you need an Attorney with experience in the fields of Personal Injury and Pain and Suffering to help you understand your rights and get you the total benefits you deserve.

It is important to understand that when you work with a Personal Injury and disability lawyer, you are also working which the office administrative staff and the staff working with the Law Firm of Auto Accident and Personal Injury Attorney Ted Bills have more than 30 years of combined experience in the personal injury field. Most importantly he also understands that personal injury cases are just that – personal – and that no two cases are alike.

AREAS of IMPORTANCE:

• Traffic/automobile/motorcycle/bicycle accidents
• Wrongful death-serious slip and fall injuries-pain and suffering-burns and scarring-dog bites-broken bones
• Lost wages – workers’ compensation – social security disability
• Back and/or neck injuries and disabilities or paralysis
• On the job injuries including Carpal Tunnel syndrome
• Brain damage – carbon monoxide poisoning
• Defective products – air bag deployment issues
• Orthopedic, dental, sight, or hearing impairment
• Uninsured claims and insurance disputes

SERVICES INCLUDE:

• A Free initial, in office consultation, where you can discuss your case in detail, in confidence, and receive input from Auto Accident and Personal Injury Attorney Ted Bills regarding the merits of your case.
• Contingent Fees (No Recovery/No Fee) arrangements are available in most cases.
• Medical Bill Payment and Timely Payment of Benefits can be provided.
• In-Hospital or in-Home consultations are provided by Auto Accident and Personal Injury Attorney Ted Bills.

WHY WORK WITH AUTO ACCIDENT AND PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY TED BILLS?

Auto Accident and Personal Injury Attorney Ted Bills understands how stressful it is to be injured. He cares a great deal about his clients and strives to be available for their questions and concerns. He promptly returns telephone calls from his clients and his clients know that he is working to protect their rights. Clients also understand that he is effectively handling their legal matters so that they can focus on getting well, focus on their families, and focus on returning to normal day-to-day lives.

Auto Accident and Personal Injury Attorney Ted Bills is dedicated to helping guide his clients to recovery of fair and just compensation. When a client is injured it is normal for them to be confused about what laws govern their ability to recover damages and they often do not understand the seriousness of their injuries. Many clients initially do not understand that some injuries are more financial (lost wages – property damage) than physical (pain and suffering) and that each case is different and recovery can depend on many factors.

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