No Insurance After a Car Accident?

Unfortunately, some drivers use our public roads and highways without the South Carolina mandated insurance coverage. These uninsured drivers pose an incredible risk to our communities. When the at-fault driver does not have car insurance, the person who caused the harm in the first place often cannot pay for the injuries they caused. However, you might not be left without options.

When you determine that the driver who caused the accident does not have car insurance, you can use your insurance policy to pay for your harms and losses. Your insurance policy will have an uninsured motor vehicle provision. This provision in your car insurance will step into the shoes of the uninsured at-fault driver and pay for your harms and losses.

For more information, please:

• Explore the Answers section.
• Request my Free Guide, South Carolina Car Accident Claims Guide in Plain English, by clicking here.
• Call at 888-510-9359 or contact me for a free consultation. There is no obligation.

See a doctor after a car accident?

Getting proper medical care when you are uninsured and after you have been injured in a wreck is complicated. Additionally, your situation may require you to get a lawyer. However, there are a few options

One, you can pay the doctor up front, but most of us don’t have that type of cash laying around. Two, you can try to work out payment arrangements, but many medical providers require up front payments. Three, your lawyer may know some medical providers who will treat you with a promise from your lawyer that your lawyer will pay the medical bill once your case settles. Four, there are some companies that will finance medical treatment, but most require you to have a lawyer.

It is worth noting that many Chiropractors will provide treatment if you promise to pay them once your case settles.

For more information, please:

• Explore the Answers section.
• Request my Free Guide, South Carolina Car Accident Claims Guide in Plain English, by clicking here.
• Call at 888-510-9359 or contact me for a free consultation. There is no obligation.

Should I Take Pictures and Keep a Journal?

Should I Take Pictures and Keep a Journal?

Yes. Take as many pictures of your damaged vehicle as possible. The best pictures will document the scene of the accident right after it happened. Make sure to take pictures of all damage to your vehicle. Additionally, take pictures of your injures, bruises, and your treatment. Taking and keeping proper pictures is essential to properly remembering and presenting how the accident occurred and all the damage the accident caused.

If you have the ability, also take and keep video. If pictures are worth 1,000 words, then video is worth 1,000 pictures.

Additionally, keep a journal or at least notations on your daily planner about your medical treatment. Write down your doctors appointments and what the doctors said. Write down your experience with your treatment. Write down your pain level and write down anything you could not do because of your injuries.

Making and keeping proper documentation will be invaluable to presenting your case.
For more information, please:

• Explore the Answers section.
• Request my Free Guide, South Carolina Car Accident Claims Guide in Plain English, by clicking here.
• Call at 888-510-9359 or contact me for a free consultation. There is no obligation.

What Should I do?

The Insurance Company is Calling After a Car Accident, What Should I do?

When the insurance company adjuster starts calling after your car accident, resist their pressure to sign forms and settle your claim quickly. Take some time and educate yourself about the claims process. Some adjusters may take advantage of the fact that you have very little experience in this area. They may push you to sign papers, give a recorded statement, or even settle your case the same day of the crash. Get some information about the process. Take advantage of all the free resources available at my website.

So what should you do?

First, get the insurance company adjuster’s name, phone number, and the claim number. Write this down and keep it in a safe place. Politely tell the adjuster that you will call them back. However, if you are reading this after you have already given a recorded statement or signed paperwork, don’t worry, it might not wreck your case.

Second, immediately begin resisting their urgency to resolve your claim quickly. It is extremely important that you understand the claims process and get the medical treatment you need before negotiating with the insurance company.

Third, get the medical treatment you need. That may be going to the hospital, your family doctor, or chiropractor. Medical treatment is your first priority, because after all, there are no aftermarket parts for your body.

Fourth, after you get the medical treatment you need, then pay attention to your car. For example, if you car is not drivable, you will need a rental car. Additionally, you will need to find a repair shop. These items need to be coordinated with the insurance company before hand to make sure the process goes smoothly.

For more information, please:

• Explore the Answers section.
• Request my Free Guide, South Carolina Car Accident Claims Guide in Plain English, by clicking here.
• Call at 888-510-9359 or contact me for a free consultation. There is no obligation.

FAQ: Should I Settle My Car Accident Case Quickly?

FAQ:  Should I Settle My Car Accident Case Quickly?

No, never. Some insurance companies and adjusters will try to get you to settle your case very quickly, like within a couple of days after a wreck. Do not agree to this.

You may not know how badly you are injured. Some injuries take time to appear. Sometimes, injuries to one part of your body mask pain in another part of your body.

How do you know when the time is right to accept an offer from the adjuster? When your doctor says your injuries have healed completely or if you have some permanent injury that your injuries are as good as they are going to get. Rely on your doctors.

For more information, please:

• Explore the Answers section.
• Request my Free Guide, South Carolina Car Accident Claims Guide in Plain English, by clicking here.
• Call at 888-510-9359 or contact me for a free consultation. There is no obligation.

FAQ: Should I Sign the Forms?

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Probably not. Typically insurance adjusters and companies will want you to sign releases so they can get your medical records. However, some don't stop with getting just your medical records related to the car accident, they get releases for your entire medical history. Why would you want some unknown insurance adjuster or insurance company combing through all of your medical history? Additionally, be leery of signing releases of your employment records.

Instead, request your own medical records. Be sure to get all of the records related to the injuries from the car accident. Also, be sure to request itemized statements of your medical expenses with the medical coding on the statement.

Requesting medical records is one of the services our firm routinely handles for our clients. However, if you have limited medical treatment, you may be able to handle this step on your own. To find out how, request our free guide below. Otherwise, please call our team at 888-510-9359 or use the contact form below. 

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FAQ: Who Pays My Medical Bills After a Car Accident

Who pays my Medical Bills after a South Carolina Car Accident?

South Carolina law requires a person who causes a car accident to pay the medical bills of the person the wrongdoer injured. Typical medical bills for an auto accident injury may include emergency room and hospital treatment, the emergency room doctors, a family doctor, perhaps an orthopedist, a chiropractor, or physical therapy. More serious injuries could include treatment by a neurosurgeon or pain management doctor.

However, your medical providers will bill you directly and you or your lawyer will need to submit the bills to the insurance company. The at-fault driver’s insurance company will review your medical expenses and analyze if they believe the expense is “reasonable and necessary.” In other words, medical treatment must be reasonably necessary and related to the injuries a person suffered from in a car accident. Additionally, an insurance company may question the reasonableness of the charges that a medical provider bills you.

The insurance company is not going to pay until your case is resolved through settlement or trial. This means your medical bills remain outstanding and unpaid until you receive the money from the insurance company. For this reason, it makes sense to get your health insurance company involved. There is plenty of information available on this site for dealing with your health insurance company. However, an injured person may have to negotiate with their medical providers or get financial assistance in paying current medical bills. Additionally, an injured person may need financial assistance to even get the medical treatment they need if they do not have medical insurance.

For more information, please:

• Explore the Answers section.
• Request my Free Guide, South Carolina Car Accident Claims Guide in Plain English, by clicking here.
• Call at 888-510-9359 or contact me for a free consultation. There is no obligation.

Reckless Driving in South Carolina?

Traffic Tip Tuesday! Is Texting While Driving Reckless Driving in South Carolina?

In today’s traffic tip, I ask you to consider whether texting and driving is reckless under the law.

South Carolina Law says that “Any person who drives any vehicle in such a manner as to indicate either a wilful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property is guilty of reckless driving.” South Carolina Code Section 56-5-2920. The reason I’m bring up reckless driving is to advocate for an alternative to prosecuting texting while driving.

Although multiple bills are pending in the South Carolina Legislature, it looks like all will either die in committee or impose only a limited fine for distracted driving. I believe a limited fine for distracted driving will be worthless for improving the safety of our community.

Perhaps we can use South Carolina’s reckless driving law to prosecute those who continue to put us all in harm’s way by texting while driving. Certainly we can agree that drinking while driving is at minimum reckless driving. In light of studies and research that indicate that distracted driving is at least as dangerous as impaired driving, how can we not say that it is not reckless driving? A distracted driver may be 6 times more likely to cause a crash and can double stopping distance. Certainly those statistics indicate a wilful or wanton disregard for other’s safety.

However, only our community can determine what is reckless or not. My question to you today is whether you believe that distracted driving is reckless or not. Please post your comments and answers.

Recognize Teen Driver Risk Factors

Traffic Tip Tuesday! Recognize Teen Driver Risk Factors and Solutions.

In today’s traffic tip, I review several risk factors teen drivers. Pay special attention to these risk factors so you can address them with your teenage drivers.

Unfortunately, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens. Males are most at risk, followed by teens driving with teenage passengers, and finally teen drivers who just received their licenses.

Counsel young drivers to recognize dangerous situations, drive at a safe speed, avoid distractions such as cell phones, and increase the distance they follow other cars. Consider not allowing newly licensed drivers to have teenage passengers until they gain some experience behind the wheel.

For more information on safe driving please visit the following links:

http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/teen_drivers/teendrivers_factsheet.html

http://www.cdc.gov/parentsarethekey/

http://www.thecommunityguide.org/mvoi/index.html

The Ultimate Traffic Safety Tip

Traffic Tip Tuesday!  The Ultimate Traffic Safety Tip.

Today, I wanted to share my Ultimate Traffic Safety Tip with you all. Its not a tip for specific situations and its not a tip you will find in South Carolina Law. However, this tip has the power to completely align your driving toward safety.

As I spent time in church this Sunday and enjoyed a family meal with my mother, my grandmothers, and my Wife, the mother of our children, I realized what the Ultimate Traffic Safety Tip was. This Tip recognizes the sacred bond between mother and child. It is rooted in the loving embrace and sacrifice that all Mothers offer their babies. It acknowledges the special respect that we hold for our mothers. It affirms our desire to please and never disappoint our mothers.

Here it is, drive as if your mother is sitting in the passenger seat.

Its as simple as that. With this easy tip, you can completely align your driving toward safety and please your mother at the same time.

Happy Mother’s Day.