personal
injury - frequently asked questions
Do
I really need a lawyer if I'm hurt in a car accident?
Why
does the insurance company say I don't need a lawyer?
How
much will a lawyer cost?
Do
I have a case?
What
are my rights?
My
insurance company says there's nothing they can do, what should
I do?
Should
I file a lawsuit?
Can
I harm my case by talking to the insurance company on my own
What
if the other driver has no insurance?
Will
I have to go to court?
I'm
overwhelmed with paperwork. What should I do?
How
will my car get fixed?
Can
I get a rental car while my car is being repaired?
How
much can I get for damage to my car?
Should
I see a lawyer even if I only made one visit to the emergency room?
Who
will pay my medical bills while I'm waiting for settlement?
Should
I go see a doctor if I've gone to the emergency room and my injuries
still bother me?
Will
using my own medical payments insurance affect my insurance coverage?
Do
I really need a lawyer if I'm hurt in a car accident?
Handling a personal injury matter without a lawyer is possible but
you should know that you will be up against an insurance adjuster
whose job is to settle your case for a little as possible. They
come across as friendly and helpful but they will do you no favors
when it comes to explaining all of the rights you have as the victim
of an accident.
Insurance
adjusters are well-trained and can easily take advantage of a situation
where they are the 'experts' and you don't know your rights! Without
a lawyer on your side, you might be convinced to take a quick settlement-
one that doesn't give you fair compensation for your injuries. A
lawyer specializing in personal injury will work hard to get the
maximum amount of money from the insurance companies.
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Why
does the insurance company say I don't need a lawyer?
Insurance industry statistics show accident victims represented
by lawyers get significantly larger settlements. It pays to have
an expert on your side. Insurance adjusters are trained to settle
your case for as little money as possible. The staff at Lowry Legal
Services know these adjusters and have dealt with them for years.
Experience counts in getting you the largest recovery for your case.
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How
much will a lawyer cost?
You need to know that our attorney's fees are based on a Contingent
Fee Agreement. There are no fees unless you get money from the insurance
company! Your first consultation with us is free.
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Do
I have a case?
Call us when you need to find out whether you have a case. Case
facts and insurance claims can be complicated. There is often a
case we can help you with that would not be obvious to you. Let
us help you with those issues such as medical payments claims, uninsured
and underinsured motorist claims.
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What
are my rights?
Call us when you feel you have no rights as an accident victim.
Is the insurance company making you feel like it's your entire fault?
We can tell you what your rights are and how to be sure they are
respected. You need someone on your side.
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My
insurance company says there's nothing they can do, what should
I do?
Call us when your insurance company says there is nothing they can
do. Insurance companies are birds of a feather, they stick together.
Call us when your insurance company is not being helpful. Your insurance
company owes you a duty to deal with you in good faith. We can make
sure you get the help you need from your insurance company. After
all, that's why you pay those premiums.
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Should
I file a lawsuit?
Call us to decide whether you need to file a lawsuit to protect
your rights, and get you the money you deserve. You need to know
most cases don't require a lawsuit to get you a fair settlement.
Sometimes a lawsuit isn't necessary. Even if we have to go to court
for you, around 97% of our cases settle before trial.
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Can
I harm my case by talking to the insurance company on my own?
Definitely. In 17 years of handling thousands of these cases, we
have found that more harm is done to client's cases by trying to
deal with the insurance company on your own than by any other way.
For example, the insurance company will take a statement from you
and that statement will be used against you later. Insurance companies
are pretty smooth when it comes to asking the questions, and they
know how to entrap people even when you don't think you're being
entrapped. Also, insurance companies set reserves and the reserves
are based in part upon what they know about the case. If they know
that you do not have a lawyer, they will tend to set the reserves
lower. Sometimes it's hard to get them to change the reserves back
so that the case can be resolved once we start representing you.
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What
if the other driver has no insurance?
You are still covered if you have insurance. In other words, the
insurance on your car, at the time that it was hit by the uninsured
driver at fault, will cover you for uninsured motorist coverage.
You will be paid exactly the amount that you would have been paid
had the other driver had insurance. This is not a claim against
your own driving record because you could not make the claim if
you were at fault. In other words, this should not be charged to
you as a fault accident. Also, if the other driver was insured for
less than your uninsured motorist coverage, you can get the difference
if your case justifies it. There are lots of ins and outs of this
having to do with pedestrians, phantom drivers and other issues
that we'd be happy to discuss with you.
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Will
I have to go to court?
Probably not. Most cases settle out of court and Lowry Legal Services
tends to settle them as quickly as is possible and a very high percentage
get resolved out of court. We are willing to go to court and do
go to court when necessary, but only after all possibilities of
settlement have been exhausted.
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I'm
overwhelmed with paperwork. What should I do?
Nothing. Call us. Lowry Legal Services will take care of those papers
for you. Anything that you sign can certainly be used against you
and may be used as a basis for denying your claim. The insurance
companies are not getting the information to be nice They're getting
the information to gather ammunition to figure out a way to deny
your claim.
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How
will my car get fixed?
If the other driver is at fault for your accident, the other insurance
company is responsible for the damage to your car. The insurance
company will likely have its own damage specialist review your vehicle's
damage and come up with their own estimate. Another reason why you
need an experienced personal injury law firm on your side! The insurance
companies often try to evade their responsibility. If this happens,
Lowry Legal Services can help you make them pay so you can have
your car fixed.
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Can
I get a rental car while my car is being repaired?
Yes. Maine Law provides that the insurance company for the person
that hit you must pay your rental for a period of up to 45 days,
or until your car is repaired or you are paid for your car, whichever
comes first.
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How
much can I get for damage to my car?
Maine Law says that you can get the value of your car just before
it was damaged minus the value of the car just after it was damaged.
In other words, if it's a total loss, you get paid for the whole
car, plus sales tax. If it is a partial loss, you get paid for what
it costs to repair it. Value is determined mostly by standard services
such as Blue Book, but there are other more creative ways around
that and Lowry Legal Services can help you with that as part of
our representation of you for personal injuries.
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Should
I see a lawyer even if I only made one visit to the emergency room?
Yes. It's difficult to tell early on how serious an injury is. Often
an injury that does not appear serious at the beginning ends up
being worse. Also, even for a small case, it's helpful to have a
lawyer who will help you figure it out. Lowry Legal Services handles
these types of cases along with the more serious ones and we're
happy to do it and look forward to being able to help you no matter
what the size of your case. We can at least give you advice and
help you through the process.
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Who
will pay my medical bills while I'm waiting for settlement?
Good question. There are several sources for your medical charges.
In the first place, your own automobile insurance policy will pay
under what's called Medical Payments Coverage. This is a no fault
type of insurance that would not be chargeable against your driving
record and will pay immediately for any medical bills you have up
to a certain amount (whatever your insurance policy specifies).
We can arrange that and even though part of this may have to be
paid back when you eventually get paid by the other driver's insurance,
we can work it out so that you don't have to pay the full amount
back and we can sometimes adjust even that amount. The other possibility
is your health insurance coverage, which should pay if your own
automobile insurance is insufficient or you have no other insurance.
Again, your own health insurance may have to get paid back, but
at least the bills will be paid at the time and when trafahe money
comes from the other driver's insurance company, it can be paid
back. If we represent you, you probably will not have to pay back
the full amount.
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Should
I go see a doctor if I've gone to the emergency room and my injuries
still bother me?
Probably. The smart thing to do is call your family doctor and see
what he or she thinks. Your doctor's advice is the best advice and
you may be directed to that physician or to another. You should
always make sure before giving up on medical care.
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Will
using my own medical payments insurance affect my insurance coverage?
It shouldn't. Since this is not an accident that was your fault
or else you wouldn't be using your medical payments coverage, it
should not affect your insurance premium or coverage.
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