ESSENTIALS OF AUTOMOBILE LAW FOR INJURY VICTIMS
When we buy automobile insurance, we think it's "just in case." Either we do it because the law requires that we do it or we do it to reduce our liability exposure in the case that someone alleges that we were the cause of the accident (which of course, we will dispute). But we really don't think about the ways in which we will personally become embroiled with our insurance carrier in the event that we suffer injury as a result of the negligence of another driver. As a result, we may own an insurance policy for 15 years, but we don't really understand the provisions in the policy until after we are the victims of an accident.

If you are injured in a car accident in Pennsylvania, there are numerous facets of insurance law, which you suddenly must learn about, understand, and apply to your actions. The first thing you must know is that the insurance policy obligates you to report the accident to the insurance company in a timely fashion. The insurance company will then assign a claim number to the accident, and will send you a form called an "Application for Benefits." Without a claim number and completed Application for Benefits, the insurance carrier will not pay for your medical care. And since the doctor cannot submit his medical bills for payment unless he has the claim number, he or she may not be willing to see you unless you can provide this information.

Under Pennsylvania law, your own car insurance policy is primary in terms of any medical care - in other words, before your personal health care coverage can be used to pay for any of your medical expenses for injuries caused by the accident, the insurance company that insures your car must pay the bills. Moreover, your car insurance policy pays your medical bills regardless of whether you were at fault for the accident. Pennsylvania law requires that every driver carry a minimum of $5,000.00 in medical coverage, but you can purchase higher insurance limits for a higher premium payment.

STEPS TO TAKE AFTER AN AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT
1. Get medical treatment as soon as possible.

If you have been injured in an accident, go to an emergency room to have an emergency room physician perform a physical examination. Often, a person who is in an accident is in a state of shock, and is not aware of the severity of their injuries. As a result, it is quite common for people to feel only minimal pain right after the accident, only to wake up the next morning with pain so severe they find it difficult to get out of bed.

2. Contact your insurance agent, whether the other driver is insured or not.

It is your obligation to contact your insurance company after an accident. The company will then send you an Application for Benefits which you must complete and return to them in order for them to start paying for your medical treatment. It is our recommendation that the Application for Benefits form be completed with the advice of an attorney.

3. Follow up with any medical treatment that is recommended for you.

Very often, the emergency room doctor will take x-rays and if they show that nothing is fractured, release you with some pain prescriptions, medical devices, and a recommendation that you seek follow up treatment within one day to one week with your family doctor. Make the appointment as soon as you get home from the hospital. If you do not have a family doctor, find a doctor who specializes in physical injuries to accident victims and make an appointment with that doctor.

4. Tell your doctors every place you are hurting.

You must be careful to tell any doctor who treats you every part of your body that is hurting you, so that the information becomes part of your medical records. Very often, if one part of the body is hurting the very most, a person will only mention that part of the body to the doctor. Only months later, after the problem with that part of the body has been addressed and they are feeling better, the person will mention that a different part of the body hurts. It is very difficult to persuade an insurance company that the injuries to the parts of the body that are not mentioned in medical records until months after the accident were caused by the accident.

5. Get a doctor's disability note for any time off from work.

If you need to take time off of work because you cannot perform the duties of your job as a result of your injuries, make sure that your doctor prepares a disability slip and notes in his records that he has placed you on disability, and bring or send the slip to your employer. Any earnings that are lost, whether through actual deductions of pay or through the use of vacation or sick time, are recoverable, but only if they have been documented in the medical records and employment records.

6. Ask a family member to take photos of your injuries, your car, and the scene of the accident.

Take photos of all of your injuries a few days after the accident, which is when the bruising may be more visible. The photos of you and your car will prove to be extremely valuable when you try to settle your claim, because they will be the best proof possible of the damage you suffered as a result of the accident. The photos of the scene of the accident may be important for purposes of reconstructing how the accident happened some time later on, when signs and road marks may have changed.

7. Get Information.

Write down the names, addresses, and phone numbers of all drivers and passengers involved in the accident and all witnesses to the accident. Write down the make and model of each car involved in the accident, as well as the license plate number. Also, get the name and address of the insurance company of any other driver involved in the accident. This information is especially crucial if the police don't come to the accident scene, but even if they do, you can't be certain that they got the names of everyone - particularly witnesses.

8. Consult with an attorney who specializes in automobile accidents.

Very often, you will be contacted shortly after an accident by either your insurance company or the insurance company of the person who owns the vehicle that hit you for a statement. In addition, you will have to fill out forms from your insurance company in order for your insurance company to start paying for your medical treatment. Do not give any statements - written or oral - to any insurance company without consulting with a lawyer. Any representative of an insurance company has loyalties to their own company and not to you. If an insurance company representative feels he can get to you without legal representation, he may try to ask you suggestive questions that lead you to give an inaccurate statement of the facts or of your injuries that will later seriously damage your claim. Consult with an attorney before giving any statements. Since all reputable attorneys specializing in automobile accidents cases provide these consultations for free, it costs you nothing to consult with the attorney.

If you believe that you have been injured due to the negligence of another in an automobile accident, please call us at (610) 664-6081 or e-mail a completed General Case Inquiry form to us. Once we have had a chance to review your submission, we will contact you and will provide you with a confidential consultation at no charge.

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