The most important part of your car insurance, UM/UIM. There are different options you can get with your car insurance such as comprehensive coverage, medical payments, etc., but the most important thing you can get is Unisured/Underinsured coverage. So why is Uninsured/Underinsured coverage so important to have on your plan? To begin, 1 out of […]

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The most important part of your car insurance, UM/UIM. There are different options you can get with your car insurance such as comprehensive coverage, medical payments, etc., but the most important thing you can get is Unisured/Underinsured coverage. So why is Uninsured/Underinsured coverage so important to have on your plan? To begin, 1 out of 6 drivers in Colorado does not have car insurance. After that, state minimums are $25,000.00, therefore if you are in the hospital at all, you have likely far surpassed that amount. Underinsured/Uninsured covers you and everyone in your house (resident/relatives) if you are walking, if you are biking, if you are driving, it doesn’t matter, you are covered.

One recent case I had was a client who was hit while on a bicycle and had $260,000.00 in medical bills, however the person who hit my client only had $100,000.00 in car insurance. I was able to stack insurance policies to ensure that my client was fully compensated. You are able to stack policies by:

1. Owner of the Car’s Insurance
2. Driver of Car’s Insurance (if different)
3. Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UM/UIM)
a. Your Car (s)
b. Driver or Car’s Insurance (If Different)
c. Company Cars

Since this client had Uninsured/Underinsured coverage, the policies can be stacked so that the client is more than compensated for his injuries.

So, if you put a claim on your Uninsured/Underinsured will it raise your rates? The answer is no, there is an insurance regulation that specifically says that unless the accident is your fault and you put a claim on your Uninsured/Underinsured, your rates cannot raise nor can your policy be canceled.

Expert witnesses are different than lay or “normal” witnesses because they are allowed to share their opinion on a matter. Lay witnesses are only able to testify as to what they saw or what they heard. Under the Colorado Rules of Evidence 702, Expert witnesses are defined as “A witness qualified as an expert by […]

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Expert witnesses are different than lay or “normal” witnesses because they are allowed to share their opinion on a matter. Lay witnesses are only able to testify as to what they saw or what they heard. Under the Colorado Rules of Evidence 702, Expert witnesses are defined as “A witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, expertise, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise.” So who exactly are they? Expert witnesses can vary per case. They could be your treating providers, engineers, we have even used a brake technician as an expert witness before. You need to make sure you have the right experts for your specific case. For example, I have had a case where a guy was hit on a bicycle and got an MRI and CT scan done, however neither test showed any damage. That is when I found a neuroradiologist. This neuroradiologist lives in Las Vegas and is the doctor that assesses boxers to see if they have had too much brain damage and therefore need to stop boxing. He did an assessment on my client and found that the MRI and CT scan were not strong enough tests, he needed a 3 Tesla or a 1.5 Tesla MRI. Therefore, he was able to spot these red dots pictured below known as Coup-Contracoup Shearing. Without the help of an expert in that field, this would have been impossible to diagnose under a normal MRI or CT scan. This goes to show the importance of finding the best expert witness for your case.

The answer in nearly every case is, yes! First, if you are representing yourself you have the lowest level adjusters who have only minimal authority and really don’t know the law. Almost every insurance company has higher tier adjusters when an attorney is involved. There are different adjusters based upon their experience level, the more […]

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The answer in nearly every case is, yes! First, if you are representing yourself you have the lowest level adjusters who have only minimal authority and really don’t know the law. Almost every insurance company has higher tier adjusters when an attorney is involved. There are different adjusters based upon their experience level, the more experience the more authority the adjuster has. The more senior adjusters work with attorneys because the insurance companies know that if you are handling your own case, you likely don’t know the laws. For example, take a look at the explanation of benefits below:
The billed amount was $29,352.48 and the paid amount was $6,056.11. The other side does not get to benefit from your health insurance’s work, so you cover-up or redact the paid amount. Below is how we send it to the other side, therefore this one mistake cost you over $21,000.00 on your case if you are handling it yourself.

Some other financial mistakes people make when representing themselves is forgetting to deal with their health insurance- Subrogation. If you don’t deal with it, you may get a letter at a later and now you have to find the money to pay this subrogation. If you have an attorney, then the subrogation needs to reduce how much they want by the amount you are paying an attorney. See the graphic below for a financial breakdown of the impact of representing yourself versus having an attorney:

This is four times more recovery on just one medical bill. There are so many other laws to help you, you can even use your car medical payments to reduce how much you have to pay back to health insurance. To summarize, yes, it is almost always going to financially benefit you to hire an attorney.

Co-Vid19 Legal Questions FAQ: What should you do if you have been injured or in a car wreck during this time? First of all, you should still seek medical treatment if you were just injured in a car wreck. If you have already done some treatment and do not continue to seek treatment, this could […]

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Co-Vid19 Legal Questions FAQ: What should you do if you have been injured or in a car wreck during this time? First of all, you should still seek medical treatment if you were just injured in a car wreck. If you have already done some treatment and do not continue to seek treatment, this could point to a gap in treatment that could potentially look bad in trial. FAQ: What to do to avoid gaps in treatment if you can’t see your doctor/treatment provider right now? 1. Keep a journal of pain/treatment: it is important to have a detailed record of your pain levels and treatment. 2. Follow doctor’s orders on home treatment: stick to your doctor’s orders regarding at home stretching, weight lifting, etc. 3. Remind the doctor to put notes in the file about this gap period: next time you see your doctor, remind them to put your detailed recorded notes in your file to avoid it appearing as if there are any gaps in treatment. FAQ: What happens if your case is set to go to trial right now? First, talk to your attorney. Recently Colorado Chief Justice Nathan Coates issued a mandate stating that effective immediately, all Jury calls and state Courts are suspended with the exception of criminal trials facing imminent speedy deadlines. In addition to this, Governor Polis issued a mandatory stay at home order until at least April 26, 2020. However, you still need to be proactive if you have a case set for trial or if the Statute of Limitations is approaching. The standard Statute of Limitations in Colorado for a breach of contract is 3 years, an auto accident is 3 years, and a slip & fall is 2 years. Even with the stay, you must either settle your case before the Statute of Limitations or file a lawsuit before your Statute of Limitations runs.

Do you want to get the maximum settlement from a car accident? There are Colorado laws in place to help injured people get fully compensated. One of those laws is called the Collateral Source Doctrine which states that if a collateral source (namely your health insurance company) reduces a billing then the person who caused […]

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FAQ: What happens if I get into an accident with an e-scooter? Dockless, electric scooters arrived suddenly last summer and are apparently here to stay for the foreseeable future. Despite the general disagreement over whether or not this is a good thing, many Denver residents have adopted them as their new means of transport for […]

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