Most people think that a lawsuit ends when the case is settled or the jury gives its award following a trial. Even many lawyers believe this, and that is how you spot an attorney that doesn’t have any business practicing personal injury law. In truth, a great deal of negotiating with lienholders follows the jury’s verdict or case settlement. In the last twenty years, many laws have been passed that favor insurance companies at the expense of injured American citizens, and some of these laws sharply reduce the net amount of a settlement or judgment. Case liens can come from a great many sources, but the vast majority are related to medical bills in one way or another. The amount of money that has to be paid to these medical lienholders varies by state and by the kind of company asserting the lien. Differing state philosophies is most easily shown by looking at the Greater Cincinnati area.

Greater Cincinnati Case Lien Process

If you get injured in Southern Ohio, you fall under the Ohio state rule. That rule says that you can only recover medical damages in a lawsuit up to the amount that your insurance company actually paid to the medical provider. This is a bad rule, because it requires the injured person to go the trouble of proving liability and recovering the money, but allows a free-riding insurance company to get all the money back. In the meantime, the person or company that was liable gets a break by not having to pay the full amount of the medical bills!

Northern Kentucky Case Lien Process

Kentucky allows you to claim the full amount of your medical bill at trial and, after proving the other party liable and collecting the damages, you only have to pay the insurance company the exact amount they paid toward the bill. The injured person keeps the rest. The Northern Kentucky rule decides that a liable person or company should not get a break on the amount of damages they caused, although it does still allow most insurance companies to free-ride. The Northern Kentucky rule also wisely reasons that any extra money kept by the injured person is justly due, because the injured person paid the premiums to the insurance company in the first place!

The Type of Organization Issuing the Lien Matters

The type of company putting a lien on the case is a big factor is how much the lien can be reduced. Government agencies like Medicare and Medicaid absolutely must be paid back, but they are often willing to negotiate a much lower payback than 100%. On the other hand, health insurance plans created under ERISA (which basically includes every health insurance plan that comes through your or your spouse’s employment) must also be paid back and they are generally unwilling to reduce their lien by more than a token amount. Actual medical providers, such as hospitals and ambulance companies, should be paid out of a lawsuit although it is more of an ethical rather than a legal requirement. (Still, if you don’t pay them they will likely sue you for the payment.) Medical providers do not have the same legal protections that insurance companies do, and they generally charge uninsured patients at an inflated rate compared to what they would charge an insurance company. Therefore, medical providers are generally willing to take a big reduction on their lien to ensure getting paid.

A Good Personal Injury Attorney Will Look at the Whole Picture When Working Toward a Settlement

A good Northern Kentucky Personal Injury Attorney will determine whether your case should be settled or go to trial and should include not only the client but all the lienholders as well. A Personal Injury Lawyer should make everyone agree to reduce their liens by a certain amount based on whatever settlement offer is on the table. That way, you will always know exactly what to expect out of a given settlement, and never get an unpleasant surprise after the settlement negotiations are over. Some Northern Kentucky attorneys don’t give their clients this “whole picture” approach to a settlement, and their clients should justifiably be upset if they find out their settlement netted less money than they expected.

At Lawrence & Associates, we have negotiated thousands of liens and recovered millions of dollars for our clients. We’re Working Hard for the Working Class, and we’d be proud to represent you.

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The litigation costs are usually the primary factor to be considered when determining whether to pursue a lawsuit. Although some suits are pursued for other reasons than monetary gain, the reality is that if a judgment is unlikely to cover the legal costs, then it is not financially worthwhile to pursue the suit. On the other hand, if the judgment is likely to cover the costs of litigation (and then some), the probability that a settlement with the Defendant will be attained also.

So, litigation costs are very important, and should be calculated earlier on by both the party wishing to pursue a claim and the attorney whom is being asked to pursue the claim on that party’s behalf. These costs generally include court fees, expert fees, deposition fees, reports or other projects, legal research fees, private investigation fees, accident reconstruction fees, etc.

Who covers the expenses?

If the potential costs of litigation are too great for the party to cover, this might prevent that party from pursuing his claim. However, as is common with most Personal Injury attorneys/firms, the party can contract with his or her attorney to cover the expenses and, in some instances, reimburse those costs if the claim results in a settlement or judgment that is enough to cover such expenses. This type of arrangement is quite common in a contingency fee agreement. The Supreme Court Rules of Kentucky allow a firm or attorney to forward all litigation expenses and either require or not require repayment of said expenses.

In the event the attorney cannot cover the case expenses either, that attorney should generally refuse to take on the case, since accepting it would result in a disservice to the client and a disadvantage to the attorney.

Does the other party ever cover the costs of litigation?

The General Law in the United States is that the loser in a case will not be forced to pay for the other party’s costs of litigation, except under special circumstances. The two main circumstances are when the parties contractually agreed that the loser pay for these costs, and where there are specific statutes in place that allow for the recovery of litigation costs (e.g., where a party committed a malicious and willful wrong against the public good).

In contrast, Kentucky statute provides that a successful party in any action shall recover his costs unless otherwise provided by law. However, it goes on to state that “[s]uccessful defendants who are necessary nominal parties shall not recover their costs and each party will pay their own expenses, [while] successful defendants who are not necessary parties will be awarded their costs.” Furthermore, the court has the discretion to award costs in actions between partners, tenants-in-common, joint tenants, settling of estates and partnerships, and enforcing trusts. KRS 453.040.

In Kentucky, the costs to be awarded include filing fees, fees incident to service of process and summoning of witnesses, jury fees, warning order attorney and guardian ad litem fees, costs of the originals of depositions, fees for extraordinary services ordered by the court to be paid, and other such costs as are ordinarily recoverable by the successful party. C.R. 54.04. It is important to note that this does NOT include Attorneys Fees.

Balancing the risks of Litigation

The pursuit of a claim will always involve some risks due to the litigations costs. If you have a claim, and are unsure about whether the costs of litigation outweigh the potential of your claim, consult an attorney before making this determination on your own. A good attorney will be able to judge the risks and balance them against a successful outcome. If you are located in Northern Kentucky, contact an attorney at Lawrence & Associates for a free consultation.

If you’ve never worked with an attorney before, it can be intimidating to pick up the phone and call. As a layman, there’s no good way to compare one attorney’s services to another because each client’s case is unique and many variables (such as the random selection of a jury) can make similar approaches in similar cases yield wildly different results. Thus, choosing an attorney can feel like taking a complete shot in the dark. However, there are certain things you can do to ensure that you are choosing the attorney that is right for your unique situation.

See What the Bar Association Has to Say

In Kentucky, all attorneys are required to be members of the Kentucky Bar Association in order to practice law. Not all states have this requirement, but even states that lack it generally have local or regional bar associations. Attorney reprimands and disciplinary actions are matters of public record. Has the attorney you are interested in hiring ever had a bar complaint, or been reprimanded? Contact the Bar Association to find this out!

See What the Attorney’s Former Clients Have to Say

Confirming that your attorney has no black marks on his or her record only confirms competence. What about excellence? The internet is a referendum of public opinion on law firms just like other professions and business. While my experience has been that law firms typically have fewer online reviews than comparably sized businesses, reviews do still exist. Check out Avvo.com, which should have a profile on your attorney complete with peer endorsements and client reviews. Yellowpages.com and the various search engines’ local business listings are also good sources of information.

See What the Attorney Has to Say

Call the attorney and ask for a free consultation. Most attorneys will give one, depending on the area of practice. In personal injury, workers’ compensation, or bankruptcy, a free consultation is almost guaranteed. In other fields, like family law, you can usually get one but not always. Use the free consultation to gauge the attorney’s confidence and the depth of his or her knowledge. You should also feel free to bring up whatever concerns you have to the attorney and expect an answer that satisfies your concerns. If the attorney can’t give you that, you might want to keep looking.

See What Your Gut Has to Say

You’re an adult with plenty of experience in meeting new people and sizing them up. If you’re reading this article to prepare for a first meeting with an attorney, odds are you have a lot of common sense. Don’t leave that common sense at the attorney’s front door. If the attorney seems honest and feels like someone you can work with, use him or her. If not, move on. There are plenty of us out there.

Just like everyone else, attorneys have good days and bad days. Those of us that have been doing our jobs for a long time are sometimes guilty of going too fast and assuming new clients are more familiar with what we are saying than they really are. Occasionally, even the most seasoned attorney will get a curveball question during a consultation and have to say, “I don’t know, I’ll have to look that up for you.” But good attorneys are polite on their bad days, take the time with their clients to explain things fully, and follow up their “I don’t know” with “I’ve got that answer for you.”

If you’re looking for a lawyer in Kentucky or Ohio, Lawrence & Associates has a long record of success in personal injury, bankruptcy, and workers’ comp cases.

If you’ve been in a car accident, it can be tough to know what to do. No two car wrecks are exactly the same, and in Kentucky you will often have questions that you don’t think of at the scene of the accident. Here are some tips to make sure you do everything necessary to get your car fixed, your medical bills paid, and your life back on track following a Kentucky car accident.

Call the Police

If you’re still at the scene of the wreck, call the police to take down all the information. If you only exchange information with the other driver you may find that the information you’ve been given is only as good as the paper it’s written on. Any Northern Kentucky police department can verify the driver’s license and insurance information at the scene! Further, in Kentucky it is required by law that you call the police if there are any injuries, no matter how minor. Finally, make a note of the make, model, color, and license plate number of the other vehicle.

Are There Witnesses?

If there are any witnesses that stopped by to help, be sure to get their names and contact information. Most disputes over automobile accidents in Northern Kentucky do not have a lot of information from eyewitnesses because no one thinks to get (or keep) the witnesses’ information. This is especially true on busy roadways such as I-71/I-75, US 42, Kentucky 18, Dixie Highway, and the AA Highway, because the volume of traffic causes many people to try to move away from the site of the accident as soon as possible.

Don’t Admit Fault or Assign Blame To Police or Medical Personnel

Communicate with the police and paramedics but don’t accuse others of fault or admit to fault yourself. That is something for the police and (if necessary) the Kentucky courts to decide. You want to give an honest account of the facts, but there’s no need to throw blame around when emotions are high. In Northern Kentucky, most fights following a car accident are started when one person has accused the other of fault.

Take Pictures

Pictures are worth a thousand words, and if you have to go to court over the damage to your car or over your own injuries, pictures can be invaluable. In Northern Kentucky courts, pictures can turn a “he said, she said” dispute into an easy victory for the person telling the truth. Take pictures of the car, your own injuries, the roadway, everything!

Notify Your Insurance Agent

In Kentucky, you have a duty to notify your insurance company about the wreck as soon as possible. In Northern Kentucky courts, insurance companies often try to get out of covering you due to a failure to communicate with them immediately after the accident, even if you’ve paid all your premiums! Although you have a duty to communicate with your own insurance company, that duty does not stretch to the other person’s insurance company. If the other driver’s insurance adjuster calls you, you should contact an attorney right away. Usually, this type of phone call is an attempt to get you to admit to fault.

Protect Your Rights With an Experienced Injury Attorney

By law, you have a limited amount of time to file a claim or a lawsuit against the other driver. Although no law says you have to see a doctor as soon as possible after the wreck, insurance companies will try to use any delay in seeking medical care against you. Insurance companies also routinely deny coverage by saying the injuries are not related to the automobile accident. If you hear these arguments from the insurance adjuster, get a qualified injury attorney immediately. Insurance is a confusing area of law, even to lawyers that don’t practice in the state where your accident occurred, because each state’s law is a little bit different on this subject. Kentucky law is unique, as is Ohio’s.

If you’ve been injured in a automobile accident in Kentucky or Ohio, you need an attorney. Lawrence & Associates has a long record of success in auto litigation in Kentucky and Ohio.

Personal Injury Protection, or “PIP”, is a basic coverage that is required in Kentucky on all motor vehicles, with the exception of motorcycles. It generally provides up to $10,000 to each covered individual in an accident to be used for the purposes of paying for medical expenses, lost wages, and all other costs that resulted due to the accident (optional higher benefits and deductibles are available).

Who’s PIP is Used and How?

In most circumstances, the PIP is paid by the insurer of the vehicle in which the injured person was riding at the time of the accident. For example, if an insured motorist is in an accident while driving his insured vehicle, his insurance company will pay the PIP. It does not matter who was at fault in causing the accident. Additionally, if a vehicle strikes a pedestrian, the insurer of that vehicle will pay the PIP associated with the pedestrian’s accident related expenses.

What if there is no PIP?

In certain circumstances, an injured party will find that there is no PIP available. For example, this can occur in a situation where the injured party is uninsured and the owner of the vehicle does not have existing coverage for his vehicle. If a pedestrian is struck by an uninsured vehicle (where the owner of the vehicle failed to have insurance or the driver of the vehicle was uninsured), then his best option is to file a claim for basic PIP to the Kentucky Assigned Claims Plan. The KAC is a state fund which provides basic PIP benefits to those who meet the certain requirements listed under KRS 304.39-160 and 304.39-170. An example of someone who would not be entitled to apply to the KAC for PIP would be an injured driver who was uninsured at the time of the accident.

If you or someone you know has been in an automobile accident, have medical bills piling up, and are unsure of what your options are, do not hesitate to contact a Northern Kentucky Personal Injury Lawyer. Lawrence & Associates can help get you the benefits that you deserve!

Contact Us (859.371.5997) for a Free Consultation