John Michael Phillips’s Answers

It really doesn't line up like that. Get treated through whatever health insurance and benefits you can. Then any bodily injury insurance and then uninsured motorist insurance will settle for the value of the claim (past medical bills, future medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, etc) and then medicare will seek reimbursement for a percentage of the amounts they paid out. It is called subrogation. Better yet, hire an attorney and they will negotiate all of this for you. On large...

There are two systems at play- criminal and civil. Civil is for money damages. Criminal is controlled by the State and is for prison and other sanctions. We can look at the civil case and investigate fault and cause. No one can "force" the State to investigate of pursue criminal charges. Our condolences for your loss.

The file is owned by you, so yes, in theory, you have that right. However, you simply should hire a lawyer with experience, who cares about a client- not a cheeseburger factory like you see every 5 minutes on your television. We are happy to assist you with it. Check is out at www.knowthelawyer.com.

Yes. Essentially, insurance carriers try to negotiate every dollar they can, because every $100 means millions in the end to the Board of Directors. Even in soft tissue injuries, those tissues stretch and scar, or cause corresponding pressure on nerves in the spinal cord, leaving behind permanent problems for some. I have had clients need surgeries years later because of a bulging disk and have their entire world collapse for what seemed inconsequential at the time. Insurance companies want...

You need to look to the at fault driver's insurance, the owner of the car's insurance, if he was working, his/her employer's insurance and possibly a few other possible sources. Did you / your family / anyone he live with have uninsured or underinsured insurance? That might be a resource? If the insurance company does not promptly hand over the insurance, they may be exposed to more than the $25,000. Lawyers can also severely negotiate down the bills in cases like this. Because of...

The value of every claim is chiefly based on what injuries you have. To have a claim worth more than $100,000, you'd need substantial medical bills, a permanent injury, and/or surgery. It is likely that is policy limits. In the case of a drunk driving wreck and serious injuries, you could exceed policy limits AND get punitive damages, but that is based on ability to pay of the drunk driver. Unless it is someone made of money or a company, people rarely have enough assets that an excess...

I agree with my colleagues. I will add that it's also a matter of associating the condition with negligence of the owner or showing the knew or should have known about it essentially. For instance, it a car had just leaked oil in their parking lot, there may be no responsibility on the land owner or tenant. It just depends. More information is located at www.knowthelawyer.com.

Hire a lawyer. Essentially, insurance carriers try to negotiate every dollar they can, because every $100 means millions in the end to the Board of Directors. Even in soft tissue injuries, those tissues stretch and scar, or cause corresponding pressure on nerves in the spinal cord, leaving behind permanent problems for some. I have had clients need surgeries years later because of a bulging disk and have their entire world collapse for what seemed inconsequential at the time. Insurance...

I have cases similar to this and agree, they are tough, but there may be a claim here. You can sue for negligent supervision or for essentially a teacher's negligence in performance of his or her duties. Anything remotely relating to a school nurse is virtually untouchable by lawyers because of a combination of tough governmental immunity laws and tough medical malpractice laws. The tug-of-war concerns me and likely was a foreseeable injury that the teacher could and should have prevented or...

There is a difference in what the State does- the criminal case- and any claims you have for injuries or damages- the civil case. You have no control on the criminal case but can sue for damages for him hitting you. The value of every civil claim is chiefly based on what injuries/losses you have and how we prove them. Value of injury claims is based on medical bills, nature of permanent injury, and/or surgery, whereas property damage is based on replacement or market value of the item....