Legal Blog For Professionals

March 18, 2010

Crash Fraudsters Get Caught

Filed under: Law — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — AJ Handley @ 5:04 pm

There has been a recent spate of con artists attempting to cash in on the ability to make a No Win No Fee Injury, by setting up car crashes and then making fraudulent personal injury claims.

In many of the scams the criminals involved drove into each other’s cars, so that one person could make a claim off the other person’s insurance, and then they would both split the payout. Other gangs targeted accident hotspots such as roundabouts and then drove in a manner that would make it likely they would be crashed into from behind. Estimates suggest that the number of these types of scams rose sharply last year, although the good news is the chance of the perpetrators getting caught is on the increase too.

One such scam was attempted in West London, and involved crashing a double-decker bus. One member of the gang drove the bus, whilst carrying six other accomplices as passengers, into the car of another member of the gang, in a bid to gain thousands of pounds in compensation by defrauding the insurers.

Whilst following the usual route, the bus failed to pick up those waiting at stops for the bus, meaning there were no actual passengers on the bus, although there was still a risk of innocent pedestrians or motorists being injured at the crash scene.

The men involved then filed insurance claims for head and neck injuries and also attempted to gain from refer a friend schemes, to further increase their cash pot, which would be split equally. However they were detected when the investigating officers on the case were tipped of that the men knew each other, and by using mobile phone records they were able to prove the men were linked.

The bus driver plus the six passengers, the accomplice driving the car, plus their passenger were all found guilty of fraudulent activity, with three of them receiving suspended six month prison sentences.

If you have a genuine whiplash claim, then our no-win no-fee solicitors can help you put a claim together.

March 17, 2010

How Do I Know If I Need To Hire A Personal Injury Attorney?

You just got in an accident and you are hurt. Most people don’t know what to do or who to call. We’ve all heard about big dollar settlements from cases where someone was hurt, but probably don’t know one of these people personally. And we probably are not attorneys either so we don’t know the law and what our rights are. So how do you know if you need to hire a lawyer?

First of all, to win a personal injury case against someone, you have to be able to prove both 1) that the other person was liable for their actions & 2) you have suffered damages from their actions & your injuries. You need to get some advice from a professional attorney if you feel that this is the case. But how do you find one? There are two great places to start. First go to Google and do some searches for Personal Injury Attorneys in your city. This will give you dozens of qualified lawyers to help you with your case. Second, you can go to lawyers.com. This is a great site that allows you to find attorneys in your specific city, and looking for the area you want. Plus you can do your research on them right away and check on their credentials from their website. See if they are advertising that they have won any money for their clients in the past. This should give you a great starting point to go from.

Automobile accidents are the area that most personal injury actions happen. You need to prove the other person was negligent in the accident. If you are in a fault state, you need to prove negligence by showing that the other driver failed to exercise reasonable care. All drivers have a responsibility to exercise reasonable care when they drive on the roads. When the other driver breaches that responsibility and you are injured, then personal injury law states you can file suit for your losses. However the system is different in states that have passed no-fault laws.

Negligence isn’t the only basis for personal injury claims. Strict Liability is important & a growing area of tort law. It means that if a product is defective, the designer or manufacturer is strictly liable for any injuries caused by that product. You don’t have to prove negligence here, but you do need to prove the products design or manufacturing process made the product dangerous when used the way it is supposed to.

Intentional wrongs are another basis for personal injury claims. But the filings of those cases are rarer. Examples of this are if someone hits you in the face, you might be able to win a lawsuit for battery. Or if you are suspected of shoplifting, and the store wrongfully detains you, you might be able to win a wrongful imprisonment lawsuit. Remember, this is civil damages not criminal charges.

The second element you need to prove is damages. What type of injury did you suffer, and from what kind of accident? How have you suffered? Did you have a lot of medical bills, did you lose out on money from lost time at work? Can you still work? What is the extent of your damages? All of these things factor into whether you have suffered any damages. You need to prove you suffered damages in court, and just because you are injured, it doesn’t mean you are entitled to a guaranteed amount of money. A good attorney will prepare your case for court, even though most of these cases have monetary settlements before actually going to trial.

What is the statue of limitations for that type of case? Every state is different & the time limits you have to file a case are different for the kind of cases you are filing. You have a specific amount of time to file a personal injury case, so you need to know what that is. For example, you might have only one year to file an auto accident case. Once that time is has passed, your case can be thrown out of court.

Personal Injury attorney Las Vegas is a highly searched phrase, and the author, Anthony Flores, helps firms be found when searching for it. So when people are searching for a Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer, your firm shows up.

February 4, 2010

Pennsylvania Personal Injury Lawyers And The Pending Case

If you reside in Pennsylvania personal injury lawyers are generally rather abundant. These are lawyers that can really evaluate and establish your case and direct you in the right direction toward receiving compensation for your injuries and pain and suffering. Different law firms represent different types of cases and have a wide range of potential expertise. If you have experienced a situation that qualifies you to legal compensation, you’ll need to be sure you get the right lawyer as soon as possible.

The laws of Pennsylvania are consistent with most states are commonwealth states. This creates some significant definition when it comes to what qualifies as a personal injury case as well what only can qualify as a worker’s compensation case. Making sure you know which type of attorney you need is essential to creating the case you can win. Pennsylvania personal injury lawsuits generally apply the right to include damages for pain and suffering. Pennsylvania worker’s compensation cases do not. If your injury has anything to do with your place of business you most likely are not going to be able to file a personal injury lawsuit.

You can not hire a Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer to handle the effects of a worker’s compensation case. Even if you end up being injured by an employee of your company intentionally, if it happened on the company’s property then you can’t sue the individual directly. Rather, you have to take all of your claims through the worker’s compensation lawyer. The only exceptions to this include being hurt by one of the company’s employees off company property or being hurt on property by a legal subcontractor. In each case you are then prohibited from filing a worker’s compensation claim.

A Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer can update you on whether the current laws are working in your favor or against your case as you reveal the details of the case. In most cases you are more likely to receive a larger award from a personal injury lawsuit than you would from a worker’s compensation settlement.

Once you have determined that you qualify for a Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer, you will want to set up a consultation. It’s always a good idea to set up at least two consultations so that you are not tempted to settle on the first lawyer that agrees to represent you. Having another appointment in place gives you a built in need to take some time and think about it before committing to any given lawyer. If your first appointment is still your first choice after other consultations, then you know that you are selecting them based on skill.

Most cases are settled out of court. It’s less painful for everyone and it is a pretty good indicator that you and the defendant simply want to resolve the situation fairly but quickly. Do not bank your future on the statistics. You may end up being one of the small percentages of clients who end up taking their case to a court room. Be sure that your attorney can work his or her way around a courtroom with the same confidence that they display in their conference room.

Make sure you understand your financial obligations before you sign any paperwork. In most cases there will be service fees until the case has been won. Either way, you need a distinct outline of the costs and fees that your lawyer will be assessing throughout the proceedings.

If your personal injury lawyer is willing to take a low percentage it is within your best interest to find out why. Sometimes it is just a reflection of less experience. This is not to be confused with less competence. Your Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer should be selected based on the merits that you are comfortable evaluating.

Find the best help for your Pennsylvania Personal Injury case. Head online and check out http://www.alpernschubertlaw.com today. With the right person assisting you out you can win your case. Find the best person for the job now!

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