St. Paul, Minnesota Personal Injury Lawyers caution: HOT DISH AND CAR CRASHES DO NOT MIX

Car Crash Advice From a St. Paul MN Personal Injury Lawyer

Being in the business of helping injured victims has taught us a thing or two about clients.  Midwestern clients that is.  We’ve all heard the cliché about those of us living in the heartland refusing an offer of hot dish at least three times before deciding that “maybe just a little” would be okay—as our stomach growls—“if it isn’t too much trouble”.  Unfortunately, this mentality extends to crash victims. 

 We Midwesterners have a reputation for being tough.  For not needing help.  For not getting injured.   And if we do get hurt?  Well, we make darn sure we don’t complain about it.   All too often the crash attorneys at Champion Law, LLC ask an injured client how he or she is feeling only to have that client respond, “Not too bad”.  If only multiple fractures, wearing a halo brace and being bedridden were so easy. 

 The problem with our pattern of niceties is that it doesn’t do us any favors in the examining room or in the courtroom.  When victims withhold information from their treating medical providers or diminish their symptoms they do not receive the care they need.  In turn, their medical records do not reflect the true extent of their injuries and associated symptoms.  And there we have it folks—an injured victim who is trying to “tough it out” and medical records that look like nothing much is wrong.  In other words, an insurance defense attorney’s dream. 

So, the crash attorneys at Champion Law, LLC urge you to step out of the Midwestern box.  Don’t be ashamed to talk about your injuries and what you are experiencing.  Your health and your personal injury case depend on it. 

 

Kimberly G. Behm

Attorney at Law
Champion Law LLC
3252 Rice Street
St. Paul, MN  55126
651-766-5886
f – 651-766-5235

kim@champion-law.com

www.champion-law.com

ST. PAUL MINNESOTA CAR CRASH – NOT CAR ACCIDENT – ATTORNEYS EXPLAIN WHY THE WORD “ACCIDENT” USUALLY DOESN’T MAKE SENSE

Car Insurance Companies and Car “Accidents” – A St. Paul Minnesota Attorney’s View

Something has been bothering us for years:  Insurance companies defending car crash cases always use the word “accident” when describing crashes their insured’s caused.  Why, you may be asking yourself, do the car crash attorneys at Champion Law care?  Because the insurance industry’s use of the word “accident” is no accident.  They use the word “accident” to take blame away and by extension, to lower the amount they have to pay on a claim.  The word “accident” means “an unfortunate event that happens by chance.”  And that’s what the insurance industry wants injury victims and juries to think: people who suffer personal injuries aren’t victims of bad driving, but rather they were injured by an unfortunate event that happens by chance.  In other words, stuff happens and we should all just move on with our lives. 

 But the car crash lawyers – sometimes mistakenly called car accident lawyers by the insurance companies – of Champion Law LLC don’t use the word “accident” when discussing the events that injure their clients.  Instead, we use the word “crash”.  Using the word crash makes it more clear that our clients were hurt because someone made choices.  By definition, bad choices don’t cause “accidents” – bad choices predictably cause bad things to happen.  For example, if a driver makes a choice to look for something on the floor of their car, adjust the radio when coming to an intersection, put on makeup while driving, trying to clear a yellowish/redish light, etc., those choices come with a predictable bad outcome – a car crash.  Crashes happen because of bad choices – not because of chance. 

The car crash lawyers at Champion Law – Robert Roe, Nate Bjerke and Kim Behm – take this attitude and attention to detail in every car crash case we handle.  If you have been hurt in a car crash, don’t play the insurance company’s game.  This is no accident and you shouldn’t settle for compensation commensurate with a “stuff happens” attitude. 

 

 

Nate Bjerke

Champion Law LLC

3252 Rice Street

St. Paul, MN 55126

(t)651.766.5886

(f)651.766.5235

www.champion-law.com

 

Licensed in Minnesota, Wisconsin and California

Does Minnesota No-Fault Pay For My Lost Wages and What is Stacking?

Minnesota No-Fault Insurance Pays You For Missed Work.

If you are in an accident in Minnesota and cannot work due to injuries from that accident, then your insurance company pays wage loss benefits.  They must pay you 85 percent of your lost wages up to a maximum of $250.00 per week.  That is the minimum coverage allowed.  You can buy higher coverage and I highly recommend it.  The coverage is inexpensive and provides excellent income loss protection in the event of an accident with significant injuries. 

Also, make sure you have stacking on your policy if you own more than one vehicle.  Stacking takes the minimum $20,000.00 policy on each vehicle and stacks them.  The resulting coverage is $40,000.00 AND the wage loss maximum payment increases to $500.00 per week.  If you have three vehicles, then the result is $60,000 in wage loss coverage and maximum wage loss payments of $750.00 per week.  This is a tremendous benefit that, by law, must be offered by the insurance company.  If you were injured in an accident and suffered wage loss, call me to see if your insurance company is paying you what you are entitled to under your policy.

Robert W. Roe
Champion Law LLC
3252 Rice Street
St. Paul, MN  55126
651-766-5886
f – 651-766-5235
robert@champion-law.com
www.champion-law.com

Do I have No-Fault Auto Insurance if I live in Minnesota?

What is No-Fault Insurance?

Minnesota is a no-fault insurance state.  Everyone thinks that means that it doesn’t matter who caused the accident.  Wrong!  If you suffer injuries in a car crash caused by someone else, you can make a claim for your injuries against the person who caused the crash. 

 

With no-fault insurance, your own insurance company pays your medical bills, wage loss, and other economic losses, regardless of who caused the accident.  Every automobile insurance policy in Minnesota provide for payment of $20,000.00 in reasonable, necessary, and related medical or chiropractic bills.  Every policy also provides up to $20,000.00 in wage loss benefits.  No-fault is intended to allow you to get treatment paid for without fighting with someone else’s insurance company.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work that way.  Insurance companies often try to avoid paying benefits.  Check back Thursday and in coming weeks for a continuing discussion about no-fault and how to get your benefits paid.

 

In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to call 612-743-4913 in Minneapolis, or 651-766-5886 in St. Paul.  Or Visit Champion Law today.

 

 

 

 

 

MN Personal Injury Attorney Speaks Out About Progressive Insurance Not Paying Your Medical Bills.

How Progressive preys on lower income clients

I wrote on Tuesday about a new scheme by Progressive to avoid paying no-fault medical benefits in Minnesota.  Every corporation is in business to make money,  but honoring commitments and contracts is more important.  The effect of failing  to do so and allowing a culture of greed to flourish contributed to many of our country’s financial woes in the past year.  Back to Progressive:

The reason Progressive does this is to get out of paying bills.  Take this scenario: 
Average Joe is injured in a car accident and takes an ambulance to the emergency room.  He incurs $2,500.00 in bills.  Progressive writes him a check for $750.00 and tells him to either keep it, or pay his bills.  Average Joe needs to pay off his credit card and uses the $750.00 to do that.  He then submits his hospital bills to his health insurer for payment.

Progressive just got out of paying the bills it is contractually obligated to pay AND for which it took money from its insured.  Instead, the bills are shifted to health insurance and the cost of health insurance goes up.  Progressive will say this was never its intent.  But why else would an insurance company make a payment of  $750.00 when it had absolutely no obligation to do so.  Goodwill?  Mistake?  Generosity?  Perhaps I am a bit cynical, but I don’t buy it.

The real reason Progressive has employed this tactic is to save money.  Take the following scenario:  Average Joe gets in an accident and tells Progressive he is hurt and needs to go to the doctor.  Progressive drives over and hand delivers a check and says sorry you were hurt.  It hopes Average Joe will take the money and spend it.  It then hopes that Average Joe will not go to the doctor for care because he is scared about how the bills will be paid.  Progressive just preyed upon Average Joe’s financial needs to get out of paying costly medical bills it is obligated to pay under an insurance contract.  If this is truly why Progressive instituted the scheme, shame on it and its corporate greed.

Finally, I don’t like it because Progressive misstates the law with scare tactics.  Regardless of how that $750.00 is spent, Progressive is obligated to fulfill its commitments under the no-fault policy and law.  If Progressive has done this to you or someone you know and now won’t pay the bills, call Champion Law LLC.  I will be more than happy to pursue Progressive and ensure that it does not benefit from the latest insurance scam against the consumer.

Robert W. Roe
Champion Law LLC
3252 Rice Street
St. Paul, MN  55126
651-766-5886
f – 651-766-5235
robert@champion-law.com
www.champion-law.com

MN Personal Injury Attorney Speaks Out

Progressive wrote me a check, but won’t pay my medical bills.  Now what?

I recently became aware of a new tactic used by Progressive Insurance Company in Minnesota.  Minnesota is a No-Fault state.   That means that if you are in an accident, your insurance company pays the related medical bills, regardless of whether you caused the accident or not.  The State of Minnesota requires coverage of at least $20,000.00 for medical bills on all no-fault automobile insurance policies.

I met with a gentleman last week who was in an accident recently.  He reported the accident to Progressive, which is his insurance company.  He also told Progressive that he had been to the doctor and had injuries.  Progressive sent him a check for $750.00 along with a letter.  I am paraphrasing, but here is what the letter said: 

Sorry you are hurt.  Take this money and pay your bills or don’t go to the doctor and keep the money.  If you incur more than $750 in bills, then we will need proof that the bills were incurred AND that you paid the $750 we gave you toward those bills BEFORE we pay anything further.

What Progressive is saying in this letter is that it won’t pay any of your bills if you can’t prove you paid the first $750.00 toward your medical bills.  What’s wrong with this?  It seems like Progressive is doing the right thing.  They want to give you the freedom to pay your bills or keep the money.  That’s one view.  I’ll explain why this is a terrible scheme by Progressive.

What happened to insurance fraud?  If Average Joe makes a claim for $750.00 to Progressive for bills he didn’t incur, that is fraud and he should be prosecuted.  But Robert, you say, it isn’t the same.  No one is committing fraud.  I disagree.  Progressive is making payments for bills that were not incurred and increasing the cost of insurance for all of us.

While that is true, it isn’t what makes me mad.  Check back on Thursday to find out the real reason Progressive uses this tactic and why it should stop.

Robert W. Roe
Champion Law LLC
3252 Rice Street
St. Paul, MN  55126
651-766-5886
f – 651-766-5235
robert@champion-law.com
www.champion-law.com

Personal Injury Attorney in MN and WI on Automobile Insurance

How much automobile insurance should I have?

Negligent or reckless drivers often cause catastrophic injuries that are tragic for the victims and their families.  These injuries can lead to loss of work and other economic losses that can be devastating.  Too often, the person who caused the accident has little or no insurance.  Drivers in Minnesota are only required to carry $30,000.00 in coverage for injuries they cause to another person.  Wisconsin drivers are, in some instances, not required to carry any insurance.  Don’t be victimized a second time by not having enough insurance.

To protect yourself from underinsured (UIM) and uninsured (UM) drivers, make sure your insurance policy has the right coverage.  I strongly recommend having at least $250,000.00 in UM/UIM coverage.  You can purchase this on your policy or, with many insurance companies, you can buy an additional rider for a low cost that provides protection for you and your family against significant injuries caused by automobile accident.

Call me anytime if you have any questions about coverage and how to get it.

Robert W. Roe
3252 Rice Street
St. Paul, MN 55126
651-766-5886
f-651-766-5235
robert@champion-law.com
www.champion-law.com