Medical Bills After a Car Accident

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One of the biggest stresses that any individual faces after a car accident is mounting medical bills. When you’ve been hurt, whether in a motorcycle accident or a car crash, medical bills can quickly mount. Sometimes, even a simple ambulance ride to the hospital can produce an astronomical bill for a client to pay.

Every case is different, and you should definitely consult a personal injury attorney about how to handle your medical bills after an accident. However, here are three general tips that can help you navigate the process.

  1. Your bills should be paid by your insurance.

Yes, that’s right. Your insurance covers your medical bills up to a certain amount. This is called Personal Injury Protection or “PIP” coverage. Your insurance will have an obligation to cover you up to a certain amount of money. You can check your own Declaration Page to find out how much PIP coverage your insurance carries. When you go to a doctor or a hospital, you will have them submit their bills directly to your car insurance. This is true whether or not you have health insurance and is also true even where the other party is at fault.

Sometimes people are confused by this idea. They say “If the other person is at fault for the accident, why does my insurance have to pay?” This is an understandable question but the short answer is that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, by statute, has declared that all insurance providers must pay your medical bills up to a certain amount (variable by policy) to ensure that no one is left without coverage in the event that they are hit by someone who does not have sufficient insurance. So, tip one is to have your medical providers present your car crash related medical bills to your PIP provider.

  1. Don’t be a “tough guy”: Get Treatment

Many times, people try to be tough after an accident. They say “I don’t need any medical treatment,” or “It’s no big deal. I’ll just get over it.”

After a car accident, it’s very important that you get treatment.

Sometimes, the adrenaline of a car accident and the rush that can come as a result, will cause the victim to overlook injuries and can suddenly feel how much pain they were in that was initially hidden. In other words, don’t be afraid to go get things checked out.

Injuries can reveal themselves over time. Soft tissue damage can be hard to detect. Even serious injuries resulting from a car accident or motorcycle crash can lie below the surface and require treatment. This is one of the only times in life that you can have your medical bills paid entirely by someone else, without even a co-pay—so go see your doctor.

Furthermore, you have a limited amount of time—known in the law as the statute of limitations—within which to bring a claim and to have your injuries paid for by your insurance company or the other person’s insurance company. So, don’t be a tough guy, and go get treatment after your car crash. Once the doctor clears you, then you know you’re fine. But, at least then, you’ll have the confidence to know that there are no serious issues lingering and waiting to raise their ugly head in the future.

  1. Keep Track of Your Providers

Sometimes, car accident attorneys, like those here at the Cornerstone Law Firm, will meet with a client and ask them where they’ve been treated. The client will say, “I don’t know where I was treated. I just went to wherever the first doctor told me to go.” They may have to dig through piles of records to figure out who it was that they went for a specific type of treatment. Although you can figure it out, it can take some time to track all of your medical providers down. So, keep a list of your providers handy. When you go to an appointment, write down the provider’s name on a separate sheet of paper. Who they are, the reason for seeing them, and how many times you went back. This type of information will be very helpful to your personal injury lawyer in pursuing your claim later. Even if you decide not to pursue your claim, keeping track of providers can be helpful for the future in helping your doctors determine where else they might be able to obtain records.

Conclusion: your medical bills tell a story

After a motorcycle crash or a car accident, your medical bills will mount, but they are important. They tell a story of what you’ve been through, the injuries you’ve suffered, and how you’ve managed to overcome those injuries. If you have questions about your car accident or motorcycle crash, call the personal injury attorneys at the Cornerstone Law Firm today to discuss how we can help you to confront your new normal.

 

Jurisdiction: Can they sue me here?

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When you’ve been sued, a number of thoughts can rush through your head. How can I resolve this case? How can I get rid of the claims that I’m facing? Do I have the ability to sue the other side back?

As important as all of these questions are, one of the first questions that every Defendant in a lawsuit should ask is, “Does this court have jurisdiction over me?”

  1. Personal Jurisdiction v. Subject Matter Jurisdiction

When we talk about jurisdiction, we’re talking about the power of a court to adjudicate a claim, and to do so in regards to the parties involved. In reality, these are two separate questions.

Subject Matter Jurisdiction is the power of a court to hear a specific type of claim. For example, if you believe that your United States Constitutional rights have been violated, you wouldn’t bring suit in the courts of the Islamic Republic of Iran. You would not expect that court to have the power to issue a binding ruling about your Constitutional Rights in the United States!

Similarly, there are some claims which may only be brought in the courts of a specific state or in federal court. We’ve previously discussed on the blog what it means that our federal courts are courts of “limited jurisdiction.” Simply put, the federal courts cannot adjudicate all claims between parties, because they’ve only been given power in the Constitution of the United States to render rulings on a very narrow range of issues.

So the first question the Defendant should ask when they’re sued is, “Does this court have jurisdiction over the claims that are being brought?”

  1. Personal Jurisdiction

Personal Jurisdiction is a more complicated question. It asks, “Does the court have jurisdiction over me as a defendant?” While Subject Matter Jurisdiction cannot be “waived” because it deals with the institutional power of a court, Personal Jurisdiction can be waived.

In other words, if you show up and try to contest the claims against you first, you may give up forever your opportunity that the court in question didn’t have power over you in the first place.

Think about it this way: if you live in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, work in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and do all of your business here, you can’t suddenly be sued in arctic circle of Alaska simply because someone is mad at you. The court in Alaska would have to have Personal Jurisdiction over you. They would have to have a way to prove that they were the proper court to have authority over you as a defendant to adjudicate whether you were right or wrong in the particular dispute.

There are really two types of personal jurisdiction. The first is called General Jurisdiction. This is when a court says that you are so at home in a particular forum that you may always be brought into court in that forum to answer charges. Again, using the facts above, if you live in Pennsylvania and work in Pennsylvania, you will generally have to answer for any sort of conduct that anyone accuses you of if they sue you in Pennsylvania.

But, there’s a second type of jurisdiction which is called Specific Jurisdiction. If you agree to a contract with a company in Arizona and you ship products there and they’re unhappy with them, it’s not all that surprising that you might be sued in Arizona. By targeting your conduct toward that “forum,” you have opened yourself up to the possibility of a lawsuit there.

  1. This is a factors-based test

The above examples may simplify the matter a little bit, but the fact is that a court has to have jurisdiction over you before it can enter a judgement against you.

The factors that determine whether you are “at home” in a forum state are a lengthy list and should be evaluated by an attorney experienced in this area of the law. If you’ve been sued as a defendant determining whether the court has Subject Matter Jurisdiction and Personal Jurisdiction over you is one of the first and most important steps of the process. This also shows why it’s so important to have a litigation attorney by your side when you’re brought into court.

We encourage you to call the experienced attorneys at the Cornerstone Law Firm today. Whether you’ve been sued in the federal or state courts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey or Maryland, we can help determine whether that court has jurisdiction over you and how to handle your case.

3rd Circuit Rules on “Empire” copyright infringement

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The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals released a ruling last week on whether the hit TV show Empire infringed on the copyright of a Philadelphia television writer. In Tanksley v. Daniels, the court ultimately ruled that there was no infringement in this case because there was no actual copying or material appropriation. The background of the case involves the claim of a local Philadelphia writer that the show Empire was largely based on a script that he had written and previously pitched to the executive responsible for empire.

Empire and its similarities

The facts that gave rise to the case are as follows: Mr. Tanksley met with a Fox executive and pitched him a TV show about a black music mogul/executive who is struggling with family drama and a personal health crisis. The Fox executive expressed initial interest, but subsequently turned down the script. A few years later, Empire premiered, exploring some of the same themes.

The court declined to find infringement in this case, despite the similarities. One of the primary reasons for this was that many of the alleged similarities were scènes à faire, and thus, not copyrightable. Scènes à faire are plot elements flowing predictably from a general idea. For example, drunk college students in a movie about college would be scènes à faire. It would be absurd for someone to claim that all college movies were based off the first college movie ever made just because there were drunk college or kids going to class. Instead the court noted that there were two ways to demonstrate infringement. First, by demonstrating actual copying. That is to demonstrate that a unique element that is capable of being protected was actually lifted from the original work and used in the copy. Second, to demonstrate material appropriation. That is to demonstrate that the work taken as a whole by the average laymen observer would be perceived to be a copy of the original.

Interesting Legal Developments in Tanksley

The court rejected that expert witnesses were necessary to further develop the record in determining whether there was infringement. Rather the court noted that the average observer could tell if a painting was copied, if a song was ripped from an original, or if a TV show’s plot had been lifted entirely from another. The court went to great lengths to demonstrate, in narrative form, the plots of the two shows side by side demonstrating that the similarities were superficial at best. Rather most of the local producer’s claim was based on the existence of prototypes, such as a black record executive who is struggling with family drama. A black record executive, the court concluded, is a classic example of a “prototype” that cannot be copyrighted, and family drama would an example of scènes à faire. Both of these are unprotectable elements and not subject to copyright protection.

Another unique element about this case is that the 3rd Circuit affirmed a dismissal on a 12(b)(6) motion. 12(b)(6)—dismissal for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted—is usually only granted where there is no need to develop any testimony or other facts on the record. The court said it was no error for the district court to have looked at the two TV shows referenced in determining the 12(b)(6) motion. Ordinarily anything outside of the pleadings is not considered in a rule 12 motion, but the court ruled that where the Complaint is based on two works of art, those works of art could be considered implicitly a part of the Complaint as if they were attached themselves.

Conclusion

This case is part of a growing national trend establishing that copyright infringement claims that do not have merit can be dealt with on 12(b)(6) motions. The ability to dismiss the Complaint earlier in the process will likely have more defendants fighting aggressively and early. This is good news for large companies who are often the target of copyright trolls, who can now have their cases dispensed with more efficiently. This case also lays out the “prototype” exceptions to copyright protection in a helpful way, and will likely be cited for this proposition for years to come.

Insurance after a car accident

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After a car accident, one of the most difficult things to figure out is whether your insurance or someone else’s insurance has to pay for the medical bills you’ve accumulated. Even if your insurance is paying for your bills, it can be tough to know if their “offer” to settle the case is sufficient. When an insurance company offers you a settlement for your injuries, should you take it? There are several factors to consider when you’re evaluating an offer from a car insurance company offering to settle your personal injury claims.

1. How Bad are your Injuries?

The most important inquiry in determining whether a personal injury settlement offer is appropriate is to ask how bad your injuries are. No injury is a good thing, but obviously, some physical injuries are worse than others. How long did it take you to heal? How long did you seek treatment for your personal injuries? Did you miss work or lose your job because of your injuries? In general, you are usually entitled to recover for your medical bills, your lost wages, and your pain and suffering resulting from the vehicle accident. Determining how bad these were will help determine whether an offer from your insurance company is fair.

2. Are you completely better?

One of the most important questions to ask yourself is whether you’re completely better. You should generally not accept a settlement for personal injuries from a car or other accident if you are not 100% recovered. Sometimes, the most serious injuries are lurking under the surface. If you’re still experiencing pain and lack of mobility after treatment, you should first speak to your doctor about other treatment options. Once you accept a settlement for a car accident, you are done. You will be asked to sign a release, and you won’t be able to come back for more money if it turns out the injuries are more serious than you thought. So, don’t settle if you’re not better yet! Or, if you’re statute of limitations is about to run out (see below), you may need to file suit to preserve your rights to compensation.

3. When does your statute of limitations run out?

The statute of limitations is a law that sets the time limit on when you can bring a lawsuit to recover for your injuries. You should consult an attorney about your particular case to determine when the statute runs out on you, thus limiting your right to recover for your injuries. If your statute is about to run, this will impact whether you file a lawsuit or accept an offer to settle your claim. The statute of limitations can also motivate the insurance company to make a better offer–but that’s only the case if they’re afraid you’ll file suit.

Conclusion: Call for a Free Consultation on your Injuries

In conclusion, if you’ve been injured in an accident–whether it involved a car, bus, motorcycle, bike, or any other vehicle–call us for a free consultation on your case. We can help you determine whether a settlement offered you by a car insurance company is right for your case, or whether you should fight for more compensation. Whether you were injured in an accident here in Berks County, or anywhere in Pennsylvania, Maryland or New Jersey, we can help you determine what to do next.

End of August

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It’s been a busy month at Cornerstone Law Firm. Attorney Crossett spent a week in a trial in Berks County over unfair trade practices, and also successfully brought several insurance claims to favorable conclusions. He has been advising a company on compliance with state regulations, and is defending several federal lawsuit.

Attorney Ready achieved a large settlement for a serious Berks County car accident victim, and beat criminal charges for several clients. In addition, he favorably settled a large contract claim against a client, and is pursuing another client’s right to retirement funds.

Most excitingly, Cornerstone Law has hired two new employees! Matt has already joined us, and Tiffany will be coming aboard next month. Their information will be posted on the staff page.

We hope your August has gone well and that you’ve been productive! As we head out of summer and into fall, let us know how we can help you, your family or your business to solve problems.

Time to File a Property Tax Appeal?

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Wise management of real estate requires owners to periodically check their tax assessments to ensure they are being assessed correctly. You pay taxes based on the “assessed” value of your home, so ensuring correct assessment can lower your tax liability each year. This applies to both homeowners and owners of commercial property.

There are several times that your property can be reassessed. First, you may have just recently purchased property and based on the purchase price, you may realize that the assessed value, when factored by the common level ratio, is showing an assessed price based on a market price which is significantly more than you paid for the property. If this is the case, your property is ripe for a tax assessment appeal in order to lower your taxes. Another time to consider filing an appeal is when there has been a recent condemnation of part of your property or there has just been a general downturn in the market from when the property was last assessed. In addition, every year, you have the opportunity to file a tax appeal from July 1 to August 15 (the must be received by then).

While the end goal for a tax assessment appeal is to lower the tax liability, it is also important to note that a lower tax liability may make the property significantly more rentable or make it more attractive to buyers at a higher price.

Prudent property owners conduct a periodic or annual review of their real property holdings to find out if they are being properly assessed. Should you have an interest in filing a tax assessment appeal, please contact Cornerstone Law Firm for assistance.

March 2018 Update

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The month of March has been a busy one at the Cornerstone Law Firm! This month, Attorneys David Crossett and Joel Ready have been advocates for a variety of clients, dealing with a broad range of cases and scenarios.

After one client experienced physically painful repercussions from a car accident, Attorney Crossett settled the case with a six-figure settlement. This financial relief will help compensate for personal difficulties the client has dealt with as a result of the accident.

In another case, Attorney Ready acted on behalf of a client who was charged for remaining silent when interrogated by the police (which is your right, according to the 5th Amendment of the Constitution). The charges were dismissed after Attorney Ready filed an “omnibus pretrial motion” and negotiated with the district attorneys’ office. Ultimately, the case was dismissed completely, and the client was cleared of wrongdoing. When a different client was charged with a DUI, Attorney Ready negotiated a favorable plea argument on behalf of the individual, helping the defendant avoid jail time.

Of course, not everyone deals with traumatic experiences or gets charged for a crime, but when life surprises you with difficulties, the Cornerstone Law Firm is here to help. Contact us today to let us know how we can serve you.

What is an amicus brief?

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An amicus brief is a legal document filed with a court by an organization or group that is not a formal party to an action, requesting a particular outcome. An outside group can petition the court for permission to be recognized as an amicus curiae—a “friend of the court”—who can help the court in its decision making by offering a unique perspective on a legal issue.

Amicus briefs (pronounced as “uh-MEE-cus” or alternatively, “AM-i-cus”) usually focus on a solution not proposed by either party to a lawsuit, or on a specific aspect of the proposal of one party. For example, let’s say that a dispute called Hot Dog Stand v. City reaches an appellate court over whether a hot dog is a sandwich, and thus subject to regulation in a large city. Let’s also suppose that the Hot Dog Stand owners might make two arguments: 1) that a hot dog is not a sandwich under the statute in question; or in the alternative, that even though a hot dog meets the definition of a sandwich under the statute, 2) that all regulation of sandwiches is unconstitutional under the state or federal constitution. What would a group of sandwich shops who are watching this case think? They might have a strong interest in asking the court for permission to file an amicus brief detailing the negative impact of regulations on their industry and asking the court to consider the hot dog shop’s second ruling. They might want to urge the court to rule in such a way as to help them also.

Or let’s consider a fictional case called Sultan of Middle Eastern Nation v. University in America, in which the court is considering whether a foreign ruler has to answer a civil lawsuit in the United States by a private university that claims their invention is being illegally reproduced and sold by the Sultan’s government. A non-profit group disgusted with the Sultan’s actions in his home country may file a brief detailing those abuses, urging the court to make the Sultan answerable here in America. The University can avoid bringing up an argument that will make it look like it is just crusading against the Sultan, but they may be grateful to an “unrelated” party who files such a brief, giving the court more moral support for a favorable ruling for the University.

In the legal industry, there are non-profits whose sole purpose is to advocate on specific issues, jumping into active cases to offer the court well-reasoned commentary on why a certain outcome is preferred. The Innocence Project often files amicus briefs on prisoners’ rights; the ACLU advocates for its views on the separation of church and state; the Alliance Defending Freedom advocates for broader First Amendment protections; and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund looks for opportunities to advocate for broader protections for comic book authors and artists. You get the drift.

Amicus briefs perform an important function in our legal system, giving judges a unique perspective on an issue, and offering support for the rationale of one party or another. They also give non-profits and other groups a voice in our legal system that they might not otherwise enjoy.

At Cornerstone Law Firm, we offer to represent non-profits or other groups who form for the purpose of presenting an argument in an ongoing case of concern in state or federal court. Our appellate attorneys have experience advocating here in Pennsylvania state courts, and in federal courts. If you have an issue you wish to take up, we welcome you to reach out to us to discuss how we can help you be involved in an issue of public concern in the courts.

What To Do If Insurance Denies Your Claim

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What To Do If Insurance Denies Your Claim

When an insurance company denies your claim, what do you do? Should you just accept the insurance claim denial, or, should you fight it? Often times, when dealing with an insurance company to whom you have paid premiums for years, it can feel very frustrating when their denial leaves you feeling like you have few options. At the Cornerstone Law Firm, we help clients every single day who have had an insurance claim denied to determine whether they should challenge the claim in court or otherwise.

There are two major things you should consider if your insurance claim has been denied:

  1. What does your policy actually say?

When you signed up for an insurance policy, you received the full written policy (sometimes several days later in the mail). This policy can be thirty, forty, or even a hundred pages long, and will explain what the insurance company will do in a variety of circumstances and how the claim is to be administered. Does the policy cover what happened in your situation? Is there a provision that they referenced in their denial letter that governs your claim? If so, that provision is the starting point of your inquiry—but it is not the ending point.

  1. What does the law of your State say?

What does the law of your state say about insurance contracts? States have laws and regulations governing insurance contracts. Here in Pennsylvania, the rules include a provision that says that insurance contracts should be construed against the insurance company if there is any question in how the contract should be properly interpreted. The law also says that if a contract for insurance violates the insured’s reasonable understanding of what they were purchasing insurance for, that provision is unenforceable. Thus, even if your insurance policy says that the denial of coverage is proper, that might not be the case.

  1. Speak to an experienced insurance attorney.

If you have received a denial of an insurance claim, you should speak to an experienced attorney to ask them what to do in your situation. The attorneys at the Cornerstone Law Firm have substantial experience dealing with insurance company denials. We help clients to look through their policy to find the provisions at issue, look at the correspondence from the insurance company, and we can help you understand the law governing insurance contracts.

If you have been denied on an insurance claim for your car, house, or anything you may have insured, please call us at 610-926-7875 so that we can help you figure out your next steps.

What do I do if I’m an Executor? An overview of Estate Administration

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When a loved one passes away what are the responsibilities that you have as the next of kin in regards to estate administration? In this post, I want to take the opportunity to give you an overview of the process, and to help you prepare for what you’ll expect in meeting with an Estate Administration attorney.

  1. Marshalling the Assets

The first step in Estate Administration is marshalling the assets of the Deceased. They may have investments, stocks, bonds, IRAs, life insurance policies, 401ks and other retirement accounts, as well as bank accounts, trust funds, real property, personal property and other items of value. The Executor—that is, the individual charged with administrating the estate—will have to pull together information about each of these assets in order to assist the attorneys to make intelligent decisions about how to handle these matters. As part of marshalling the assets, there need to be appraisals done on certain items. Particularly where a business fixture or piece of equipment is difficult to value, appraisers will need to be brought in to give an opinion of the fair market value of such an item. This is true even of items that will be claimed by members of the family. Perhaps a ring or other family heirloom will be passed down to a daughter as part of her share the estate. Nonetheless, there will usually need to be an appraisal done to determine what portion of her share of the estate will be diminished by her taking that item of value instead of money.

  1. Filing Tax Returns

They say there are two things you cannot avoid in life: death and taxes and this is particularly true at death when you have to pay more taxes. Despite the fact that an individual has had to pay income tax their whole life, they will usually have to pay an estate tax when they pass away. Even when the estate itself is not taxed, frequently the amount that is passed to the non-spouse will have to be taxed. This includes those items of value discussed earlier. Inheritance tax must be assessed, and an Inheritance Tax Return (REV-1500) must be filed within a tight time period with the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. It is important to be diligent about preparing to file the tax return. Filing a tax return within three months brings a discount on the overall tax that has to be paid. In large estates, this discount can be a substantial amount of money. Accordingly, it is important to move quickly to prepare and file this tax return.

  1. Distribution of Assets

After all the assets have been marshalled, valued and the taxes have been paid, it is time to distribute the assets from the estate. Distribution of the assets happens according to the Decedent’s Last Will and Testament, or, if there is no Will, according to laws governing intestate succession. This is the part you’re probably most familiar with, and of course, it’s the part where the Executor is rewarded for his hard work in administering the estate.

Conclusion: What to Do if You’ve been Named an Executor

When a loved one passes away, it is best not to delay decisions about the estate. Probating the Will, if necessary, and marshaling and distributing the assets must occur, and the sooner it occurs the more money that will be able to be passed to the heirs. If you have questions in regards to Estate Administration or if a loved one has recently passed away and you need help administrating their estate, call Cornerstone Law Firm and let us know how we can help you.