Car Accident Archives - Wisconsin Attorneys Schober Schober & Mitchell, S.C.

The insurance company for the driver who caused the car accident wants to talk to me. What should I do?

December 19, 2016 Thomas Schober

Generally, it is not in the best interest of the injured party to talk to the other driver’s insurance company representative. [In fact, if might not be wise to talk to your own insurance company without an attorney if the other driver is underinsured.

The representative of the other party’s insurance company is going to be looking at two things:

Determine ways to minimize the fault on the part of their insured, and
to find ways to minimize the injury and amount of recovery.

When the injured party is contacted by the insurance company they should indicate to the claims representative that they want the opportunity to talk to an attorney first. You should ask for the claims representative’s name, claim number, telephone number, and then seek the assistance of a qualified attorney.

What if it’s too late and the insurance company already recorded a statement from me?

There’s no right to an attorney during a recorded interview with the insurance company for the person who injured you in a car accident, but there is a right to say no.

If the insurance company is balking at a fair resolution to a claim, I will at times have my client interviewed. It is no different than what would happen in a deposition after a lawsuit is filed. I would try to settle the claim without the need for a lawsuit. However, under those relatively uncommon situations, I will always be present.

Therefore, contact an attorney as soon as possible and they will ask for audio copies of the interview review it and then talk to you.

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What if the police report says I was responsible for the car accident ?

November 22, 2016 Thomas Schober

Q: Is the case lost if the police report says that I caused the auto accident?

Not necessarily. The police officer is coming to conclusions based on the information provided, and their experience. Usually, the police officer may rely on what someone said, and it may not be accurate. It’s not a lost cause if the police report indicates that the incident may have been the claimant’s fault because the police officer may, himself, be wrong in reaching that conclusion.

However, it certainly does create a situation where at least one person who is supposed to be experienced has come to a conclusion based on the information that they have available based on their experience. Every effort has to be considered to identify the ways in which an accurate depiction of what happened can be determined. That can be done by identifying any witnesses and then to have someone follow up with the witnesses.

The claimant should never be the one to follow up with the witnesses, but someone on behalf of the claimant, an experienced car accident attorney or investigator, to determine whether the conclusion that the police officer reached was accurate.

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What if I’m partially responsible for the auto accident?

November 12, 2016 Thomas Schober

Wisconsin is a “comparative negligence” state. In fact, it is common for claimants are found to be some percentage at fault in an auto accident.

At the end of the trial, one of the questions asked of the jury is whether the claimant and the defendant were both at fault. If the answer is “yes”, even partially, then the jury attributes a percentage of negligence to the claimant and to the defendant who caused the incident.

The jury isn’t told this, but when they go home, in essence the judge says, “OK, Mr. Claimant, you are found 15% at fault, and (for propose of example) the jury awarded you $100,000. You don’t recover for your fault. So, I’m diminishing your recovery by $15,000, and the judgment for you is $85,000.” That reduction in percentage of negligence continues to the point of 50% each. Under Wisconsin law, if you’re 51% or more at fault, you recover nothing. The theory of the law in Wisconsin is if you’re more at fault in causing the auto accident you recover nothing.

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Schober Schober & Mitchell, S.C. prides itself in providing quality legal services at reasonable rates and is dedicated to serving all its clients’ legal needs. When you have a legal matter involving New Berlin real estate, please contact us. We have three convenient locations in New Berlin, Oconomowoc and Racine.

Types of Damages From Car Accident Injuries

November 3, 2016 Thomas Schober

There are many types of damages from car accident injuries. I always break damages down into two categories objective and subjective damages.

Objective damages include:

damage to vehicles or personal property in the vehicle such as lost eyeglasses, damaged personal property
loss of earnings (that includes not only loss of past and present earnings, but also loss of benefits. If the injury reduces the capacity of the person’s earnings because the injury is significant, there would also be a claim for loss of future earnings)
medical expenses.

Subjective damages include:

pain and suffering (past, present, and if it’s continuing, future pain and suffering. It is the future pain and suffering that requires a doctor’s testimony as to the existence of continuing future pain and how long it’s expected to last including to the point of being permanent)
embarrassment because of visible injuries/scarring
loss of quality of life

Pain and Suffering Damages

The damages may include embarrassment caused by scarring or loss of part of the body, for example, a finger, nose, or ear. It also includes loss of enjoyment in quality of life.

In addition, there are claims for loss of society and companionship. That is the inability to in the past, present, and potentially in the future do things with a family member or spouse. That’s not limited only to marital relationships, and to sexual or intimate relations, but it extends to the fun things people do together.

As an example, inability to go on vacations or hike, snowmobile etc. that the claimant and family/friends used to do, all result in a significant loss of enjoyment and quality of life.

Is “loss of society” measured by the loss of enjoyment by the other family member, or is it still personal to the claimant?

“Loss of society” refers to personal injury damages that result from the loss of companionship between loved ones when one of the two of them is disabled or disfigured in some way.

It is both. For the injured party it is the loss of the ability to engage in the relationship and what it adds to their quality of life, and also for the family member who lost the ability to do things with their injured spouse/family member.

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Punitive Damages in Personal Injury Cases

September 12, 2016 Thomas Schober

In Wisconsin, punitive damages in personal injury cases are limited and are not available in a negligence action arising from the typical automobile accident. Punitives are available in intentional tort situations; in situations such as when the accident is caused by a drunk driver. While there was not an attempt to hurt anyone, the risk that was created by driving drunk is that it is treated as more than mere negligence essentially as intentional conduct.

If punitive damages are awarded with insurance companies cover it?

Insurance companies only cover negligence. Most insurance policies exclude punitives.

Recovering punitive damages in a personal injury lawsuit

The only way to recover for punitive damages is by filing a lawsuit. A lawsuit must be filed for the injuries that occurred and for compensatory damages as discussed earlier. If there is to be a claim for punitive damages it has to be stated up front in the lawsuit papers.

Considering the implications, an important decision has to be made. If the responsible party doesn’t have significant assets, their only hope is to recover through a negligence claim to involve their insurance company.