Harrell and Harrell's Personal Injury law blog » attorneys

Auto Insurance – Do you have the right coverage?

admin — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:44:52 +0000

Most people have no idea what kind of insurance they have until AFTER they get into an auto accident. Every state is different when it comes to required coverages for your automobile. Florida is considered a “NO-Fault” state because of our required coverage or lack thereof. People call us all day long and tell me until they are blue in the face that they have full coverage. The definition of full coverage varies greatly from caller to caller. Have you ever heard the saying – you can never have enough insurance? What kind of insurance should you have?

The answer to that question also varies tremendously. In my opinion, the most important coverage you can carry in Florida is UM or under/uninsured motorist coverage. How do you know if you carry any or enough of this coverage? Find out BEFORE you have a car accident. Call your insurance company or agent to have them clearly explain to you what type of coverage you have and then ask them what you don’t have. Run through different scenarios in your head to double check that you have not just the state mandated coverage but the coverage to give you and your family peace of mind in the event of an auto accident related injury. If you need some help, give us a call. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard almost every possible scenario you could dream up.

www.harrellandharrell.com

Stroller recalled – amputation danger

admin — Fri, 13 May 2011 13:47:34 +0000

This is a re-announcement of a voluntary recall by the US CPSC and McLaren USA, Inc. These strollers were recalled in November of 2009 because the hinge in the stroller had caused 15 separate personal injury incidents, 12 of which involved fingertip amputation. Since the recall there have been 37 additional incidents involving the dangerous hinge on this faulty product.

Over one million of these strollers were produced. The recall involves all McLaren single and double umbrella strollers.

If you or your child were seriously injured by this defective product or any other defective product, please contact us.

www.harrellandharrell.com

Fire danger – portable heater

admin — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 15:16:58 +0000

The US CPSCin conjunction with Lasko Products has issued a recall of over 100,000 portable heaters due to a faulty electrical connection. This recall caught my eye because I have one out on my back porch for all my animals.

Thirty-six reports were received by Lasko of the faulty electrical connection overheating. Luckily, no personal injury has been reported in conjunction with the reports received by Lasko.

Contact Lasko for a free replacement heater. Stop using the defective product immediately.

For all your personal injury and social security needs, please contact the injury team at Harrell & Harrell, PA

Not Again Toyota

admin — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 16:45:16 +0000

They are at it again – Toyota Motor Co that is!

Toyota is recalling another 1.7 million vehicles worldwide in addition to the huge number of already recalled automobiles over the last couple of years. Their recall is for a potentially dangerous fuel leak issue.

For further info from the manufacturer – click here. If you have been injured in any way due to the defective Toyota products or any other defective product, feel free to call us or contact us online.

www.harrellandharrell.com

Social Security checks

admin — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 15:20:05 +0000

A quick update from our lead Social Security attorney, Mark Papa, in our Jacksonville office on the phasing out of paper checks by the Social Security Administration (SSA).

The SSA has settled on the dates when Social Security recipients will no longer be able to receive their benefits by mail.

New recipients will have to accept paperless payments starting May1, 2011, three months later than originally proposed.

Those already receiving Social Security benefits will have until March1, 2013 to make to make the switch to either direct deposit or debit card.

The SSA estimates that $1 billion will be saved over the next decade from phasing out paper checks.

The Social Security Administration will allow people who are 90 and over to continue receiving paper checks.

If we can assist you with your claim for SSD or SSI, please contact us.

Similac Recall

admin — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:10:12 +0000

We have had a few calls recently regarding the voluntary recall of certain Similac formulas. Please check to see if you have any of the recalled formula in your house. I certainly would not want my infant eating crushed up beetle parts. Do you??

Here’s a link to the recall information. If our injury attorneys can be of any assistance please contact us via phone or e-mail.

www.harrellandharrell.com

Want lower auto insurance premiums?

admin — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 15:41:21 +0000

UPDATE – Looks like this might have been stopped through a “point of order” but I’m guessing they’ll find a way to get it back on the table. Stay tuned!

Yesterday, the Florida Senate Banking and Insurance Committee amended a proposed sinkhole coverage bill to amend your no fault auto or PIP coverage. PIP coverage currently provides, without regard to fault, medical and lost wage benefits to all drivers in Florida who are injured in auto accidents. The amendment allows auto insurance companies to offer “preferred provider” coverage for a premium discount. Sounds good. We all would like lower insurance premiums but at what price otherwise?

Who will pick the medical providers, the insurance company? Sounds like our wonderful workers’ compensation laws. Have you ever had to see a work comp approved doctor? All the horror stories I hear can’t all be wrong. So for a decreased premium, you get an insurance company approved doctor who says no medical treatment is necessary or only limited treatment is necessary. Who do you want picking your treating doctor… You, or your insurance company???? I vote to keep my choices as my choices.

The law today is that you can go to any medical professional you want for treatment and for a reduced premium ( yet to be defined)… you will give up that right and will be limited to whomever your insurance company says is a preferred provider. The insurance companies question lawyers about who they send their clients to for treatment which in some cases I understand but they shouldn’t be allowed to have it their way, using their doctors, and not be questioned themselves.

Thanks to attorney Don Black for bringing this to my attention.

Millions awarded in Whistleblower lawsuit

admin — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 15:33:30 +0000

Imagine being scared to tell your employer about something dangerous or illegal going on in the workplace for fear of being fired. Well it happens everyday in big cities like New York at large corporations or smaller cities, like Jacksonville, whether or not you work for a large company or small.

Thankfully there are whistleblower statutes in place to protect the employee. It’s not going out on a limb to say that the employer still has the upper hand since they monitor and control so much of today’s electronic data that flies around the internet and company networks. Most larger companies also have vast amounts of resources (money) to keep these lawsuits from ever getting off the ground.

Here’s a success story from the NY Times about a recent whistleblower lawsuit. Luckily, there are trial lawyers out there still willing to risk their time and money to represent clients on a contingent fee basis and front the costs of pursuing these cases.

If we can help, give us a call at 800-251-1111

www.harrellandharrell.com

Don’t sign away your rights

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:55:51 +0000

As corporations become more and more fearful of lawsuits stemming from their own negligence, they continue to try to protect themselves by making their customers and clients sign arbitration agreements as part of their contracts. These arbitration agreements eliminate the right for you to bring your case in front of a judge and jury if you’ve been injured due to a corporation’s negligence.

The Boston Herald recently did a story on nursing homes that take advantage of some of our most at-risk citizens by urging seniors to sign complex nursing home contracts with arbitration agreements tucked away inside. This means that the nursing home is less likely to pay for gross negligence or outright abuse of its patients because arbitration agreements almost always result in lower awards for victims and less legal fees for the facility.

Harrell & Harrell has experienced nursing home abuse lawyers in Jacksonville that can talk to you about your case if you or a loved one have been the victim of nursing home abuse. Please contact us by phone or send us an e-mail if you have any questions.

Recalled or not

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:41:50 +0000

In the midst of all the automotive recalls, it is getting difficult to say the least to determine if the car you drive has been affected. If it’s a Toyota there’s a real good chance that you have a problem even if the car was taken in for service. GM and Nissan are also culprits.

Here’s an easy way to find out. Just click on THIS LINK and enter the pertinent information to determine if your car is one of the many being recalled for safety and design flaws.