Harrell and Harrell's Personal Injury law blog » attorneys

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.

www.harrellandharrell.com

Recalled children’s silverware

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:59:29 +0000

The CPSC and Peachtree Playthings of Atlanta, Ga are working together on the voluntary recall of a faulty fork and spoon set. The recalled designs are Scooby Doo, Tweety and Batman Fork and Spoon Sets. The middle two prongs have been found to break off and pose an immediate choking hazard to children. The fork and spoon sets were sold at Dollar Tree Stores during January 2010 and were manufactured in China. If you have these fork and spoon sets, take them away from children immediately and return them for a full refund. A picture of the recalled items can be found on this link.

Motorcycle safety

admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:49:49 +0000

With our recent warm spell this weekend, I was quickly reminded of the number of motorcycles that share our North Florida roads. My kids and I actually had a contest to see who could count the most as we drove around town. Now that the weather has turned cold again I am pretty sure that some of the less avid bikers may put the hog back in the garage. The cold won’t last long (or at least I hope not) and they will all be out in full force enjoying our fabulous spring time weather.

Just as motorists look out for other motorists, we should always look out for others sharing the roadways – motorcyclists and cyclists alike. Check that blind-spot carefully and maintain traffic awareness at all times. The roads aren’t getting any less crowded but we can keep them safe by practicing safe driving. Be patient – I’d rather be 2 minutes late for something than be involved in a traffic accident and potentially injure someone or be injured myself.

LOOK TWICE – SAVE A LIFE

www.harrellandharrell.com

Gas prices got you down

admin — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:50:16 +0000

I keep on hoping that gas prices will go back down towards two dollars but I am thinking those days are well behind us. At least I am not paying five dollars per gallon for diesel in my truck anymore. It would get really aggravating when the pump would shut off it cost too much to fill up. One time I had to reactivate the pump three times with my credit card just to fill it up.

One of our Jacksonville injury lawyers, Greg Schlax, sent me a link to a Department of Energy website that gives some fuel saving tips and other useful information. Check it out!

Harrell & Harrell – your Jacksonville peronal injury team.

Don’t settle for less than you deserve!

Crib recall due to infant deaths

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:07:23 +0000

I saw this on the news last night and also received an e-mail from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) about the recent crib recall. Here’s the link to the recall. Three strangulations have been reported due to the faulty crib’s design. It urges parents to stop using the cribs immediately and do not attempt to fix them.

Please contact us by phone or send us an e-mail if you have any questions.

www.harrellandharrell.com

Recalled strollers – finger amputation hazard

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:15:24 +0000

One of the strollers recalled

Graco has recalled over 1.5 million strollers after reports of 7 children being injured with the opening and closing of the stroller canopy. Five of those children suffered amputations due to the defective hinge, 2 received lacerations. Here’s the link to the Consumer Product Safety Commission notice (CPSC) – stroller recall. It lists all the applicable model #’s affected by the recall.

www.harrellandharrell.com

Full coverage auto insurance

admin — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:51:37 +0000

I can’t count the number of times a potential client has called and told me they had full coverage for car insurance only to find out they had the bare bones State of Florida required coverage PIP & PD or as most people say PIP and liability. They just have no idea what that means in reality and are shocked when they learn what it does or doesn’t do.

Sadly, most people don’t learn anything about their auto insurance until AFTER they have been injured in a car accident and they call an attorney.

Don’t wait until it’s too late to learn what you have or worse yet – DON’T have on your auto insurance policy. Call Harrell and Harrell for your free consultation or submit your questions through our website at www.harrellandharrell.com

We would be glad to explain what your insurance company or agent has never taken the time to explain or you have just never bothered listening to the details. Some insurance quotes are cheaper for a reason – less valuable coverage!

Don’t settle for less than you deserve!