COVID-19 Update: How We Are Serving and Protecting Our Clients.

Articles Posted in Personal Injury

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Huntsville Accident & Injury LawyersIn recent months, we’ve been asked numerous times whether or not companies can require employees to be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. When I last checked a few days ago, the vaccination rate in Alabama was below 30%. That low rate puts Alabama near the bottom of states. With such a low rate of vaccination, many healthcare professionals remain very concerned about spikes in COVID-19 infections. We can do much better.

Will more companies try to require coronavirus vaccinations? If COVID-19 cases start increasing significantly, I suspect we will see many more companies begin requiring vaccinations. Companies with offices and plants across the United States may also establish general company-wide policies related to vaccinations.

Do We Have Any Clear Legal Guidance Concerning COVID-19 Vaccinations?

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Advocacy-300x300Last week, I was speaking with a friend who is a local doctor. At one point, we started discussing carpal tunnel syndrome due to car accidents. While most people think repetitive activities when they think carpal tunnel syndrome, that’s not always the case.

I’ve had numerous clients suffer traumatic carpal tunnel syndrome from car accidents. Typically, these drivers were gripping the steering wheel when involved in a frontal impact. The impact force on their hands and arms causes injuries. I’ve developed medical testimony in several car accident injury cases related to carpal tunnel syndrome.

We were discussing various injuries that are often overlooked. Afterwards, my friend Dr. Eric Beck mentioned the issue in his blog. Since then, I have been thinking about the lawyers who sign-up a huge volume of car accident claims for quick settlement and how they often fail their clients by not looking at all the damages and injuries. I thought I would mention a couple ways these settlement mill accident lawyers fail their seriously injured clients.

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On April 26, I wrote a distracted driving post discussing changes due to the coronavirus pandemic. In my post, I asked if drivers were really zooming and driving at the same time. It’s hard to believe somebody would attend a zoom meeting while also driving!

Less than two weeks after my post, a real incident made the news. It’s even worse than imagined. The distracted driver was actually a state legislator. And, he was attending a legislative meeting by zoom while driving. You can read my prior post at:

Zooming And Driving? Did The Pandemic Make Distracted Driving Worse?

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Alabama Personal Injury AttorneysThe Claims Journal recently published an article titled Traffic Returning to Roadways, But Claims Patterns May Shift Permanently. I frequently read the articles on their website — You can learn some fascinating traffic and claim research straight from insurance sources.

The article raises some interesting issues. Will post-pandemic traffic return to pre-pandemic levels? Will the shutdowns from the coronavirus cause lasting changes in our driving habits? Will our roads be safer or more dangerous after the pandemic? We may not fully learn the answers to these questions for months or years.

Some insurance companies are already predicting Americans will drive less on a permanent basis. Other researchers are predicting rush-hour driving will permanently decrease with telework and drivers staggering their trips to different times.

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Untitled-design-2-300x300During the month of April, safety groups focus on the issue of Distracted Driving. Nationwide, April is commonly referred to as Distracted Driving Awareness Month. At our office, distracted driving is a year-round focus. Many of our accident and injury cases involve distracted driving. While most involve a cell phone, not all do.

Has the coronavirus pandemic impacted distracted driving?

During the COVID-19 shutdowns, our roads saw far fewer cars. With school closures and remote workers, morning traffic in Huntsville looked very different. Pre-COVID, traffic coming into Huntsville over Monte Sano was bumper-to-bumper during rush hour. Not so during the shutdowns!

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Alabama Accident & Injury AttorneysAnother driver crashed into you. You are hurt and need help. Maybe you tried to deal with the adjuster yourself but have become frustrated! Maybe the adjuster made promises but now won’t return your phone calls. Should you consult a car accident attorney? I’ve written about that issue previously. If your injuries are minor (nothing beyond the ER) and the other driver is clearly at-fault, you can often settle those claims without a lawyer and save yourself money. The billboard and television lawyers begging for you to call will never tell you that. But, then again, those lawyers leave many clients with nothing in the end. If your injuries are significant (more than just a visit to the emergency room) or liability is disputed, a good lawyer can often make a big difference.

I’ve written several articles on this blog providing tips to help you in choosing the right Alabama personal injury attorney for your case. I won’t rehash all of them in this post. If you want some tips, search my archives.

If you suffered serious injuries, a good car accident attorney may be able to significantly increase the value of your case. If you required treatment beyond the emergency room, missed time at work or suffered a lingering injury, you should definitely talk with a skilled attorney. By skilled, I mean a lawyer who regularly prepares these cases for trial — Not the attorneys you see on billboards or the attorneys who handle everything.

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Blackwell Law Firm helps people with serious personal injury claimsOver the last year, we’ve all worried about COVID-19. The pandemic has affected every part of our lives. Family. Health. Work. Social Activities. Many families are struggling with the loss of a loved one. Many businesses and industries have also been devastated. But, one industry seems to be booming around Huntsville. That industry? Road construction.

A quick Google search produces numerous articles detailing the growth boom across northern Alabama. Many businesses and government agencies are planning moves to the Huntsville area. An al.com article in June 2020 notes how Huntsville started the last decade as the 4th largest city in Alabama but is expected to become the largest city within the next two years.

With growth comes increasing infrastructure demands. That means new construction. You can see new hotel and parking deck construction projects all around our office in downtown Huntsville. At its heart, infrastructure means roads. Throughout the Huntsville, Decatur and Athens area, you also see almost constant road construction. Road crews are working to build the additional infrastructure needed for expected growth. These crews have remained busy throughout the pandemic.

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Alabama Accident & Injury LawyersLast week, Madison County re-started civil jury trials. After months of coronavirus shutdowns, it’s nice to be back at the courthouse. Now, I’m not writing to debate the wisdom of re-opening or not. I’m OK waiting longer for more vaccinations. Public health and safety should be our top priority. As a community, we should each take the steps needed to protect our neighbors. But, again, I’m not writing about the issue of shutdowns.

When the court did re-open this week in Huntsville, one of our car accident injury cases was number one on the docket. First up for trial! We prepare our personal injury cases. We’ve been prepared in this Huntsville accident case for months. Ready to go. It was good to finish the case for our client. Our client patiently waited through recent months as have so many other people.

Maybe you are asking — Why did the case not settle? While most cases eventually settle, some do not. Sometimes, cases should not settle. Maybe the insurance company adjuster ignored the extent of injuries or damages. Maybe the insurance company is taking advantage of courthouse closures to delay and deny justice.

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Huntsville Accident & Injury Lawyers / Blackwell Law FirmI watched the wheelchair move slowly down the middle of the road. I often saw the same wheelchair as I drove home from my Huntsville office. Frequently, the wheelchair was in the middle of the road, with no lights, after dark. I worried that someone unfamiliar with the roadway may not expect or see him. It was a dangerous situation.

What if an accident occurs? What if a driver hit the wheelchair? How is the wheelchair classified? Pedestrian or Motor Vehicle?

I know, lawyers parse terms. Lawyers argue details. Lawyers harp on legal classifications. Only a lawyer would openly ponder whether someone was classified as pedestrian or motor vehicle. Yet, in Alabama accident cases, the distinction can be very important. Very important. The rules for pedestrians and cars are very different.

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Untitled-design-6-300x300Congress is considering legislation to protect people with health insurance from receiving “surprise” medical charges. You know, the huge charges for receiving medical care out of your insurance company’s network. The proposed legislation would stop exorbitant and surprise emergency charges from out-of-network doctors and hospitals.

How Do Exorbitant Out-Of-Network Medical Charges Impact Alabama Accident Victims?

You have to laugh at some of the “legal” blogs ghostwritten by marketing people for law firms. They follow a formula. Step 1, express “horror” over some problem or injustice. Step 2, build-up the problem. Step 3, carefully avoid providing any information that would educate consumers. Otherwise, they may not call. Step 4, tell the reader he or she needs to call you as the keeper of solutions. Step 5, stuff the blog post with keywords that have nothing to do with the topic but may be important to your legal services. I disagree with this “formula.” I think blog posts should be authentic and should provide real information or opinions.

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