I’d have to read it to tell you, but it probably tells your lawyer to pay him when he settles the case. And if it does, that part of it is unenforceable.

A lot of people – including many medical doctors – think chiropractors provide valuable care.

But they can have trouble getting insurance companies – both health insurance and auto insurance – to recognize the effectiveness of their treatment. And large bills from chiropractors are often challenged by patients and insurance companies.

So in order to make sure they got paid, about 10 years ago – maybe more – chiropractors started making their car accident patients sign contracts. The documents basically instructed the patients’ lawyers – and the auto insurance companies – to pay the chiropractor his entire bill out of the settlement proceeds of the personal injury case.

Three years ago, the Ohio Supreme Court held these contracts were not enforceable. The chiropractor can’t make your lawyer or the insurance company hold his money out of the settlement proceeds without first suing you and obtaining a judgment. The name of the case is West Broad Chiropractic v. American Family Insurance.

You still might owe the chiropractor everything he says you do. But the chiropractor can’t make the insurance company – or your lawyer – hold it out of your settlement distribution.

And that gives your lawyer a little leverage if you want to negotiate with him.

I have been a lawyer over 30 years. It’s important to know about all the law that affects my clients. If you’ve been injured in an accident, talk with an experienced Cincinnati Personal Injury Attorney about the case. Call me, William Strubbe, at 513-621-4775.

Because all situations are different, and because there may be other facts pertaining to your case that I don’t know about, you should not rely on this answer for legal advice. I am not your attorney, and no lawyer client relationship has been formed.

Do I Have To Keep Going To The Same Doctor Just So The Insurance Company Will Believe Me? I’m Not Getting Better.

Your choice of doctors should always be controlled by concern for your health.

If you are not getting better, you should do whatever you think you have to do to get better. If this means changing doctors, you should do it.

A problem that can happen is that the insurance company can accuse you of “doctor shopping”, or changing doctors to hide earlier injuries. So if you think you have a good doctor, it makes sense to stick with him.

Some doctors are good at treating patients, but are not especially effective as witnesses.

And some doctors – particularly specialists – are reluctant to give professional opinions as to their patient’s recovery and ability to perform certain tasks. They say – and they are sincere – that their job is not to perform evaluations for lawsuits, but to treat patients.

In either situation, I might recommend an examination and records review by a doctor retained specifically for this purpose. This can be expensive, but it can be very helpful.

I have been a lawyer over 30 years. I do whatever I can to help my clients – but this usually does not involve making health care recommendations. If you’ve been injured in an accident, talk with an experienced Cincinnati Injury Lawyer about the case. Call me, William Strubbe, at 513-621-4775.

Because all situations are different, and because there may be other facts pertaining to your case that I don’t know about, you should not rely on this answer for legal advice. I am not your attorney, and no lawyer client relationship has been formed.

This is a bad idea.

The new doctor will ask about your treatment history.

If you tell him the truth, the insurance company will learn about it from the new doctor’s records, because they won’t settle the case without seeing the records.

If you don’t tell the new doctor about the prior injury, you will be lying. Because the insurance company will want your “background” medical records for nearly all injuries – these will include your family doctor’s records, and whatever the hospital will provide – the insurance company will probably learn about the prior injury anyway.

Worse, they will be able to establish that you were lying and doctor shopping.

You are much better off starting your treatment for the “new” injury with your “old” doctor. If you tell him about the differences between the old injury and the new symptoms, he is a lot more likely to back you up with the insurance company.

It is entirely appropriate to go to a new doctor for a number of reasons – a change in insurance coverage, a different type of specialist, or maybe you are not happy with your care.

I have been a lawyer over 30 years. Insurance companies are like that old line from a commercial about margarine: “Remember, you can’t fool Mother Nature.” It’s pretty tough to fool insurance companies – they know too much, and what they don’t know they’ll pay to find out. If you’ve been injured in an accident, talk with an experienced Cincinnati Injury Lawyer about the case. Call me, William Strubbe, at 513-621-4775.

Because all situations are different, and because there may be other facts pertaining to your case that I don’t know about, you should not rely on this answer for legal advice. I am not your attorney, and no lawyer client relationship has been formed.

From a practical standpoint, this is a case that I won’t take if I know about it. If someone has information that relates to the lawsuit that they don’t want to disclose, it usually winds up being trouble for everyone on their side.

Because there is something you have to realize:

If the insurance company wants to find out badly enough, it probably will any way. Because they don’t have to give you any money until (1) they want to or (2) a jury makes them.

If the insurance company sees a “gap” in the records provided, it will ask about it. If suit has been filed, the court will make you sign an authorization that lets the insurance company ask your doctor for his records, and let it see whatever it wants.

Here is what I do; if I think prior treatment records will be a factor, I get as many prior treatment records as I can before I even ask the insurance company for any money. I read the records, and try to anticipate whether most jurors will think the prior treatment relates to the injuries that my client wants compensation for.

And if it’s pretty clear that there’s no relationship, I supply certified copies of the records to the other side, as soon as possible.

But if the records show that the injury might have started before the accident, I talk with my client about it, and we decide together what to do next together. If there’s going to be a lawsuit, the insurance company is going to see every document it wants to see, and it’s stupid – not to mention dishonest and impractical – to play “hide and seek.”

How do I know if the other insurance company will be curious about prior treatment? If it’s obvious that the injury resulted from the accident –like death, paralysis, or immediate surgery – it may get a “pass” from the other insurance company.

The insurance company will want to look at prior records before they decide whether to give credit for most other injuries – especially neck, back, and most joint injuries.

And finally, if the insurance company asks for something, you give it to them. Because if they don’t know enough to satisfy them, they don’t pay.

I have been a lawyer over 30 years. I won’t take a case if I know going in my client wants me to fool someone. If you’ve been injured in an accident, talk with an experienced Cincinnati Personal Injury Lawyer about the case. Call me, William Strubbe, at 513-621-4775.

Because all situations are different, and because there may be other facts pertaining to your case that I don’t know about, you should not rely on this answer for legal advice. I am not your attorney, and no lawyer client relationship has been formed.

Nothing sells like a big wreck.

No matter how extensive your personal injuries are, the jury – and any insurance adjuster – has to be able to understand the relationship between the accident and how you’re hurt.

Whenever I have a trial, the first thing I show the jury is a picture of the cars after the wreck. Even if the damage isn’t that extensive, it’s important to let them see what happened.

If the picture shows a lot of property damage, the jury will forgive a lot – maybe even treatment for the same problem up to a month before your accident. Even if the jury doesn’t find a relationship between the accident and the injury, they at least confront themselves over the issue of significant property damage.

With a fender bender, the jury usually just assumes that the driver is supposed to shake off the accident, and go about his normal business. But a big wreck will let them believe that just about any conceivable injuries were caused by the accident.

I have been a lawyer over 30 years. Nothing is a cakewalk in a personal injury trial – you can’t assume the jury will be on your side. If you’ve been injured in an accident, talk with an experienced Cincinnati Personal Injury Lawyer about the case. Call me, William Strubbe, at 513-621-4775.

Because all situations are different, and because there may be other facts pertaining to your case that I don’t know about, you should not rely on this answer for legal advice. I am not your attorney, and no lawyer client relationship has been formed.

Your Medpay can probably pay you cash.

Medical payments coverage (medpay) is car insurance coverage that pays the medical bills caused by a car accident, up to a limit.

Some policies have no medpay coverage – it’s not required. Some policies have limits of $25,000.00.

You get your medpay benefits by telling your car insurance company that you want to submit a claim under it after the accident. The insurance company usually makes the payments directly to the doctor.

But it probably doesn’t have to. It depends on policy language, but I’ve never seen a policy saying that the insurance company can only make payments to the doctor.

Which means that if you ask, the insurance company will make the payments directly to you.

Of course, there’s a catch. The language also says that when you settle with the guy who caused the accident – really, his insurance company – you have to pay the medpay insurance company back.

There are otherreasons not to take direct payment of the medpay money. When you settle the case, you not only have to pay back what you received in Medpay, you have to pay your lawyer, as well as your health insurance company for what it paid your doctors. (I’m talking about the health insurance company that is paid for out of your job, if you are lucky enough to have a job that provides insurance.) If you don’t have health insurance, you have to pay your doctors.

So if you take the money from the Medpay insurer, when you settle the case, you might have to pay back the Medpay, your health insurance your doctor, and your lawyer. That might not leave much left for you.

In other words, your happy settlement day might not seem so happy. But the flip side is that if you need money now, you need it now.

I have been a lawyer over 30 years. I have this discussion with a lot of clients. If you’ve been injured in an accident, talk with an experienced Cincinnati Injury Attorney about the case. Call me, William Strubbe, at 513-621-4775.

Because all situations are different, and because there may be other facts pertaining to your case that I don’t know about, you should not rely on this answer for legal advice. I am not your attorney, and no lawyer client relationship has been formed.

Ohio requires car owners to carry liability insurance against personal injury with minimum limits of $12,500 per person, or a total of $25,000 per accident. They also have to carry property damage liability of $7,500 per accident.

Which is basically nothing. $12,500 pays for an emergency room visit, a visit to a specialist, and about one to two months of physical therapy. If you are lucky.

Why doesn’t the state make them carry higher limits? Because the insurance companies don’t want to require higher limits – that would mean higher premiums, which would drive people out of the market. A lot more drivers would go uninsured.

The factual analysis is probably correct, but I think it’s wrong. If people can’t afford to pay for enough insurance – and we all make mistakes – they shouldn’t be driving at all. Period.

What is your best way of making sure you have enough insurance to cover your damages?

Ask your agent for a quote on uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage. If the other driver doesn’t have insurance, your UM/UIM insurer will stand in the place of the other driver.

I have been a lawyer over 30 years. I have testified in the Ohio legislature that Ohio’s liability limits should be raised. Twice. If you’ve been injured in an accident, talk with an experienced Cincinnati Personal Injury Lawyer about the case. Call me, William Strubbe, at 513-621-4775.

Because all situations are different, and because there may be other facts pertaining to your case that I don’t know about, you should not rely on this answer for legal advice. I am not your attorney, and no lawyer client relationship has been formed.

Sometimes, they hire me. In fact, I’ve done legal work for three other lawyers in the past month.

Over the past few years, I’ve been asked to provide ethical advice to other lawyers, helping them determine what to do in certain situations. Two asked me to help get court approval for their fees . (In certain cases, lawyers need court approval before they are paid.)

Others have asked me to work for them in fee disputes with (former) clients.

I’ve represented attorneys accused of violating the Rules of Professional Conduct. (They were innocent, and the charges were dropped after I had communicated with the authorities).

Other lawyers have asked me for advice in complying with the Rules.

Unfortunately, this is not always “black and white”; sooner or later, most attorneys run into a situation they weren’t ready for, and couldn’t reasonably anticipate.

But lawyers – as a rule – are honest people. Their word is their bond – if only because if you can’t trust them, you can’t do business with them.

And lawyers tend to be pretty reasonable in their business practices.

So I enjoy working for other attorneys. It’s a very small part of my business – but I can usually help, and my work is appreciated.

I have been a lawyer over 30 years. I hesitate to call myself a “lawyer’s lawyer”, but I couldn’t be prouder of the fact that my friends choose me to work for them.

If you’ve been injured in an accident, talk with an experienced Cincinnati Personal Injury Attorney about the case. Call me, William Strubbe, at 513-621-4775.

Because all situations are different, and because there may be other facts pertaining to your case that I don’t know about, you should not rely on this answer for legal advice. I am not your attorney, and no lawyer client relationship has been formed.

How Do I Know What Doctor To Call?

If you have a good relationship with your family doctor, call him or her.

If you don’ t have a family doctor, go to the emergency room.

If you don’t have insurance, go to any doctor who will see you on credit.

I try to avoid recommending doctors to my clients, even though I can usually suggest several who I think would be good.

Why don’t I usually recommend doctors? Because in virtually every deposition, I see the insurance lawyer ask my client “How did you come to see Dr. X? Did a friend recommend him? Did your LAWYER recommend Dr. X?”

And some damage is done if I did. Because if the insurance lawyer gets a chance, he’ll ask the jury to consider: “Why is a lawyer recommending a doctor?” The implication is that there is a “deal”, or a “pipeline” between the doctor and the lawyer.

And when you get right down to it, doctors know doctors better than lawyers do. So ask your doctor.

I have been a lawyer over 30 years. You probably know enough doctors to find the right one. If you need help, ask, and I can tell you what I know. If you’ve been injured in an accident, talk with an experienced Cincinnati Personal Injury Attorney about the case. Call me, William Strubbe, at 513-621-4775.

Because all situations are different, and because there may be other facts pertaining to your case that I don’t know about, you should not rely on this answer for legal advice. I am not your attorney, and no lawyer client relationship has been formed.