TOP FIVE THINGS NOT TO DO AFTER A CAR WRECK – in Northwest Arkansas …or any where else.

When you or a family member has been injured in an automobile accident due to another driver’s negligence, there are a few BIG mistakes I see people make that can often impact the fairness of the resolution of your personal injury claim or claims. Here is my top five list of mistakes that can be game changers in that regard:

5.  Paying attention to healthcare and other solicitations arriving in the mail. (You will likely be bombarded with solicitations from pain clinics, chiropractors and/or a combination of healthcare providers …and lawyers. Ask yourself, “how did they know I was in a wreck and if they are so good at what they do, why do they need to do this?”)

4. Posting about your accident on Facebook or social media. (That is the first place insurance adjusters and defense attorneys will go to look for anything that will hurt your claim. Do not discuss any aspect of your accident online. Go silent on social media.)

3.  Ignoring initial pain and refusing initial care and treatment and/or settling a claim too soon. (In the immediate wake of a collision, you most likely will be worried, angry, embarrassed, nervous, and tense, with a thousand things going through your head …but you may be really hurt, too.  Get checked out thoroughly and follow the advice of the professionals when it comes to follow-up care. NEVER sign a release until you are sure you are finished treating and know the full extent of your injuries.)

2. Failing to consult with an experienced personal injury attorney right away. (You have no idea how many times in my twenty-five years of doing this I have had to attempt to re-build claims that have been mangled by good people who thought they could go it alone. Don’t go to a gun fight with a butter knife.)

…and the number 1 mistake I see people make after a car wreck is:

1. Talking to the insurance company for the at-fault driver.  (The insurance company for the person who caused the wreck is not “on your side” or “a good neighbor” or “good hands”…that you want to be in. The bodily injury adjuster has one goal in mind and that is to get your name on a piece of paper called a release as quickly as possible for as little money as possible. Just don’t talk to them …period … or at least NOT until you have been fully advised by an experience personal injury attorney.)

-bruce

Call me anytime and I will be glad to discuss your case with no obligation.

Here’s my cell: (479) 936-4384

 

Please click HERE to learn more about our firm.

We proudly represent families all over Arkansas in serious injury and death cases. If you or a family member is involved in a car accident in any of the following locations, we are nearby and ready to help: I-49, Benton County, Washington County, Madison County, Carroll County, Sebastian County, Bella Vista, Bentonville, Rogers, Lowell, Springdale, Fayetteville, Van Buren, Fort Smith, Huntsville, Siloam Springs, Harrison, Green Forest, Eureka Springs, West Fork, Garfield, Gentry, Gravette, Centerton, Gravette, Decatur, Mena, Elm Springs, Cave Springs, Alma …and everywhere in between.

BENTON COUNTY’S BEST INJURY LAWYERS …stand up to insurance companies that play games!

The best auto and truck accident lawyers in this, or any other, county are those that work the hardest to obtain evidence before going to battle with liability insurance companies. Moreover, when a company ignores powerful evidence that is contrary to its position, the best trial lawyers know it’s time to fight.

Not long ago my firm had the pleasure of representing a gentleman who, remarkably, only suffered minor injuries after his car was totaled.  A driver turned directly into his path as he was driving down Walton Blvd. in Bentonville one afternoon. The negligent driver’s insurance company, for whatever reason, decided it was  going to declare our client 20% at fault and pay only 80% of his property damage and personal injury claim.

What made this liability game so unbelievable was the fact that the company took this position despite the fact that we were able to obtain and provide it with a video of the accident from every angle!  Using the Freedom of Information Act, we procured video captured on traffic cameras operational at the intersection of Walton and Central (a major intersection in Northwest Arkansas) recording the entire unfortunate episode from start to finish. Viewers can even see the color of the traffic lights as the maroon truck turns (without a green arrow) across Walton Blvd. as our client enters the intersection under a green light. Liability could not be any clearer.

Amazingly, the insurance company, stood its ground and maintained its ridiculous stance. However, once we filed suit and served its insured, wiser adjuster heads prevailed and the company quickly forked over payment of 100% of our client’s property damages and bodily injury claim. Not only that, we extracted additional expenses our client incurred due to the delay and those associated with filing the lawsuit.

The moral of the story is: if you really have the evidence …call their bluff!

-bruce

Please click HERE to learn more about my practice.

 

TOP ACCIDENT ATTORNEYS IN BENTON COUNTY ARKANSAS – Are those who dig deep!

For twenty-five years I have been working for families that have been harmed in some way by the carelessness or negligence of another. Despite what television may depict, attorneys do not do all of their fighting in court. In fact, most of the battles take place well before a case ends up in court and, frankly, the better the lawyer, the less likely it is that there will ever be a court battle.

When it comes to car and truck accidents, the best lawyer a family can hire is one who recognizes that hard work on the front end of a case can pay off in spades for his or her clients; both in terms of saving them time in reaching a fair resolution and, more importantly, genuinely balancing the books in terms of receiving fair compensation for their clients’ harms and losses.

In most cases where liability is clear and the harm is not seriously questioned, the lawyer’s job is to stay engaged with all concerned and shepherd the client through the process; run interference between the client and the big insurance company, collect the medical and billing records, collect lost wage or income information, prepare a demand brochure and, hopefully, settle the case.  However, when the negligent party’s insurance company denies liability or refuses to recognize that your client was genuinely harmed, the lawyers job suddenly becomes difficult.

In my mind, this is really where the rubber meets the road in terms of lawyering.  What does the attorney do when the insurance company tells him to “go away?”  Some lawyers, for whatever reason, hang it up and hand the case back to the client. (Every injury lawyer knows this happens because we have all been called by someone who had a case handed back to them.) Others file suit no matter how bad the facts are; convincing themselves that the insurance company will fold at some point. (Don Quixote!!)

In my opinion, the top personal injury attorneys are those who go to work and dig deeper when the insurance company denies liability. There can be game changing evidence beyond what is found in the police report, but it won’t find itself.

For example, I was recently hired to represent two young women who were traveling through Arkansas when a dark colored car driven by an older woman veered into their lane and forced them off the interstate. Their car spun through the wet median and slammed into the retention cable on the opposite side. The cable then threw their car back into the center of the median like a giant slingshot.

According to the accident report, an elderly woman was pulled over by a State Trooper further down the interstate and identified (at least in the report) as the driver of the vehicle which had run my clients off the road. However, after the insurance company completed its investigation, I received a letter advising me that it would not be accepting responsibility.

I telephoned the adjuster and learned that, based upon his interviews of the State Troopers involved, there was simply no evidence that the woman identified in the report had been driving the vehicle that forced my clients’ car off the road.  She was just randomly pulled over several miles down the interstate because she was driving a black car. There was no evidence linking her to the wreck. End of story. Go away.

I contacted the trooper who investigated the accident, as well as the second trooper who pulled the woman over down the road, and confirmed that neither really knew the reason that particular woman had been pulled over or just how it was that her information had made it into the police report. To me something was missing. There had to be an explanation.

To try and get to the bottom of it, I sent Freedom of Information Act requests to the Arkansas State Police for all audio and video from the car and/or body camera for the trooper who pulled the woman over. When a disk finally arrived, I was able to watch the State Trooper pulling over a lady in a dark car, and I could see and hear him speaking to the woman and explaining to her that she had apparently run a car off the road. She was seemingly ignorant of this and he sent her on her way. It still made no sense. Why had he pulled HER over?

The answer came when I dug a little deeper. Again using the Freedom of Information Act, I ordered the 911 calls for the accident. When the disk arrived, I put it into my computer and started listening to one 911 call after another. Caller after caller alerted the State Police to a white car crashing in the median and, time and again, the callers were advised that the dispatcher was aware of the accident and thanked. After listening to ten or eleven such calls, I was beginning to think I had struck out, when a caller suddenly said something different.

A gentleman told dispatch that he had just witnessed a dark car run a white car off the interstate. He provided the cars license tag number and said that the vehicle was then directly behind his and that he had maintained sight of the vehicle since the accident and finally, thankfully, he provided his name and telephone number.

I pulled up the video of the State Trooper pulling over the older woman and the license tag number matched. I called the witness, who lives in another state, and learned even more regarding the erratic driving of the woman who forced my clients off of the interstate.

Needless to say, once I provided copies of the disks I had obtained from the State Police to the adjuster who had basically told me to “go away,” his company decided to accept responsibility for the accident. There was no more mystery as to why the police pulled over the elderly woman. Hard work pays off!

Most good lawyering occurs outside of the courtroom. Digging for facts takes time and can be hard work but it can make all the difference in the world to individuals or families who place trust in an attorney to build a case. When hiring an attorney, make sure he or she is not afraid to work hard, dig and get a little dirty!

Mulkey Law Firm takes great pride in the lawyering we do inside and outside the courtroom. You can talk to Bruce about your case any time with no obligation. Just call his cell: (479) 936-4384.  Click HERE to learn more.

 

 

 

 

THE BEST PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER IN ROGERS, SPRINGDALE OR FAYETTEVILLE – may be in Bentonville!

When looking for the right attorney, sometimes I think folks are too quick to just look at the lawyers in the town in which they live. The fact is, most personal injury or wrongful death claims that arise from an auto accident or truck accident, should the claim not be settled out of court, are going to be litigated in Arkansas and any attorney licensed in this state can practice in any State court in this state. (Most can also practice in U. S. District Court, if the case involves parties from different states.)

Finding the right law firm can be the single most important decision a family can make following a wreck.  Inexperience and/or disorganization can spell disaster for a claim. If important matters are relegated to new attorneys, law clerks, paralegals or secretaries, without proper oversight by an experienced personal injury attorney, the settlement value of the injury claim can be seriously compromised. Moreover, from the initial letter of representation, the insurance company on the other side of the case begins to set its reserves (or determine its valuation) on the claim and, make no mistake, the insurance company knows if the case is actually being handled by the “staff” or by the lawyer.  Thus, bigger may not equate to better, when it comes to the right law firm for a case.

The communities of Northwest Arkansas have expanded along the I-49 corridor such that, in many respects, it is now a single metropolitan area. Aside from the initial attorney-client conference, which in the case of our firm can occur wherever the clients would prefer to meet, rarely are families required to actually travel to the location of the law firm. As most routine matters can now be handled by email, these days choosing a law firm simply because it is located down the street, makes much less sense than it did in years past.

The bottom line is that when an accident occurs, and certainly if there is a serious injury or death involved, a family should take the time to really look around, even beyond their immediate community, and choose an attorney who they believe has the experience to handle the case, is genuinely respected in the community, hard-working, honest and fair. The home team may not always be the best team for the job.

Please click HERE to learn more about our firm.

We proudly represent families all over Arkansas in serious injury and death cases. If you or a family member is involved in a car accident in any of the following locations, we are nearby and ready to help: I-49, Benton County, Washington County, Madison County, Carroll County, Sebastian County, Bella Vista, Bentonville, Rogers, Lowell, Springdale, Fayetteville, Van Buren, Fort Smith, Huntsville, Siloam Springs, Harrison, Green Forest, Eureka Springs, West Fork, Garfield, Gentry, Gravette, Centerton, Gravette, Decatur, Mena, Elm Springs, Cave Springs, Alma …and everywhere in between.

Original graphic artwork by Ari Mulkey.

TOP RATED NORTHWEST ARKANSAS CAR ACCIDENT ATTORNEY – Gives out his cell phone number!

A recent conversation I had with a fellow attorney went something like this:

Fellow attorney:   You give out your personal cell phone number to your clients?

Me:   Yes.

Fellow attorney:   Are you kidding?

Me:   No. It’s the only number on my business card and it’s on my website:

Fellow attorney:   Why? Don’t you worry your clients will call you …like  in the evening?

Me:   No, not at all. If they need to speak to me, I want them to be able to reach me.

Fellow attorney:  I’ll talk to my client when I’m working.

Me:   Clients work too and sometimes have issues that arise after 5:00 p.m. and before 8:00 a.m. If I can, I will take the call. If not, I’ll call them back. I want them to know that I’m available when they need me.

The lawyer remained somewhat incredulous, but the fact is, I became a lawyer in order to help people and people do not just need my help on my time. This is especially the case in the immediate aftermath of a car wreck. A personal injury or wrongful death attorney is useless if he or she is “unavailable.”

A family’s life can be turned upside down even in what initially appears to be a minor car accident: someone is hurt; a two-car family just became one; insurance companies are calling; medical bills are stacking up; the car is impounded at the tow company; the family is losing income; slick solicitation letters from lawyers are suddenly piling up in the mailbox ( …not from me!)

New questions come up every hour: What about a rental car? Which insurance company is responsible? Should I fight this ticket? Should I give the insurance company a statement? How do I get my car fixed? Should my health insurance pay this bill? What happens next?

If, God forbid, the accident involves serious injury or death, the whole world crashes to a stop for the affected family. These issues and questions, while magnified ten-fold, take a back seat to worry, exhaustion and grief. The family needs someone they can entrust with these worries so that they can concentrate on each other.

Saying “we love our clients” means being there for them. That is exactly why I give our clients my cell phone number and always will. Please click HERE to see all of my Avvo client reviews.

We proudly represent families all over Arkansas in serious injury and death cases. If you or a family member is involved in a car accident in any of the following locations, we are nearby and ready to help: I-49, Benton County, Washington County, Madison County, Carroll County, Sebastian County, Bella Vista, Bentonville, Rogers, Lowell, Springdale, Fayetteville, Van Buren, Fort Smith, Huntsville, Siloam Springs, Harrison, Green Forest, Eureka Springs, West Fork, Garfield, Centerton, Gravette, Decatur, Mena, Elm Springs, Cave Springs, Alma …and everywhere in between.