Personal Injury Law

  • What Is Negligence Per Se?

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    We previously addressed the term “negligence” and how that term is used in civil law, and, more specifically, in personal injury cases. However, at Parnell, Michels & McKay, we often use a theory called “negligence per se” to increase our chances of success in an injury lawsuit. Negligence per se is the legal doctrine where an act is considered automatically negligent because the person violated a statute or regulation. Typically, this can be seen in a traditional auto accident case. For example, let’s say Mary is driving her car and came to a four-way intersection with traffic lights on all four sides. Mary’s light is red, so she comes to a complete stop. Mary’s light turns green and she starts to proceed through the intersection….

  • Personal Injury Claims: The Road Map To Getting Back To Normal

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    The key to understanding personal injury claims is that claims handling is driven by insurance requirements. The vast majority of injury claims are resolved by settlement. The parties to the settlement discussions are most commonly the injured party, his/her attorney, and an insurance company. It is necessary to know how insurance companies process claims in order to achieve the best possible result. The most important thing to remember is that insurance companies rely heavily on objective information to form a valuation of each claim. This comes in the form of medical and billing records, accident reports, pictures, lost wages documentation, and other related records. The more complete your documentation the better your chance of a satisfactory result. Gathering documentation should be your first priority when…

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    Injury Claims: The Road Map To Getting Back To Normal – Part 2

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    In the last blog post, we talked about how obtaining documentation and other information will help make it easier to resolve your injury claim. To build on that, it is important to understand what comes into consideration when considering the settlement value of an injured person’s claim. It is important to understand this in order to make sure you are getting the compensation you deserve. At the outset of any injury case, someone has been injured in some way. Like everybody else, this person will receive medical treatment for their injury. The hope is that they can recover, and get back to 100% of their previous health. Sometimes, there is no getting back to 100%, which is a difficult situation to be in. In either…