personal injury law

Personal Injury Law | Workers Compensation Law
New Statute Makes It Easier To Submit Medical Bills At Trial Saving Valuable Time for Medical Facilities
ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices May 1, 2020September 16, 2025
In an effort to make trials easier, and the burden less on medical providers, Parnell, Michels & McKay’s own Rory Parnell provided substantial input and testimony relative to the new bill known as RSA 516:29-c, which allows medical bills to be submitted without the need to call the keeper of the records or doctors to testify the records are accurate.This effort was made primarily to make it easier for medical providers to submit bills and not subject their office manager, record keepers, or managing doctors to be forced to testify by insurance defense counsel to submit simple medical bills. While this is allowed for all cases where the medical bills are lower than $25,000, it is an important step for lessening the burden on local…
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Personal Injury Law
Dog Bites Injuries
ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices July 15, 2019September 16, 2025
Dogs are man’s best friend. Most of us have had them as a part of our families over the years. However, dogs (especially poorly trained dogs) can be highly dangerous animals. When they attack, they can cause lasting and permanent physical and emotional scarring. Some breeds (like pit bulls, German Shepherds or Dobermans) can cause even more significant damage because of their physiological makeup. These breeds are often blacklisted by insurance companies because of this. Often, insurance companies will charge higher premiums to dog owners who own dogs like a pit bull or Doberman. This is not necessarily because they are more aggressive than other dogs, but because the damage they cause is so much more significant.In New Hampshire, dog bite cases are strict liability….
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Personal Injury Law
Personal Injury – Health Insurer’s Subrogation Rights – Know The Law
ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices July 1, 2019September 16, 2025
In almost all injury cases, when the plaintiff gets injured they seek healthcare almost immediately. Most times the person’s health insurance company pays the bills generated by an accident in the first instance. Sometimes, this is a private company like Blue Cross Blue Shield, and other times it is government-provided insurance like Medicare or Medicaid. In each scenario, both types of insurance will have a “lien” or right of reimbursement from the settlement an injured party can get from a third party insurance policy.Most commonly, it is a private health insurer like BCBS that pays the bills. As part of all health insurance contracts, the health insurer reserves a “subrogation” right through the contract. This allows the health insurer to get paid back through a…
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General Litigation | Personal Injury Law
Massachusetts v. New Hampshire: Key Insurance Law Differences
ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices December 22, 2018September 16, 2025
New Hampshire and Massachusetts share similar histories, but over time their laws have become different. One in particular is the Massachusetts’ consumer protection act (M.G.L 93A) and its sister law M.G.L 176D which regulates the practice of insurance in the state. The big key difference is that the Massachusetts’ consumer protection statute applies to insurance companies conducting business in the Commonwealth, while New Hampshire’s supreme court decided that New Hampshire’s consumer protection statute (RSA 358-A) does not apply to insurance companies. This was a frustrating Court decision that has had significant ramifications on people of New Hampshire being injured by unreasonable and unsupportable insurance practices. In Massachusetts, M.G.L 93A provides that if an insurance company violates M.G.L 176D, then the injured party (the Plaintiff in…
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Personal Injury Law
Self-Drivings Cars and The Intersection of Human Negligence and Products Liability
ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices August 15, 2018September 16, 2025
Self-Driving cars are now becoming more and more popular. Other states, like California, are now allowing them to be operated on their roads in controlled settings. For many of us, this will remind us of movies involving cars that drive themselves while the human in the car is able to relax on their drive. It’s almost like a taxi, but it’s the person’s car and a computer program is driving. Technology is always a fascinating thing, but in this context, what happens when self-driving cars cause an accident?As many people are aware, if you cause an accident and are liable, an insurance claim and possible litigation may be brought against you. This would require the person that was hit and injured to prove that the…
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Personal Injury Law
Medical Payments Coverage Under The TRAVCO Case
By May 20, 2018September 16, 2025
For those of us that handle injury cases, the TRAVCO decision was a long time coming. Basically, New Hampshire has a no-fault coverage on any automobile insurance policy issued in the state. This no-fault coverage is called “Medical Payments” coverage and is regulated by RSA 264:16. As Plaintiff’s attorneys, we long took the position that using the medical payments coverage to pay the health insurance lien was not a “double recovery” within the statute and should be allowed. Insurers refused to honor this and steadfastly refused to pay any health insurance lien. The Medical Payment Statute forbids a person from recovering from both health insurance and auto insurance for a medical bill related to the accident. However, if the person injured pursue a third-party claim…
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Personal Injury Law
The Other Guy Did Not Get A Ticket. How Can I Recover for My Injury?
ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices January 20, 2018September 16, 2025
It is a common and understandable misconception that someone injured in a car accident cannot successfully bring a claim unless the person they are considering going after was issued a traffic ticket as a result of the accident. While a ticket can help with the liability argument, it really is not necessary to proving a case. To understand why it is necessary to understand the difference between what is necessary to prove a crime and what is necessary to prove a civil wrong. The key here is what we call the “Burden of Persuasion”.Simply put, the burden of persuasion is the level of certainty the proponent must establish to the trier of fact that the proponent’s assertions are correct. In criminal cases, the burden of…
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Personal Injury Law
Jessica’s Law: Why it’s Important to Clear your Roof of Snow and Ice
ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices December 6, 2017September 16, 2025
Jessica’s Law has been the law of New Hampshire for about fifteen (15) years now. It is a law that requires the clearing of ice and snow off the top of a vehicle prior to driving it. The basis of the law was a tragic accident that claimed the life of Jessica Smith in 1999. A piece of ice about nine (9) feet long flew off of a tractor-trailer, smashing into a box truck that veered into Jessica’s vehicle killing her. The accident in Peterborough is not long forgotten by her parents, as Jessica would be thirty-nine (39) years old coming up. However, we find that driving around that many people still do not clear their entire cars. We understand what it is like to…
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Personal Injury Law
Non-Traditional Injury Cases: Trip and Falls and Product Liability
ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices June 6, 2017September 16, 2025
Most injury cases that are handled by personal injury attorneys are auto accident cases. Auto accidents are by far the most common, as driving a car comes with significant inherent risks. The same can be said for riding a motorcycle or a bicycle, and the injuries from these accidents can be devastating. However, there are many other types of cases like slip and falls, trip and falls, dog bites, and other incidents that lead to injuries. While we have addressed slip and falls and our strategy in approaching them, the trip and fall case is often confused with a slip and fall. A trip and fall generally come as a result of some unknown invisible defect that causes a person to trip and fall, or…
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Personal Injury Law
Personal Injury: Maximizing Settlement Value
ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices May 6, 2017September 16, 2025
her scenario, your doctors will tell you when you are no longer expected to improve. This is called reaching “maximum medical improvement”. At this point, it is time to try to evaluate the claim you have and find out what settlement you should take. The bulk of your claim is made up of the costs of your medical treatment. Typically, if you get back to 100%, this will only include your past medical treatment. If you find yourself permanently injured, then future medical expenses are included in the compensation, as is a potential permanent impairment. Other expenses that an injured party is entitled to compensation for our past and future lost income, the mileage you incurred medical appointments, and pain and suffering. All of these…
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