Recent Posts in FAQ's - Frequently Asked Questions Category
Posted on Dec 3, 2011 By Chad Hemmat
From my experience as a trial attorney, I have found Colorado juries to be fair, and even, dare I say, compassionate. Generally, I find it relatively easy to get juries to agree that my clients were ...
Continue reading "THE 3 (AND SOMETIMES 4) THINGS THE JURY WON'T EVER GET TO KNOW WHEN CONSIDERING YOUR AUTO ACCIDENT INJURY CASE" »
Posted on Oct 28, 2011 By Chad Hemmat
Before I begin, I want to confess that this is going to be a frank and honest discussion about your case. Let me warn you that this article is not for the faint of heart, because it is too important ...
Continue reading "THE TOP 10 WAYS TO SELF-DESTRUCT YOUR PERSONAL INJURY CASE:" »
Posted on Oct 21, 2011 By Chad Hemmat
When you purchase automobile insurance, you are purchasing peace of mind and a level of financial security. Some people have a lot of assets and therefore, have a lot to lose if they are involved in ...
Continue reading "AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE: What it does, What all those options mean, and What you are really buying" »
Posted on Oct 7, 2011 By Chad Hemmat
Due to the passage of C.R.S. §10-1-135, the "Make Whole" statute, I believe injury victims will have a huge advantage against state-regulated (Non-ERISA qualified) health insurance ...
Continue reading "WHY THE HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES' RIGHT TO REPAYMENT AFTER THE INJURY SETTLEMENT IS DEAD IN THE NEW ERA OF MAKE WHOLE ARBITRATIONS" »
Posted on Sep 30, 2011 By Chad Hemmat
A private investigator conducting surveillance is usually a sign of a desperate insurance adjuster who has no other angle of attacking your otherwise legitimate right to compensation. I want to make ...
Continue reading "DON'T BE AFRAID OF BEING CAUGHT ON SURVEILLANCE: Just Be Smart - And Don't Be A Faker!" »
Posted on Sep 9, 2011 By Chad Hemmat
We previously wrote an article on how you, as an injury victim, should approach your required visit with the insurance company doctor. Different than that article, this article assumes that your exam ...
Continue reading "INSURANCE COMPANY DOCTORS: What they say and how we beat them" »
Posted on Aug 26, 2011 By Chad Hemmat
Looking for injury recovery only from one insurance company (the at-fault driver's) is a little like trying to see the entire world through a peephole in a door. In truth, every accident involving ...
Continue reading "UNINSURED MOTORIST BENEFITS: AVAILABILITY, STACKING, & REJECTION:" »
Posted on Aug 19, 2011 By Chad Hemmat
1) THE FACT PATTERN: Bob Blameless is driving his car down Broadway when he gets rear-ended by Chuck Careless. Bob spends the next year off of work, in hospitals and enduring painful physical therapy. ...
Continue reading "AFTER THE SETTLEMENT, DO I REALLY HAVE TO PAYBACK HEALTH INSURANCE?" »
Posted on Jul 15, 2011 By Chad Hemmat
About 30 years ago, a number of retired judges got together and formed some of the first mediation companies in the United States. In fact, one of the earliest and longest running of these companies ...
Continue reading "TIME FOR THE SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE: What to do ... What to expect and ... What is expected of you" »
Posted on Jun 23, 2011 By Chad Hemmat
First, why wouldn't a hospital want to get paid from health insurance? As you will see, this issue is more complex than it might seem at first blush. Some hospitals WILL submit their bills to ...
Continue reading "ARE HOSPITALS ALLOWED TO CHERRY-PICK WHETHER THEY BILL YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE OR NOT?" »
Posted on Jun 3, 2011 By Chad Hemmat
The bad facts of this next case caused several law firms to turn it away as un-winnable before WE took it and won. INTRODUCTION : This injury was caused during a two car motor vehicle collision. While ...
Continue reading "WINNING THE CASE THAT APPEARS UNWINNABLE: Part 2" »
Posted on Apr 30, 2011 By Chad Hemmat
A. Introduction: New legislation from last year settled (or so we thought) a long-standing debate amongst personal injury trial attorneys. The debate was: should an injury victim be able to claim, and ...
Continue reading "MEDICALS BILLED vs. PAID: It probably ain't what your lawyer thinks" »
Posted on Mar 25, 2011 By Chad Hemmat
If a terrorist group, in one year, were responsible for killing 5,474 Americans and injuring 448,000 more, it would be considered the greatest disaster this country has ever faced. Imagine the ...
Continue reading "LATEST STUDIES ON CELL PHONE/TEXTING RELATED DISTRACTED DRIVING CRASHES" »
Posted on Mar 19, 2011 By Chad Hemmat
As background, when we talk about statute of limitations, we are speaking of the deadline wherein a claim must be filed as a lawsuit. Failure to file a lawsuit by that particular deadline results in ...
Continue reading "STATUTE OF LIMITATION: not always so cut and dry" »
Posted on Mar 11, 2011 By Chad Hemmat
There is a small subculture of people who think Charlie Sheen's recent outbursts are refreshing. This is a guy who is, after all, baring his soul. He is flying solo, without an image consultant (at ...
Continue reading "DON'T LET CHARLIE SHEEN BE YOUR GUIDE" »
Posted on Mar 4, 2011 By Chad Hemmat
There seems to be an unwritten rule that lawyers need to watch each other's backs. It is the notion that we as colleagues, perhaps even members of an exclusive club, should look the other way to the ...
Continue reading "LAWYER MALPRACTICE: why it happens, how you can tell when it has happened to you, and what you can do about it" »
Posted on Mar 2, 2011 By Chad Hemmat
When an insurance company is on trial for its conduct, its best friends are "confusion, complexity, and distraction." Every argument an insurance company makes in response to a policyholder's ...
Continue reading "INSURANCE COMPANY BAD FAITH: Knowing what NOT to argue" »
Posted on Jan 28, 2011 By Chad Hemmat
You might be curious as to how I know what bad advice is being disseminated by my colleagues. The answer is simple. When injury clients fire those people and come hire us, I get to hear from these ...
Continue reading "TOP 10 WORST PIECES OF LEGAL ADVICE REGULARLY GIVEN TO INJURY CLIENTS" »
Posted on Dec 3, 2010 By Chad Hemmat
Of all the questions I am asked by people injured in car accidents , this is the one I hear the most. I suppose I could respond with something like, "well, insurance is a highly specialized business ...
Continue reading "WHY CAN'T I GET A STRAIGHT ANSWER FROM THE INSURANCE COMPANY?" »
Posted on Nov 23, 2010 By Chad Hemmat
Will Rogers, the 1930's actor and comedian, once commented that Thanksgiving was originally about people with very little, giving thanks for a barely adequate harvest. He went on to comment that ...
Continue reading "WHAT THANKSGIVING SHOULD BE ABOUT: BEING THANKFUL" »
Posted on Nov 12, 2010 By Chad Hemmat
Rule #1 : Insurance companies will never pay more than they think a jury would give you. Rule #2 : Insurance companies will pay you nearly nothing if they can make you look like a liar, because they ...
Continue reading "HOW SHOULD I ADDRESS, IF AT ALL, MY PRE-EXISTING INJURIES WITH THE INSURANCE COMPANY?" »
Posted on Nov 5, 2010 By Chad Hemmat
Let's say it has been a year since you were rear ended by some texting driver. You have nearly a year of care, therapy, perhaps even a surgery. Now you are ready to talk settlement with the insurance ...
Continue reading "TURNING THE INSURANCE COMPANY'S DOCTOR INTO AN ADVOCATE FOR YOU" »
Posted on Oct 8, 2010 By Chad Hemmat
In the ever-increasing world of instant information, we should consider how we utilize the onslaught of digital information, in particular social websites like Facebook, MySpace and personal blogs. A. ...
Continue reading "ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKS: Bet You Don't Know Who's Looking" »
Posted on Sep 24, 2010 By Chad Hemmat
DISCLAIMER: There is no substitute for the individual advice and counsel of your own attorney. This article should be generally considered as sound tips but should in no way be considered either legal ...
Continue reading "HAVING YOUR DEPOSITION TAKEN: Tips for Helping It Go Better" »
Posted on Aug 2, 2010 By Chad Hemmat
There are no silly or stupid questions asked by clients. Okay, actually that is not entirely true. I once had a client tell me that he had concerns that his auto accident injury was "healing too ...
Continue reading "FIVE QUESTIONS CLIENTS WANT ANSWERS TO BUT WORRY THAT THEY ARE TOO SILLY TO ASK:" »