Black Friday brought us some black weather this year, with sleet and freezing rain making walkways and roads slippery.  This is not unexpected in New England, of course, but it serves as a useful reminder and warning of what to expect over the next several months.  Slippery surfaces bring the potential for mayhem and accidents.  It is time to think ahead and prepare for the snow, slush, and other precipitation that makes living in New Hampshire in the winter such a challenge.

For most people, the biggest worry in the winter is commuting.  Driving a car that is floating along on top of snow, slush, or even ice, can be nerve-wracking for even the most skilled and experienced drivers.  Without a doubt the single best investment you can make for winter safety is a set of high quality snow tires.  If you haven’t driven on modern snow tires, you really cannot appreciate what you are missing in the winter.  It is important to remember that every action you take behind the wheel is transmitted to the road through those four small contact patches where your tires meet the road surface.  Bad tires lead to a poor connection with the road.

Snow tires are really not “too expensive.”  When you consider that a good quality set of snow tires will last four, five, or possibly more winter seasons, they are really the cheapest form of insurance you can purchase to keep yourself and your loved ones safe in the winter.  Even if you decide not to buy dedicated snow tires, you absolutely should not drive on wintery roads with worn out tires of any sort.  The law requires that your tires have a minimum of 3/32 of an inch of tread.  That really is not enough for winter driving.  You want as much tread depth as you possibly can have so that your tires can find purchase in snow, and cut through slush.  In addition to putting you and your vehicle at risk, having badly worn tires could expose you to liability in the event you injure someone else an accident caused by loss of grip in the winter.

Even with snow tires (and especially without), winter driving requires a more delicate touch than driving the rest of the year.  You should steer, brake, and accelerate more gently, plan further ahead for stops, slow down earlier for corners, and leave much more room to the traffic ahead of you.  Often times on multi-lane highways, a relatively “dry” line will be created in one lane as the majority of traffic tries to take advantage of the tracks cut in the snow by preceding vehicles.  Obviously these “dry” lines have more traction, and are therefore somewhat safer to drive on.  However, in some weather conditions these paths can still be deceptively slippery, so one should not give into the temptation to follow the car ahead too closely.

Four wheel drive and all wheel drive are a great advantage in the winter, but they do not make you invincible.  The primary advantage that these systems give you is the ability to accelerate in slippery conditions.  They are generally also slightly more stable at speed.  However, AWD does not “create” traction.  AWD drive cars just make somewhat better use of the traction available when accelerating.  When it comes to turning and braking, you are still limited by the amount of traction your tires can provide.  AWD combined with poor tires is a recipe for disaster, because the AWD allows you to accelerate despite the lower grip of worn tires, but the tires’ limitations often reveal themselves suddenly when the driver is forced to stop or turn.  Just because you have AWD does not mean you should not invest in a good set of snow tires.

That’s it for Part I of the winter caution tips blog.  Part II will deal with precautions you should take for walking in the winter, and making your property safe for others to walk on.

Because your case is important to you, we suggest you consider the following criteria/factors when you choose a personal injury lawyer:

REASON #1

Select an Attorney with a Focused Practice

Some lawyers and law firms try to do it all.  It is important to choose an attorney who focuses on certain areas of the law.  You need to find out how much of that attorney’s practice is in the area of personal injury for victims.

REASON #2

Select an Attorney with Trial Experience

Many lawyers claim to handle personal injury cases.  Just look at the ads in the yellow pages or on TV.  It is important to choose an attorney that has actual experience taking cases to trial.  Insurance companies know which lawyers will take a case to trial and which lawyers just want to settle a case fast.  Without an experienced trial lawyer on your side, it puts you and your case at a disadvantage.

REASON #3

Select an Attorney with a Track Record

Your personal injury case is important to you because it affects you and your family.  Your case is the opportunity for you to get fully compensated for your damages.  It is important to choose an attorney that has a record of accomplishment and can deliver a full and fair trial verdict or settlement.

REASON #4

Select an Attorney with the Necessary Resources

Many personal injury cases require serious investigation and are expensive to prepare.  Your attorney will need to devote not only time to your case but the resources to hire medical experts, accident reconstruction experts or vocational rehabilitation experts, if necessary.  The lawyer should have staff dedicated to your case.  It is important to choose an attorney that has the resources to fully prepare your case.

REASON #5

Select an Attorney that Represents only Accident Victims

Many law firms try to have it both ways.  They have some lawyers that represent accident victims and other lawyers representing insurance companies.  It is important to choose an attorney whose loyalty is easy to read – one that only represents accident victims.

REASON #6

Select an Attorney Who Receives Referrals From Other Attorneys and Satisfied Clients

Some lawyers get most of their cases from an out-of-state 1-800 number or a telephone book ad.  Find out the source of the attorney’s personal injury cases.  It is important to choose attorneys who receive most of their cases from referrals from other lawyers or satisfied clients because that is a reflection on the quality and skill of their representation.

REASON #7

Select an Attorney Who Will take Your Case on a Contingency Fee

Make sure the attorney will agree that you will not pay attorney’s fees unless you recover in your case.  It is important to choose an attorney who will believe in your case and agree to work for a contingency fee.

In a case with serious injuries, having an experienced New Hampshire personal injury lawyer representing you against the insurance company will help protect your claim and maximize your recovery of damages.

Personal injuries happen every day in New Hampshire.  These injuries may have a long-lasting impact on the accident victims and their families.  Your personal injury claim is your one chance to put your life back together and recover all damages for your injury.  Having a lawyer on your side can help you with two important parts of your case.  The first thing is to make sure you get prompt and necessary medical treatment.  The second important thing is to make sure you receive full compensation for your injury.

Insurance companies have their own experienced adjusters or lawyers whose only job is to process personal injury claims and reduce the amounts paid to victims like you.  They rely on the fact that many accident victims do not get an experienced New Hampshire personal injury lawyer.  Without your own personal injury attorney, insurance companies count on the fact that you are unsure of what to do.  Without the necessary experience, it is not surprising that many injured persons give a recorded statement or provide signed authorizations for their medical records without legal advice.  Insurance companies are also aware that you do not know the fair value of your injury, which means you may accept a “quick and cheap” settlement.  Insurance companies want to pay you the least amount of money while your personal injury lawyer’s job is to get you the full and fair amount for your injury.

Choose the Right Lawyer for Your Case

In cases with significant injuries, you need a lawyer representing you against the insurance companies.  Choosing the right lawyer for your claim may make a difference in the amount of compensation you recover in your case.  That is why you need an experienced personal injury lawyer to represent you against the insurance company.  Count the number of lawyer advertising pages in your phonebook.  There are probably 10 or 20 pages of lawyers with full size ads.  Everyone has seen the 1-800-TV ads for lawyers claiming to be experienced accident lawyers.  Just because a lawyer has paid for expensive advertising does not mean that the lawyer is right for your case or even has the actual trial experience needed to protect your claim.

Before you “hire” your lawyer you should learn if the lawyer has actually had any trial experience.  Trial experience is one of the most important factors to consider in hiring your attorney.

Insurance companies know if your attorney is skilled and experienced in bringing a case to trial. The threat of an experienced trial attorney taking your case to trial puts pressure on the insurance company to offer you fair compensation.  The insurance company may raise the amount to resolve your case if your attorney is willing and able to go to trial to fight for your case.  Without this leverage, the insurance company will try to dictate the value of your case.  Having an inexperienced lawyer on your side may put your case at a disadvantage.

Make sure you protect your claim and maximize your recovery by having an experienced New Hampshire personal injury lawyer represent you.

The goal of personal injury law is to have the person responsible for the accident fully compensate the accident victim for the injuries.  Although insurance companies are experienced in valuing personal injury claims, they know that you are unfamiliar with what your claim is really worth.  Under New Hampshire law, injured people are entitled to recover full, fair and reasonable compensation for their injuries.

There is no simplistic formula or mathematical calculation to determine the value of a personal injury claim.  Instead, the lawyer must make this determination based on years of experience in handling personal injury cases.  Generally, the value of your claim is based on two factors:  fault of the parties and the type of damages suffered.

Who’s At Fault?

The degree or amount of fault of each person involved in the accident factors into the value of your case.  Depending on the circumstances of the accident, we can assess whether the other person was completely at fault, mostly at fault or just a little at fault.  Insurance companies will try to reduce your recovery if you were partly at fault for the accident.  If fault is clear on the other person, that will prevent the insurance company from using that tactic to lower your recovery.

Types of Recoverable Damages

Looking at the types of damages suffered in an accident can help to understand the value of your claim.  Damage awards can include the following:

• Medical Expenses
• Future Medical Expenses (if any)
• Pain and Suffering
• Lost Wages
• Impairment of Earning Capacity
• Emotional Distress
• Loss of Future Enjoyment of Life

Above all, determining what a personal injury claim is worth only comes from years of experience.  This is an important reason to hire an experienced personal injury lawyer.

Several attorneys filed suit against the State recently to try to obtain proper funding for our judicial system.  It is broken and I could not sit idly by and let it be gutted by excessive legislative budget cuts so I joined in as counsel.

Each year 230,000 court cases are filed in New Hampshire.

Certain types of court cases have specific time frames in which to act and those are set by the legislature.  For example, domestic violence cases and criminal cases require certain scheduling dates by law.  Thus, work on such cases means other cases must be delayed if judge time is lacking due to vacancies.  For instance, in 2009, there were 5,300 cases of domestic violence with hearings required between five or thirty days of filing, depending on the request.

Stalking cases were 1,470 in number, with the same time requirements.  9,600 landlord/tenant cases must be heard ten days from service of process.  Involuntary emergency admissions to the N.H. Hospital were filed 1,700 times last year and they must be heard within three days of hospitalization.

Families are also heavily affected by the lack of a judge to help decide their disputes.  7,200 juvenile cases, 10,000 new divorce or family petitions and 7,000 closed cases reopened for parenting or lack of child support issues were heard last year alone.

Judges cannot decide cases without someone processing them, scheduling them, getting orders out, and otherwise processing paperwork.  Each month thousands of orders have to go to the office of child support enforcement, various criminal law agencies, and to parties involved in marital and civil cases.

In the non-criminal area our State Constitution’s Bill of Rights (Part I, Article 14), says that everyone is entitled to a certain remedy for all injuries they may receive and that they are to obtain it “completely, and without any denial; promptly, and without delay.”

The purpose of that provision is to make civil remedies readily available and to guard against arbitrary denial of access to the courts.  It is an equal protection clause because, whether you are suing someone or being sued, you want to have your case resolved as soon as possible.

Last year there were $3.1 million of cuts out of a judicial branch budget of about $65 million, with another $2.2 million hit in May.  Concord District Court, which is a three-judge court, is now operating with one full-time judge.  Due to the reduction in personnel a form letter went out this summer canceling all civil trials.

Small claims cases were all cancelled in the Manchester District Court this summer for an indefinite period.

On July 22, Merrimack County Superior Court began closing to the public daily from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.  As of June 30, it had nearly 500 case files with pieces of mail that had yet to be docketed in the court record, with some documents dating back to March.  Another 150 trial and hearing notices had not been sent out and more than 350 files contained court orders that had not been issued.

And Hillsborough County just announced:

HILLSBOROUGH SUPERIOR COURT CLERKS TO CLOSE OFFICES

TUESDAY AND THURSDAY AFTERNOONS

Staff shortages prompt move to focus on reduction of case backlog

CONCORD, October 1 – The clerk’s office in Nashua for Hillsborough County Superior Court North and Hillsborough County Superior Court South will close at 1 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday beginning October 5 to allow uninterrupted time for processing cases and related materials.

Both clerk’s offices, which had been closed from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., will reopen at 8 a.m. daily, beginning Oct. 5 with implementation of the new Tuesday/Thursday afternoon closings.

After 1 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday, no telephone or counter service will be available to lawyers, litigants or the public in the clerk’s office during those hours; the automated telephone system will be monitored so that emergency requests are addressed promptly. A “drop box” will be set up inside the courthouse at 30 Spring Street in Nashua for filing documents during the hours when the clerk’s office is closed.

As of today, the Merrimack County Superior Court, which had been closed down since last August on weekday afternoons to work on reducing the case backlog, will be open for a full day on Fridays. The clerk’s office in Concord remains closed to lawyers, litigants and the public Monday through Thursday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. to allow for uninterrupted case processing.

Several other court locations statewide, faced with backlogs and staff shortages, also have limited public operating hours to allow uninterrupted time for employees to process cases.

Superior Court Chief Justice Robert J. Lynn said the schedule will be reviewed every 30 days to determine when the clerk’s office can return to routine office hours. Reductions in the court system budget have required administrators to maintain 71 full-time non-judicial vacancies, which means court locations have fewer employees on staff to carry out day to day clerical responsibilities.

These cutbacks affect all citizens who seek justice.  I will do all I can to fight for fair funding.  If you have a delay horror story, email me at info@nojustice.org

If you are contemplating a lawsuit, or perhaps just filed one, you have probably heard that the court requires the parties to “mediate” the case.  What is mediation, and is it something you want to take part in?

Mediation is a type of “alternative dispute resolution.”  Simply put, it is a formalized method by which you attempt to settle your lawsuit before going to trial.  It is often confused by lawpersons with arbitration, which is an alternative form of trial judges rather than an actual judge and jury.

How does a mediation work?  Typically the parties agree on a mediator as the first step.  The mediator is typically an attorney or retired judge.  The choice of mediator is very important.  An inexperienced or unmotivated mediator will not be effective in driving the mediation process to a successful resolution.  Experienced trial attorneys will know the right mediator for the case, and will insist on using the right mediator in your case.

Once the mediator is selected, the mediator process typically begins by having all the parties meet and their representatives meet in one room.  The lawyers for the parties typically give a presentation of what they believe the evidence will demonstrate at trial, and try to highlight the strengths of their case, and the weaknesses of the other side’s case.  It is not uncommon for the plaintiff to explain how the defendant’s conduct has personally impacted him or her, and also not uncommon for the mediator to ask questions of both sides to help clarify certain points and potentially to highlight key issues in the case which parties may not have fully appreciated before the medication begins.

At that point, the parties typically separate and go into different rooms.  It is at this point that the plaintiff makes a demand for a certain amount of money (which is typically much higher than what their attorney ahs told them to expect as an end result) and the defendant makes an offer to pay the plaintiff a certain amount (almost always much lower than what they actually expect to pay) of money to dismiss the case.  The mediator then goes back and forth between the rooms in a process of “shuttle diplomacy.”

During each visit with the mediator, the parties discuss the amount of their demand or offer the settle, and the strengths and weaknesses highlighted by the other side.  The goal is to keep reducing the plaintiff’s demand, and increasing the defendant’s offer, until they meet at some point.  If they meet, then the case is settled.  If the defendant is unwilling to pay the lowest amount the plaintiff is willing to accept to settle the case, then the mediation will end and the parties effectively pretend it never happened.

In a successful mediation, the parties decide the outcomes of the case, rather than allowing a third party to do it for them.  If the mediation fails, then the parties simply proceed to trial, and treat the mediation as if it never happened.  The jury never hears about what happened at the mediation.  Everything that happens at the mediation is kept strictly confidential, to encourage the parties to be open and honest about their case and make the best effort possible to resolve it.

Successful mediations depend tremendously on the skill and experience of the parties’ counsel and the mediator.  Picking the right mediator is crucial, but having the right attorney is even more important.  An experienced trial attorney will have the experience to value your case, and to make the most effective use of the mediation process to get the other side to pay the most money they are willing to offer, and not take the risk of undervaluing your case.

Considering that most cases settle before trial, and many of those settle in mediations, it is important to choose the right attorney to handle your case in order to ensure your case is worked to get you the full compensation you deserve.

Last year was wet, with many rainy weekends.  This year has been sunny and dry and has brought out motorcycles in greater numbers.  The early warm weather has made this year more rideable.  Unfortunately, with the warm weather, the State police report that more motorcycle operators have died in New Hampshire this year than this point in 2009.  If the number of fatalities continues at that rate, the total deaths for 2010 will surpass that State’s average of 27 motorcycle operator fatalities.

There are many factors involved in the crashes but we all need to be aware of motorcycles on the roadway to reduce the risks to motorcycle operators.

Budget cuts have left the entire court system in New Hampshire at a dangerous point that is hurting victims.  Because state budget cuts have eliminated judges and court staff, jury trials have been cancelled and cases take longer to move through the system.  For example, this means civil (non-criminal) cases by a patient harmed by medical malpractice or an accident victim seeking compensation won’t have a jury trial for more than a year.

The elimination of civil jury trials benefits insurance companies.  And it doubly impacts those people injured because they have to wait for their day in court – a year or two sometimes – and defendants, like insurance companies, are less inclined to offer reasonable settlements with no trial scheduled.  It is common for insurance companies to try and settle claims with the pressure of facing a jury trial.  Without facing a jury trial, insurance companies are in a position to make unreasonably “low” offers.

Justice is not being done when victims of an auto accident, a wrongful death, medical malpractice or employment discrimination are compelled to accept “low” settlement offers.  Insurance companies will take advantage of the cancellation of civil jury trials.

Researchers at the American Association for Justice identified the “worst insurance companies for consumers.  The list includes companies across different types of insurance, including homeowners and auto insurers, health insurers, life insurers and disability insurers.

The report identifies the “Ten Worst Insurance Companies” as:

1.         Allstate

2.         Unum

3.         AIG

4.         State Farm

5.         Conseco

6.         WellPoint

7.         Farmers

8.         UnitedHealth

9.         Torchmark

10.       Liberty Mutual

The report concludes that many insurance companies do all they can to maximize profits and rid themselves of claims.  To read the complete report, click on the link: Ten Worst Insurance Companies in America

11. You need to ask your doctor to explain the treatment plan you will use at home.

12. You need to make sure you and your doctor agree on exactly what will be done during an upcoming surgery.

13. You need to ask questions or voice any concerns you have.

14. You need to make sure that your primary care doctor is involved with your case.

15. You need to make sure that all health or professionals involved in your care have important health information – don’t assume they know everything they need to know.

16. You need to have a family member or friend with you if you need help speaking up for you.

17. You need to find out why a test or treatment is being recommended or are you better off without it.

18. You need to ask the results of any tests.

19. You need to learn about your condition and treatment options.

20. You need to be involved and informed in order to protect yourself from medical errors.