5 Common Mistakes Plaintiff Attorneys Make When Evaluating Low Speed Collision Cases
This report you now hold in your hands has helped hundreds of attorneys better represent their clients when it comes to litigating low speed collision cases.
You see, I wrote this personal injury report to help attorneys like you better understand what I saw as being one of the most misunderstood categories of personal injury law...the low speed collision.
In fact, I have noticed a recurring pattern in the attorneys with whom I've done business. They often overlooked 5 essential factors when evaluating low speed collision cases that gravely affected the outcome of their clients' cases.
Perhaps you've overlooked them as well?
If so, this oversight may very well force you to settle a case for far less of a value than it may truly be worth!
Or if you were forced to litigate the case, the jury could give a verdict in favor of the defense, or reward only a very small settlement to your client, thus forcing him or her to suffer with an unfair decision.
All Because You Failed To Secure The Information Necessary To Not Only Successfully Negotiate With Insurance Adjusters, But Also To Cross-Examine Defense Experts, Such As An Accident Reconstructionist Or Insurance Doctor, By Disproving Myths Like "Low Speed Crashes Do Not Cause Injury" Or The "No Damage-No Injury" Fallacy.
Well by reading this free report, you can quite possibly change all that!
Allow me, if you will, to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Ara Tepelekian DC and I am a doctor or chiropractic practicing right here in Northridge CA, just minutes away form your office. One of my subspecialties is in the treatment of trauma related injuries most commonly associated with auto accidents and work related traumas. What I have found to be amazing, but true, is that understanding the mechanism of whiplash injures (even at low speeds) and how they affect your clients will give you the knowledge needed to properly represent them.
So, let's begin!
Common Mistake Number One:
Failing To Evaluate The Condition Of the Vehicles!
What I have found in just about every low speed collision case I've worked with was that the attorney on the case knew personal injury law like the back of his or her hand, but rarely knew how to thoroughly access the vehicles involved in the collisions for "hidden damages". In fact, most of the time, they would just look at the pictures of the vehicle that were available, and that's it!
What would usually happen is once he or she saw minimal to no "visible" damage to the cars, the attorney's whole outlook on the case would go from optimistic about getting a new case to disappointment over what was then perceived as a lemon case that would have to be dropped.
This is a preposterous way of determining the potential for a serious injury! It would almost be like a detective going to a murder scene for ten minutes and because there was no gun found, close the case! Without further investigation, dismissing this case would be a big mistake!
Remember, There Is More To The Car Than Just The Body! This Is Why You Must Thoroughly Go Over The Car Inside And Out, As Well As Review The Bills
From The Body Shop To Find Those Subtle Clues That Will Irrefutably Dismiss The "No Damage-No Injury" Theory And Explain Why Your Client Was Injured
In What Appeared To Be An Ordinary Low Speed Collision.
Let's take the bumper system, for instance.
Upon initial inspection there may be no visible damage, but one thing to remember is that older vehicles show less damage than newer ones, so you must evaluate further.
Furthermore, there is no direct correlation in low speed collisions between increased "visible" bumper damage and greater occupant injury. In fact, because the bumper absorbed most of the force by collapsing, you may actually be surprised to find that there was minimal occupant damage...go figure!
Nor, for that matter, is there a direct relation of less "visible" bumper damage to no occupant injury. In the case of no visible bumper damage, as we remember from high school physics, energy is neither created or destroyed but is transferred. So since the vehicle, or in this case the bumper, did not absorb the force of the collision by "crumpling and bending", that energy was translated to and absorbed by the occupant(s) of the vehicle, namely your client(s)!
So Remember This Fact: Little Or No Visible Bumper Damage Does Not Indicate There Is No Damage To The Occupants Of The Vehicle!
Okay, you may be thinking, "This is all fine and dandy but I need objective proof." Well, upon deeper inspection of the bumper system, quite often you will find
this proof!
That's Right, Superficially The Bumper May Look Fine, But Closer Inspection Often Shows Insult To The Internal Bumper Mechanism, Such As The Mounts
Or Shock Absorbers. This Type Of Damage Indicates That There Was A
Force Large Enough To Fully Suppress The Shock Absorbers, Which Means Greater Acceleration To The Automobile, And Thus To The Occupant.
Also, if you have an accident reconstructionist analyze the car, he can estimate the amount of force the vehicle was subjected to by studying the marks left on the bumper pistons. You see, when these shock absorbers are compressed, they often leave behind marks on the piston rods indicating how far they were suppressed. The greater the force, the greater the amount of suppression.
These discoveries (as with the rest of the information you will learn) will now help you better cross examine a defense doctor who may be stating his or her opinion that your client's injuries could not have resulted from a "no visible damage" collision. Once you obtain this objective information about your client's bumper system you will be able to prove that the amount of acceleration your client's automobile underwent during the "low impact collision" was sufficient to cause significant soft tissue injury.
Common Mistake Number Two:
Failing To Evaluate The Records And Interview Your Client
For Mechanism Of Injury
While this is important when evaluating every type of collision, it is particularly important that you avoid this common mistake when evaluating low speed collision cases. You see, there are some common factors that must be taken into consideration when evaluating the mechanism of your client's injury that can explain the cause for
how they could have caused such great injuries as a result of such a low speed collision. You should ask your client each of the following points when you are performing your initial intake:
A. Angle Of Impact
Over the years I have found this to be one of the most common factors ignored by most attorneys (and doctors). Without turning this into a physics equation, what happens here is when your client's vehicle is struck by another vehicle at any other angle of impact besides directly from the rear (the front bumper of the car in the back striking squarely against the rear bumper of the car in front), his or her risk of serious long-term injuries increases dramatically! That's right, on many occasions, the research has shown when one vehicle strikes another vehicle at even a small angle off center, shearing forces occur which make the bumpers less effective at absorbing the impact (remember, that means more energy is transferred to your client). Additionally, these forces result in greater occupant injury by causing the seat back to twist, causing a greater movement of the occupant(s) inside the vehicle. This results in their head missing the head restraint, thus accentuating head and neck acceleration/deceleration, which is probably the reason for your client's head and neck pain after a low speed collision. However, you'll never know unless you investigate further and ask about things like angle of impact.
B. Body Positioning
A doctor trained in the art and science of evaluating low speed collisions will often ask questions pertaining to body positioning as a means of understanding the mechanism of injury and the cause of their patient's (your client's) pain. If you are not aware of the importance of body position during an impact, when you receive and review the medical records, you will miss important points made in the documentation (or not even touched upon in the case of the defense's records)! This will dramatically limit your ability to negotiate with an adjuster, or cross-examine the defense doctor or accident reconstructionist hired by the defense (they certainly would have a difficult time getting this information from looking at pictures)! So, let's go through some common factors pertaining to body positioning that may lead to an increased potential for injury during a low speed collision.
1. Occupant seating posture and positioning:
As we all know, most people don't sit in their car with perfect posture and with the seat positioned at the ideal angle.
That's right, in real life there are many situations that cause the driver and/or passenger to be out of this "ideal position" at the time of impact. For instance, most people get comfortable in their car and sit in a slouched position or lean forward in their seat (this happens with smaller women or men who have been found to sit about 3½ inches further forward in their seats than the ideal "test dummy" position). These differences in posture increase the risk of injury during a rear-end collision because now there is an increase in the distance of the occupant's head from the headrest.
2. Head positioning:
The research shows that occupants who had a rotated or inclined head position were much more likely to have ongoing symptoms for as long as 24 months after their injury than occupants whose head in the "neutral" position!
This is because when the head and neck are rotated, the deeper ligaments
and muscles that support the spine are contracted on one side and relaxed on the other. This leads to unilateral damage to the musculotendinous and ligamentous structures of the neck.
One common example of head rotation is at the time of impact, the driver's head is turned slightly to look in the rearview mirror.
3. Occupant's hand and foot positioning at the time of impact:
In the case where the patient (your client) has a shoulder, elbow or wrist injury, understanding the position of the hands (e.g., both hands are on the steering wheel or, in the case of a passenger, their outstretched arms and hands are braced against the dashboard) will explain how that injury (e.g., rotator cuff tear or carpal tunnel syndrome) could have occurred. This also goes for knee and ankle injuries. When the foot is on the brake at the time of the accident, the force that the brake pedal exerts back onto the foot often leads to significant soft tissue injuries to the ankle and in some cases, an ankle or foot fracture!
This is why it is important for the doctor (and you) to not only ask questions regarding angle of impact and body position but to understand what role they played in causing the injury. Again, with this knowledge you will be in a better position to negotiate with an adjustor or cross-examine an expert witness.
Common Mistake Number Three:
Failing To Understand The Significance That Body Size And Gender
Play In Low Speed Collisions!
Let me start this section off with a question. Which person do you think would be more likely too get injured in a low speed MVA, a tall person or a short person? If you said a taller person you were right. Not so fast, though; if you said a shorter person, depending on the circumstances, you would also be right! I know you're probably thinking, "How can this be?" The answer is simple and was explained earlier in common mistake number 2. Remember, if the body positioning or posture of the occupant changes, the biomechanics surrounding the impact changes and can turn an otherwise potentially injury-free scenario (e.g., the headrest is lined up properly with the occupant's head) into a serious injury. So keep this in mind.
For instance, taller people are at greater risk of injury to their neck because the head restraints on most cars are not high enough to help protect their head and neck during a motor vehicle collision.
Important Note:
The research has shown that head restraints often cause more injury than they actually prevent! As I mentioned above, a taller person often falls victim to this because the head restraint can't be positioned to properly accommodate the occupant's height. Furthermore, with regard to occupants of average height, if the head restraint isn't positioned properly (which often happens with passengers sitting in taxi cabs or someone else's car) the headrest may accentuate the injury instead of prevent it.
____
Unfortunately, some genetic factors, specifically height, put occupants at risk even if they sit in the "ideal" position. Additional genetic factors such as less muscle mass or small bone structure also put occupants at greater risk of injury. This is due to the fact that they have less of a secondary shield, if you will, to protect their bodies. This is why women, children and small-framed men have a higher risk of severe injury resulting from low speed cervical acceleration/deceleration injuries (this has been shown countless times throughout the years in the literature - feel free to call my office if you need one of these references).
So the next time an adjuster says your client's disc herniation is pre-existing because the low speed of the collision could have never resulted in such an injury, when you refer to the narrative report, instead of flying over the general physical findings section (height, weight, hair color, etc.) and going right to the conclusion/prognosis section, stop and pay close attention to those physical findings, for you may very well discover the reason why your 26 year old female patient who is 5' 4", weighs 110 pounds and was involved in a 5 mile per hour collision has a cervical disc herniation! Guess what, it's probably not pre-existing!
So never ignore the body size or the gender of your client when litigating auto accident collisions.
Common Mistake Number Four:
Not Keeping Up With The Latest Personal Injury Research
Including Studies On Low Speed Collisions
I find this mistake to be the most common of the 5 mistakes plaintiff attorneys make. In fact it's very rare, when I speak to a patient's attorney about their case, that I find they keep up with this vital information. The most common reason cited is they just don't have the time.
However, if you are going to successfully represent and litigate your personal injury cases (especially low speed collision cases), it is imperative that you keep up with the latest motor vehicle and personal injury research so that you'll have the ammunition to effectively cross-examine defense expert witnesses and disprove myths like:
Ø Injuries heal in 6-12 weeks
Ø Accident reconstructionists can predict patient injuries
Ø No damage to the car means no injury to the occupants
(or the greater damage means greater injury)
Ø Low speed collisions do not cause injuries
While at the same time have the research to back up your case!
Therefore, as a service to attorneys in our community, I would like to offer you
a free subscription to my personal injury newsletter entitled, "The Injury Bulletin".
Inside this monthly personal injury newsletter you will find the latest research on motor vehicle collisions, work related accidents and negligence cases that is helping plaintiff attorneys just like you successfully litigate more cases!
To order your free subscription call 1-818-700-0478 for
a 24 hour, 7 day per week recorded message.
Common Mistake Number Five:
Failing To Use A Doctor Trained In The Art And Science Of
Diagnosing And Treating Personal Injury Victims,
Especially Those Resulting From A Motor Vehicle Collision!
After reading this report you probably realize just how important it is for your clients to be seen by a doctor who is not only trained in treating traumatically induced injuries, especially low speed collisions, but who also understands the importance of thorough documentation.
Unfortunately, many inexperienced providers do not possess these skills or have this knowledge. Therefore when choosing a doctor to consult with or to recommend one of your clients to, consider the following criteria:
1. Does the doctor understand the 5 points outlined in this report?
2. Is the doctor skilled in treating traumatic injuries so that your client gets the appropriate care needed?
3. Does the doctor thoroughly document and objectively diagnose your client's condition?
4. Will the doctor refer to other specialists such as an orthopedist, neurologist or chiropractic physician as necessary?
5. Will the doctor keep you informed every step of the way with timely periodic progress reports, test results (e.g., MRI results), and when treatment is finished, provide you with a comprehensive final narrative report?
6. Does the doctor have a well-trained staff to handle your calls and help you quickly and easily get the information you need?
7. Is the doctor available for trial and depositions or to just consult with on a difficult case?
8. Is the doctor articulate and trained in the communication skills needed to convey your client's injuries and future impairment to a jury at trial?
Because I have years in working with patients who've sustained trauma related injuries, I have significant experience in the proper treatment and documentation of such cases, and my staff is well trained to handle all issues relating to these patients. Furthermore, I always make myself available to attorneys who might have questions regarding their client's injuries, and I also make myself available for testimony, should the case go to trial.
I hope this report has been informative and in reading it you will be able to better represent your clients when it comes to low speed collisions. In the past, many plaintiff attorneys have had great success using this information.
If you would like more information on any of the above-mentioned topics or if I can be of service to your law firm now or in the future, please feel free to call me at 818.700.0478