Serving Utah
1834 East 3100 NLayton, UT 84040
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Deterrence
You were recently involved in a motor vehicle accident or some other accident which caused injury to yourself or loved ones. You are not at fault, but you are having a hard time deciding how to proceed. You know that you didn’t do anything wrong, but you are a person with high moral integrity, and the thought of seeking legal help with your claims seems somehow wrong.
This thought process is not uncommon, especially in our great state of Utah, where religious considerations are more prolific. You may find yourself opposed to taking and legal measures against another, but you are also concerned with the competing interest of taking care of yourself and your loved ones.
Interestingly enough, our founding fathers and early legal minds contemplated the purpose and function of tort laws – laws that redress a wrong done to a person. These laws have two purposes: to punish wrongdoers and deter wrongful conduct. They also help to vindicate parties and deter retaliation or violent and unlawful self help. As you can see, deterrence is an important purpose of the legal tort system.
We at Feller & Wendt can help you can help you make this community a safer place by working to deter future wrongful conduct. Our strategy of legal representation seeks to send a message to wrongdoers that their…
- Failure to pay attention;
- Failure to secure a dangerous dog;
- Failure drive sober;
- Failure stay off their cell phone;
- Failure obey the rules of the road;
- Failure to provide safe housing;
- Failure to provide safe medical treatments;
…is not acceptable and cannot be repeated in the future. As such, your potential law suit can be the catalyst for a jury (members of our community) to both redress your injuries and deter future negligent conduct by the defendant. Legal action allows our community to protect itself and to help deter members of our society from acting in a manner that can cause harm to us and our loved ones. It is an opportunity for you and all of us to send a message that we all need to repeatedly hear “Safety Matters”.
So while you are mulling over the moral dilemma that you may be facing regarding your option to pursue legal actions for your claims, remember that you have an opportunity – and can I dare say, an obligation – to help deter the kind of conduct that led to your injuries or the injuries of your loved ones. Help prevent that teen down the street from texting while driving. Help stop the doctor in our local hospitals from providing treatments without proper and thorough diagnostics. Help keep our nursing homes safe for all our elderly (including us when our times comes). Help keep that dangerous dog away from children in your neighborhood.
Contact Feller & Went for a risk free assessment of your case and an opportunity to make our community a safer place for all.
Accidents Involving Semi-Trucks and Other Large Vehicles
There are a number of things you should consider if you are involved in an accident with a semi-truck or other large vehicle. Semi-trucks have the potential to do massive damage to your car or truck and leave you seriously injured. If your vehicle is destroyed and you have significant injuries, you may feel pressured to reach a settlement with the trucking company or their insurance provider. Many medical care providers will be hesitant to treat you without payment, and you may not have the money to pay your own medical expenses while you are waiting for a verdict or settlement from the accident. The good news is that a commercial trucking company is more likely to have higher coverage on their insurance policy or assets to help pay for anything that insurance doesn’t cover. That means that, once your case is finished, you’re more likely to have enough money to cover all of your expenses and injuries.
Having an attorney is invaluable if you have been involved in any accident— even more so if you have been involved in an accident with a large vehicle. Medical care providers are often more willing to provide treatment if they know that an attorney is prosecuting your claim. Large trucking companies sometimes have complex and confusing procedures for handling accident claims. Having an attorney dedicated to handling your case helps ensure that your claim is resolved as quickly as possible. If you have been involved in an accident with a semi-truck or other large vehicle, call Feller & Wendt for a free consultation. We can provide an expert analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of your case and help you understand the steps to resolution. If you decide to hire our firm, we’ll provide comprehensive representation in all stages of your case, allowing you to focus on getting your life back to normal.
(PIP) Personal Injury Protection in Utah
If you are involved in an automobile collision in Utah, there are many different types of insurance coverage that might help cover expenses and losses related to the accident. One of the main types of coverage that will almost always come into play is personal injury protection (PIP).
In Utah, you can submit a claim to your own insurance carrier for PIP benefits regardless of whether or not you caused the collision (whether or not you were “at-fault”). Your Utah PIP coverage will include (at minimum): $3,000 for medical expenses, the lesser of $250 per week or 85%% of lost wages for up to 52 weeks, household services of up to $20 per day for up to 365 days, funeral expenses up to $1,500 per person, and a death benefit of $3,000.
One common misunderstanding relating to PIP coverage is thinking that exhausting one benefit exhausts all of PIP. For instance, the $3,000 benefit for medical expenses is one of the most frequently utilized benefits in automobile collisions, but many people don’t realize that they can still submit a claim for up to $13,000 in lost wages and/or $7,300 in household services, even if their $3,000 medical expense benefit is exhausted.
If you or someone you know has been involved in a tragic motor vehicle accident , call our Personal Injury Attorneys for a no fee consultation. We will explain your rights and give you comfort of knowing we will be there every step of the way.
Our Family Protecting Yours
Sources:
http://le.utah.gov/code/TITLE31A/htm/31A22_030700.htm
Personal Injury Accidents and Third Party Coverage
Last blog, we explained Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage and how it can help you if you are in an automobile accident. PIP is a form of first-party coverage, which means that the coverage exists with your own insurance carrier. Depending on the circumstances surrounding the accident, you may also have a claim against the insurance carrier of someone else who was involved in the accident—this is known as a third-party claim.
A third-party claim exists when someone else is liable for your damages and there is an insurance policy which covers that liability. For example, suppose that a driver runs a stop light and collides with your vehicle. Because the driver was negligent in running the stop light, they are liable to pay for the damages which their negligence caused (damage to your vehicle, your medical expenses, lost wages, etc.). As long as the other driver had liability insurance, you will file a claim with their insurance company, rather than suing the driver directly. The claim that you file is known as a third-party claim. Third-party claims are usually more complicated than first-party claims. Because first-party claims are with your own insurance carrier, your carrier’s desire to retain you as a customer can affect how they handle your claim. In addition, first-party claims generally depend mainly on the terms of your policy — if the policy covers the loss, you get paid—whereas third-party claims often depend heavily on both policy terms and a host of legal theories related to liability. This added complexity can make third-party claims more difficult to prove, and consequently, can make them more likely to require formal litigation to enforce.
If you are in need of a Personal Injury Attorney, call our offices for a no fee consultation. We will explain your rights and give you comfort of knowing we will be there every step of the way.
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