First off, good thinking getting GAP coverage. Most people don’t have it and when they’re in a car accident end up owing more on their car than it’s worth.

Your first step should be to contact your insurance company and tell them to “reopen your claim.” All this takes is a phone call to get your claim started.

DC United’s Charlie Davies Sues DC Nightclub, Drink Company Red Bull Over Car Crash

The professional soccer player claims that the bar and Red Bull overserved, and continued to overserve a woman alcohol. The woman has since pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter and drunken driving for the 2009 car accident.

This type of case is referred to as a “dram shop liability” case. Basically, restaurants and bars have a duty to stop serving people that are noticeably overly intoxicated. Otherwise, they contribute to drunk driving and the car accidents they cause.

The big problem I see with Mr. Davies’ case?

If this were in Oklahoma, an insurance defense attorney would definitely want to point out that Davies was hanging out with the woman that caused the accident. So, Davies should have known the risk of getting in the car with someone that was heavily intoxicated. This is known as “assumption of risk.”

Freakonomics (which is a fun blog to subscribe to) has a good blog post on the BlackBerry outage in the drop in car accidents in Abu Dhabi. This is a staggering statistic – the number of car accidents fell by 40%, and there were no fatal car accidents.

Mr. Johnson mentions that he gets and oil change every 7,000 miles, but also uses an additive called Prolong. He also notes that he regularly rotates his tires. He has had to pay $200 for a new radiator! He also tows a trailer with granite in it.

This makes my Chevy Tahoe sound pretty new. It only has just over 190,000 miles.

Related articles

• 2011 Chevy Tahoe 4WD Hybrid: RideLust Review (ridelust.com)
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Goodyear states that improper inflation makes a difference in 3.3 percent of fuel economy. That’s roughly 12 cents per gallon.

This is a meeting with you and the attorney to discuss your case. Some law firms will actually just have you meet with a legal assistant. Bring any documents you think could be related to your case. Any correspondence from the other driver’s insurance company and your insurance company, any medical records, and the accident report are all helpful. Also, bring a list of questions you have that you would like answered.

This is also an opportunity to meet with the attorney to see if you would actually like to work with him or her. You don’t need to hire an attorney or law firm just because they met with you.

When I first meet with a potential client, we typically discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the case, what else needs to be done on the case, and how long the case will likely take. If the client and I both want to proceed, we sign a contract.

The “industry standard” on car accident cases is usually 1/3 (or 33.33%) of the total recovery. The percentage is often increased if the case goes to trial as well. Without more information, I can’t tell you if that fee percentage is fair. Factors to look at:

• Is the car accident contested liability? That is, is it clear who caused the accident?
• Is the claim destined for trial?
• How much expenses is the attorney going to need to advance? For example, it can easily cost $5,000  to pay for a doctor’s time in testifying in a car accident case.
• How many doctors will need to testify in the case?
• Are medical experts going to need to testify to your injuries?

As a frame of reference, our car accident attorney fees typically start at 25%.

Also note that typically, the attorney(s) on the other side of the case (representing the defendant) are paid by the insurance company directly. Oftentimes the are actually salaried employees of the insurance company.

I’m seeing more and more insurance adjusters giving cases the “MIST” treatment. It doesn’t matter if the wreck was high impact or not. One of the main problems with people that have been injured in lower impact cases is that their damages aren’t as high. Here’s a quick example:

Someone is rear-ended by someone that is going 25 m.p.h. They go to the doctor and get followup treatment for their back and neck sprain. Their total medical bills are about $6000. The insurance company will often offer less than the actual medical bills to settle the claim.

Guess what happens if the claimant accepts the offer? They still have to pay their doctors, so they end up being out of money for an accident they didn’t cause. The insurance company has little incentive to offer a reasonable amount until an attorney gets involved. If a lawsuit is filed, a doctor will need to be able to testify about the plaintiff’s injuries. Doctors typically charge $1000/hr for this type of thing. You can easily run up a bill trying a case.

The simple fact is that people can get injured in minor impact collisions.

Assuming you have an iPhone or Android, the app is free! I tried it on my iPhone and it works really well. It works for both driving and walking maps. I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before Google comes out with something similar.

Here are two medical providers that will treat car accident injury patients:

Both providers will treat on what’s called a “lien-basis.” Basically, they will wait to get paid until you settle with the car insurance company to get paid.