Determining the Value of a Personal Injury Claim and What Can Be Done to Maximize Payment for Your Damages

The most common question personal injury lawyers get from their clients is, “What is my case worth?”or “what will my settlement be?”  The answer is dependent on many factors, including the type of injury the client sustained, the severity of the injury, the city, county and state where the injury occurred, whether the client sustained economic losses such as wage loss, whether the jury can relate to the client, whether the jury likes the client and his attorney, whether the jury feels compassion for the client and/or the at-fault party, and, among many other factors, the quality of the evidence presented at trial and at mediation. Any attorney who promises what a case is worth during the initial meeting is one you may wish to steer clear from. I advise client that if they are promised a certain amount in money damages in a settlement or trial, to ask that lawyer to put his opinion in writing.

What should be the focus is on what you can do to maximize settlement offers and jury verdicts. Below are examples of what can be done to maximize payment for your harms and losses.

1.                   Always tell the truth. Be completely upfront with your attorney and your treating doctor about any previous injuries and do not embellish your injuries or damages.  This is critical. As a former insurance defense attorney for the largest insurance defense law firm in the U.S., insurance companies look far and wide for previous injuries and are very good at what they do. The likelihood that they uncover previous injuries is very high and they hope that you will lie about your injuries, so that they may exploit this at mediation or at trial. As a former insurance company trial attorney, I routinely hired investigators to help determine where plaintiffs may have had prescriptions filled. The records would then list all doctors who prescribed the plaintiff medications, then I would subpoena the records of each and every doctor or hospital referenced in the pharmacy records. This is just one tool that litigation savvy insurance defense attorneys utilize to uncover previous injuries. Another tool is to subpoena the records of each and every health insurance company, which provided health insurance to the plaintiff.

2.                   Attend each and every appointment with your medical provider, including physical therapists. Insurance defense attorney focus in on missed appointments and will argue that a plaintiff would be better if he or she attended these missed appointments and attempt to convince the jury that you do not care about getting better. Further, providers, especially physical therapists, oftentimes comment about missed appointments.  Make sure to tell your doctor how you are feeling in detail at every appointment.

3.                   Tell your doctor or physical therapist how you are feeling. If your doctor asks how you are feeling, and at that time you are feeling lethargic because of medications or that the night before you experienced significant pain, tell your doctor about it. If he or she asks you how you are feeling, and you answer “fine” when you really are not, your doctor will likely write in your chart “patient reports that he is feeling fine today”.

4.                   Maintain a journal of all medical appointments and a lot of days where you felt more pain than others.  It may be hard to remember specific details a year after the injury. For example, write down when it was impossible to catch any sleep because of a back injury, or where you had to take a day off from work because of pain, or that you weren’t able to attend a camping trip with your son’s Cub Scout pack because it involved carrying heavy equipment. These are important facts that your attorney will want to present to the insurance company in settlement negotiations or explain to a jury.  Provide this journal to your attorney at regular intervals.

5.                   Take photographs of the damage to your vehicle, motorcycle, etc.: Oftentimes clients have their car repaired before hiring an attorney. If you have been involved in an auto, truck, bicycle or motorcycle crash, have a friend or family member immediately take multiple photographs of your vehicle, motorcycle or bicycle. Your attorney will use these photographs during settlement negotiations, mediation and at trial. It is important for the jury to understand the impact. Do not include yourself in any photographs. Don’t count on your insurance company turning over photographs to you. 

These are just a few things to keep in mind to maximize the compensation for your harms and losses. Talk to a West Palm Beach personal injury attorney today!

Worthless or Bad Checks in Florida – Tips to Protect You and Your Business

This article is written to provide readers with an overview of Florida law regarding worthless and fraudulent checks. This article is for general information only and should not be considered legal advice. Under the laws of Florida, any check returned from a bank and stamped or labeled “NSF” (Non-Sufficient Funds), “No Such Account”, Account Not Found”, “Account Closed”, or “Closed Account” are worthless checks, or commonly known as “bad checks”. 

The most common complaint to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) is the receipt of fraudulent checks. Under Florida law, passing a fraudulent check is a violation of Florida Statute Section 831.02 (“Uttering a Forged Instrument”). Specifically, the Statute states: “Whoever utters and publishes as true a false, forged or altered record, deed, instrument or other writing mentioned in Florida Statute Section 831.01 knowing the same to be false, altered, forged or counterfeited, with intent to injure or defraud any person, shall be guilty of a felony of the third degree” The maximum sentence is five years in jail.

Being on the receiving end of a bad check is frustrating, to say the least. Oftentimes, bad checks cause those who deposited the worthless check to incur bank fees. This article discusses methods of spotting worthless check and methods to protect you or your business from criminals passing worthless or fraudulent checks.

Pursuant to Florida Statutes Section 832 (“Violations Involving Checks or Drafts”), bad checks are either first-degree Misdemeanors or third degree felonies. Conviction of a first-degree misdemeanor in Florida may result in up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. A third-degree felony may result in up to five years in a Florida prison and a $5,000 fine.

Here are a few tips to follow when receiving a check:

Florida checks vs. out-of-state checks: It is much more difficult to prosecute and collect out-of-state checks.

Carefully look over the check: Make sure that the signature matches the name on the check. Look for alterations to the check. Watermarks on a check are a sign of a fraudulent check as watermarks are not supposed to be seen under normal, natural light.  Consider turning down checks with low check numbers (under 500). Do not accept any checks, which appear to be altered or completely free of at least one perforated edge. Dirty or smeared checks are a sign of fraudulent checks. Checks with driver’s license numbers already written on the front of the check are a common indication that the check is fraudulent. If the check appears suspicious in any way, call the bank listed on the check.

Post-dated checks: Do not accept checks that are post-dated as it will be more difficult to prosecute.

Third-party checks: Do not accept third-party checks. Meaning, checks given to you by someone other than the person listed on the check.

Always ask for photo identification, such as a driver’s license: Make sure that the signature on the identification matches that on the check. Look and feel the picture on the license and turn down the check if the license seems abnormal in any way.  We suggest that you include on the check the sender’s address and telephone number, date of birth, and name of his/her employer.

If your senses cause you to be suspicious, it is better to request that the person or business providing you with a check to obtain a bank check from a trusted bank.  Even then you should inspect the check. 
===========================================================


Timothy C. Nies leads the firm’s personal injury, maritime injury, civil litigation, and commercial litigation practice groups.  He has spent the past 10 years, first defending well-funded insurance companies and large corporations in complex personal injury cases. If you you are looking for a West Palm Beach Litigation Lawyers, the West Palm Beach Trial Lawyers at Van Riper & Nies Attorneys, P.A. are ready to fight for you today!

How to Respond to Fraudulent Lawsuits

If you have been sued and served with a complaint, which is completely fraudulent, Florida Judges have the authority, under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.150, to strike, the complaint right from the beginning. A sham pleading is a complaint, petition, etc. that appears to be in a proper format, but in actuality is false, and which is not pleaded or brought in good faith. Specifically, a Florida court in a  1934 case, Rhea v. Hackney, defined a sham pleading as being "palpably or inherently false, and from the plain or conceded facts in the case, must have been known to the party interposing it to be untrue." 

For example, if you have been served with a complaint (pleading) by a sore ex business associate, which states he is the owner of your vehicle, which you did some business in with the person suing you, and you can show that you are the rightful owner and your ex business associate is falsely alleging that the vehicle is his, a Florida court should strike the complaint. 

For a pleading to be a "sham" pleading, the person or entity filing the pleading must have filed it "without color of fact." It is a sham when it is inherently, or completely false, and when considering conceded facts, must have been known by the person or entity filing it to be completely untrue. If it is clearly established that perjured testimony has been given, a Florida court may cite the person for contempt and possibly sent to Florida's State Attorney's Office for investigation. The court will also strike the pleading, or sworn testimony, which has been clearly, and indisputably, proven to the court to be a sham pleading.

If you have been served with a complaint, which you believe to be inherently untrue, you should speak with an attorney before the time you have to respond to the complaint. Do not just sit back and do nothing. Otherwise, you run the risk of the court entering a default against you based on a complaint, which contains inherently false information. Oftentimes,defendants in small claims courts cannot afford to hire an attorney. If this is the case, you can file a motion to strike a pleading as a sham. You will need to prepare a statement of the facts and have it notarized by a notary.  After you file the motion to strike a sham pleading, the judge is required to set a hearing on your motion. Here, the judge will hear from both parties and review all the evidence. If, for example, if the issue is ownership of a car, you should write out the facts that support that the car is indeed yours in your affidavit and and include a bill of sale showing that the car was purchased by you, and a valid title and registration showing that the car is indeed your car and registered as your car. 

A judge will strike the pleading as a sham pleading only if the pertinent facts are not disputed by the plaintiff and defendant, and only if the pleading or complaint is not supported by the facts. If the complaint filed against you is supported by even some amount of evidence, then the judge cannot strike the complaint as a sham. 

Remember, that if you have been served with a complaint, whether or not you believe it is based on false information, you should immediately speak with an attorney.

Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and should not be construed as formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship.  If you have been served with a complaint, you should always speak with an attorney right away. The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements. Before you decide, ask us to send you free written information about our qualifications and experience. This web site is designed for general information only. The information presented at this site or the submission of any form or email should not be construed to be formal legal advice or the formation of a lawyer/client relationship.

Timothy C. Nies leads the firm’s personal injury, maritime injury, civil litigation, and commercial litigation practice groups.  He has spent the past 10 years, first defending well-funded insurance companies and large corporations in complex personal injury cases. If you you are looking for a West Palm Beach Litigation Lawyers, the West Palm Beach Trial Lawyers at Van Riper & Nies Attorneys, P.A. are ready to fight for you today!

Palm Beach Criminal Defense Lawyers

We work for your freedom...
Experienced, hard-working and dedicated, Van Riper Nies trial attorneys are committed to protecting your rights and freedom.

Our attorneys practice in criminal defense and criminal appeals. We leave no stone unturned in the defense of our clients' freedom. The life experiences of our trial lawyers set us apart from other Palm Beach criminal attorneys. Our lead criminal defense attorney, Christian Van Riper, a former DCF Investigator, was selected as a Law Clerk for the Florida Supreme Court, which is an honor very few attorneys are selected for. Immediately thereafter, Christian began his legal career as a prosecutor for the State of Florida, where he litigated and tried countless serious felony cases. As a felony prosecutor, he honed his jury trial skills and learned valuable information about how the State of Florida prosecutes crimes.

Our attorney, Timothy Nies, is a U.S. military veteran, having served with the  Army's 75th Ranger Regiment, a component of the United States Special Forces Operations Command. After sustaining a knee injury during a parachute mission, Timothy went straight into law school. Thereafter, he was a senior casualty trial attorney for the largest insurance defense law firm in the country, where he defended police agencies in false arrest cases, as well as businesses and government agencies in civil rights and personal injury claims.

Christian knows how prosecutors in criminal defense litigate cases because he has been a prosecutor for many years. This distinctive insight has proven very valuable over the years in defense of our clients. Tim and Christian, who are cousins who have known each other for most of their lives, try all cases as a strong and efficient trial team. 

For a free consultation to talk about your charge, call  Palm beach criminal defense lawyers at 561-962-3130, complete the contact form below, or e-mail us at christian@vanriperandnies.com 
We are available day and night and on the weekends.