New Orleans Personal Injury Archives

 

Four Things Your Doctor Needs To Know

Today, I want to talk to you about a case that I had recently where the client was in a deposition and was being questioned by the other attorney. And what the client was telling them didn’t really seem to jive with the medical records when they then later deposed the medical doctor.

The Trouble With Electronic Medical Records

And what we found out in that deposition is that with the new electronic medical records requirements, many times those systems will default and always, for each visit, list whatever the original complaints were. 

Well, that’s not really realistic, because over time, your pain changes, It gets better, it gets worse, whatever. You have to make sure you let your doctor know that. 

How To Make Sure Your Doctor Is Well-Informed

So I’m going to give you a trick for making sure that your doctor is as well informed as he or she can be. This means that any diagnosis and treatment plans can be modified along the way to ensure that you get the best recovery because your doctor is properly informed.

The Four Factor System

There are four factors. I’m going to go through them one at a time. Every time you see your doctor, whether it’s related to one specific body part or each one, you want to make sure that you relate to the doctor these four factors for each of the various body parts that are negatively affected or that are injured or hurting. 

The Nature Of The Pain

The first one will be the nature of the pain. Each time, tell that doctor whether it’s burning, a tingling, numbness, a shooting pain, or whatever. Describe exactly what type of pain it is to the doctor.

The Intensity of The Pain

The next one involves the famous 0 to 10 pain scale, with 0 being no pain at all, and 10 being the most excruciating pain you’ve ever endured. Let the doctor know where you are on the scale with regard to each injury. 

Frequency and Duration

Third, consider the frequency of the complaints. How often are you suffering from this issue for each body part? Is it once a day? Is it twice a week? Is it four times a month? 

The final or fourth factor is the duration of the pain, and that means when the pain comes, how long does it last? Is it 30 seconds or 3 hours?

The Benefits of Being Proactive

What you’re doing there is being proactive about letting that doctor have the opportunity to compare each visit to determine how your pain is changing and whether it’s getting better or worse. 

That way, the doctor can then modify your treatment plan, modify the exercises that you’re doing, and focus on the more serious problems to help you get an overall faster and better resolution of your symptoms.

I really hope that this information helps you. If you have any questions, email me, chip@cosselaw.com.

 

Today, I want to talk to you about another way you can reduce your insurance premiums. And this would apply whether it’s automobile insurance, homeowner’s, or whatever. 

The Insurance Companies’ Business Model

As you know, insurance companies have a very clear business model. Basically, the premiums that they charge you are based on the amount of risk that they’re going to undertake. 

So it’s a good idea for you to be proactive and let your insurance company know what steps you’ve taken to reduce their risk, which will thereby reduce your premiums.

How To Reduce Your Car Insurance Premium

Let’s talk about your car. Does it have any particular safety features? These days, some cars will automatically hit the brakes if they sense a collision. Your insurance company won’t always ask you whether you have that feature. You need to be proactive and let them know if you do. 

The same is true if you have any kind of special computerized features on your car that can help avoid accidents. Always be sure to let them know.

Lower Your Homeowner’s Insurance Premium

On the homeowner’s side, your rates can be affected by whether or not you have a security system, whether or not you have security cameras, and whether or not they’re monitored. 

They are also affected by whether or not you have electronic door locks or something they call bump proof keys, where people can’t just use those little tools and pick your locks. 

The biggest thing I want to let you know about, especially if you live in the New Orleans area, is this. I’m sure you’ve seen those little lights on top of the poles around town that flash red and blue. Those are crime cameras and they are run by what’s called the Real Crime — I mean, the Real-Time Crime Center.

The Real-Time Crime Center’s Program

I’ve been fortunate enough to visit that Center and find out about the program they have, and it’s incredible. They don’t have enough cameras around town. And so they’re trying to get people that do have security cameras on their system. 

This allows those people to be monitored by the police and get faster police response times. And it also gives the city a free way of jumping onto their camera systems to monitor more areas of the city.

I think you can do it for free. Either that, or there may be a very minimal cost just for the setup of it to get you hooked into their system. But if you do that, and I’m in the process of doing it right now myself, make sure you let your insurance company know that you’re being monitored by the New Orleans Police Real Time Crime Center. That may also bring your premiums down.

So you can see from just a few examples that if you comb through the security features that you have in your life, make sure to let your insurance companies know about them. Don’t rely on them to ask you. I hope this is helpful.

 

As you know, I’m a personal injury attorney in New Orleans, and one of the things I’ve come across many times over the years is disability insurance. 

What Is Disability Insurance?

What exactly is disability insurance? If you are working and you are injured in some fashion, whether it’s through another person’s fault or not, and you can no longer work, then this policy pays you a sum of money while you’re disabled. So, there are a couple of factors that are very important to know about disability insurance.

The Amount Of Coverage

The first thing you need to know is the amount of the coverage payment should you have to make a claim. And you always want to make that payment equal to what your current income is, after taxes. 

So whatever your net income would be that you normally live on, you want the coverage payment to match it. Now as your income level increases or decreases, you can change the policy from year to year. That’s not a big deal.

The Definition Of Disability

The second factor is the biggest factor, and it’s really where the rubber meets the road. It’s called the definition of disability. 

So when you’re going to buy a policy, it’s always very important to look at an example of that policy and specifically at the definition section. That’s the way insurance policies are written. 

They have definitions that will apply to the policy itself. And then it will also give all the provisions, what’s covered, what’s excluded, and things like that. But in that very first section of definitions, it’s going to say “Definition of Disability.” This is huge.

The Problem With Cheaper Policies

Cheaper policies define disability to mean that you can’t work at all. In many cases, this is not going to be the case. So, for example, if you are a mechanic at a car dealership, and you could theoretically go flip hamburgers, then that definition of disability will not be met and you will be excluded from any sort of claim. 

And if that’s the case, it can be very tragic for you and your family because you’re going to go from a very high-income level to very little or even no coverage.

Why You Should Consider An Own Occ Policy

So what you want to do, especially if you have any specialized training or you’re highly educated, and perhaps have a graduate degree, for example, a Ph.D., you want to get what’s called an Own Occ policy. 

This essentially means that the definition of disability will read that if you cannot perform the essential functions of the job for which you were educated and trained, then the disability provision provides coverage. This will leave you in a much better situation. 

The bad part about that is that since those policies are going to be made payable a lot more often, the premiums for those are going to be higher.

Now I know everyone looks at insurance as a big soccer bet, but if you need it, it’s good to have it in place. So if you have any questions, please give me a call or email me at chip@cosselaw.com.

Everyone hates to pay insurance premiums because they have much better things to spend their money on. Their children can be very expensive, and they also have other things that are generally more important to them, things such as grocery bills, tuition, good things like that. 

So here are a few easy ways to reduce your premiums. The one that most people miss is increasing their deductibles.

What Is A Deductible?

Let’s say you’ve been involved in an accident, and let’s say there’s going to be a payout for your property damage. You will be responsible for a certain amount of that, a certain dollar amount, and that’s your deductible. It’s the amount that’s deducted from what the insurance company pays. 

Most people like to keep their deductible low so that they don’t come out of pocket. I say that’s a bad idea. The reason why is because depending on your circumstances, you might want to consider increasing your deductible. 

How Increasing Your Deductible Can Save You Money

Consider how many people you have in your home that are covered under the policy, and how many miles each of them drives in a given year. You can assess all of that and determine whether or not an increase in your deductible is a good idea.

Now, why would anybody want to do that? Insurance companies are going to make their money, one way or the other. If something goes up, another thing goes down. The same thing holds true when it comes to the relationship between your deductible and your insurance premium. 

What You Should Do

Take pen to paper and do the math, and see if you think increasing your deductibles is a good idea. So when you’re going to buy insurance or even if you have a pending policy right now, call your insurance agent. 

Ask them, “Now, my deductible is $250. What if I go up to $500? What if I go up to $1,000? What if I go up to $2,500?” Then make a decision depending on what you can afford, under your circumstances, if something bad happens. 

You may be astounded to find out that doubling your insurance deductible from $250 to $500 may reduce your annual premiums by $2,000. So if you can go a year without any casualty losses or accidents, those savings are going to go right into your pocket.

I would suggest you do that and see how high you can get that deductible to where it’s comfortable for you and reduces your premiums in a meaningful way. If you have any questions, please write me at chip@cosselaw.com. I’ll be happy to answer any of your questions.

Make no mistake. Emergency medical technicians – EMTs – are frequently heroes. Overwhelmingly, the majority of EMTs are dedicated healthcare professionals who often risk their own safety to rescue and treat accident victims and others who are injured or at risk.

But what if an EMT makes a mistake when dealing with a patient at the scene of an accident? What if an EMT actually injures you through negligence? Do you have any legal recourse? Can you be compensated if you are injured by a negligent EMT? Can a medical malpractice law firm in New Orleans help?

HOW DO MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CLAIMS ARISE IN LOUISIANA?

Medical malpractice claims in Louisiana may be triggered by the negligent actions of nurses, doctors, dentists, pharmacists, and any other medical professional or healthcare provider who is negligent – including emergency medical technicians.

If an EMT is negligent when dealing with a patient, the patient may bring a medical malpractice action against the EMT or the EMT’s employer. If that patient is you, you will need the advice and services of an experienced New Orleans medical malpractice attorney.

An emergency medical technician may be the first person on the scene when a traffic crash happens or when someone has a medical emergency. Medical malpractice claims based on negligence against EMTs and paramedics in Louisiana are rare.

WHO MAY BE THE TARGET OF A MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CLAIM?

That’s because in some malpractice cases that involve EMTs, the EMT may not personally be the target of the malpractice claim. If a patient is injured by an EMT’s mistake, who might a lawsuit be filed against?

Emergency 911 services are operated by local governments, but ambulance services are privately owned. A victim of an EMT’s negligence might sue the EMT personally, the local government, or the ambulance service. A victim will need an attorney’s help at every stage of the process.

Most medical malpractice cases in Louisiana are settled out-of-court before a case can go to trial. However, if the case goes to trial and your claim prevails, your award may be “capped” by state law. (More about the damage caps will be explained below.)

WHEN SHOULD YOU CONSULT A MEDICAL MALPRACTICE LAW FIRM IN LOUISIANA?

If you believe that you have been injured because of the negligence of an emergency medical technician – or the negligence of a paramedic – in Louisiana, you must contact an award-winning New Orleans medical malpractice attorney at once to discuss the details of your case.

You’ll need that help because medical malpractice claims are among the most complicated legal procedures. Medical malpractice claims in our state, for example, may be pursued against either private or public healthcare providers – and there are different rules for the two types of claims.

If your claim is against a private healthcare provider, you must follow the procedures specified by the Louisiana Medical Malpractice Act. If your claim is against a public healthcare provider, you must adhere to procedures set forth by the Malpractice Liability for State Services Act.

WILL YOU BE ALLOWED TO FILE A MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CLAIM?

Before you can file a medical malpractice claim against an EMT or an EMT’s employer, you must make sure that Louisiana law actually allows you to file a claim.

The law in Louisiana permits medical malpractice claims when injuries are caused by the negligence (or the willful misconduct) of a healthcare provider. A medical malpractice lawyer can review the details of your case and determine if the courts will allow you to pursue a claim.

That is one reason why you must speak to a medical malpractice lawyer before anything else can happen. Your first legal consultation with a Louisiana medical malpractice lawyer is free, and there is no obligation.

HOW DO EXPERT WITNESSES HELP MEDICAL MALPRACTICE VICTIMS?

Seeing a lawyer promptly after you’ve been injured is imperative because Louisiana’s statute of limitations for medical malpractice cases is only one year from the date of the injury.

Proving that an EMT was negligent in a manner that injured you may require help from a medical authority who, as an expert witness, can state that you would not have been injured if you had been treated by another, competent EMT in the same situation.

Testimony from a medical expert often makes the difference in medical malpractice cases. An expert can establish that an EMT or a paramedic acted negligently and that a plaintiff sustained a personal injury or injuries that he or she would not otherwise have suffered.

For a medical malpractice claim to prevail, you and your attorney will have to prove that a healthcare provider owed you a “duty” of care and was negligent in meeting that duty and in providing adequate medical care and treatment.

WHAT DAMAGES CAN BE AWARDED IN MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CASES?

You and your attorney must also prove that the healthcare provider’s negligence was the direct cause of your personal injury or injuries, and that your injury has resulted in quantifiable damages.

Two types of damages may be awarded in a Louisiana medical malpractice case:

Economic damages compensate medical malpractice victims for specific monetary losses arising from their injuries. Economic damages may include compensation for medical bills, prescription fees, lost wages, and lost future earnings capacity.

Non-economic damages compensate medical malpractice victims for damages that are not explicitly economic. Non-economic damages may include compensation for pain and suffering, loss of companionship and/or consortium, and loss of the enjoyment of life.

WHEN ARE MEDICAL MALPRACTICE AWARDS “CAPPED” IN LOUISIANA?

As mentioned previously, some awards for medical malpractice claims may be capped in Louisiana. If a medical malpractice defendant is not insured by the state, an award will not be capped, but that is rare in this state.

Louisiana law sets a $500,000 cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases when a defendant has insurance coverage from the state. The cap on non-economic damages was adopted by Louisiana in 1975 and has survived a number of legal challenges over four decades.

WHAT ARE YOUR RIGHTS AS A VICTIM OF MEDICAL MALPRACTICE?

Most of the work done by EMTs in Louisiana is excellent work, but anyone can be momentarily distracted and make a negligent mistake.

If you have been injured because an EMT was negligent in the greater New Orleans area – or anywhere else in Louisiana – exercise your rights. Contact an experienced medical malpractice lawyer to discuss your case and your options.

If you’ve been injured by negligence in Louisiana, you are entitled to compensation, and you have the right to a good attorney’s help. As mentioned previously, your first meeting with a medical malpractice attorney is free, and there’s no obligation.

If your future and your health are at stake, do not wait to exercise your rights. Make the call at once and get the legal guidance that you need.