Tim Rayne

Pennsylvania Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyer

Tim Rayne

Pennsylvania Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyer

Tim Rayne

Give and Take – The Catch When You Pursue Both a Worker’s Compensation and a Personal Injury Claim

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The Benefit of Worker’s Compensation Insurance

Worker’s Compensation can be a great benefit to a worker who is injured while performing his or her job. In Pennsylvania, regardless of who was at fault for causing the injury, if you were injured while working, your employer is required to have Worker’s Compensation insurance to cover you.

Your Worker’s Compensation benefits will pay for your work-related injury medical expenses and will pay you roughly two thirds of your lost income up to certain statutory maximum rates.

The benefit of such a system is that if you suffer a serious injury and need extensive medical treatment and miss substantial time from work, your medical bills had lost wages will be covered.

The Worker’s Compensation system, however, does not provide injured workers with complete compensation. Although you receive medical bill payments and partial lost wage coverage, you are not reimbursed for all of your lost wages and you do not receive any compensation for any non-economic damages, like physical or emotional pain and suffering or the negative impact of the injuries on your life and activities.

Why You Should Also Consider a Third Party Lawsuit for Certain Work Accidents

Nevertheless, if the work accident was caused by someone other than the employee, the employer or a co-employee, then then you can consider filing a lawsuit for further compensation.

By way of example, if your job involves driving your car to visit clients and during the course of the workday you are involved in a car accident caused by somebody else, you could make a claim against that driver for compensation above and beyond what you are entitled to under Worker’s Compensation.  You could make a claim for for full reimbursement of any lost income as well as compensation for pain and suffering and the negative impact of the accident on your life and activities. Similarly, if you were involved in some other workplace accident that was caused by the negligence of someone other than your employee or a co-employee, like a slip and fall caused by the negligence of an independent contractor who was cleaning your workplace, you could likewise make a claim for full compensation.

The Catch With Pursuing a Lawsuit After Receiving Worker’s Compensation Benefits

There is a catch, however, when you receive Worker’s Compensation benefits and then choose to pursue a lawsuit arising out of the work accident.

Under Pennsylvania law, your Worker’s Compensation insurance carrier has a Lien on any recovery that you receive in your Personal Injury case. What that means is that the insurance company has the right to be reimbursed for any payments made on your behalf for medical bills or lost wages through the Worker’s Compensation system. So, if you receive compensation from your Personal Injury case, you have to pay back the Worker’s Compensation insurance company what it paid on your behalf in the Workers Compensation claim before you can receive any additional compensation from the lawsuit.

Mechanically what happens is that if you settle your lawsuit or receive a verdict at trial, then you have to report the resolution to your Worker’s Compensation insurance company and a strict formula is used to calculate the amount that you have to pay back to satisfy the Lien.

In my view, this Lien payback makes some sense, but it’s not entirely fair.

It makes sense that the Worker’s Compensation insurance company should be able to recover what it paid on your behalf because the third party caused the accident in the first place and it isn’t fair for you to receive double recovery, Worker’s Compensation benefits and lawsuit money. However, I do not think it is fair that the Worker’s Compensation insurance company is entitled to automatic full reimbursement based upon a rigid formula.

There are many cases in which you cannot recover full and fair compensation in a Personal Injury case, such as the case being risky so it is unwise to take it all the way to trial or the responsible party might not have enough insurance coverage to pay for all of the damages. In these cases, rather than being paid the entire Lien out of the lawsuit recovery, it seems more fair for the Worker’s Compensation insurance company to be reimbursed part of what they paid on your behalf, but for you to still receive some monies to make up for your pain and suffering in the negative impact of the injuries on your life and activities. Nevertheless, under Pennsylvania Law, the Worker’s Compensation Lien payback is absolute, automatically earmarking the money to be paid to the insurance company rather than to the injured person.

In certain circumstances, the Worker’s Compensation insurance company may agree to compromise or reduce its Lien in order to facilitate a settlement so that the injured party receive some money and the insurance carrier is reimbursed some money. This is a more equitable result compared to the insurance company receiving every dollar based upon a strict formula.

So, if you were injured at work in Pennsylvania and believe someone other than your employer or a co-employee is at fault, you should investigate your ability to pursue a lawsuit for compensation, but should also be aware of the Worker’s Compensation Lien that can impact the amount of money you may actually receive.

Tim Rayne is a Personal Injury Lawyer with the Chester County based full-service law firm MacElree Harvey.  For over 25 years, Tim has been helping accident victims understand their legal rights and the insurance claim process and has been fighting with insurance companies for fair compensation.  Tim handles a diverse mix of accident cases from Car, Truck, Motorcycle, Bicycle and Pedestrian Accidents, to Slip and Fall, Dog Bite and Medical Malpractice cases.  Tim has law offices in both Kennett Square and West Chester, Pennsylvania and also meets with clients at their homes or virtually via Zoom or FaceTime.  Tim offers Free Consultations regarding any Pennsylvania Injury Claim and can be reached at 6108400124 or trayne@macelree.com.  For more educational information on Pennsylvania Personal Injury Claims, check out Tim Rayne’s website TimRayneLaw.com.  

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Unfair Things That Happen in Personal Injury Cases – Attacks on Injured Person

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Unfair Things That Happen in Personal Injury Cases

As a 25-plus year Pennsylvania Personal Injury Lawyer, I’ve seen a lot of unfair things happen to Accident Victims, so I thought I’d write a series of articles talking about Unfair Things That Happen in Personal Injury Cases.

The first unfair thing is that the victim is often attacked and put on Trial.

Unfair Defense Tactic – Attack the Victim

You might think that a Personal Injury case would be primarily about the wrongful actions of the Defendant and holding the Defendant accountable for those mistakes.

But, it’s usually not.

In most cases, the focus is on the injured person, the Plaintiff, rather than the Negligent person or company, the Defendant.

In fact, to most Plaintiffs, it ends up feeling like they are “on trial” rather than the Defendant and the case becomes a fishing expedition into the Plaintiff’s background and a personal attack on the Plaintiff.

To try to prevent the Defendant from being held fully accountable for the wrongful act, Defense lawyers will try to paint the Plaintiff in a bad light by showing that the Plaintiff is litigious because of prior legal claims.

Defense lawyers will also subpoena past medical records to try to argue that the Plaintiff had prior injuries that are the culprit of any continuing problems.

Defense lawyers also use “hired gun” doctors who frequently work for their side of the case to review medical records and examine the Plaintiff with the hope that the doctor will testify that the Plaintiff is not injured or that the injuries are related to a prior condition rather than the accident.

The Plaintiff also has to answer written questions during the lawsuit (Interrogatories) and produce medical and income information, as well as sit for a Deposition to answer questions under oath about his/her background, the accident and his/her injuries.

If the case goes to a trial, the Plaintiff has to testify and often faces aggressive cross-examination from the Defense lawyer designed to attack his/her credibility with the hope of minimizing the Verdict.

In the end, the Plaintiff often feels as if he/she is on Trial, rather than the Defendant which is unfair because it was the Defendant’s Negligence that caused the Accident in the first place!

Tim Rayne is a Personal Injury Lawyer with MacElree Harvey.  For over 25 years, Tim has been helping injured accident victims receive fair treatment from insurance companies.  Tim handles Car, Truck, Motorcycle, Truck, Bicycle and Pedestrian Injuries, as well as Slip and Fall, Medical Malpractice and Dog Bite Cases.  You can Contact Tim at 6108400124 or trayne@macelree.com or check out his website at TimRayneLaw.com.

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What is Fair Compensation in a Pennsylvania Wrongful Death Case?

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What is Fair Compensation in a Pennsylvania Wrongful Death Case?

Pennsylvania accidents (like Car, Truck, Motorcycle or Pedestrian Accidents, Medical Malpractice and even Slip and Fall Accidents) can result in Legal Claims for Wrongful Death if someone caused the death through their carelessness or Negligence.

One of the more common questions I hear in my Pennsylvania Personal Injury Practice is: What Compensation is Recoverable in a Pennsylvania Wrongful Death Case?

It’s impossible to fairly measure the value of a human being or quantify the loss to the family members who are left behind.

Nevertheless, the law attempts to do just that in order to ensure that the careless parties who caused the death are held accountable and to provide some measure of “fair” compensation to the surviving family members and/or Estate beneficiaries.

The Two Claims – Wrongful Death and Survival

In Pennsylvania, there are actually two separate claims arising out of a Wrongful Death – a Wrongful Death Claim and a Survival Action claim.

Wrongful Death

Wrongful Death claims are claims that are made by and distributed to the surviving family of the decedent.

Recoverable compensation to those people under the Wrongful Death Claim includes:

1- Medical Bills, Funeral and Burial Bills and Estate Administration Bills;

2- Money to compensate family (wife, children, parents) for the loss of money that the decedent would have spent on them for food, clothing, shelter, medical care, education, entertainment, gifts and recreation; and

3- Money to compensate family for the monetary value of the services, society and comfort the decedent would have provided for family members and, for minor children, the monetary value of the loss of guidance tutelage and moral upbringing the decedent would have provided had he/she not been killed.

Survival Action

Survival Action claims are claims of the decedent’s Estate and are distributed pursuant to the Will of the decedent or, absent a Will, through the Intestacy Law.

Recoverable compensation under the Survival Action includes:

1- The physical and emotional pain and suffering, inconvenience and loss of life’s pleasures that the decedent experienced from the time of the accident until death; and

2- The net loss earnings of the decent which is the total amount that he/she would have earned had the death not occurred minus what the family members can claim as support in the Wrongful Death claim and minus a fair sum for decedent’s own personal maintenance expenses.

How are Damages Proven and What Makes a Case More or Less Valuable?

Each Wrongful Death case is different.  So in each one, different types and amounts of compensation can be recovered.

Since the Wrongful Death Damages tend to be greater if the decedent had young children, those claims tend to be much more valuable than Wrongful Death cases without young children.

Another driving factor of value of a Death Case is earnings.  The law focuses heavily on lost income in terms of valuing a Pennsylvania Wrongful Death case, so the higher the earnings of the decedent, the greater the value of the case.  In almost all Wrongful Death cases, an economist will testify concerning lost income and personal maintenance expense calculations.

The value of a Death case is also impacted by whether or not the decedent suffered consciously before death.  If he/she did, then the case is more valuable.

Ultimately, it may seem morbid, but the law attempts to measure fair legal compensation and fair accountability when someone is killed due to the Negligence of another.

Tim Rayne is a Pennsylvania Wrongful Death Lawyer with MacElree Harvey, Ltd.  For over 25 years, Tim has been helping injured accident victims understand their legal rights and receive fair treatment from insurance companies.  Tim has law offices in Kennett Square and West Chester and also meets with clients in their homes or virtually via FaceTime or Zoom.  Contact Tim for a Free Evaluation of your case at 6108400124 or trayne@macelree.com or check out his website www.TimRayneLaw.com.  

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The Case of the Unsecured Motorcycle Helmet

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The Helmet Incident and Injuries

My client Jeff (not his real name) was riding in a motorcycle procession to honor a friend who had died.  Jeff was traveling at about 30 mph when suddenly the motorcycle in front of him swerved to the left because something was bouncing on the highway in his path.

Jeff hit the brakes and swerved.  He was launched over the handlebars and onto the pavement.

Jeff suffered multiple serious injuries including broken ribs, punctured lung and a concussion.  Road rash injuries to Jeff’s legs were complicated with blood clots requiring surgery.  Jeff incurred thousands of dollars in medical expenses and missed weeks from work.

When Jeff was released from the Hospital, he was finally able to talk to others in the procession, get the Police Report and piece together what had happened.  What Jeff learned was that the rider two rows ahead of him had a helmet on his motorcycle but failed to properly secure it.  During the procession, the helmet fell off the motorcycle and bounced down the highway, directly in front of Jeff’s path of travel.

This had startled Jeff and caused the crash.

Negligence

Although this was not a garden-variety legal claim for Negligence (like a rear-end collision, failure to yield while making a left turn or running a red light case) it was nonetheless a clear cut case of Negligence, making the helmet owner responsible for Jeff’s injuries and damages.

Everyone has a duty to be careful in everything that they do.  If they are careless and cause unnecessary and preventable injuries, then they are responsible for paying for the harm.  Usually the harm is paid for by insurance rather than directly by the negligent person.

In this case, the motorcycle rider had a duty to be careful with his helmet.  He had the responsibility to either secure the helmet on his head or on the motorcycle to prevent it from falling into traffic and causing an accident.  Although he did not intend for Jeff to get hurt he was careless and was Negligent.  As such, he was legally responsible for the harm.

The Legal Claims

Because the other driver was Negligent, Jeff had a legal right to be compensated for all of his harm including his medical bills, lost income and money for his pain and suffering, disability and scarring.

After Jeff hired me we made two claims, one against the motorcycle insurance of the helmet owner and another claim against Jeff’s own Underinsurance Coverage on his motorcycle because the helmet owner did not have enough coverage to fully compensate Jeff.

Some people might think that there should have been to claim in the first place, that this was just an Accident that no one should have to pay for.  But, would that really be fair to Jeff?  Jeff was minding his own business and was seriously injured through no fault of his own.  The other driver did not mean to cause the accident, but he did through his careless storage of his helmet.

Luckily, insurance policies paid for all of the damage.

In the end, justice was done.  The helmet owner’s insurance and Jeff’s insurance paid fair compensation to make up for the injuries and damages.

Tim Rayne is a Personal Injury Lawyer with the Pennsylvania law firm MacElree Harvey.  For over 25 years, Tim has been helping injured accident victims understand their legal rights and receive fair compensation from insurance companies.  Tim helps with a variety of claims including Car, Truck, Motorcycle, Bicycle and Pedestrian Accidents; Slip and Fall; Medical Malpractice and Dog Bite claims.  Tim has law offices in Kennett Square and West Chester Pennsylvania and also meets with clients in their homes or remotely via FaceTime and Zoom.  

Contact Tim Rayne for a Free Consultation at 6108400124 or trayne@macelree.com or TimRayneLaw.com.  

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How Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Car Insurance is Important If You Are Injured in a Bicycle Accident?

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The Importance of Uninsured/Underinsured Car Insurance After a Bicycle Accident

If you or a family member is injured in a bicycle accident, then why would it matter what coverage you have on your car insurance?

It may seem like there is a disconnect but, believe it or not, the coverage that you have on your own car insurance can impact your legal rights if you are injured while riding a bicycle.

This is because car insurance covers any vehicle-related accidents, including you being injured while riding a bicycle, if the injury is caused by another motor vehicle.

For example, assume that you were riding your bike and the driver of a car did not see you and made a left turn directly in front of you causing you to collide into the side of the car.  You sustained serious injuries including multiple fractures.  What are your legal rights for recovery of your expenses and damages?

You might think that all damage would have to be paid for by the car driver who caused the accident, but that’s not true.

Because this was a vehicle-related accident and Pennsylvania works on a no-fault system, your medical bills will be paid by your own car insurance up to the amount if your coverage, which is usually $5,000. Then you would be able to present a claim for your injuries and pain and suffering against the other driver’s car insurance.

However, in the event that the other driver was Uninsured (meaning he or she has no insurance) or Underinsured (meaning that he or she does not have enough car insurance to pay for all of the damages) then you could present a claim against your own car insurance in the form of an Uninsured or Underinsured claim.

Again, that might not appear to make any sense. Why would you have a claim against your own car insurance for a bicycle accident? Nevertheless, that is how the law works in Pennsylvania.  Any vehicle-related accident is covered by your own car insurance, even accidents involving you riding a bicycle.

So, in our example above where a car driver turns left in front of you, assume that driver has no insurance or a Pennsylvania state minimum policy of $15,000. Also assume that you have a serious injury and the fair value of that claim would be $100,000. If you purchased sufficient Uninsured/Underinsured Coverage on your own car insurance, you could make a claim against that coverage to make up the difference between the fair value of your claim and the insurance coverage of the responsible driver.

In addition, such a claim would not affect your insurance rates or your insurability because you paid for the coverage and Pennsylvania law does not allow your insurance company to hold the claim against you.

So, the bottom line is that it’s very important to have substantial Uninsured/Underinsured coverage not only for car accidents, but also for bicycle accidents.  It’s critical for you to check your Policy to make sure you have this coverage.  It’s optional in Pennsylvania, so you might not have any….

Tim Rayne is a Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyer with the Chester County Pennsylvania based law firm MacElree Harvey.  For over 25 years, Tim has been helping injured accident victims understand their rights and receive fair treatment from insurance companies.  Tim has helped many bicycle accident victims with their serious injury claims.  Tim has law offices in Kennett Square and West Chester Pennsylvania and also meets with clients at their homes or virtually via FaceTime or Zoom.  Contact Tim Rayne to schedule a Free Consultation 6108400124 or trayne@macelree.com or TimRayneLaw.com.

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Know Your Legal Rights after a Serious Injury from a Fall on Ice

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There is a Natural Reluctance to Presenting a Slip and Fall Claim

A lot of people are reluctant to investigate their legal rights after being injured in a fall on Ice or Snow.

They may be embarrassed about the fall and think it was their fault.  Maybe they think there is a negative stigma about investigating a Personal Injury Case or talking to a Personal Injury Lawyer, particularly in a Slip and Fall situation.  Or, maybe they just don’t know the law of Pennsylvania including what obligations Property Owners have to protect people walking on their land and what protection the law affords to Fall Victims.

But, the Consequences of a Fall Can be Severe

Fall down accidents, particularly those occurring on Ice or Snow, can lead to serious sometimes permanent and life-altering injuries.

Because of the many different bio-mechanics of a Fall on Ice (falling forward, falling backward, falling sideways or a twisting fall) many different injuries can result.

Common injuries from Falls on Ice or Snow are literally head to toe and can include:  facial injuries and fractures, head injuries and concussion, shoulder injuries and particularly rotator cuff tears, elbow fractures and arm fractures, wrist and hand fractures, spine injuries including disc injuries and spine fractures, hip fractures, knee injuries, and leg injuries and ankle injuries, including fractures and dislocations.

Fall injuries can lead to hospitalization, surgeries and sometimes pre-mature death.

What Obligations Do Property Owners Have to Prevent Slip and Falls on Snow or Ice?

All Pennsylvania Property Owners or Tenants have a duty of reasonable care to take steps to clear their property from ice and snow within a reasonable time after a Snow or Ice event.  This includes plowing, shoveling and salting.  If they fail in this duty and someone sustains injury as a result, they can be held legally liable.

Similarly, Property Owners have an obligation to treat melted and refrozen patches to prevent unnecessary injury.

Luckily, most Property Owners purchase Insurance to cover Fall Injuries in the event that they do not live up to their legal responsibility to properly care for their property.

What Compensation are Fall Victims Potentially Entitled To?

If it can be proven that a Property Owner was Negligent and caused a Slip and Fall Injury, then the Fall Victim is entitled to be reasonably compensated.

Fair Compensation includes Medical Bills and Out-of-Pocket Costs, Lost Income and compensation for Pain and Suffering, Disability and Scarring.

For Serious Injuries, the required Compensation can be significant and is usually covered by Property Insurance.  Compensation can help Fall Victims and their families cope with the consequences of a serious injury.

What Defenses Can the Property Owner Use to Try to Escape Responsibility?

The Property Owner can defend a Slip and Fall case by arguing that there was insufficient time between the storm and the fall to make the condition safe.  It can also argue that it made a reasonable effort to make the property safe.  It can also claim that the Fall Victim was Negligent and should have seen and avoided the slippery condition.

In the end, it can be up to a Jury to decide who was at fault and what is fair compensation.

What Should You Do After a Fall on Ice or Snow?

There are several things that you should do to protect your legal rights after a Slip and Fall Injury:

1- Photograph the Condition

2- Identify any Witnesses

3- Report the Fall to the Property Owner

4- Get Medical Treatment

5- Get Legal Advice

Legal Advice Should be Free

Experienced Pennsylvania Personal Injury Lawyers like me will offer Free Advice and Free Consultations for Slip and Fall Cases.

We also take Slip and Fall clients on a Contingent Fee Basis, meaning that it does not cost any up front fees to hire a Lawyer.  We handle the case for free unless or until there is a money recovery for you and then we are paid our fee and any expenses in the case.  So, there is no financial risk or expense to get legal advice or representation.

If you have been injured in a Fall on Snow or Ice, you should seek Legal Advice to determine whether you have a legitimate legal claim or not.

Tim Rayne helps Fall Victims understand their legal rights and receive fair compensation from insurance companies after a Slip and Fall on Snow or Ice.  Contact Tim Rayne at 6108400124 or trayne@macelree.com for a Free Consultation.  

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