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Resources

The Internet has made information that was previously very difficult to find readily accessible for attorneys, accident victims, and consumers. While it is always important to be cautious when accessing information on the Internet, to ensure it is reliable, there are many websites that provide reliable information and helpful information. In addition to links to helpful websites, listed below are summaries of important topics in personal injury cases which may help you understand the pre-suit claims process and lawsuits, the critical importance of obtaining quality medical care, and a description of various types of insurance coverage.

Because there are so many topics of importance, the resource links provided are broken down into the following categories set forth below. Please take the time to review this information:

The Pre-Suit Claims Process and Lawsuits

The presentation of your claim to insurance companies, subsequent pre-suit settlement negotiations, and the filing of a lawsuit (when necessary) usually do not begin until your health care providers have concluded that they have reached maximum medical improvement or "MMI". Once you hire Steven Wingo to represent you, you will initially see multiple letters go out requesting medical records and other information. After obtaining that initial information, and performing some additional investigation, most claims are then in what can best be described as a "monitoring mode" while you continue with your treatment and recovery.

There are several exceptions to this general rule -- for example if it becomes clear during the course of your treatment that your damages clearly exceed the limits of insurance coverage -- but Steve and his staff will advise you if that is the case. Steve and his staff are of course available to answer your questions and help support you through this process and your recovery, including helping ensure you are obtaining quality health care to improve as much as possible, minimize your damages, and then put the accident behind you and get on with your life.

Once you reach maximum medical improvement, so that your health care providers can intelligently predict what future care you will need and any permanent restrictions you may have, Steve and his staff can then better understand the full measure of your damages and begin moving forward with the claims process. Written reports are typically requested from your health car providers. In many cases, Steve sets conferences with one or more of your health care providers to meet with them in person to discuss your injuries and damages. After these critical reports are obtained, the claims process begins.

In most cases efforts are made to reach an out-of-court resolution of your claim. It is always preferable to settle cases without a lawsuit -- cases resolved without a lawsuit are typically concluded sooner and with less costs and fees. A detailed "settlement package" is prepared to send to the appropriate adjuster at the insurance company which provides detailed information supporting your claim -- settlement packages typically include photographs, medical bills, appropriate medical records, medical research, and written opinions from your health care providers. A recommendation is made to you at that time concerning the settlement value of your claim and you approve every specific settlement offer made on your behalf. After settlement packages are sent to the insurance adjuster, and time is given for insurer's evaluation of your claim, there may be active settlement negotiations. Steve handles the negotiations, as the client you are involved behind the scenes to consider offers made to you and approve offers made on your behalf. Ultimately, you decide whether to resolve your case -- Steve provides his advice and counsel, but it is your case and you get to make the ultimate decision.

If your claim cannot be settled through pre-suit settlement negotiations, Steve will file a lawsuit on your behalf and be with you every step of the way. After suit is filed, the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure provide for a discovery process that includes written questions, requests for the production of documents, inspections of property, and oral depositions taken by attorneys. Before a case goes to trial in Florida, it is required to go through the mediation process. Mediation is most easily described as a formal settlement conference conducted by a neutral mediator who tries to facilitate a voluntary settlement by the parties before trial. If your case cannot be settled at that time or before trial, it goes to trial and a jury of six persons (or sometimes a judge) is called upon to resolve the claim. We handle the entire process on your behalf and attempt to minimize the stress and burdens placed on you.

FLORIDA INSURANCE COVERAGE SUMMARY – AUTO CASES

PIP (Personal Injury Protection/No-Fault Benefits):

  • PIP benefits are always the primary, or first source, of benefits to pay for medical expenses and lost wages in connection with a motor vehicle accident. PIP pays the following:
    • 80% of reasonable and necessary medical expenses;
    • 60% of lost wages; and
    • Mileage to and from appointments with health care providers.
  • The limits of PIP coverage are almost always $10,000, which is the statutorily mandated amount in Florida. You may have selected a deductible and, if so, the deductible must be satisfied through claims submitted before the insurer will pay.
  • PIP is a No-Fault coverage, meaning your own insurer will pay benefits due regardless of who was at fault in causing an accident.
  • Your PIP insurance should be billed for your medical expenses in most circumstances until the benefits are exhausted. Only then should bills be submitted to a private health insurer, employer provided health coverage, Medicare, Medicaid, an HMO, Veteran's medical coverage (CHAMPUS), or other health insurance. If you are incurring lost wages, it is possible to ask the PIP insurer to "reserve" some benefits for payment of lost wages.

  • Under Florida law, you are not permitted to recover damages from the at-fault individuals for your medical bills or lost wages which have been paid, or are payable, by your own PIP insurance.

Medical Payments Coverage (Med Pay):

  • This is an optional coverage which provides additional no-fault benefits to supplement your PIP coverage. It pays for only medical expenses, not lost wages. If you have this coverage, it will first cover the 20% of your medical bills that are not paid by your PIP coverage. Once PIP is exhausted, any medical payments coverage benefits left will pay 100% of your reasonable and necessary medical expenses until the coverage is exhausted.

Property Damage Liability Coverage:

  • In addition to PIP, this is coverage motor vehicle owners are required to purchase. The minimum requirement is $10,000, but many insurance policies include higher amounts of property damage coverage. This coverage pays for any property damage—such as to another person's vehicle—if a driver of that motor vehicle is at fault in causing an accident. The property damage liability coverage maintained by the at-fault party in your accident is one of the two coverages that could be used to pay for your property damage.

Bodily Injury Liability Coverage:

  • This is coverage purchased to pay damages for personal injuries a driver causes if they are at fault in causing an accident. This is one of the primary coverages we look for in our attempt to recover damages on your behalf. If the at-fault driver or owner maintained this coverage, we would first seek to make a recovery against them by working with their insurer to recover some or all of the bodily injury liability coverage benefits available under their policy.

Uninsured Motorist/Underinsured Motorist (UM Coverage):

  • This coverage is, in my assessment, the single most important coverage you can purchase. UM benefits step in to pay damages for your personal injuries when the at-fault party has no bodily injury liability insurance or insufficient liability insurance to pay for the full measure of your damages. Unfortunately, that is often the case in Florida because bodily injury liability coverage is not even a required coverage. In addition, many bodily injury liability policies contain low limits of coverage, such as $10,000, which does not go far in this day and age of high medical costs. This is the single most important coverage to purchase in my judgment and I highly recommend you purchase it to protect you and your family members in the future if you do not already have it under your policy. It is also one of the primary coverages we look to in attempting to make a recovery for your personal injuries.

Collision Coverage:

  • This is an optional coverage a driver purchases under their own policy to pay for damage to their vehicle, regardless of who is at fault in connection with an accident. If you have this coverage, you may elect to have your own insurer pay for your damaged vehicle (fair market value for a totaled vehicle or actual repair costs for a vehicle that is not totaled). Claims paid under this coverage will be subject to any deductible selected, but the insurer will usually present a claim to the adverse insurer to get its money back and recover your deductible as well.

Rental Coverage/Loss of Use:

  • Your own insurer is not required to pay for a rental vehicle while your car is being replaced or repaired unless you purchased rental coverage under your own policy. If you did so, the amount of coverage provided per day, and the length of time coverage will be provided, will depend upon the specific terms of your policy.
  • However, the at-fault party is legally responsible to pay you loss of use damages while your vehicle is being repaired or for a reasonable time if you have a totaled vehicle. This is often accomplished by providing you a rental instead of paying money.

  • In addition, if your vehicle was significantly damaged and then repaired you may have a claim for diminution of value. A "wrecked vehicle," even after it is repaired, is often not worth as much as the vehicle was before the accident. If your vehicle suffered significant damage, a diminution of value claim against the adverse party and their insurer should be considered.

Health Insurance Coverages/Medicare/Medicaid:

  • There are many types of health insurance coverage and benefits. They include private health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans' health care benefits, and employer provided health insurance. There are two key things to remember about these coverages: (1) if you have any of these coverages, they are considered secondary and do not pay for medical care related to the injuries you suffered in the accident until your PIP benefits (and med pay benefits) are exhausted; and (2) once these secondary forms of coverage do pay for medical expenses arising out of your accident, the health insurer or government benefits program will then have a subrogation or lien claim against any recovery made in your case. The repayment obligations are different for each type of health insurance coverage and we will handle that process for you.

Wrongful Death Claims

When an accident results in the loss of life, Florida law shifts the focus away from personal injury damages for the deceased victim and to the victim's survivors. In lieu of personal injury damages, "wrongful death" damages - as defined by a FLA.STAT. §768.21 -- are recoverable by the decedent's estate and survivors. The damages recoverable include any medical expenses incurred before death, funeral expenses, loss of past and future financial support provided to dependents, lost "net accumulations" for the estate, the survivor's mental pain and suffering, loss of companionship and consortium, and loss of parental guidance.

To learn more about the damages recoverable in Wrongful Death claims in Florida, the best online resource is the text of the Wrongful Death Law itself. The section describing wrongful death damages can be accessed through the Florida Statutes Online at the following link:

If you have suffered the loss of a loved one due to another's negligence, Steve and his staff will review your specific situation in detail and describe the damages you are permitted to recover.

Spinal Anatomy and Injuries
(Neck and Back Injuries)

The spine is the most complicated joint in the human body, and it is really a continuous series of multiple joints. The joints in the spine are arguably the most important. It not only provides the structure to allow us to stand and sit upright, but it also protects the spinal cord and nerve roots that make up the central nervous system. Spinal injuries can range from devastating, such as with quadriplegia or paraplegia, to mild sprains and strains that although are only aggravating at first but can lead to chronic pain over time.

The anatomy of the spine is tremendously complex. It includes the bony vertebrae, the intervetebral discs between the vertebrae, a vast array of ligaments holding the bones together, facet joints where the vertebrae touch each other, joint capsules, the spinal cord, nerve roots exiting from the spinal cord, and other structures. Damage to these structures can give rise to life-long injuries that get worse with time and become chronic -especially if not treated properly from the beginning - and give rise to need for ongoing care for the remainder of someone's life.

The following resources provide more information concerning spinal anatomy, spinal injuries, and the different forms of treatment available:

Traumatic Brain Injury

Brain injuries can be devastating for an accident victim and their families. Even if your head does not hit an object, the forces of some traumatic events like an automobile crash can cause the brain to move inside the skull and suffer damage. Symptoms can include memory loss, trouble finding words, headaches, lack of motivation, depression, fatigue, personality changes, and other mental deficits. Often the symptoms are not necessarily severe, such as in the case of mild traumatic brain injury, but still have a dramatic impact upon the victim and their family.

The following resources provide more information concerning traumatic brain injuries and mild traumatic brain injuries:


General Medical Resources

An outstanding resource for consumer medical research is Medline Plus, found at http://medlineplus.gov/, a website published by the National Institute for Health. It contains significant substantive information and links to many other helpful websites. You can conduct specific searches within the Medline Plus site or research by topic. It is a great place to begin medical research.

In addition, many health care provider trade associations provide informative websites to help patients. The following links are to the website pages which are most likely to be of benefit to you:

Products Liability Resources

CPSC Safety Publications, listed by General Category: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/toy_sfy.html (This page contains links to many public safety topics, including the following:

The Cornell University School of Law Legal Information Institute publishes many resources useful for both attorneys and consumers, including the following link providing an excellent summary of products liability law:

This safetyforum.com page contains links to many informative articles regarding specific dangerous products, with a heavy focus on defective motor vehicles, but includes many other products as well:

Playground Safety Resources

Consumer Production Safety Commission Playground Safety Publications List: http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/playpubs.html (This is a comprehensive list of the CPSC playground safety guidelines, including the publications described below and many others).

Public Playground Safety Checklist: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/327.html (Use this checklist to inspect local school and community playgrounds and notify school or park officials about any hazards found.)

CPSC Home Playground Safety Handbook: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/324.pdf (Safety information you need to know about planning, constructing, and maintaining an outdoor home playground.)

CPSC Outdoor Home Playground Safety Tips: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/pg1.pdf (Reports that each year an estimated 51,000 children are treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms for home playground-related injuries -- mostly resulting from falls. Provides tips on protective surfacing, fall zones, reducing hazards, and maintenance.)

CPSC Playground Safety Handbook: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/325.pdf (Safety information you need to know about planning, constructing, and maintaining an outdoor home playground.)

For additional information, also review my Products Liability Resources page. It contains additional information relevant to child safety and dangerous products.

Motor Vehicle Crash Resources

Information regarding low speed collisions and neck or back injuries:

Traffic Safety Facts for Florida, 2003-2007: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departments/nrd-30/ncsa/STSI/12_FL/2007/12_FL_2007.htm

U.S. Census Bureau's Motor Vehicle Accident and Fatality statistics: http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/transportation/motor_vehicle_accidents_and_fatalities.html

Legal Resources

While the following documents are not likely to be specifically applicable to your case, they serve as the foundation of our legal system and milestones in the protection of individual rights. If you have never read the Declaration of Independence, the Magna Carta, or the Gettysburg Address, they are worth your time.

Steven Wingo | Personal Injury | Civil Trial Practice

Steven W. Wingo, P.A
1805 S.E. 16th Avenue, Suite 902
Ocala, FL 34471
Toll Free: 866-548-2674
Fax: 352-387-0222
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