Mosaic Center of Lufkin Presented with New Classroom Projector

The Mosaic Center of Lufkin became the proud new owners of a much needed projector for their classroom today, thanks to the generosity of Mike Love & Associates. Presented to Donna Busler and Carol Ramsey, by Connie McLaughlin, Public Relations Coordinator for Mike Love & Associates, LLC I got there just in time this morning to join them in their daily reading and prayer. These are amazing women and such a blessing to the community.

Every Child Matters, Non-Profit Lufkin

MLA is a proud sponsor of EVERY CHILD MATTERS, a non-profit organization focused on the health and welfare of abused and neglected children in Angelina County.Pictured from L to R: Sam Johnson, Sara Wallace, Kayla Lopez, Tanya Howard, Kelly Miles and Aracely Lopez.MIA: Mike Love, Warren Eldridge, David Lovett, Donna Allen and Connie McLaughlin.

Protecting Your Family -- What You Really Need to Know About Your Auto Insurance Policy

Protecting Your Family -- What You Really Need to Know About Your Auto Insurance Policy

It is common knowledge that automobile accidents represent one of the highest ‘risk of injury’ in the lives of most people.  Over the years, my law firm has seen hundreds of East Texans injured in serious automobile accidents.  Sadly, in many of these cases, the person at fault either had little (or no) insurance to cover the injuries caused by the accident.

 By making sure that your auto policy includes a relatively inexpensive ‘add on’ coverage, you can go a long way toward protecting yourself and your family in the event you are involved in a serious accident of this nature.  In fact, for just a few dollars a month (over state required minimum policies) most people can significantly increase their coverage protection.There are basically three types of auto insurance:1)  Liability Insurance  -  Designed to pay others for personal injury and property damage if you cause an accident.  [State required and expensive]2) Collision  -  Designed to pay for your car repairs.  [This coverage can be moderately expensive.]3) Personal insurance designed to protect you, your family, and your passengers in an accident.  This coverage is relatively inexpensive and is by far the most important coverage to protect your family.  Unfortunately, most people never get a full explanation of the real value of this relatively cheap insurance from their agents.There are also three types of auto insurance in this third category.  They are Underinsured/Uninsured motorists coverage [UIM], Personal Injury Protection [PIP], and Medical Benefits Coverage [Med-Pay].Perhaps the most important of these is Uninsured/Underinsured motorist coverage.  UIM covers you, your family, and any other person riding in your vehicle if the at fault driver doesn’t have insurance (or enough insurance) to cover all the damages.  I explain to my clients that purchasing UIM coverage is like buying a liability policy on every single person in the world just in case they crash into your car (or family).  In other words, your liability policy protects other people if you cause an accident.  That’s good. However, for just a few dollars a month, a UIM policy also protects you, your family, and every passenger in your vehicle if the other driver caused the accident.Another piece of critical advice I give my clients is to be sure to get price quotes on a range of different coverage levels.  Unless you ask, many agents will only quote a minimum level policy (perhaps hoping to win your business with the cheapest bid).   However, you can probably get ten times the protection [$250,000.00 in coverage] for just a little more money.  For example, my premium for a six month auto policy with USAA is $463.15 and provides coverage at $300,000/$500,000/$50,000.   Out of the total six month premium, $78.07 is for liability property coverage (i.e. $50,000 to pay for the other person’s car if the accident is my fault).  At the same time, I pay only $38.31 every six months for $500,000.00 in UIM coverage protecting every person in my car if we are hit by an uninsured/underinsured driver.  That is a mere $6.38 per month for a half million dollars in UIM coverage!Insurance companies are able to sell these much larger policies for only slightly higher premiums because serious injuries are statistically rare.  On the other hand, it is in the case of a rare, but serious, accident when most individuals and/or families need protection.  With the high costs of today’s medical bills, adding Uninsured/Underinsured motorists coverage [UIM] to your auto policy makes a lot of sense.  Once your agent has provided prices for a range of different coverage amounts, then you can chose the level of coverage that protects your family and meets your budget.As a service to the community, our office offers a free review of your insurance policy.  Anyone who would like more information can call (936) 632-2000 to schedule a free appointment.  Additional answers to common questions [like why you should always buy PIP instead of MedPay] can be found on our website at www.texaslawoffice.com.Mike Love

Why Insurance Companies refuse to pay your medical bills

Probably the biggest reason most people decide to call a lawyer after being in an accident is the fact that the insurance company for the driver that caused the accident ALWAYS refuses to pay any medical bills or lost wages unless you are willing to settle the entire claim.

Obviously, this puts the injured person in an impossible situation. How can you possibly settle your claim when you don't even know how bad you're hurt, how long you will be off work, if you will need surgery, or how much it will cost? One of the most common questions we get from people who start off trying to handle a claim on their own is "Why does the insurance company refuse to pay my medical bills?" Especially when they know it was their driver's fault. The answer is sad ..... but simple.The insurance company knows that if you can not afford to go to the doctor, you will not be able to prove you were hurt in the accident and they will not have to pay you anything. Likewise, if they help you and your family by paying your lost wages while your off work, you are much more likely to be able to afford medical treatment. Again, the insurance company knows that if you have medical treatment, you can prove you are hurt, which means they will have to pay more money. They know that if you can not afford medical treatment ... or the light bill, then you will accept pennies on the dollar for your claim out of desperation.An experienced lawyer can almost always predict what an insurance company will do. Its really simple actually. The insurance company will always do whatever saves them the most money. Unfortunately, with the insurance company, fairness is seldom the deciding factor.So now that you know the bad news ... what do you do about it if you have been hurt in an accident that was someone else's fault? First, understand that the other drivers' insurance company is not your friend. The adjuster's goal is to 1) try and avoid paying anything, and 2) if they have to pay … to pay as little as possible, and 3) delay, delay, delay. Remember, the big insurance companies collect premiums in the billions and cover losses in the hundreds of millions (if not billions). The interest on that kind of money is phenomenal. Every day they can make you wait is more money for them.So, if you are hurt, do not wait on the other side's insurance company. Go to the doctor as soon as possible. KEEP GOING TO THE DOCTOR for as long as you still have problems. Each time you go back to the doctor, tell him or her exactly what symptoms you are having.  My advice to all of my clients about the best question to ask your doctor is this: "What next?" In other words, if you are still in pain, or still having problems, still can't get back to work after a couple of weeks, you need to be telling the doctor: "This isn't getting any better" and "What is our next step in treatment?".  "What are my options, or tests to determine what is wrong?" and, "Is there a specialist that I need to see for this condition?"STRONG WARNING HERE ..... Referrals to specialists are critical if you are suffering from an ongoing injury. However, if you are to this point on your own and have still not consulted an attorney, seriously consider calling someone now. The reason I say this is related to what I mentioned above, insurance companies look to medical documentation to establish whether you are hurt or not (really more of whether you can prove you are hurt or not).  Here's the problem, there are many qualified specialist out there.  Doctors normally work on what's called a reciprocal referral basis. In other words, Dr. Smith refers all his hurt back patients to the Dr. that sends him OBGyn patients.Here's the problem with that arrangement. Defense attorneys and insurance companies have 'hired gun' specialists in every area that they use as 'expert witnesses' in their big cases.  In every town of 40,000 people or larger, there will be at least one or two neurologists, and orthopedic surgeons that are c0mmonly used by defense lawyers and insurance companies to 'review medical records' and say the patient is not really hurt, or more commonly, not hurt when their drunk driver ran the red light and broad sided your car.The last thing you need when you have been in an accident, is to have your well-meaning family doctor refer you to the insurance companies hired gun!! Unfortunately, unless you are a trial lawyer who knows the doctors in your area, you have no way of knowing who to avoid. If you have been seriously injured and are at the stage where it is time to start seeing specialists, I would strongly urge you to talk to an experienced attorney that is familiar with the doctors you need to avoid.For answers on how an attorney can help you get medical treatment if you don't have health insurance, see my post titled "How your attorney can help you get medical treatment."Our firm represents injured people all over the state of Texas and partners with top law firms across the country. If you are located outside the state of Texas and need a referral to a top P.I. law firm in your area, we can gladly help you find someone close to you.

Serious 18-Wheeler Wreck in Crockett Texas

I will be presenting a paper on prosecuting truck wreck cases for the Texas Trial Lawyers Association in October and for the State Bar of Texas again in November. As I was sitting down at my desk going over my outline, I saw a news story of another serious 18-Wheeler wreck which had just happened outside of Crockett Texas.Based on information available from news stories, TX Dot, and law enforcement, the accident appears to have been caused by the negligence of the truck driver who crashed, obviously at a very high rate of speed, into a line of cars that had stopped for a construction site. My heart goes out to the victims and their families.Unfortunately, this tragic accident raises many of the complex and critical issues of investigation and evidence preservation that are common in commercial motor vehicle accidents. The accident will be investigated by the accident reconstruction team of the Texas Department of Public Safety. The troopers investigating the scene should take detailed measurements and document the scene through the use of scaled diagrams and photographic evidence. This will be helpful in determining the cause of the accident. However, much more is needed to protect the rights of the victims in the case.In this case, driver inattention and/or impairment are almost certainly a major cause of the accident. This raises the question, why would a professional truck driver be so distracted that he would drive full speed into a line of parked cars. In my experience, this type accident usually occurs because of driver impairment (drugs and/or alcohol) or extreme fatigue (often caused by driving ‘on duty time’ in excess of the maximum legal limit). In this type of accident, it can be critical to move quickly in order to preserve all evidence of the underlying cause of the accident.FMCSA regulations require the trucking company to immediately perform a drug alcohol test of its driver in an accident involving a fatality, or in any injury accident where the driver was also given a citation. Unfortunately, many trucking companies neglect, or refuse, to drug test their drivers after an accident of this type unless an attorney is immediately retained and files pleadings with the court seeking to force the required tests. Likewise, most modern commercial trucks have on board computers referred to as ECM (electronic control modules) which can contain critical information regarding the operation of the truck such as speed, RPM, braking forces, and even the number of hours the engine was in operation prior to the accident. ECM data will be lost if the truck is not secured, and the ECM downloaded prior to the truck being put back into service or sold for parts.Finally, the driver’s “hours of service” logs where he or she is required to record all driving hours, on duty hours, and off duty time may contain critical evidence of the underlying cause of the accident. Despite the fact that federal and state law requires all driver logs to be kept for 180 days, these logs have a tendency to ‘disappear’ if they contain evidence of a driver working or driving in excess of the legal limit. A law firm experienced in prosecuting 18-wheeler cases will move immediately to secure and preserve all relevant evidence. Hopefully, the victims in the Crockett accident case will be represented by competent legal counsel to protect their rights.Mike LoveMikeLove@TexasLawOffice.comMike Love & Associates, LLCCourthouse Plaza202 E. Lufkin Ave. Suite 202Lufkin Texas 75901Attorneys representing injured victims in 18-Wheeler accidents seeking additional information to assist them in pursuing claims on behalf of their clients in 18-Wheeler or other commercial motor vehicle accidents can contact the law firm of Mike Love & Associates, LLC to request free copies of Mr. Love’s CLE papers on the subject of Trucking Litigation including: Trucking Litigation: New Strategies From Behind Enemy Lines, and Trucking Cases: An Inside Perspective Requests can be emailed to welledge@TexasLawOffice.com or call (936) 632-2000.