You know a lot of my clients ask me, John, what’s a deposition?

Well, you know what? A deposition is just a fancy word for a sworn statement.

You know one of the first questions people ask when they come to my office is, John, if I file a claim for my automobile accident injuries, does that mean I’m going to have to go to court?

If you own an automobile, in other words, you’re on the title, and you loan your car to a friend, and your friend causes a horrible accident where people are injured, you know what? You’re responsible. Even if you weren’t there or didn’t know anything about it. You’ve got to be extremely careful who you loan your car to. If you loan your car to someone and they create an accident, you could be on the hook for all of the injuries and damages that were caused. So be careful! Don’t loan your car to someone if you don’t trust how they drive and if they don’t have their own insurance policy. If they have their own policy, that policy will contribute to any damages they may cause. If they live in the house with you, you should make sure they’re an insured driver on the policy. If they’re going to be using your vehicle. If you have any questions about this, always give us a call, We’ll be happy to go over it with you! It’s an important part of the Florida law that you should know before you loan your car to another person

You know one of the most disturbing cases I see are nursing home neglect cases and I’ve got to tell you a tip that I think is so important.

Everyone who has a relative in the nursing home should understand this. A lot of times, relatives are simply afraid to voice their opinion to the nursing home staff. They’re afraid the relative will be evicted from the nursing home. Believe me, you do not want this to be a situation where you don’t say enough and your mother or father gets poor treatment as a result. Be vocal; raise questions; they are not going to kick you out of the nursing home just because you ask questions. The rule in a nursing home is this: the squeaky wheel gets the oil. That’s as simple as it gets. Be proactive, ask questions, and make sure you voice your concerns. There is never a time when you can be overly concerned about your mother or father if they’re in a nursing home. Remember, if you have any questions about this or any other legal subject, give us a call. We’re here to help you get the benefits you deserve. Get yourself a lawyer.

A statute of limitations is simply a rule that’s been put into law to limit the amount of time you have to file a claim. In Florida we can look in the statutes and determine the amount of time that you would have to file a particular claim. For automobile accidents or other types of general injury claims, the statute is four years, meaning that from the day of the accident you have four years in which to file a claim in court. Otherwise, you’ll lose your right forever to file that claim. Accident claims depend on witnesses and evidence that can disappear quickly. So you should not waste any time. Before starting your claim, if you’ve been hurt, you ought to start your claim right away! That gives your lawyer the ability to gather evidence, get sworn statements, and lock your case in. Don’t let the time run on you; it’s important that you get started right away on an accident claim! If you have any questions about this, always give us a call; we’ll be happy to go over it with you!

When we get a case that’s been going on for months before we become involved, sometimes there’s so much medical treatment bills involved with it that we cannot make a claim that will pay all the bills.

Now this is a problem for accident claims these days. It’s important to medically manage your claim if you have an automobile accident and are treating a case where you’re making an insurance claim. Does that mean you should stop treating... absolutely not? But it means you have to have a lawyer that understands how to medically manage the bills in your case so that they do not outpace your claim. In other words, perhaps your claim needs to be settled or resolved before your medical bills get so far ahead of it that you can’t come out on it. You could always continue to treat after you settle your case, but the bottom line is if you have so many medical bills that you can’t recover them at that point in time, there won’t be much of a claim left for you to have. Remember, if you have any questions about this or any other legal subject, give us a call; we’re here to help you get the benefits you deserve. Get yourself a lawyer!

We all have case managers and legal assistants working in our firms, but if you have an automobile accident claim, you need to be able to talk with your attorney. You need to have your attorney explain to you the law and understand completely from your attorney what he’s going to do to protect and ensure that you get a settlement that you deserve. There’s never a reason that you should have a case and not know who your attorney is, NEVER! Don’t be involved in a case if you haven’t spoken with your attorney. Remember, if you have any questions about this or any other legal subject, give us a call. We’re here to help you get the benefits you deserve. Get yourself a lawyer!

There are times when you simply do not have the need for an attorney, but it’s something that you will not know because you’re not in the business.

If you’re trying to handle a claim yourself, it may be the most frustrating experience you’ve ever had because you’re going to be against someone who has vast experience. You’re going to get outgunned in most situations. Let your attorney handle the insurance adjustor. We handle insurance adjusters every day. I’ve been fighting big insurance for 32 years. I know a lot of their tricks and will help you handle them. If you have any questions about this or any other legal subject, give us a call. We’re here to help you! Get the benefits you deserve! Get yourself a lawyer!

It’s always an argument for the insurance adjuster for the other driver to say, well, you had this claim; you had this accident once before, and now it’s the same old thing.

That’s not necessarily true. If you had problems before that lingered and never fully healed, we need to be able to show how the current accident has made those problems worse. When you have an accident that injures your back, even though you had a back injury before, you’re often able to show how the injury has been made worse or how the condition has gotten worse because of the current accident. It can be complicated, and it takes time to sort out the medical records, but don’t be afraid to talk to a lawyer just because you’ve had an accident before. Remember, if you have any questions about this or any other legal subject, give us a call! We’re here to help you! Get the benefits you deserve! Get yourself a lawyer!

When you’re at an accident scene and you’re photographing or videoing, here are some things to look out for:

Number one, check and see if there are skid marks that you can photograph. Lots of times you’ll see skid marks on the road. Make sure you photograph the interior of a vehicle if you can to see if there’s any damage that would show the impact of a person into a dashboard, a windshield, or other parts of the vehicle. If you’re trying to take accident scene photos, make sure you are not interfering with the police. If the police ask you to leave or move, do so immediately. But just stand back far enough where you’re out of the way and can still get photographs of the scene. If you’re looking for a way to record these items to make your very own accident report, check out our app! The John Fagan Accident App allows you to fill in all of these details and make recordings and photographs, combine them into a report, and email them directly to yourself or to your attorney.

One of those common cases I see is a falldown case, commonly called a slip and fall. These usually take place on commercial premises like a store.

What we have to show in a case like that is important to know in advance. Just because you fall on somebody’s property doesn’t mean they’re responsible for you falling and getting injured. When you’re on someone’s property and you fall, you’re responsible to show that there’s a dangerous condition that existed that caused your fall and that the property owner knew or should have known about it reasonably, so that it could have been repaired before the fall took place.

The common example you see in a slip and fall case, for instance, is in a grocery store where there’s liquid on the floor. In that case, we would have to show that the liquid was on the floor due to the negligence of the store and existed long enough there so that the store should have known about it.

If you’re in a slip-and-fall accident, it’s important for you to photograph the scene if you’re able. Of course if you’re too hurt, that’s one thing, but if somebody’s with you, immediately have them photograph the scene of the accident.

Look for things that would show that the condition that caused them to fall was there for a period of time longer than a few minutes. Whenever you’re there, try to photograph the scene. Photograph anything you think will help when it comes time for us to make a case. If you have any questions about this or any other legal subject, give us a call! We’re here to help you! Get the benefits you deserve! Get yourself a lawyer!