When torts and crimes meet

When a person injures you the law calls it a "tort." When a person breaks a law created by the legislature it is called a crime. Most people who are harmed or injured when a crime is committed don't realize that a tort has also been committed. Because of this you have the ability to sue the defendant even though they were also prosecuted for the crime. Thus when you are injured due to a drunk driver hitting your car you can sue for your personal injury.

Many personal injury attorneys rush in an file suit against the defendant while the criminal prosecution is ongoing. This is a mistake. By doing this the attorney has weakend the criminal case and in turn weakend the civil case. By filing a civil case an opening is created for the defendant who can now attack the credibility of plaintiff. When the Plaintiff testifies in the criminal case the defense attorney will portray the plaintiff as being interested only in money. They will tell the jury that the plaintiff shaped their testimony to make the civil case better. If the criminal case falls apart then the civil case is weakend. In Pennsylvania, a criminal conviction for DUI is negligence per se in the civil case.

Its best to hire a personal injury attorney who is familiar with criminal law. Your attorney should work closely with the prosecutor and let them know that they will not file a civil case until the conclusion of the criminal case. If the attorneys work closely they can often share information which will strengthen both cases. Many times the civil attorney can even get a statement from the defendant as part of a plea bargin in the criminal case. The attorney should attend all criminal proceedings where they can interview other witnesses, gather information and maybe even listen as the defendant testifies. By working together both cases are strengthened.

Dear Diary

There is no doubt that an injury hurts. The questions become, how much does it hurt, what did it keep you from doing, and how do I prove it hurt?

Juries are suspicious now a days. If you can show that you had a broken bone or required surgery following a collision a jury will believe that you felt pain. Everyone knows that a broken bone hurts. Everyone knows that if a surgeon cuts into you, you will feel pain following the surgery. Pictures and x-rays will confirm the damage and a jury will likly award you damages. But soft tissue injuries (strains and sprains) are very hard to show. A jury often has to just take your word that you felt pain. The problem is that so many people have abused the system and claimed pain when in fact they were fine, that now a truly injured person is no longer beleived. What do you do to turn the odds in your favor? The answer: keep a diary.

Use a diary to document how you felt each day; was the pain worse than the day before, did you wake up with a splitting headache, was the pain so bad that it kept you from a picnic or an evening at the movies with your kids? Document in the diary when you went to the doctor, how long the doctors appointment took, did you feel worse after a physical therapy session, were you depressed because of your injury? Having this information will make your case come alive when it is time for a deposition or trial. Having this information makes the difference between believability and skepticism. So take the time to record your thoughts each day while they are still fresh in your mind. You will be glad you did come time for trial.

Documenting the damage

Ok, the collision is over, now what? If you are like most people you will want to get the car repaired as soon as possible. All you can think of is to get a tow truck and get the car to a repair shop. Unfortunely by doing only this you will have denied an investigator the best chance of determining how the collision happened, how fast the cars were going, fault, direction of travel and liability. Police don't always document the scene well. Rarely do they take pictures. That falls on you. As soon as possible take pictures of the cars while still on the road. Take picture of the road way, where gouge marks were, the length of skid marks, the specific damage to the cars, the insides of the cars, condition of the occupants, and where the cars came to rest. Film in this digital age is cheap so take as many pictures from as many differnt angles as possible. You never know when one of the pictures will reveal something important to an investigator or accident reconstructionist. Its too late after the car has been handled by the tow truck operator or repaired at the shop. Investigators are not brought in until days or week later and by then the evidence will be gone.

Should I call the police following a collision?

YES! Witnesses often leave the scene of a collision once they find out that no one was hurt. As such it will often come down to your word against the other driver as to the cause of the collision. Each driver blames the other in which case the Court won't know who to believe if a law suit is necessary. Calling the police insures that an independant, credibile witness comes to the scene, takes down statments, collects evidence, and maps the scene. This information will become invaluable should a suit be necessary. Most people don't know that skid marks can disappear in hours along with evidence such as critical pieces of the car. Getting an accurate diagram prevents this loss. Recently I had a case in which a collision occured after the plaintiff pulled out onto a highway and was rearended. The defendant told the police that she was unable to slow down in time. Only months later did the defendant change her story to "the other car pulled out suddenly and I was unable to stop." After the plaintiff sued for damages to his car, the defendant sued for damages to her car. Were it not for the presence of the police, her story might have prevailed and she would have recovered money for an accident she caused.

Bottom line...call the police to report any collision. It will pay dividends down the road and protect you from a suit.

Just injured, now what?

You have just gotten out of the car following a crash. Your dazed and confused. What do you do now? We all know the basics; call the police, provide insurance information, get teh personal information of the other driver. But what about your body? What about your health?

Many people will feel fine after a collision; just a little sore. Soft tissue injuries (sprains, strains, whiplash) will not become apparent for 24-36 hours after a collision. Just because you feel ok does not mean that you are ok. Everyone, regardless of how they feel should immediatley go for a checkup. First, contact your auto insurance company and report a claim. They will give you a claim number. Then if you are already feeling bad, go the hospital for evaluation. When you arrive, give them your claim number so that you don't have to pay out of pocket (assuming that you are like most people and have medical coverage on your policy). Hospitals only look for the most glaring of injuries so you will want to follow up and make an appointment with your general family doctor following a trip to the hospital. This takes a few days which is why you start off at the hospital. The reason to see a doctor immediatley is two fold. First, you want to make sure you are ok and that you have the greatest chance of making a full recovery. The sooner you see a doctor the better. Second, to persue a personal injury action, the insurance company for the driver at fault will expect to see that you saw a doctor right away. The longer it takes you to see a doctor, the less likely you were in pain and thus the less likely they will give you reasonable compensation.

The bottom line is that you want to know that you are ok and you want to get better. To do that...see a doctor immediately.