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Car Accidents
- Never lie to your insurance company. The company will refuse to cover a loss and you would be on the hook to pay for damages you cause out of your own pocket.
- Safe Driving Contract and Agreement for Teens and Parents
- Children injured in school bus accidents need lawyers who know how to get them the help they need.
- Hurt in an Accident?:How to Find the Perfect Lawyer for You
- Allstate Insurance Company Claim Document Examined
Blogs
Car Accidents
Are You A Fraud?
A potential client came into our office recently. He had told us over the phone about a very serious crash - a truck had hit him at a high rate of speed, crossed over many lanes of traffic and had finally come to rest against a barrier on the other side of the roadway. He described being at the hospital and undergoing many radiographic scans to determine his multiple injuries. As always, we asked him to bring photographs of his car (and his injuries if he had them), the police accident report, insurance information and whatever medical bills and records he had. He arrived in our office with pictures of his car that showed scant damage to a part of his car that did not in any way match his story.It took about ten seconds and two questions for us to conclude that he was lying. Our question to him ("Do you really want to submit this claim to an insurance company?") resulted in his picking up his pictures and notes and leaving the office.
Lying -- to your lawyer, the insurance company, the doctor, the judge -- is the kiss of death to a personal injury claim. Exaggerating injuries and events is included in lying. It does no good. You will be found out. We work hard to get at the truth of every case we handle and we do not hesitate to fire clients when we find out they have lied to us.
Lawyers know how to deal with the truth, but we refuse to be on the side of people who do not tell us or their doctor or their insurance company the truth. If you have a legitimate case that is worth pursuing, there is no reason to lie about what happened or your injuries. No case is perfect. Let your lawyer have the truth so he or she can to make the best of the real facts.
Lie to your insurance company = no insurance coverage
I posted an opinion of a judge from the Circuit Court of Virginia Beach in our library. Basically, Ms. Rogers had sued for the injuries she received in a car wreck. The insurance company for the defendants said, "We don't have to provide insurance to these guys because they lied when they applied for insurance." The court agreed with the insurance company, and the result was that Ms. Rogers could not get any insurance coverage from them. The defendants were responsible for paying for her injuries out of their own pockets.I posted this article for two reasons:
1. Never, ever lie when applying for insurance coverage. The defendants in the Integon case I posted in the library may have lied to save money on the premium. (They did not disclose a youthful male driver in the family.) The insurance company said it would have probably provided coverage even with the knowledge of the additional driver but it would have charged a higher premium. Instead, the court said it didn't have to provide coverage at all. You don't ever want to be in a position where your insurance company can deny coverage for damages you cause.
2. Things are not always what they seem. If you are hurt by a careless driver, it takes an experienced Virginia insurance lawyer to figure out what insurance coverage may apply to cover your injuries. Insurance companies are different; they have different provisions in their contracts. Each automobile insurance policy is really several contracts that have different rules and definitions and time limits. An experienced Virginia insurance lawyer can investigate the facts and figure this out for you.
Driving While Distracted Kills
I've blogged about the dangers of driving while sending text messages and that Virginia passed a law that went into effect in July that made texting while driving an offense that carries a monetary fine with it.Now, there have been hearing in Congress,and President Obama issued a Presidential Order banned texting while driving for Federal employees who are on Federal business, whether driving government-owned vehicles or their own vehicle.
Although young drivers used to be the ones who sent text messages, more and more older adults have begun this dangerous habit. What in the world makes people think they can drive down a highway doing 55 - 65 mph and look down at a handheld device and send a text message at the same time?
For teens, texting while driving is especially dangerous, because they are already driving under the disability of being among the most inexperienced drivers on the highway. I posted a Contract on our website for parents and their teen drivers to discuss and sign. It won't cure the problem all by itself, but it gives parents an opportunity to have frank talks with their teen drivers about what is expected of them and the consequences of their actions.
If you or someone in your family has been seriously injured by a driver who was texting while driving, we can answer your questions. Call 703-273-9500, send an email to srohrstaff@wrsattorneys.com, or contact us through our website, www.WRSattorneys.com. We also have a book full of information for Virginians who have been injured in an accident, Five Fatal Errors That Can Ruin Your Virginia Accident Case -- And How to Avoid Them. It's free and available for the asking.
What's On Your Facebook Page?
We tell our clients that if they lie to us about their injuries or other losses, we will fire them. It’s simple. We will never represent a client who we know is lying and will not waste our time or the court’s time trying to support an injury claim if we ever find out it is not true.
It’s now easier than ever to catch people in these lies. With the increasing use of social media, insurance companies and others are checking out claimants’ social media sites. It wasn’t long ago that only college kids were on Facebook, but now there are plenty of grandmothers who are among the millions worldwide who are there.
A recent dispute arose in Virginia over whether Facebook would be required to disclose the full contents of a user’s account. The dispute involved a workers’ compensation claim by Shana Hensley in which she claimed she suffered a back injury while she was at work. Her former employer thought her holiday vacation pictures on Facebook supported its position that she was not as injured as she said she was. It subpoenaed her Facebook account contents, and Facebook refused to provide it.
In this case, Ms. Hensley’s lawyer says she has nothing to hide, and Ms. Hensley has signed a release so her former employer can get her Facebook account contents. Good for her.
But liars better beware.
Virginia "Move Over" Law is a Trap for Motorists
Last month, the Virginia Lawyers Weekly had an article pointing out a trap for highway motorists in Virginia. The18 signs along Virginia highways put up by the Virginia Department of Transportation tell motorists that they must move over or slow down for stopped emergency vehicles.Unfortunately for those drivers who follow those directions and slow down (but don't change lanes) when going by stopped emergency vehicles, that's not what the law is. Virginia State Police recently began enforcing the law that took effect on July 1 and have been ticketing motorists who believe they are doing what they are supposed to by slowing down.
Violation of Virginia Code Section 46.2-921.1 carries a possible 12-month jail sentence and a fine of $2,500.
I don' t know what judges are doing about such charges, but it doesn't seem fair to me that drivers who see the signs alerting them to such a law and then do what they think they're supposed to do are being charged with violation of the statute, incurring attorney expenses and losing time from work.
Injured plaintiff lies and hurts claim
Talking to a potential client for the first time is the best chance for us to get to know each other. Is he going to trust us? Are we going to trust him? Will we be able to work together?
We give the potential client lots of information and lay out our rules. Yes -- we have rules that clients must follow if we are going to be able to help them with their case.
The first rule: TELL US THE TRUTH. Every case has good facts and bad facts. We can only deal with the facts that we know about. So, if a client doesn't tell us something because he thinks it will hurt his case and nobody will find out about it, he's right about the first point -- it'll hurt his case -- and wrong about the second point -- the other side will always find out about it.
I recently read an article by a friend of mine who practices in Washington State who had a client who lied about his inabilitiy to do ceretain physical activities. What did the defense attorney discover? The plainitff had put photos and a video of himself all over his Facebook page snowboarding and going off jumps at high rates of speed.
That sure didn't help convince a jury that he was badly injured. Heck, I wouldn't even believe the guy.
If he had told his lawyer about this snowboarding escapade in the first place, the lawyer could have dealt with the truth. But the client's lie didn't give the lawyer the chance.
I have written a book about the Five Fatal Errors That Can Destroy Your Virginia Accident Case (And How to Avoid Them). Telling your lawyer the truth is the first rule.
You can get a free copy of the book from our website www.WRSattorneys.com, or by calling us at 703-273-9500 and asking that one be sent to you or you can fax your request to 703-273-9505. It's full of valuable information.
Virginia accident lawyer offers free book of information
If you have been injured in an accident in Virginia, you need to get our free book FIVE FATAL ERRORS THAT CAN WRECK YOUR VIRGINIA ACCIDENT CASE -- AND HOW TO AVOID THEM. We wrote this book to answer the many questions we are consistently asked and to provide valuable information to people who have been injured as they work to get their lives back on track.We answer questions about how to deal with insurance companies and what to do if your lawyer wants you to go to "her" doctor. We explain the entire claims and litigation processes. And, we tell you how to find the right lawyer for you.
Call us at 703-273-9500 or send us a fax at 703-273-9505 or email us at srohrstaff@WRSattorneys.com to request your FREE COPY of the book.
Medical insurance may not cover your serious condition
I talk all the time about the importance of having enough uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage on your automobile policies. Often, people say to me, "Why do I need that? I have medical insurance." I tell them that when a catastrophe happens, you need all the insurance coverage you can get -- because there are loopholes you don't even know about in your medical insurance coverage.A recent article in Business Week magazine says the same thing. A study has shown that people with medical insurance pay almost as much out of pocket as do uninsured folks when it comes to very serious medical conditions. How does that happen? Insurance companies are not in the business of handing out money, and once you appear on their radar screen as having a serious medical condition, they start to work to figure out a way to deny coverage. And, since they wrote the policies and know better than you where the loopholes are, they often are successful in cutting off your benefits.
The article also cites a study that found in 2001, illness or medical expenses contributed to 50% of bankruptcies.
I'm not saying don't get health insurance. We need all the help we can get. But it makes me mad that once again the individual gets taken advantage of by huge corporations.
Ambulance Chasers
Texas just passed a law that is designed to protect people from personal injury lawyers (and chiropractors) who contact injured people and tell them they may need to go to a chiropractor (even if they're not injured) and to hire a lawyer to help them get compensation for their injury.I HATE reading stories like this. Why? Not because I'm a trial lawyer, and this story paints me with a really black and smelly brush, but because I'm a trial lawyer who doesn't lie to get clients and I still get painted with the black and smelly brush. (In Virginia, lawyers are already prohibited from making direct contact with a person who has been injured.)
We at Weiner, Rohrstaff & Spivey only represent people who have been seriously injured because of someone else's carlessness. In fact, we will fire a client if we find out he or she has lied to us.
Near the end of the article there is important information: The Texas Trial Lawyers Association joined in the effort to get the bill passed. I spoke to an attorney in Texas who helped to get the law passed. He said that unscrupulous lawyers and doctors were descending on injured people like locusts. (Well, okay, that reference to locusts is mine.) It had become a real problem, so the Texas TLA helped get a law passed that will make such high-pressure tactics a criminal offense.
I am currently president of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, and I am proud that another trial lawyers association stood up to do the right thing for the clients of trial lawyers who work every day for their clents. I hate that there are crooked trial lawyers who take advantage of the injured who do not know their rights and who take advantage of the system. They hurt their clients and other trial lawyers who are honest. I work hard to be sure that people know that I am not an ambulance chaser.
In fact, I want to hear from anyone who was solicited by a trial lawyer while they were laid up in a hospital bed and were heavily medicated. That's just wrong.
Defense Medical Examiners - A World of Hurt
In Virginia, as in most other states, if a person has been injured and brings a claim against the careless person who injured her, the defense for the careless person usually asks that the injured person be examined by a doctor chosen by the defense. This is also true in workers' compensation cases, where the employer will have the employee examined by a doctor chosen by the employer. In both workes' compensation and injury cases, the DME (defense medical exam) is performed by a doctor who regularly does such examinations for the defense.Sometimes these examinations are referred to as IMEs, INDEPENDENT medical exams, but they are anything but independent. Injured people are mistaken if they think that the doctor hired by the insurance company is there to help them. The doctor is there to help whoever it is paying his or her bill. And, they may do many such examinations in one day and make tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars every year on such examinations.
This New York Times article highlights doctors in New York; however, you can be sure that Virginia has doctors who are similar to those featured in the article.
Don't get me wrong. If an injured person sues a careless person, the defendant has a right to have the injured plaintiff examined to verify the injuries. My objection is the cozy relationship some doctors and defense lawyers have with each other, where the lawyers always send the injured people to the same doctors because they know that the doctor will say that the injured person is exaggerating. It's not fair to paint every injured plaintiff as exaggerating.
if we ever learn that our clients are lying to us, or exaggerating their injuries, we refuse to take their case. We do not believe it helps the justice system for anyone on either side of a case to scam the system, and we do not tolerate such behavior.
if you have been injured by someone else's carelessness, give Weiner, Rohrstaff & Spivey a call. We can help you decide whether you have an injury that is severe enough to benefit from the assistance of an experienced personal injury lawyer. Contact us by phone, 703-273-9500, by email at srohrstaff@wrsattorneys.com, or through our website www.wrsattorneys.com.
How does bankruptcy affect a personal injury claim?
Things don't happen to us one at a time, and when two important areas of the law collide, you can be left without full justice. If you have filed for bankrtupcy relief either before or after being in a car accident, you and your bankruptcy lawyer must review and understand all the facts and the law about how your personal injury claim affects your bankruptcy and vice versa.The bankruptcy code provides for several kinds of assets that are exempted from the bankruptcy procedure, and you and your lawyer must know what they are and how they affect you.
Always, always, always tell both your bankruptcy and your personal injury lawyer all the facts. Put them in touch with each other, so they can figure out how to maximize your remedies in both your bankruptcy and in your personal injury claim.
If your bankruptcy lawyer does not know that you have a personal injury claim -- or the facts about your medical bills and injuries -- then s/he cannot properly protect you from your debtors. On the other hand, if you file for bankruptcy without telling your personal injury lawyer, you may not be able to recover the full damages that you would otherwise be entitled to recover.
Be sure to explore these exemptions with your bankruptcy lawyer if you have a personal injury claim.
We are not bankruptcy lawyers. However, this issue is very important. If you have been injured in an accident and are thinking about filing for bankruptcy relief, give us a call, 703-273-9500, or contact us through the website, and we will refer you to an experienced bankruptcy lawyer.
New Law Passed in Virginia Prohibiting Texting While Driving
You've seen them. Drivers traveling at highway speeds while reading or tapping on their handheld devices. Kind of scary.
Well, Virginia is now among the growing number of states that have responded to this dangerous behavior that has resulted in increasingly serious accidents related to drivers who find it necessary to read or send text messages while they are driving. At the General Assembly session that just ended, Virginia passed a law prohibiting operation of a motor vehicle while using any handheld personal communication device to manually enter text or to read a text message.
Interestingly, there are certain activities that are NOT included in the prohibition: GPS, reading caller identification information, and using a device to report an emergency.
The law becomes effective July 1, 2009.
$10,000 for 33" long fingernails lost in car accident???
When someone is injured in a car wreck that was caused by someone else, the not-at-fault person is entitled to be compensated for her personal injuries and property damages. Here, however, is a very unusual case. Lee Redmond, a 67-year-old woman from Salt Lake City, Utah, was injured in a four-car pileup accident and was taken to the hospital for treatment. What makes this case so unusual is that Redmond held the record for having the world's longest fingernails.Unfortunately, her nails were broken in the car accident. Some years ago, she had declined an offer to trim her nails for $10,000. The article does not mention whether she suffered any injury to her body.
One wonders how an insurance company would handle this case. Were her fingernails property damage or personal injury? After all, they were part of her body. And, how would the insurer value something as ordinary as fingernails -- even if they were 33 inches long?
Thanks to my friend Kenny Christensen in Utah for letting me know about this unusual case! I would love to hear from Virginia insurance adjusters about how they would value this case.
Traffic Fatalities Down. So what?
A recent article at insidenova.com reported that Virginia had 800 traffic fatalities in 2008 -- down from 1,026 in 2007. I guess that's suppposed to be good news, but I've never cared much for statistics, because you can make the numbers mean anything you want them to mean by the way you report them.I'm not saying that we shouldn't applaud safer cars and more diligent law enforcement or the high cost of gasoline or the bad economy or whatever the reasons were that traffic fatalities declined. However, if I'm the mother of a teenager who died, then those statistics are meaningless.
The fact remains that Northern Virginia highways are crowded with people going too fast, with drivers using their cell phones to call or, worse, to send and receive text messages, and that many of drivers and passengers who died were not wearing seatbelts. Alcohol and speed continue to be responsible for traffic fatalities. Of the four traffic deaths that occurred over the Christmas/New Year holiday, two of them were in Fairfax County. No one who died was wearing a seatbelt, and alcohol was a factor in one of them. That's too many.
Even people who own very expensive cars can have no auto liability insurance
So, you may think if you are hit and injured by someone driving a $140,000 Mercedes Benz that at least THEY must have enough insurance to cover your injuries. THINK AGAIN.This article from the Insurance Journal about Plaxico Burress is a perfect example about why you need to be the one to take care of yourself and your family -- with uninsured motorist coverage with limits high enough to protect you in case the driver who hits and injures you, even a really rich person, is uninsured.
Anybody can get into a car accident, and anybody can get into a car accident with someone who is not insured. Burress's insurance company said his coverage lapsed -- ran out -- three days before the accident because he did not pay his premium.
i have written and talked a lot about the importance of uninsured motorist coverage on your automobile insurance policy. It's the most important protection you can buy. If you are walking down the street and are hit by an uninsured driver, uninsured motorist coverage provides protection. If you are on a motorcycle and are hit by an uninsured dirver, it provides protection. If you are a passenger in a car that is hit by an uninsured driver, it provides protection. If you are hit by a drunk driver who is uninsured, it provides protection. And, much more.
Call our office to get a copy of our free report, 703-273-9500, or go to our website and ask for a copy.
Child killed in crash, not wearing seatbelt
Anthony Plummer of Chilhowie, Virginia, died on December 28, 2008, when the pickup truck in which he was riding crossed the center line and hit an oncoming SUV head-on. He was four years old. The accident happened on State Route 762 near its intersection with Route 739 in Smyth County. According to the Virginia State Police, Anthony was not wearing a seatbelt.It is so easy to forget to put a child's seatbelt on, but it is so important to do it every time. Also important, especially for a child of four years old, is to put the child in a proper car seat. I have written an article and blogged about how to choose the right car seat for your child. Seatbelts and child safety seats help save lives.
Don't Drive Naked
The Wall Street Journal cites a study of the Insurance Research Council that reveals that more and more people are letting their car insurance lapse to save money. As the jobless rate has climbed, so has the number of drivers who are driving without car insurance. Your odds of being in an accident with an uninsured motorist are substantial.You may be surprised to learn that it is perfectly legal in Virginia to drive without car insurance.
That trend is very bad news for you and everyone else on the road. Why? If you are hit and injured by a driver who has no insurance, sure, you could sue that person to pay for your losses. But, if he has no insurance, he probably has no assets with which to compensate you. (The Wall Street Journal article also says that unlicensed and uninsured drivers are disproportionately involved in fatal accidents.)
So, you must have protection from your own auto insurance policy. Call your insurance agent today and buy the highest amount of uninsured motorist coverage your company will sell you. It is more important now than ever.
We have written a report on this important protection. Call our office, 703-273-9500, and request a copy of the report -- it's free -- or send me an email (srohrstaff@wrsattorneys.com) or contact us through this website.
Are "crash taxes" next?
If you are in a crash, you may be surprised a few weeks later when a bill arrives from the fire and police departments for their coming to the scene -- even if you didn't call them!According to a recent report, towns and cities across the nation are sending such bills for these services that we all thought were supported through our taxes. The other bad news is that your insurance may not cover the bills. Medical services (including ambulance transportation) have traditionally been covered by various kinds of insurance, but not emergency response services.
If this concept catches on, your insurance premiums will go up, and no one yet knows by how much.
What should you do if you get such a bill?
1. Most importantly, don't ignore it, because your credit rating could be affected.
2. Contact your insurance company.
3. Get a record from the fire and police departments about what medical treatment was provided at the scene.
4. Contact your state's governmental agency if you believe the charges are unwarranted.
5. Consider contacting the credit reporting agency if you believe the charges were unfairly reported.
Also, consider contacting a personal injury lawyer who is experienced in dealing with insurance that provides coverage in car accident cases.
WRS November Newsletter
We have posted our November newsletter. There's a new law in Virginia that drivers need to know about (Move Over/Slow Down) and valuable information about the dangers of hitting deer on the highway and what to do you have an accident with a deer. There also is information about a report on tricks insurance companies use to deny your claim or get out of providing you coverage to which you are entitled.Send us an email (bgarcia@wrsattorneys.com) or give us a call, 703-273-9500, if you would like to receive our newsletter or to get a copy of the insurance report.
Dangerous Thanksgiving Highways
I blogged a few weeks ago during National Teen Driver Safety Week. Among the statistics I quoted was that teen deaths due to car crashs are down this year compared to last. As so happens with statistics, however, that did not tell the whole story.
In fact, according to the Virginia State Police, compared to last year, teen deaths are UP in Virginia during the past eight weeks, which includes National Teen Driver Safety Week. Here are the stats: - During September, October and the first two weeks of November, 35 teens died in crashes on roadways in Virginia - Of the 12 young people who died in November: o All ranged in age from 16 to 20 o 11 were male o 8 were not wearing a safety belt o 7 crashes were on rural roads o Alcohol was involved in 1 fatality o 7 crashes involved teen drivers - Of the 23 fatalities in September and October: o 13 were male o 10 were female, including one pedestrian o 8 were not wearing a safety belt o Alcohol played a part in 2 crashes and possibly 6 others o 7 crashes involved teen drivers o 7 occurred on rural roads And, we’re not even to the Thanksgiving holiday yet, a 120-hour period where 19 people lost their lives in 18 fatal crashes last year. Also, with 75% of our state troopers working the roads over the holiday, Virginia State Police reminds us of Virginia’s Move Over Law that requires motorists to move to another travel lane or, if that cannot be done safely, to slow down to cautiously pass emergency personnel stopped along the side of the road. Read my recent blog about this law.
Another fatal crash on Interstate 66 in Fairfax County
Less than 24 hours after the violent head-on collision on Interstate 66 that killed two women, a young woman was killed in another fatal crash on that highway.
This crash happened on Monday, November 17, 2008, at about 11:30 p.m., on eastbound I-66 near Nutley Street in Vienna. This time, a mattress was on the highway. A box truck driven by Richard Moon of Herndon swerved to miss the mattress; however, Kritika Singh, 21, who was driving behind the box truck, was not so lucky. The Isuzu Rodeo she was driving hit the mattress, ran off the side of the road and hit the truck. Ms. Singh was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the car. Her passenger, Vjjwal Joshi of Fairfax, who was wearing a seatbelt, received minor injuries.
Police are looking for witnesses to help them complete their investigation.
As attorneys who represent many people who are injured in car accidents, we, too, must rely on information provided by witnesses to prove what happened. So, please. If you or anyone you know has any information about this crash, please contact the Virginia State Police.
If it had been your sister or cousin or friend who died in this crash, you would be grateful for help from others.
The Virginia State Police can be reached at 703-323-4522 or Area09@vsp.virginia.gov.
Five Virginia teens died in car accidents during National Teen Driver Safety Week
National Teen Driver Safety Week is October 19 – 25, and already Virginia has lost five teenagers in fatal car accidents. Virginia State Police attribute the deaths to not wearing seatbelt restraints, speed, inexperience and, in one case, alcohol. http://www.whsv.com/news/headlines/32420624.html
Teenager Drives Wrong Way on I-66, Kills Two in Head-on Collision
Police are investigating how a 17-year-old driver came to be driving the wrong way on Interstate 66 in Arlington County at about 2:15 a.m. on Monday, November 17. Police suspect that alcohol played a part in the crash.The driver, who had a 17-year-old passenger with him, was driving a 1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse westbound in the eastbound lanes of I-66 when it crashed head-on into a 2003 Toyota Corolla driven by Hieu T. Nguyen. Although Mr. Nguyen survived the crash, his two female passengers did not. The teen driver and his passenger were treated for injuries that were not life-threatening.
Police have not yet determined how the teen driver got on I-66 going the wrong way but think he must have gone up an off-ramp near the crash site.
Investigators are trying to determine what the teen driver and his passenger were doing in the hours leading up to the crash.
Buying a Child's Car Seat
Confusing choices – buying a child’s car seat.
I just posted a new article on our website. I have several young friends who have embarked on a series of new adventures. The first adventure is that they are about to be new parents. They have had to outfit the nursery and read books and try to get plenty of sleep now because there are big changes coming. But the adventure I wrote about is the one they will face when they go to buy a car seat for their new baby. All parents want their children to be safe when traveling in the car but, especially for new parents, the task of choosing the right child restraint device can be overwhelming because there are so many options to choose from – and choosing the wrong one can be deadly.
Move Over, Slow Down -- New Law
MOVE OVER SLOW DOWN
I heard this story from a friend. If you drive in Northern Virginia, you are faced with situations like this every week.
I wanted to give you a heads up about a relatively new law in Virginia because of a traffic citation I received Sunday morning. As I was traveling in the right lane on the Dulles Toll Rd to the airport, I came upon a stopped state trooper on the right shoulder who had stopped a vehicle. He was pulled all the way over on shoulder. I was driving the speed limit and remained in my lane and even slowed down. There was a speeding car that passed in the left lane, thus I stayed in my lane. The next thing I know, the trooper is behind us with his lights flashing and I thought he was going to go after the speeding car, but instead he pulled me over.
The first thing the officer said was that I was not speeding, but the reason he pulled me over was because I was supposed to move over to the left lane prior to passing a stopped emergency vehicle. I told him I wasn't aware of the law and he said he had just gotten hit the previous day by someone who hadn't moved over. I thought he would give me a warning since I wasn't aware of the law and was driving responsibly and haven't gotten a ticket in over 10 years, but he gave me a summons where I have to appear in court. This is a class 1 misdemeanor violation which can result up to $2500 in fines and up to 1 year in jail.
If you are driving on a four-lane highway with at least two lanes in your direction of travel, the law does, indeed, require a driver in the right lane to yield the right-of-way by moving over into the left lane if the lane change can be made safely given the traffic conditions. If it is not safe to change lanes, then the driver is required to proceed with caution.
If you or someone you know gets pulled over and charged with a violation of this relatively new law, give us a call. Although we don’t represent people charged with traffic violations, we know many good, experienced lawyers who do and are happy to refer clients to those other lawyers.
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Car Accidents
- I was just in a car accident, and the other driver’s insurance company keeps calling and asking me for information. What should I tell them?
I was in an accident, and my airbags deployed. I have a few bruises but otherwise feel okay. Should I still go to a doctor?
I was recently in a car accident. I haven't been to the doctor, but I'm beginning to feel sore and stiff. Should I go to the doctor now even though it's been several days since the accident?