How Do You Obtain an Estimate For Your Repair Value of Your Car Following Your Car Accident?

It’s a pretty standard procedure but the first thing is first. You’re going to need to get in contact with the insurance company for the defendant and chances are they’re going to have a list of preferred shops that they would like you to take your car to.

If you do not use their preferred list, then there’s a distinct possibility that they will not cover the actual repairs. So it is to your benefit to take your vehicle to a – someone who’s on their list, someone who’s an accepted shop and someone they’re willing to actually pay the bills for.

I would encourage you just as an aside, to try to make sure that they do not use aftermarket parts on your car. What I mean by aftermarket is that the actual parts that they’re using are being taken off of used cars. You would like them to use new parts when replacing and repairing your vehicle following your car accident.

Once you’ve called the insurance company of the defendant, they’re going to do one of two things. Either they will send an appraiser out to have a look at your vehicle, if it’s not drive-able, to assess what the damage is and to give a general assessment of what they think the costs are going to be as far as getting the vehicle repaired or they will simply direct you to take your car to the repair shop directly as opposed to sending out an appraiser.

Another important fact to consider in a way to protect yourself is that you’re going to need to get more than one estimate to determine what the repairs of your car are in fact going to be.

It’s just like with the doctor or lawyer or anything else. You’re always going to want to get a second opinion. So after you take your car to the initial place that the insurance company suggests, feel free to go to a second or a third shop and get a second and a third estimate because the idea is, is that you want to get a much more comprehensive picture of what the repairs are actually going to cost to get your vehicle fixed.

Again, I would talk to all of the shops that you’re discussing with to make sure that they do not use aftermarket parts when repairing your vehicle.

If you’ve recently been in a car accident, contact The Hartman Law Firm at 843-300-7600 today.

Hard Facts Surrounding the Use of a Moped on South Carolina Highways.

Fatalities have risen over the past five years all the way up until 2012. In 2012, there were 37 fatalities associated with moped use and in 2013, it actually dropped but in the first half of 2014, we’re actually on pace to double that of 2013 which would put us somewhere in the range of between 40 and 50 people who lose their lives on South Carolina roads as a result of using mopeds, which begs the question, “What is a moped?”

A moped is a vehicle that usually sells for less than $1000. It gets anywhere between 80 to 100 miles per gallon and its typical top speed at least according to South Carolina law should be no more than 25 miles per hour.

However, some people take the restrictor plate off of their mopeds and so they’re able to go faster. That technically takes them out of the moped context and into a scooter which requires a license but it’s kind of in the gray area of the law.

The significant thing about a moped is it doesn’t require you to have a driver’s license in order to get one. Obviously with any pros with regard to a moped, there’s going to be some cons and that certainly is the case with this particular mode of transportation.

It is not illegal for you to use a moped in going over the Arthur Ravenel bridge. However, you are putting yourself in danger in the sense that you are typically going to be able to go maybe 30 or 35 miles per hour if you’re lucky because of the limitation of the motor and you have cars that are sometimes exceeding 55 miles an hour who are negotiating traffic around you.

It has certainly been borne out in statistics because there are a lot of people who are getting hurt and even killed on the Arthur Ravenel bridge because they’re trying to navigate that particular avenue, all which leads me to a public service announcement which is the sorts of things that you can do to protect yourself if you choose a moped as your primary form of transportation.

South Carolina Transportation Department suggests that you use reflective clothing and that you put blinkers on either your helmet or your moped or both and more importantly even though it’s not required by South Carolina law, I would strongly encourage anyone who uses this mode of transportation to use a helmet because it can be the difference between life and death.

If you’ve been involved in a moped accident and you need help, call The Hartman Law Firm at 843-300-7600 today.

How To Buy an Auto Accident Policy

The biggest problem that I run into is just people being unaware of the potential possibilities out there as far as the sorts of things that you can add to your auto insurance premium.

Everyone is familiar with the concept of liability coverage because it’s required by the state. Liability is the sort of coverage where you go out and if you’re at fault in a wreck, then someone can make a claim against you for not only their property damage but they can make a claim for any bodily injuries that may have resulted as a result of the accident.

However, there are some other options that you probably aren’t aware of that potentially your insurance agent hasn’t brought up. Something else that’s required of course is uninsured motorist coverage and that’s also required by the state.

That is needed in the event that the driver that strikes you does not have any liability insurance. In other words, he doesn’t pay for insurance and his car is uninsured. That is the reason for UM under South Carolina law.

There is another type of insurance that is not that – the public is not that familiar with and that’s called “underinsured motorist coverage”. In my opinion, it’s quite possibly the most important form of insurance coverage that you can potentially take on your policy. By way of example, on my car, I have 100/300 coverage and the reason why that is, is in the event that the defendant who hits me who’s at fault, if I get really hurt and he only has $25,000, I can go back on my underinsured motorist coverage and I could be made whole by my own insurance coverage because my medical bills are $60,000 and I’ve got a broken leg and I’m going to have some sort of permanent injury.

I’m going to need that extra $100,000 in coverage in order to be able to even pay my medical bills much less be able to walk away with anything for my pain and suffering.

The last particular option I can think of that you would want to consider for your insurance policy is what’s called MedPay or personal injury protection and that varies state by state as to what it’s called.

But it is a no-fault version of insurance that essentially says that if you’re involved in a car wreck and injuries happen as a result and you’ve got medical bills that require payment, there’s a one-time no-fault payment in the amount of $1000, $5000 or $10,000 that you can receive from your own insurance company provided you provide them with the medical records and the bills that are associated with that accident.

Again it’s no fault and it’s something you should definitely consider paying 10 or 15 bucks extra a month. The last and final thing that I would talk about is collision coverage which a lot of you may be familiar with.

The truth of the matter is this collision coverage is – it’s the sort of coverage wherein the event that you’re involved in a wreck, your insurance company is going to either repair your vehicle or they’re going to blue book it out. They’re going to total your vehicle out. If you don’t have collision coverage and it’s your fault, then ultimately you’re without a car and you got to figure out how you’re going to pay for it.

Collision would actually cover you in that instance. But typically insurance companies don’t suggest that you carry collision coverage if your car reaches a certain value in the sense that it has gotten a lot older and it’s just – the cost benefit analysis just isn’t there. It’s not worth having the collision coverage and paying the extra insurance premium for it.

If you have questions concerning your auto accident, be sure to call The Hartman Law Firm at 843-300-7600

Making A Claim On Your Own Insurance Policy - Will Your Premium Go Up?

The answer to that question is probably not. Obviously in life there are no immediate certainties but the truth of the matter is if you’re in a car accident and it’s not your fault and you have to make a claim on your insurance policy, for the most part your insurance company is more likely than not – they’re not going to drop you from your policy and they’re not going to increase your premium for the simple reason that you weren’t at fault for the wreck.

I find that this is one of the primary anxieties that I encounter when dealing with new clients who have just recently been involved in car accident cases and specifically the scenario that I’m talking about is where you have someone who has been in a significant wreck. They’ve got significant injuries, broken bones or otherwise. Significant exposure in the sense that their emergency room bills are in the tens of thousands and then you find out that the defendant has $25,000 in coverage.

So now, you’re going to get the money from the defendant but you’re going to have to turn around and you’re going to have to go back to your own under-insured motorist coverage and then people become worried. OK. Well, if I make a claim on my under-insured motorist coverage, is this in fact going to either affect my overall premium in the sense that I’m going to be paying more next year or is my insurance company going to drop you entirely for actually making a claim?

Again the answer is a provisional no. Typically not. They shouldn’t be doing that and in that sense, I’m here to lay your concerns. If in fact it’s needed, you should definitely use your under-insured motorist coverage or your UM because at the end of the day, those injuries and that potential permanent injury is something you’re going to be living with forever.

You pay those insurance premiums for a reason. There’s a reason why you carry it on your car.

If you've been involved in an auto accident or have questions, I would strongly encourage you to contact The Hartman Firm at 843-300-7600.

The Death of Antonin Scalia and the Impact on the Supreme Court (and America as We Know It).

Ladies and gentlemen, we are at a watershed moment in American history. For the first time in my lifetime, which I’m 38 years old, there’s a possibility that we may not have a conservative majority on the Supreme Court. It has been a five-to-four vote on every major case since basically the 60's when you had the Warren Court. Ever since then, there have been Republican appointees that have in large part dictated jurisprudence in America for the past 30 or 40 years.

For the first time in American history, we have a sitting democratic president who’s in a position to nominate a Supreme Court justice that could make it a five-to-four liberal majority on the Supreme Court. President Obama has nominated Chief Justice Merrick Garland. He’s the Chief Justice of the US Court of Appeals and he was put in that place in 1997.

At that time, he was confirmed by the senate with a bipartisan vote of 76 to 23. Seven Republicans that currently sit on the senate judiciary committee voted for him at that time in 1997. At least five of those particular senators are still in the senate, and they’re in the awkward political position of (at least if they align with their party) voting against a man that they already said was a very good judge and placed as the Chief Justice of the US Court of Appeals. Mitch McConnell and the Republican Party are at a watershed moment politically, and the reason why is because they’re in a position of a prisoner’s dilemma.

President Obama has put forth a centrist candidate with good Republican ties who was confirmed in 1997 with a bipartisan group of senators voting him onto the bench. The Republicans are in a politically difficult situation in which they would have to eat one of their own potentially and do so because they want to continue the policy of obstructionism with regard to President Obama.

Does the Republican Party want a devil that they do know? As opposed to the devil that they don’t. and that all kind of hinges on the political outcome of the election that we’re going to have at the end of the year. There’s a distinct possibility, depending on the political outcome, that we could have a democratic presidential nominee in the form of Hillary Rodham Clinton, who in all likelihood would actually nominate a more liberal justice.

They essentially have three bottles of poison sitting in front of them and they have to choose which one they want to drink. Do they want to go ahead and confirm Merrick Garland with the understanding that he is slightly right of center? Since in 1997, he was confirmed by a the Republicans, or do they want to toe the party line and continue again the policy of obstructionism that they have purported to want to continue.

They want to wait until the election is over and they want the new president to choose the new justice that will become part of the Supreme Court. A byproduct of that is that there are a lot of cases that are going to affect Americans in their day to day lives that are sitting and waiting for a vote on the Supreme Court.

Corporate interests and cases involving abortion that are potentially up for consideration and naturally the Supreme Court cannot consider any of those cases if it doesn’t have its full compliment of judges, because naturally it would end up a four-four tie. So you’re not going to be able to render a judgment in any of those instances. It is a ship that is sitting still on the water with no wind until we get a new Supreme Court justice appointed.

It’s going to be really interesting to see what happens in the next couple of months because, as I said before, the republicans have to decide whether they want a devil that they do, or a devil that they don’t.

If you have any auto accidents or injury issues, or to just render an opinion, contact the Hartman Law Firm at 843-300-7600.

What to Do if You’ve Recently Received a DUI and You Need Transportation to Work?

The answer is that you can purchase a moped. The significant thing about a moped is that it does not require that the user actually have a driver’s license in order to be able to use it to go back and forth. That’s just kind of a peculiarity of South Carolina law and it’s a loophole that you can work through in the event that you get a DUI or a second DUI and your license is either suspended indefinitely or pending your temporary hearing.

If you need to get back and forth to work as most people do, you obviously need a paycheck in order to be able to pay for everything, the simple solution is to purchased a moped. You will need the moped while you’re waiting for your temporary hearing to come up immediately following your DUI and in the interim if you have the money and it’s available, you can pursue a provisional license that’s route-restricted. It allows you to go back and forth to work.

Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t have the money to be able to do that so they go out and they will get a cheap moped and that will allow you to be able to go back and forth to work and to continue earning the amount of money that you need to feed your family and to potentially pay your legal fees as well as any administrative costs associated with your recent DUI.

A moped is the perfect solution to that. I would say as a public service announcement, the top speed of most mopeds is anywhere between 35 and 40 miles an hour. You need to be very mindful of the traffic that’s immediately around you and be smart. Stay in the right lane, the slow lane and maybe even closer to the bike lane and just be mindful of the cars that are around you.

If you have additional questions concerning your DUI, I would strongly encourage you contact The Hartman Firm at 843-300-7600.

What are your rights as a passenger when you’re involved in an auto accident?

The interesting thing about being a passenger in an automobile collision is that ultimately who is at fault for the car wreck really doesn’t matter. The only difference is who you’re making your auto accident claim against. If your friend or relative who’s driving the vehicle did something and they contributed to the collision and they are in fact marked at fault by the police, then what has to happen at that point is instead of you making a claim against the other driver’s insurance company, you make a claim against the auto policy that actually is carried on the car by your friend or your relative.

This may seem like a conflict of interest but in fact it’s not. The whole purpose behind having insurance on your car is for precisely this reason and a lot of people have a hard time wrapping their head around that concept. You’re not actually making a claim against your friend or your relative. You’re making a claim against the auto insurance policy that is actually attached to the car that you’re driving in because under South Carolina law, your liability policy or your own insurance policy is actually portable and comes with you regardless of what car you’re driving in.

It’s attached to the car. So the point is, is if you’re in a car wreck and your driver is in fact at fault, you would make a claim against the auto insurance policy that is on that car that you are riding in. If the opposite were true and the defendant is in fact at fault, then you would make a claim against that auto insurance policy and all of that is the sort of thing that an attorney is going to have to help sort out. The police and their investigation is going to help sort it out as well.

Then eventually the two insurance companies are going to come to some sort of agreement about who is actually at fault. There can be a situation where in fact both drivers are equally at fault for the car wreck. In which case, you would submit your medical records, your bills, your injuries and all that to both insurance companies and they would pay it 50-50. So you would get half of your proceeds from one insurance company and half of the proceeds from the other.

But it makes no matter to you because the whole point is that you will be made whole at the end of the process because all of your medical bills have been paid. You’ve been compensated for your pain and suffering and any potential long term permanent injury that you might have received as a result of the car collision.

So as a passenger in South Carolina, you’re always going to be protected and that’s generally a very good thing.

If you are a passenger or you’ve been involved in a car accident, I would strongly encourage you to pick up the telephone and call The Hartman Law Firm, LLC at 843-300-7600.