Legal Article Library for Wisconsin Injury Lawyers

Library Categories:

• Car & Truck Accidents
• Insurance Company Misconduct / Bad Faith
• Traumatic Brain Injuries
• Products Liability
• General

Car & Truck Accidents:

• Phantom Motor Vehicles in Wisconsin. Can You Bring a Claim?   
  Phantom Motor Vehicles in Wisconsin. Can You Bring a Claim?
• Recent Legislative Changes Under Governor Walker Change Auto Insurance Law   
  Recent Legislative Changes Under
  Governor Walker Change Auto Insurance Law
• Understanding Auto Insurance in Wisconsin   
  The laws governing insurance coverage in Wisconsin seem to be constantly changing. This article produced by the Wisconsin Association for Justice gives the current status of Wisconsin automobile insurance requirements.
• Is someone watching you? Surveillance in personal injury claims.   
  Insurance companies often engage in video, audio and still photography surveillance in defending personal injury claims. This article gives the basics of Wisconsin law on the subject as well as some pointers for the injured person who may be the subject of surveillance.
• Does Your Health Insurer Get Paid When Your Case Is Resolved?   
  When someone is injured in an accident, they typically need medical treatment. There is a common misconception that the at fault driver’s insurance company will pay your medical bills on an on-going basis. This is generally not the case. Usually, a victim’s health insurer or medical payments insurer pays the medical bills. If the health or medical payments insurer has paid accident-related medical bills, they will almost always seek to get reimbursed from a personal injury case settlement. The health or medical payments insurer is exercising its right of subrogation.
• 10 Reasons Semi Truck Accident Cases Are Different Than Car Accident Cases   
  There is a popular myth that an accident case involving a semi truck is not much different than a case involving two passenger vehicles. There are many reasons why truck accident cases are different – here are ten.
• Are You Partially Responsible For The Accident? Separating Facts From Fiction   
  We have often heard from members of the community that if someone is involved in a car accident that person is partially responsible “just for being there.” This popular comment is not based upon the law. In fact, Wisconsin law does not indicate that a victim is partially responsible – just for being at the scene of the accident.
• Claim denied because of a "preexisting condition?"   
  Often times, insurance companies deny or try to substantially reduce offers on claims based on an alleged "preexisting condition." This is a medical condition that existed before the events that gave rise to the claim took place.
• What Is An Umbrella Policy? 5 Reasons You Need This Coverage   
  An umbrella policy provides added protection for you in the event other applicable insurance coverage is exhausted. Umbrella policies may provide coverage in the event you injure someone else or in the event someone injures you. Typically umbrella policies are sold in $1,000,000 increments, although policies with lesser coverage may be available. You should check with your insurance agent to determine whether an umbrella policy is right for you and what specific features your policy should have.
• Talking on a cell phone while driving as dangerous as driving drunk?   
  A series of studies have shown that talking on a cell phone or texting while driving is as dangerous as driving while intoxicated.
• Anatomy of a Personal Injury Lawsuit   
  Do you have questions about what actually happens when you sue someone for personal injury damages? This article explains the steps involved in the lawsuit process.
• Anatomy and Physiology of Pain   
  What actually causes pain? This is a brief description of how pain is actually produced in our bodies from a basic physiological standpoint. The first step to treating pain is understanding it.
• How many fatal accidents occur in Wisconsin each year?   
  Learn information on how many fatal accidents there are in Wisconsin each year, how many alcohol-related accidents there are each year in Wisconsin, and how many car accident injuries there are each year in Wisconsin.
• What to do with your Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) diagnosis?   
  A Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) diagnosis can mean chronic pain, ongoing medical treatments, possible disability, and a number of expenses. If you live in Wisconsin and require legal assistance regarding your RSD, Atterbury & Kammer, S.C., can help.

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Insurance Company Misconduct / Bad Faith:

• Supreme Court of Wisconsin Issues New Insurance Bad Faith Decision   
  Supreme Court of Wisconsin Issues New Insurance Bad Faith Decision
• What Can I Do To Punish The Wrongdoer And To Make Sure This Does Not Happen To Anyone Else?   
  We are often asked by our clients whether they can punish the insurance company or take actions to make sure the insurance company will not engage in the same conduct toward others. Generally, punishing a wrongdoer in Wisconsin is reserved for criminal cases (cases where a defendant has been charged with a crime). Insurance companies are rarely charged with crimes. But, in limited circumstances, policy holders may be given a chance in a civil case to ask that a jury punish an insurer and impose a penalty sufficient to deter the insurance company to refrain from misconduct.
• 6 Obligations Your Insurance Company Has To You   
  We are often asked what obligations an insurance company has to its policy holders. An insurance company must treat you fairly. There are many things and insurer has to do and many things it is forbidden from doing. We have tried to make a simplified version of the law on this subject and put it together in what we call the Policy Holder’s Bill of Rights setting forth the six key obligations that an insurer has to a policy holder making a claim.
• Beware Of The Insurance Company’s “Independent” Medical Examination   
  When a policy holder makes a claim for personal injuries with an insurance company, the insurer may have a right to order an “independent” medical examination. In our experience, these exams are often anything but “independent.” Some insurance companies hire the same doctors over and over again to conduct examinations. Doctors are paid handsomely for providing this service. Are you surprised that most often the insurance company doctor offers opinions favorable to the insurance company? There is some truth to the old adage: “He who pays the fiddler calls the tune.”
• Filing A Complaint With The State Of Wisconsin Commissioner Of Insurance   
  If you feel you have been wronged by an insurance company or its personnel, you can file a complaint with the State of Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI). You can obtain complaint forms at http://oci.wi.gov/com_form.htm. You can also get complaint forms by calling OCI at 1-800-236-8517 or by writing to OCI at 125 South Webster Street, P.O. Box 7873, Madison, WI 53707-7873.
• Does Your Insurance Company Use Software To Minimize The Value Of Your Claim?   
  In many cases the answer is yes. Most, if not all, major insurers use a software program to assist with processing injury claims. There is nothing illegal or unlawful about that. Insurers say that they use these programs to ensure consistent handling of claims.
• What Is Insurance Bad Faith?   
  The law recognizes consumers’ relationship with their insurance company as a special relationship. It is often called a fiduciary relationship. Generally, this means that the insurer must treat its policy holder’s interests with the same consideration it would give its own interests.
• What is the Wisconsin Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act?   
  Is your insurance company acting suitably under Wisconsin state law in regards to your insurance claim? Find out more about the Wisconsin Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act and whether your insurance company is acting in an unfair or deceptive way in this article by Wisconsin bad faith insurance lawyers Atterbury & Kammer, S.C.

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Traumatic Brain Injuries:

• Imaging Studies for Traumatic Brain Injuries   
  Medical providers now have a wide array of imaging tools at their disposal when it comes to diagnosing and treating Traumatic Brain Injuries. The purpose of this article is to briefly describe the different types of imaging studies now available.
• What is a diffuse axonal injury?   
  Unlike brain trauma that occurs due to direct impact and deformation of the brain, a diffuse axonal injury is the result of traumatic shearing forces that occur when the head is rapidly accelerated or decelerated, as may occur in auto accidents, falls, and assaults. It usually results from rotational forces or severe deceleration. Vehicle accidents are the most frequent cause of DAI; it can also occur as the result of child abuse such as in shaken baby syndrome.
• Do you have to lose consciousness in an accident to sustain a serious brain injury?   
  It is often claimed that you have to have lost consciousness in an accident to have sustained a serious brain injury. This is simply not true. It is now almost universally recognized that one does not have to lose consciousness to have sustained a serious brain injury.

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Products Liability:

• Updates on the DePuy ASR Acetabular Hip Replacement Litigation and Medical Research   
  Updates on the DePuy ASR Acetabular Hip Replacement Litigation and Medical Research
• DePuy ASR Hip Replacement Recall   
  On August 26, 2010, DePuy Orthopedics, a unit of Johnson & Johnson, announced the recall of its hip implants known as the ASR XL Acetabular and ASR Hip Resurfacing systems. The DePuy ASR hip was implanted in 93,000 patients worldwide. Up to one in eight patients may be forced to undergo revision surgery due to a high early failure rate with the DePuy ASR artificial hip.
• Defective Punch Press/Metal Forming Machines   
  One very important area of products liability is industrial machinery. Machines used in factories can be extremely dangerous to workers. Many serious injuries and deaths have been caused by defective and dangerous machinery.
• Industrial Machines - a leading cause of products liability injuries   
  Unreasonably dangerous machines are one of the leading causes of on the job injuries. Some of the more common machines that have injured workers are: conveyers, press brakes, drill presses, sheers, cutters, printing presses, saws, smelters, pressure vessels, and injection molding machines.
• Three Legal Theories for Products Liability   
  Step one of any personal injury claim is arriving at a legal theory to establish liability on the at fault party. There are three primary legal theories that form the basis of products liability law. They are 1) Breach of Warranty; 2) Negligence; and 3) Strict Liability.

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General:

• The Defense of Recreational Immunity in Wisconsin   
  The Defense of Recreational Immunity in Wisconsin
• Insurance Agent as Trusted Advisor   
  In our complicated world, we often seek the advice of trusted advisors. These are often attorneys, accountants and financial planners. Too often, insurance agents are not included in this circle. Considering the importance of personal insurance, the result of not getting competent insurance advice can be disasterous.

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Eric J. Haag

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Alexander S. Kammer

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Lee R. Atterbury

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