How Small Details Can Make Differences in the Outcome of Your Pennsylvania Auto Accident Case
When you are injured in an auto accident, you are probably shaken up, stressed out, in pain, and generally concerned with many, many things other than your legal rights. However, being concerned with your legal rights is something that you most definitely should be. In order to get the compensation you deserve, you’ll need to act decisively and promptly. One of the first things you should do is retain skilled Pennsylvania injury counsel. Your experienced injury attorney can be the one to focus on your legal issues while you focus on you and your family.
Knowledgeable counsel matters in an auto accident case because details matter, and your diligent attorney can work to identify the details that can make the difference between a successful outcome and an unsuccessful one. Take, for example, a case involving John, an employee of a major telecommunications company. John was driving an employer-owned vehicle when another driver crashed into him at a traffic light. The crash caused John to suffer substantial damages. The at-fault driver only had insurance coverage equal to the minimum required by state law.
Since his damages exceeded the policy limits of the at-fault driver’s insurance, John filed an underinsured motorist claim with his employer’s auto insurer. The insurance company denied the claim, contending that John’s employer actually had declined underinsured motorist coverage as part of its policy.
Two things that can come up in many auto accident cases are the frequent, intricate involvement of insurance companies and the importance of “sweating the small stuff” if your case involves a battle with an insurance company. Auto insurance companies are well-equipped with skilled legal counsel who are highly familiar with these types of cases and the tiny details that are contained in auto insurance policies.
Fortunately for John, he also had counsel skilled at spotting details. On the telecommunications company’s paperwork with the auto insurance company, the telecommunications company’s representative had checked the box next to the “Rejection of Underinsured Motorist Coverage” paragraph, but she did not sign or date the line beneath the paragraph. While this might seem like a minuscule detail that would have no impact on the outcome of the case, it was actually a key piece of evidence. The Superior Court concluded that the absence of the signature and date were not just hyper-technical details but amounted to a critical defect that made the waiver of underinsured coverage invalid.
In other words, the employer never validly rejected underinsured coverage, so John was entitled to a judgment in his favor against the insurance company.
The skilled Pennsylvania auto accident attorneys at Needle Law Firm have been providing the sort of strong representation and personalized attention upon which you can rely. Our team is ready to discuss your matter with you.
Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation by calling (570) 344-1266.
