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How to Handle Your Storm Damage Insurance Claim

Wed, 29 Nov 2017 18:47:58 GMT

While Hurricane Irma is gone, the victims in Florida are still facing the devastating flooding and wind damage it left behind. What’s worse for those affected is that while they’re desperately trying to put their lives back together, many of their insurance companies are only compounding their problems.

Not only is the aftermath of Hurricane Irma overwhelming, but when you’re pursuing a property damage claim with your homeowner’s insurance policy and your insurance company doesn’t fully investigate your case, you have an even bigger problem: lots of damage that will go uncompensated.

In order to get back to rebuilding your life and property, you need to focus on recovering as much compensation as possible for the flooding and wind damage.

Recovering compensation for flood and wind damage:

If you suspect your insurance company isn’t fully invested in your individual case, we urge you to contact us immediately .

Don’t let your insurance company play games - to them, you may be one of thousands of cases, but your life deserves more attention than that.

While you’re in the process of claiming property damage, here are some tips to follow:

Document the damage:

For your best chances at recovering compensation, it is best that you documented the pre-storm damage of your property so your insurance company can have something to compare the post-storm destruction to. Cell phone images and video work great, so be sure to capture everything to provide to them.

Contact your insurance agent:

As soon as you can, contact your insurance company - the sooner you make the initial contact, the sooner the process can begin. Additionally, many insurance companies now have a policy that you need to notify them immediately after a loss. In fact, insurance company’s lawyers are eager to defend the insurance company against your claim if it was allegedly late.

Show damage to insurance agent:

After your claim, an insurance agent will come to your property to inspect the damage. Be sure to point out all damage, big and small, so that it can be fully and accurately documented - the more you document, the higher your potential settlement will be. It’s important to remember that the insurance agent does not work for you and does not act as your advocate to recover as much as possible - with the insurance company’s best interest at top of mind, their role is to recover the least amount possible for you.

Flood and wind damage:

Rising water and forceful winds were the two culprits of Hurricane Irma’s destruction. Insurance companies may try to deny you coverage, saying the damage was not caused by wind. Your homeowner’s insurance generally covers damage from wind and your flood insurance covers rising water damage, but you can find yourself in a confusing battle and dispute over it; this is an unfortunate area where insurance companies play games with you.

If your insurance company isn’t giving you the full attention and treatment you deserve, it’s imperative that you call us today .

We actually do have your best interest at the core of what we do and fight aggressively to get you the fair, rightful compensation for your damage.

Contact our personal injury law firm to get a free consultation of your case by calling (215) 389-1900.

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The hidden dangers of Uber and Lyft

Mon, 13 Nov 2017 19:46:31 GMT

Everyone from teenagers to adults use popular ride sharing companies, such as Uber and Lyft, every day. By simply downloading an app on your smartphone, you can hire a car to pick you up at the press of a button. Riders love the ease and convenience of the app-based driving service that has lower rates than traditional cabs.

How it works:

Drivers are independent contractors, meaning they are not employees of the company; they use their personal cars to earn money according to their schedule and pay for their own gas and expenses. The app uses GPS technology to connect drivers to their riders, and almost anyone can become a driver to either supplement their income or drive as a full-time basis.

Uber driver qualifications:

According to Uber’s website, drivers must be at least 21-years-old, have a vehicle newer than 2001, and pass a background check. The check is said to make sure in the past 7 years you have not had a DUI, drug-related offense, incidents of driving without insurance/license, fatal accident, history of reckless driving, or criminal history.

The problem with Uber and Lyft drivers:

While the background check sounds comprehensive enough to ensure its riders’ safety, there are major flaws in the system. After a 3-month investigation of Uber conducted by NBC, the findings are disturbing. Various drivers were found with driving and criminal records, including drunk and reckless driving, burglary, and battery and assault convictions.

Since drivers are independent contractors, the company has no liability, and their terms and conditions ensure that. In order to download and use the apps, you agree to the terms, stating that the company is not at fault for anything that happens to you - that can include injury, theft, accidents, physical or sexual attacks, rape, and even death.

Unlike cab companies who operate a tighter ship with FBI background checks, hygiene and wellness checks, and mandatory driving training, these ride-sharing companies have their own financial interests at top of mind, not their riders’ safety.

Uber and Lyft Victims

From soliciting sex and rape to physical assault and murder, the dangers of ride-sharing companies are too prevalent to ignore. Real cases of Uber and Lyft victims include:

Assault and battery
Car accidents
Death
Kidnapping
Rape
Sexual assault
Shooting

Uber and Lyft Accident and Injury Claims

While Uber’s insurance policy claims to support drivers with their liability policy, accidents primarily fall on the driver and because of this, several disputes have occurred throughout America. If you or a loved one have been injured or assaulted in an Uber or Lyft incident, contact Benedetto Law right away. Our Uber and Lyft accident attorneys have actual experience representing victims in ride-sharing accidents and work aggressively to recover compensation for you.

Uninsured (Underinsured) Motorist Coverage

Tue, 31 Oct 2017 18:36:20 GMT

The insurance you didn’t know you needed

Bad news: You get into an auto accident. Good news: You didn’t cause it.

Ideally when you get into a car accident, you file a claim, repair your car, go to the hospital, and follow through with your medical care in order to heal. There are often ongoing medical expenses not to mention loss of wages for missing work due to your injuries. However, the offender’s insurance pays for your damages, leaving you with no out of pocket expenses.

But what happens when the person who caused the accident doesn’t have insurance? What happens if he has liability coverage but not enough? What happens if he flees the scene, leaving your car wrecked and your self damaged?

This happens more often than you may think. In fact, according to a 2014 study by the Insurance Research Council, one in eight drivers was uninsured. When you’re the victim of a car accident in this case and do not have uninsured motorist coverage, you’re left with the devastating aftermath - piling medical and auto repair bills, leaving you in financial despair while you’re trying desperately to heal.

The good news? This can all be avoided. Uninsured (underinsured) coverage can save you from paying for an accident you didn’t cause.

What Is Uninsured (Underinsured) Motorist Coverage?

When you get into a car accident and the other driver is at fault, if he doesn't have insurance, you’re financially responsible for the damages to your car and your injuries. You could go after him personally, but chances are if the driver has no car insurance, he doesn’t have assets, so going after him personally will be useless.

You can protect yourself from irresponsible drivers with uninsured motorist coverage, which is pretty affordable, especially compared to liability, collision, and comprehensive insurance.

Types of coverage:

Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury Coverage: covers medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and emotional distress.

Uninsured Motorist Property Damage Coverage: covers damages to your vehicle.

With uninsured motorist coverage, your insurance carrier stands in to insure the at-fault driver who either has no insurance, too little insurance, or who fled the scene. You would make a claim under your policy for lost wages, pain, suffering, and medical bills without any increase to your premium.

Are you the victim of an accident where the driver has low or no coverage?

As the victim of an auto accident, you have a lot on your plate. At Benedetto Law , we’ll help you navigate the legal and financial complexities of your accident with an uninsured/underinsured driver or hit and run. If you or a loved one have been injured, you have the right to recover financial compensation - contact us today for a free consultation, we take cases nationwide.

How to help a shooting victim

Thu, 26 Oct 2017 17:01:24 GMT

Pulse nightclub in Orlando - 49 victims killed, 53 injured.

Ariana Grande concert in Manchester - 22 killed in suicide bomber attack.

Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas - 59 deaths, 546 victims injured.

It’s no surprise that people are on edge these days, questioning where and how they travel and events they choose to attend. From concerts and nightclubs to schools and public transportation, it often feels no one is safe after these attacks.

After a shooting, there’s all kinds of buzz in the news and on social media from both sides, with people heated up about the topic - gun control. When violent acts are front and center, impacting our lives and safety, everyone from policy makers to students want to talk about the solution to these heinous attacks, but there’s something nobody talks about that they should be: What do you do when you’re in a mass shooting situation? What do you do afterwards to help the shooting victims around you?

While it’s not always possible to save a life, you can give someone their best chance of surviving by educating yourself and spreading the knowledge because as cliched as it is, knowledge is power. In shooting situations, first responders may be delayed or waiting it out if there is an active shooter; while you’re waiting for medical help, follow these steps.

1) Safety: During a shooting, there’s so much chaos and uncertainty, but before you can help anyone, you need to ensure that you’re safe. Since you’re not sure if there’s a chance of more shooting, protect yourself and whomever you’re helping by taking cover and trying to escape to safety. You should identify areas of safety and exit upon your entry into an arena or large venue.

2) Act: In times of stress, it can be difficult to know what to do to help; you may be in shock yourself. Once you’re in a safe location, you need to take action. That can be telling someone specifically and directly to call 9-1-1 or doing so yourself, but you need to take action so police can start getting as many details as possible.

3) Treat: While it’s probably not likely you’ll have plastic gloves available, try to find some plastic barrier to put between your skin and the victim’s blood if at all possible.

Signs of life -Look for signs of life (heart beat, breathing), and if there are none, start CPR if you know how. If the victim is also bleeding, direct someone to apply pressure directly on the wound while you perform CPR, otherwise you can plug the wound with a piece of clothing or apply a tourniquet.

Tourniquet - If a person is injured, use whatever is around you to apply a tourniquet to stop bleeding. This can be accomplished by using a belt, scarf, tie, or cut up clothing. A piece of clothing can also be used to stop the bleeding to clot a wound. You can do a Youtube search on how to apply a tourniquet, and field officers also carry Israeli Bandages, which can be purchased and Googled on how to use properly.

Educating yourself and others is the first step towards potentially saving a life in the event of a shooting, but however much you want to help someone, you must ensure your safety first no matter what. By putting yourself into a potentially dangerous situation, you take away your ability to help someone else, so if needed, take cover or wait the situation out, keeping your eyes and ears open to collect as much information as possible to give to the authorities.

If you or a loved one have been injured in a mass shooting, such as the Harvest festival in Vegas, you may be entitled to compensation. Reach out to our team to discuss your case; there are no fees unless we recover earnings for you.

Lawsuit for Victims of Las Vegas Mass Shooting

Sun, 22 Oct 2017 19:15:28 GMT

Are Mandalay Bay, Live Nation, and MGM liable for the deadliest mass shooting in US history?

On October 1, 2017, Stephen Paddock carried out the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. A few days after checking into his 32nd floor suite at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, owned by MGM, Paddock used his arsenal of deadly guns to shoot hundreds of rounds into the Route 91 Harvest Festival at the MGM-owned Las Vegas Village, leaving 58 dead and about 500 wounded.

Benedetto Law seeks to help victims and their loved ones of this senseless tragedy in pursuing justice, aiming to hold the concert promoter (Live Nation), Mandalay Bay, and others accountable for lack of security that allowed this mass slaying to happen.

Mandalay Bay Civil Liability Lawsuit

Security measures are in place for a reason, and while it’s easy to say this was a sudden, random act of terror, there were warning signs that could have detected Paddock’s motives. A civil lawsuit will allege various warning signs and security problems with Mandalay Bay and Live Nation including the following:

Stephen Paddock was able to get 23 guns, including assault rifles and other equipment into his hotel room.
Paddock’s “do not disturb” sign was on his door for 3 days, a warning signal hotel staff are trained to look for.
Paddock installed an elaborate security system, including hallway cameras outside his room and in the peephole.
Paddock shot through his suite window, which he broke with a hammer. The window was not sturdy enough to prevent this nor was it equipped with any alarm.
There was no active shooter evacuation protocol put into place, including giving instructions over the loud speakers and/or video monitors.
MGM Resorts and Live Nation should have taken better security precautions, especially in the light of an increase in mass shootings at public events, by securing surrounding high rise buildings and the concert venue itself.

Recovering Damages

If you were injured or have a loved one injured or killed in the Route 91 Harvest Festival, our caring team is standing by. As a result of injury, you can incur endless doctor and hospital bills, loss of wages, and therapy, so please contact us today to discuss your case. A civil lawsuit will seek to recover damages so you can focus on healing.

All Victims are urged to file for benefits with the Nevada Victims of Crime Office by visiting :

http://voc.nv.gov/

New Jersey Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Thu, 12 Oct 2017 19:39:01 GMT

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motorcyclists are 26 times more likely to die in a motor vehicle accident than are passengers in automobiles, and five times as likely to be severely injured. One doesn’t need to be a forensic scientist to realize that a motorcycle is at a great disadvantage whenever they are involved in a collision with another vehicle. The physics alone dictate that a 5000 lb. vehicle traveling at 55 miles per hour will crush a 1000 lb. vehicle traveling at the same speed. And that’s not to mention the injuries that can happen when a motorcyclist hits the ground. A biker can be impaled on the car that struck him/her or smash his head on a guardrail or could be run over by oncoming traffic. The gruesome scenarios are endless.

Nonetheless, many bikers survive the injuries that they suffer in motorcycle accidents every day. However, many are left with traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage and paralysis, broken bones, lacerations and sometimes limbs need to be amputated. Many times a victim of a motorcycle accident will suffer injuries that prevent the person from returning to work.

If you have suffered catastrophic injuries or have had a loved one seriously injured or killed as a result of a motorcycle collision, you may be able to recover medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages by bringing a claim against the other person involved in the accident or their insurance company. A motor vehicle operator often makes the critical mistake of thinking that simply because they have the larger vehicle, that they have the right of way. The reality is that motorcycles have the same rights as do cars and trucks on the roadways.

Even with the potentially catastrophic consequences of becoming a motorcycle accident victim, people continue to ride in record numbers at great risk.

If you are the victim of the negligence of another driver, you need a knowledgeable and experienced New Jersey/Pennsylvania Motorcycle accident attorney on your side. Please give the Law Offices of Conrad J. Benedetto a call today.

Route 130 Is One Of The Deadliest Highways In NJ

Thu, 12 Oct 2017 19:24:38 GMT

According to an article in NJ.com Route 130 in New Jersey was one of the deadliest highways in the state with 10 motor vehicle fatalities in 2014, the most recent year for which statistics are currently available. The highway trails only traffic fatality behemoths NJ Turnpike, Garden State Parkway, and Route 9, with 23, 21 and 24 traffic-related fatalities respectively.

Recent deaths on Rte 130 include Nathaniel Gray, age 32, who died in a single vehicle accident on August 26, 2016. The driver, who has yet to be identified, was driving at an excessive rate of speed whit it struck a utility pole and violently split in two. The two sections of the vehicle came to rest more than 100 feet from each other.

Source:

http://patch.com/new-jersey/cinnaminson/woman-killed-two-injured-three-vehical-accident-involving-scholl-bus-delran-0

A New Jersey woman, Christal Smith, age 20 was killed while in a crosswalk along Rte 130 in Delran during the early morning hours as she was heading to her job at Shop Rite. The driver of the vehicle, Jonathan Bozarth, stopped immediately and administered first aid to victim. He said he never saw the woman before striking her.

The fatalities along Rte 130 stem from a never-ending stream of single and multi-vehicle accidents. More often than not, whenever someone is injured or perishes as the result of a motor vehicle accident, it is because someone has been negligent. If you or a family member have been the victim of negligence in a motor vehicle accident on Rte 130 or any other area highway, give our firm a call. We can help you get the compensation you deserve for medical expenses, loss of income and pain and suffering.

Social Media Can Affect Your Personal Injury Claim

Wed, 11 Oct 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Can an insurance adjuster or defense attorney use your “Social Media” account, i.e. Facebook and Twitter, to undermine the personal injury claim you have against their insured. The answer is an emphatic yes. Insurance companies and defense attorneys can investigate your Facebook and Twitter accounts to find tweets, posts, photos and likes that potentially can prejudice your claim. They may cite your social media interactions to challenge the injury claims, and can at the very least cast doubt on your credibility.

The first and most obvious place an insurance adjuster or defense attorney may look is at the words that you have written and which are available to the public on your Facebook status updates and your written replies to the posts and status updates of others. If you are interacting with your Facebook friends by “liking” certain posts, a defense attorney can cite that post as if you wrote it yourself. For example, if you have clicked “Like” on a post from a disreputable source, you can be branded as having similar views. All of the Facebook pages you have liked and the groups that you have joined will be scrutinized in your personal injury claim.

If you are claiming an injury due to an accident an insurance adjuster can download your photos to ascertain if any can be used to challenge whether you are as injured as you claim. Photos that show you performing any type of physical activity can undermine your claim for pain and suffering, also photos that show you participating in social events can be used to cast doubt on your claim loss of life’s employment.

When it comes to social media, your best offense is a good defense.