Have I Reached End Medical Result?

You may be feeling better and, as a result, feel that it is time to put this matter behind you and conclude your claim. It is important not to rush this. If your care providers recommend follow-up tests or care following through on these recommendations is key to ensuring your recovery is complete. Keep in mind, that once you settle the case, you can’t go back if new symptoms arise. This can especially be true in brain injury cases, where the full extent of the severity of the injury may take weeks to fully understand, and months to years depending on the grade to fully treat.

Is There a Risk of My Insurance Seeking Reimbursement (a.k.a. a Subrogation Claim)?

One of the trickiest hurdles in reaching a personal injury settlement is determining who will be responsible for the medical bills associated with treatment. When a settlement is reached, the insurer is often paying a lump sum that settles all of their liability, including medical bills.

In most cases, a subrogation claim will be filed by your insurance company onto the responsible party’s carrier. However, if you have already settled your claim and signed a general release, freeing the carrier from any further liability, you may be on the hook for this claim. Medicare and Medicaid are especially thorough in issuing these claims. It is important to understand that should you be covered by government insurance, there is often an obligation to inform them of your potential settlement and to allow them to claim reimbursement that will need to be settled before you receive your cut of the settlement proceeds.

Do I Know the Limits of the Responsible Party’s Coverage?

The minimum auto insurance coverage limits in Vermont are $25,000 per individual and $50,000 per incident with $10,000 in property damage coverage. Many drivers carry much higher limits. You have a right to know this information before you begin negotiating a settlement. If the injuries are severe and the coverage is low, you may need to look beyond the offending party’s coverage to seek full compensation for your injuries. This may be accomplished if you carry underinsured coverage on your auto policy, which allows you to seek reimbursement from your insurance company for amounts that exceed the policy limit of the liable party.

Take Your Time When Evaluating Whether to Settle or Litigate a Vermont PI Claim

Just because an insurance adjuster wants to settle a case and is waiving around a quick payment to you in exchange for a release of your claim, does not mean you need to jump in immediately to negotiations. Taking your time, to fully understand the degree of your injuries, the risk of a subrogation claim, and understanding the policy limits of the liable party are all prudent steps in ensuring you get a just result in your Vermont PI claim.

The foregoing is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Readers of this content who have specific legal questions should seek advice from their personal attorney.

How Does a Judge or Jury Decide Liability?

12 VSA § 1036 states that “[C]ontributory negligence shall not bar recovery in an action by any plaintiff, or his or her legal representative, to recover damages for negligence resulting in death, personal injury, or property damage, if the negligence was not greater than the causal total negligence of the defendant or defendants,…”

To provide context to this, consider if a Jury finds that one driver was 60 percent liable for a car accident, while the other driver was found to be 40 percent at fault. If the damages sustained by the 40 percent liable party were found to be $100,000, the end result would be an award in that party’s favor of $20,000 (the difference between 60k and 40k or 60% and 40%).

How Does a Traffic Ticket or Criminal Citation Play Into This Calculation

In most instances, a personal injury case will take a back seat to any criminal prosecution and will only be heard after the criminal case has been resolved. This procedure is based on a criminal defendant’s 5th Amendment right to remain silent, which they do not enjoy in a personal injury action.

Certainly, the outcome of the criminal case will play a role in liability and, in some cases, may be fatal to a claim.

A traffic infraction does not enjoy such protections and, in most cases, will be resolved before the personal injury case. This legal realm will provide a bit of a preview for the larger PI case and is an important step in evaluating liability. If a defendant is found not guilty of their traffic violation, this can help bolster the case that the other party is liable for the accident.

Even if the driver is found guilty of the offense, this may not, in all cases lead to a liability determination. A judge or jury would still need to evaluate all of the other factors surrounding the accident before they dole out the percentage they feel each party was responsible for in creating the circumstances surrounding the accident.

Just Because You’re Charged Does Not Mean You Are Liable

Evaluating the strength of a personal injury claim in Vermont can be a complicated matter when there are companion criminal or traffic ticket charges. However, each case is unique and must be reviewed independently of others to truly make such a determination. The result of this review may just surprise you when it is ultimately determined who remains at fault for this unfortunate event.

This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Readers who have question about their own legal matter should consult with their personal attorney.

The Vermont DMV has strict timelines on the filing of a uniform accident report by a motorist who is involved in a car accident where damage has been sustained. However, if there is an ongoing investigation into an accident, or if a motorist has been cited for a criminal offense, such as DUI or Negligent Operation, there are several complicated considerations that should be evaluated before submitting this report.

23 VSA  § 1129 states:

“The operator of a motor vehicle involved in a crash in which someone is injured or there is total property damage of $3,000.00 or more shall make a written report concerning the crash to the Commissioner on forms furnished by the Commissioner. The written report shall be mailed to the Commissioner within 72 hours after the crash. The Commissioner may require further facts concerning the crash be provided upon forms he or she furnishes (emphasis added).”

The Details of the Report

Much of the information requested in this report is not prejudicial to the defense of any claim that is brought against the motorist. Information such as the make and model of the car, policy number for insurance and your name and date of birth should be freely provided in a timely fashion. However, on page two of the Uniform Crash Report, there is a section that requests that you, in your own words, provide a narrative of what happened.

Filing a False Report

First off, it should be made clear that filing any type of false information in this report can be considered a crime under 13 V.S.A. § 1754.

Providing an Accurate Narrative

Further, if you provide an accurate detailed description of the events that led up to the accident, this information, which you are required to swear to the truth of, could be used against you in a criminal prosecution.

Does the 5th Amendment Apply?

All defendants in criminal actions have a right to not incriminate themselves under the 5th Amendment of the US Constitution. Since the DMV is requesting just that in their Uniform Accident Report, declining to answer may be a viable option after you have consulted with your attorney.

What Are the Consequences of Not Filing Any Report?

The Vermont DMV can move to suspend your license should you fail to fill out any accident report. As stated above, the basic identifying information should not provide too much risk of self incrimination. However, consulting with the appropriate legal professionals before submitting this report may be the best course of action before you ultimately determine how detailed you want to be in responding to the DMV’s request for information.

The information contained in this post is for general information only. Should you need specific legal advice concerning any matter, consult with your personal attorney.

Impaired Driver Rehabilitation Program (IDRP) Screening

The first step in license reinstatement is to complete an initial screening with the IDRP coordinator. This screening will determine whether there are alcohol or drug dependency issues that increase the likelihood of reoffending.

IDRP Class

After the screening has been completed, an individual convicted of DUI must then complete the class portion of the IDRP program. This class, requires regular attendance at group sessions (most are held via Zoom at this time). There are two options for DUI offenders. Participate in a once a week class for four weeks, or complete an overnight weekend intensive class. To see where these classes are held and on what dates, visit the IDRP calendar page.

Counseling

One of the major reasons for an initial screening is to determine whether an individual needs to engage in alcohol or drug counseling as a result of the findings in the screening report. For a DUI-First, there is customarily a requirement of at least four counseling sessions with a Licensed Drug and Alcohol Counselor (LADC). DUI-Second offenses carry enhanced counseling requirements. LADCs are in high demand throughout Vermont and can be difficult to connect with to set up an initial appointment. If you do not have a personnel connection with an LADC, a good place to start looking can be found HERE.

The Certificate of Completion

Once both the IDRP class and, if necessary, counseling sessions have been completed, IDRP should send a completion certificate to the Vermont DMV, notifying them that this requirement has been complete.

Unfortunately, this certificate does not always automatically get sent after completion. It is important to conduct the necessary follow up with both the DMV and the IDRP program to ensure that the two agencies are communicating in a timely manner. Otherwise, your license could be held in limbo while the slow wheels of bureaucracy grind along at a snail’s pace.

SR-22 Certificate

Vermont requires that all individuals convicted of a DUI must obtain an SR-22 certificate from their insurance company, certifying that they are providing at least the mandated minimum coverage. Vermont’s minimum coverage currently sits at $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident and $10,000 in property damage. For more information on the SR-22 process visit the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation website.

Paying Reinstatement Fee

An often forgotten phase of the license reinstatement is paying the necessary license reinstatement fee to the Vermont DMV. Currently the fee is $98.00 and can be paid by visiting the DMV website.

If you do not pay this fee, your license will not be reinstated. I have seen numerous cases throughout the year where a motorist has been pulled over and arrested for Criminal Driving While License is Suspended merely because they never paid the reinstatement fee.

Your License is Not Reinstated Until You Receive Notice from the Vermont DMV

Do not assume that you are reinstated because you have completed the necessary steps. In order to be considered legally reinstated you must receive written notice from the DMV.

The DUI process carries with it many legal hurdles in order to get your life back on track. Although the criminal side of things bring potential financial penalties as well as the risk of a period of incarceration, the license suspension process can also be ripe with potential peril. Ensuring you understand and are able to navigate both in the most efficient manner possible is key to ensuring that the DUI become a distant memory in as short a time as possible.

Most insurance companies place drivers in “risk tiers”.  This determination is based on a variety of factors such as driving and accident history, location of residence, age and even credit history.  In the mandatory disclosures it is revealed that “at renewal we review your payment, claim, driving and policy change history to determine if we will adjust your risk tier.”  

Driver history checks however, do not only occur during renewal periods.  The mandatory disclosure further explains that “once we’ve determined your tier, we look at additional information to refine and finalize your rate.”  

This leaves open the possibility for insurance companies to check driving histories at different times during a policy period pursuant to their right to “refine” risk tiers, which they can use as a basis to increase rates.

A Right to Gradually Rise

Although it is clear from the disclosure that “rate[s] will generally change when you “move to a new location, have an accident [or] receive a violation…” what is not clear is exactly how much a motorist’s insurance rates will be impacted.

A closer look at the disclosure reveals that insurance companies may not raise rates significantly at first.  Instead, they reserve the right to “gradually increase rates over time”.  

Certainly there are benefits to gradual increases however, if the rate increase continues to rise, when does it actually stops rising? This is a question with no answer on the consumer disclosure.

Lives can be busy, hectic and sometimes chaotic.  Most of the time, we just want things to work, without us expending too much effort in understanding the details.  Although understandable, the value of understanding your rights as a consumer and the rights reserved by car insurance companies may come in handy if you are ever issued a Vermont moving violation.