Omaha Car Accident Lawyer

Omaha Car Accident Lawyer

If you or someone you love has been involved in a car accident, there are a few legal items you should be aware of. Perhaps the most important item to know about is your deadline. Nebraska’s four-year statute of limitation (or Iowa’s two-year statute) against the adverse driver is crucial to keep in mind. However, there are exceptions to a car accident statute of limitations. These statues can make the time limit longer or shorter. If it is against the government, such as a political subdivision, county, city, agency, or the State of Nebraska, it is shorter. Besides, a mandatory claims process is involved as a prerequisite to even filing to go to court.

In a wrongful death case or death of the adverse motorist, the deadlines are again different. If the injured victim is a minor child or person suffering from certain inabilities, the timely filing of a lawsuit period can be longer. Every case is different. Steve Howard can explain the law as it applies to your specific situation.

The takeaway here is that the correct lawsuit must be filed in the correct court against the proper defendant(s) or all claims against the driver and that person’s insurers or employer (and even claims under your uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist insurers) are forever lost.

It would be best if you talked to a competent car accident lawyer about these critical matters. Talk to a lawyer that has experience with personal injury car accident cases in Omaha. Talk to Steve Howard. 

Car accident lawyer, Steve Howard, does not charge a fee to meet with you and talk about a case.

Talk to more than one Car Accident Lawyer

And unlike most lawyers, Steve encourages potential clients to speak with more than one law firm before retaining him as counsel. Hiring a lawyer does not automatically mean your case goes to court. Most cases do not go to court. Most lawyers settle cases. But if you hire a lawyer who never goes to court and never litigates cases, be mindful that the insurer will likely try and get you to settle for much less.

Have you been in a car accident? Know your rights with Steve Howard Law

Health insurance companies will most often resist Nebraska’s “made whole” doctrine. This doctrine provides that you must be made whole before the subrogation/reimbursement interest is enforceable. Unless the adverse driver has very high liability insurance limits, group health insurers should, in the end, compromise their claimed interest to either zero or well below its sums paid. The exception is with ERISA cases. These are details Steve Howard can explain when he meets with you personally about your car accident case. 

As against the adverse driver and the underinsured motorist coverage, your measure of damages for health care expenses is the originally charged amount and not the sum paid by some other payer or accepted by the providers. What a third-party payer funded is irrelevant to the fact finder. 

The Sound Nebraska public policy makes clear that negligent drivers (as with negligent corporations or anyone) ought not to receive a windfall due to a responsible victim having personal health coverage. You are entitled to not just what out of pocket expenses you have. The trial court should receive, as evidence, the total sum of bills incurred, not what was paid by someone else.

Car Accident Insurance Claims 

Generally, if you’ve been in a car accident, you are best served by first utilizing your health insurance to pay any health care bills you may have.  Next, if you have the coverage, we may recommend using the automobile insurance medical payments coverage to pick up balances for co-pays and deductibles. When Medicaid or Medicare, or workers’ compensation has paid any health care expenses, it is necessary to account for their interests in any settlement.

Again, with a good lawyer, these sums can be reduced. But do not expect to let them go up when it comes to government aid. You risk losing the coverage and may incur other negative consequences from not repaying Medicare or Medicaid what they are due. It also does not help the taxpayers. So check with your lawyer on these crucial matters. When you work with Steve, he will handle these details for you. 

More Money in than out

In almost every case, the goal is to maximize the amount coming in and minimize the sums paid out. Steve Howard Law has the experience and expertise in this complicated process of protecting injury victims’ rights in car accidents. 

If you believe you have a case and need a car accident lawyer, contact Omaha car accident lawyer Steve Howard today for a case evaluation.