Modesto Personal Injury Lawyer - Miscellaneous

Dangerous Truck Drivers

Lawrence Knapp — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:43:03 GMT

I recently commented on internet comments in my Stockton Blog. In this instance, two trucking companies and their drivers are being sued over a 2008 accident on I-15 in Las Vegas in which two honeymooners outside their stranded vehicle were struck and killed. Truck drivers have a variety of responsibilities that many people are unfamiliar with when performing their job. It's not just driving, but maintenance and reporting requirements just to name a couple. However, the comment made to this particular incident struck me as very specific and therefore more insightful.

Being a truck driver for 30 years may I say that it is common knowledge that JB Hunt has the lowest hiring standards and very poorly trained drivers. They are basically the laughing stock of the industry. Although it could have happened to anyone, I was reading it in my head and thought it must have been a JB Hunt driver. Oops I hate when I am right.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Lawrence Knapp

California Fire Victims Need to Be Prepared

Larry Knapp — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 06:39:46 GMT

If you have lost property in the Southern California Disasters this past week be prepared to make a claim with your homeowner's insurance company. First thing you need to do is prepare an inventory. This must be painstakingly detailed. You will need to get as much evidence as possible to back up your inventory. Once you are allowed to return to your home, do not allow the remains to be cleaned up until you have gone through it and

photographed anything that can be identified. You may be surprised at how you can still identify some of your belongings.

Contact your relatives and friends to see if they may have photographs of the interior of your home that could also help identify your belongings. Or ask your neighbors to sit down with you and help construct an inventory of what they remember to have been in your home. If necessary go to the store purchase these items and keep the receipts. Let your insurance adjuster know that you have witnesses who will testify that this property was in your house prior to the fire and they saw it.

Above all be prepared to fight for what is right. Don't allow your insurance company to negotiate you into accepting a lower figure than what it will take to get you back to where you were before the fire. Good luck to all those affected.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Larry Knapp

Mi-Wuk Village Woman Dies in Head-On Collision East of Modesto

Larry Knapp — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 12:03:19 GMT

I have written before about the ever increasing danger of auto accidents on the two lane highways that surround us in the Central San Joaquin Valley. As I have said, increasing population pressures from Stockton, Modesto, Manteca, Tracy and the Mother Lode are too taxing for the type of roadways traffic these highways were designed to handle.

In the future, I predict that all of these highways will become "non-passing" zones.

A perfect example is the head-on collision that killed this young woman who was only 20 years old on highway 120.

According to the CHP, Hernandez was passing a westbound big rig while climbing a hill in the road and approaching a blind right curve. As the cars crested the hill, they collided on the south asphalt shoulder, the CHP reported.

This morning as I was traveling on Highway 26 when I witnessed a rear-end collision that certainly could have been avoided given the proper driver attention. As traffic continues to increase we will all have to be extra vigilant of other drivers on the roads.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Larry Knapp

California Governor Lets Down Taxpayers and the Injured.

Larry Knapp — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 08:29:39 GMT

Governor Schwarzenegger broke a promise to the taxpayers and injured consumers of the State of California when he failed sign SB 93 (Corbett). The insurance industry has been artificially deflating the value of medical treatment for wrongfully injured people in this state for almost 20 years. This has resulted in huge losses to state programs like Medi-Cal and to those people who are injured by tortuous conduct. As a result, the insurance

industry has been receiving an enormous windfall, money that the industry should be paying instead of the taxpayers of this state.

It works like this. The law states that an injured person is entitled to recover the reasonable value of the medical treatment they receive as a result of the wrongful conduct of another person. Sounds simple, however, the insurance industry has been successfully arguing in court that the reasonable value of medical treatment is what the insurance industry pays through their contracts with medical providers. This is where the train leaves the tracks. This is because a health insurance company gets huge discounts from medical providers that regular folks aren't able to negotiate. In exchange for the huge discounts, the health insurers give the hospitals all kinds of valuable benefits instead of money. A few examples are: millions of patients without the need to advertise, fast guaranteed payment and uniform billing.

So if a hospital would get paid $100.00 by you and me for a particular service. They might only get paid $25.00 by a health insurance company. But they also get all those valuable benefits in addition to the $25.00. Once the case gets to trial, the insurance lawyer has been successfully persuading judges to only let you and me recover the $25.00. (Which by the way, your health insurer wants reimbursed.) If you are on Medi-Cal this means there is less money in the verdict to be reimbursed from and invariably the program doesn't get as much money back and the taxpayer has to pay.

SB 93 would have fixed this insurance industry boon, by letting judges know that the amount paid by Medi-cal does not represent the reasonable value and is not admissible evidence for that proposition.

This bill would prohibit consideration of the amount paid by Medi-Cal for medical services provided to a beneficiary as evidence of past medical damages, or for the purpose of reducing the third party's liability to the beneficiary in any third-party action. In effect, for purposes of measuring damages, an injured party who is a Medi-Cal beneficiary would be treated the same as any other injured party where a third party is found liable for the injuries.

However, the Governor didn't see it that way and the insurance industry continues to keep money they are not entitled to keep at the expense of the taxpayers and injured people of California.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Larry Knapp

QVC Issues Recall of Toasters Due to Fire Hazard

Courtney Mills — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 14:11:01 GMT

The giant TV retailer QVC along with the U.S. CPSC has issued a recall for about 5,200 'Cook's Essential' Electric Toasters. There appears to be a risk of toasters catching on fire and burning up, and consumers who purchased these toasters from QVC should stop using them immediately.

QVC has received ten reports of its "Cook's Essential" toasters turning on spontaneously, including one incident which resulted in fire damage to kitchen cabinets and two incidents in which toaster covers were burned. The recall concerns toaster model CET 401, a four-slot stainless steel version of a traditional electric toaster. Consumers are absolutely advised to unplug these toasters.

Consumers who purchased a "Cook's Essential" toaster Model CET 401 through QVC's shopping channel between January 2003 and June 2003 should contact QVC for a refund. They can do so by calling QVC at (800) 367-9444, or by visiting QVC's web site at www.qvc.com.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Defective and Dangerous Products.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Courtney Mills

Law Offices of Lawrence M. Knapp

Staff Writer — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 10:01:14 GMT

The Modesto, California personal injury law offices of Lawrence M. Knapp serves the needs of accident and negligence victims throughout Northern California and the Central Valley, from Bakersfield, Fresno, Modesto, Stockton, Sacramento, Marysville, Davis and Redding to Oakland, Pleasanton, Concord, Placerville, Tahoe, San Andreas, Angels Camp and Sonora.

Our California personal injury lawyer helps clients with a wide variety of issues, including:

Motor Vehicle / Auto Accidents
Truck Accidents /Big Rig
Motorcycle Accidents
Slip and Fall Injuries
Defective Products
Brain Injury
Wrongful Death
Nursing Home / Elder Abuse
Dog Bites

When it comes to retaining a California personal injury attorney, many people have financial concerns. You need not worry. We offer a free initial consultation with a personal injury attorney, and evening and weekend appointments are available. Contact a Stockton, California personal injury / accident attorney today. If you are unable to come to our personal injury attorney in Stockton, California, we will meet with you in your home, office, or even at the hospital if necessary. We only accept cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay no attorney fees until we win.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer

Lawrence Knapp, Attorney at Law

Staff Writer — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 09:47:50 GMT

Lawrence Michael Knapp was born in Passaic, New Jersey' has lived in San Antonio, Texas and migrated to the San Joaquin Central Valley in 1982. He attended the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California graduating in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies with minors in History and English. Subsequently he attended Humphreys College School of Law (also in Stockton, California) graduating in 1993 with a Juris Doctorate.

Since 1993 Mr. Knapp has been a sole practitioner representing the interests of injured people and their families throughout the Central Valley and Sierras. In addition to his successful law practice, Mr. Knapp has a busy family life with his wife of twenty years and two children. Shortly after becoming a lawyer Mr. Knapp joined the Consumer Attorneys of California and the American Association for Justice. He has been on the Board of Govenors for CAOC since 1997 and is a Past President of the San Joaquin County Trial Lawyers Association. Mr. Knapp has been asked to speak and present on issues involving the practice of personal injury all over California. In recognition of his contributions to this area of the Law, Mr. Knapp has received the following awards "Trench Soldier" in 1998 "Outstanding President" in 1999 "Presidential Award of Merit" in 2000, 2001 and 2002.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer

Disclaimer

Staff Writer — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 09:45:18 GMT

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Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer