Author: blogger

What is the New York State “No-Fault” law?

Insurance companies seem to have the attitude that everyone exaggerates or fakes pain. In thousands of negotiations with insurance companies, I’ve heard them “poo-poo” clients’ complaints of pain. Pain alone won’t carry the day, either for settlement, or in court.

Learn why by reading on.

What do we mean by “No-Fault”?

Put simply, No-Fault refers to having your accident-related medical bills paid, up to $50,000, regardless of whose fault the accident is.

Two different things happen after a car accident. First: No-Fault insurance pays your medical bills and lost wages, except in certain instances involving buses, motorcycles and heavy trucks. No-Fault also protects pedestrians and bicycle riders. Second: This should not be confused with issues of liability in an accident, which are very much about who is at fault, and the focus of the second thing that may happen: a lawsuit. Let’s learn about No-Fault insurance and how it impacts your automobile accident case.

New York’s No-Fault law was enacted on December 1, 1977 and is found at Article 51 of New York State’s Insurance Law. Before the No-Fault statute, an accident victim could sue for any kind of injury and often did. The insurance industry wanted to cut down on the small strain and sprain cases that were flooding the courthouses and, hopefully, reduce auto insurance premiums, so it proposed a trade. Smaller cases would not be allowed to recover money damages, and in exchange, the insurance companies would pay medical bills for those injured in a car accident, regardless of fault – even if the injured person caused the accident. This may sound simple, but it is anything but.

The goal of the No-Fault law is to compensate for “basic economic loss” by paying medical bills and lost wages. Under No-Fault, in order to sustain a lawsuit for pain and suffering and such, you need what the No-Fault statute calls a “serious injury.” “Serious injury” is rather an unfortunate phrase as it implies a greater level of injury than required. One lawyer-commentator has said that it would have been far better for accident victims if the statute referred to a “qualifying injury” instead of a “serious injury.” The serious injury requirement is intended to keep smaller cases out of court, and is referred to as the No-Fault “threshold.” Frequently, it is used by insurance companies to keep deserving cases out of court, and lawyers not thoroughly familiar with the ins and outs of the No-Fault threshold can lose these cases, even when they shouldn’t.

You should not be surprised if I tell you that insurance companies are cheap with No-Fault insurance benefits: even though No-Fault benefits are supposed to help the injured person, and the injured person is less able to bring a court case because of the No-Fault law.

In many cases, the insurance companies nit-pick the amount of doctors’ bills submitted under the No-Fault law or refuse to pay them for no good reason. The insurance carriers may send out an accident victim’s medical records for “peer review,” where a doctor that has never examined or even met the injured person recommends denying treatment as “unnecessary.” Insurance companies are also quick to cancel No-Fault insurance benefits, which they are permitted to do after they hire a physician to examine the accident victim, if that physician finds that continued treatment would not benefit the accident victim. Would it shock you to learn that these physicians, paid by the insurance carriers, overwhelmingly find that further treatment is unnecessary and/or that the injured person is able to return to work, thus justifying the discontinuance of No-Fault insurance benefits? Ironically, these insurance carrier-sponsored physicals are called “Independent Medical Examinations” – they are certainly not “independent.”

People with a shallow understanding of the law of success see it as a glorified way of saying, Fake it, til you make it. Although for the most part, the principles of success involve mental habits that encourage an individual to maintain the positive mental attitudes of someone whos already successful, its more complex than just faking it. This process, similar to the wealth building process, is an evolution. Its about changing the internal life of a person to enable him to change his external life. A person who believes that hes meant for great things will not settle for a mediocre life. Thats where the process begins. Here are a few facts about the principle of success that may help you gain a better understanding of the concept.

1.The law of success demands ambition.
Contentment is not one of the virtues of highly successful people. In order to reach the summit of financial success, you need the drive and ambition to take you there. Some people just want to achieve a comfort zone where they can be safe. There is nothing wrong with that. A steady day job with salary and benefits would satisfy such a modest desire. However, this is not the path towards wealth building. If you want to be wealthy, you have to want more. Dont be satisfied with a salary and your employee status. Be more ambitious.

2.Patience is the first prerequisite of the law of success.
There are two ways a person can build wealth. One can either spend less or earn more. Either way, the opportunities to build wealth dont come every day. Sometimes the only thing a person can do to progress is to maintain the status quo, while looking for better opportunities. Wealth building takes time. The principles of success take time. In order to find the success that youre looking for, youre going to have to be patient. Too many people have begun their journey towards success only to falter in the middle stages because of a lack of patience. Learn the value of patience and all your dreams will be within your reach.

3.The law of success requires discipline.
Follow the principles of success and you will have no trouble with your wealth building process. However, these matters are easier said than done. Building wealth is a difficult process. If it were easy, everyone would be wealthy. It takes a disciplined person to be able to adhere to laws for an extended period of time. But that is exactly what the process requires. The most successful people in the world have this trait in common. They commit to a task or a goal and they have the discipline to follow through.

4.The law of success is about perseverance.
The one thing that guarantees success in wealth building is not quitting. The principles of success are deceptively complex. Patience, discipline and optimism are words we often hear, but until youve tried to incorporate these values into your life, you wont realize how difficult they could be. There will always be adversity headed your way, but if you can stand up more times than you can fall, youll eventually accomplish all your goals.

5.The law of success has to be applied now.
With regard to wealth building, a lot of people try and wait for the perfect time to begin saving and investing. However, the perfect time rarely happens and a lot of people are stuck at the waiting stage of the process. Sometimes one just has to start regardless of the circumstances. The principle of success is about initiative. One has to initiate the journey towards progress immediately and without delay. If you cant manage to save a huge chunk of your income, try saving a dollar a day. Just start building positive habits today. They will pay great dividends in the near future.

More than a few behavioral guidelines, the law of success is a lifestyle change. You cant just go through the motions. You have to really immerse yourself in the process. More often than not, wealth building is done unconsciously. It comes as a natural consequence of the type of life you establish when you understand the psychology and methodology of success. When you commit to a new pattern of living, you will be transformed. It may take some time and the transformations may be too subtle to recognize immediately, but change is guaranteed. In order to succeed, you need to become someone to whom success is inevitable. That is exactly what this process is for.