Posts by Tara Helms
How Do I File A UM/UIM Claim in Alabama?
Car, truck, and motorcycle accidents often involve multiple vehicles. Some victims may be pedestrians and bicycle riders. Ideally, the drivers responsible for your accident have liability insurance and the amount of that coverage is enough to pay for all your damages. When the defendants don’t have insurance or don’t have enough insurance, your uninsured/underinsured (called…
Read MoreCan a UM/UIM Claim Be Denied in Alabama?
An uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) carrier may deny a UM/UIM claim for several legitimate reasons. They may also deny your UM/UIM claim for reasons that lack merit. At Martin & Helms, P.C., our lawyers will explain if the denial is legitimate or is just an attempt by the insurance company to get out of paying the…
Read MoreFatality Facts for Males and Females; What the 2020 Data Shows
If you grew up hearing “men are from Mars, women are from Venus,” then there’s a good chance you’ve heard other comparisons between men and women – and certainly one or two about their abilities behind the wheel of a car. They’re almost always stereotypes, and they rarely imply anything good about either sex. But…
Read MoreWho’s Liable for a Crash at a Shopping Plaza?
Even though a large portion of Americans use online shopping platforms to buy items, many people still enjoy going to shopping malls and plazas. In fact, more than 100 million people visited a mall in 2018, which is about half of all adults in the United States. This means that shopping malls and plazas, like…
Read MoreThe Ever-Growing Issue with Freestanding Emergency Departments
It’s no secret that hospitals have been closing all over the country. Sometimes, closures are a result of mergers; other times, they shut down because of lack of funding, or because the cost to maintain them is simply too great. Rural areas bear the brunt of these closings, and Alabama in particular has not escaped…
Read MoreCell Phones Are Distracting a Lot of Truck Drivers
According to Heavy Duty Trucking Info, distracted truck drivers are 72 percent more likely to be involved in a near-miss accident than any other drivers. In fact, truckers who use their cell phones while driving are twice as likely to be in a crash than those who do not. While it is alarming for any…
Read MoreDesigning Safer Roads in Huntsville, Alabama, and All Over the Country
“America is moving again and your life is going to change for the better.” In November of 2021, President Biden said these words and signed the hefty Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The world seemed to stop moving in the spring of 2020 when COVID-19 forced everyone to stay home. Public transportation was void of…
Read MoreMy Best Friend Wrecked My Car; Whose Insurance Pays?
Accidents happen, and depending on the circumstances, they can turn into minor embarrassments or major, life-altering occurrences and a million other things in between. When accidents involve motor vehicles, they become dangerous events with expensive, painful consequences that someone must pay for one way or another. Between injuries, property damage, lost wages, and any other…
Read MoreAnother Day, Another Reason Not to Use Self-Driving Technology
Thanksgiving is the busiest travel day of the year, so we understand the urge to take steps to avoid the hassle where you can. Perhaps that means traveling in the dead of night, or choosing to celebrate the holiday over the weekend. For one driver on the West Coast, it meant utilizing their Tesla’s “full…
Read MoreWhat Happens to Workers’ Compensation When You Reach MMI?
Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) is a term frequently used in workers’ compensation cases. It refers to the point where a worker’s injuries will not improve using “generally accepted medical treatment.” The employee’s wellness following the injury is subsequently “as good as it can get,” which typically results in termination of TTD (“temporary total disability”) workers’…
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