HGD’s Steve Heninger Named to B-Metro’s Hall of Fame Attorneys

18 Hall of Fame & 12 Stars of the Bar to Be Highlighted

A new feature of the 2019 B-Metro Top Attorney list is special recognition for 18 Hall of Fame attorneys and 12  Stars of the Bar. These two lists are comprised of outstanding attorneys who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selections were made after  local peer  nominations through an online survey. Education, reputation, commitment to professionalism and community impact were considered in the selection process. Hall of Fame attorneys have been in practice for 25+ years.

Congratulations to HGD’s Steve Heninger!

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18 HGD Attorneys Named to B-Metro Top Attorneys in Birmingham 2019

Birmingham, AL. — B-Metro, the Birmingham area’s premier lifestyle magazine, announces its 2019 TopFlight Attorneys lists. This marks the tenth year for the magazine to publish this listing, having worked in previous years with Martindale- Hubbell,  Avvo and other sources to build a credible database.

A new feature of the 2019 list is special recognition for 18 Hall of Fame attorneys and 12  Stars of the Bar. These two lists are comprised of outstanding attorneys who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selections were made after  local peer  nominations through an online survey. Education, reputation, commitment to professionalism and community impact were considered in the selection process. Hall of Fame attorneys have been in practice for 25+ years. Stars of the Bar are being recognized as gaining prominence for their energy, smarts  and passion for the law.

The 2019 TopFlight Attorneys list, with Hall of Fame and Stars of the Bar, will be published in full in the March issue of B-Metro. The publication is read by over 60,000 upscale readers per month. The full TopFlight Attorneys online directory  be available starting March 1 at: http://b-metro.com/category/top-lawyers/

In addition, the magazine will honor two legal giants who passed away last year, leaving a indelible imprint on our community: The Honorable Helen Shores Lee and Giles Perkins of Adams & Reese.

B-Metro’s Editor, Joe O’Donnell, congratulates the honorees, noting the remarkable influence that Birmingham attorneys have had in the region’s commerce and charitable endeavors.

In addition to the general list in March, B-Metro will also recognize women’s achievements in the legal field in August’s Top Women Attorneys. A sister publication, BHM BIZ, focused on the business community, will also publish the TopFlight Attorneys in its June/ July issue.

 

 

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HGD Files Class Action against Birmingham Water Works and Contractor For Hazardous Chemical Spill

HGD has filed a case against Birmingham Water Works and the contractor responsible for the improvements at the Shades Mountain Filter Plant. If you have suffered any problems as a result of this spill, please call this number to speak to one of Heninger Garrison Davis’s Shades Mountain Filter Chemical attorney team:

Call 1-888-443-5293

Watch live Breaking News coverage of this event here.

Mountain Brook PD: Residents should ‘shelter in place’ after chemical spill on Hwy. 280 sends more than 40 to hospital

Chemical spill at Birmingham Water Works plant sends people to the hospital

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No-Fault vs. Fault-Based Insurance States

Just about everyone has heard the term “no-fault insurance” at some point. Maybe you heard it during a television ad for auto insurance or you may have been shopping for insurance and had a sales agent mention it. Do you really know what “no-fault” insurance is and how it works? It may come as a surprise that most states in America are not no-fault states.

At Heninger Garrison Davis, LLC, we help people who have been seriously injured in motor vehicle crashes. With our extensive experience, our attorneys have the diversity of practical knowledge to handle any case, large or small. Give us a call today to set up a completely free consultation with an attorney in your area.

Insurance Law by State

 Each state must decide how insurance claims will be handled. Ultimately, the Seventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees us the right to bring a civil lawsuit before a jury when we are seeking compensation. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the right of states to limit this right for public policy reasons. Therefore, in some states, this right is limited by no-fault rules under certain circumstances.

In general, there are two ways states can handle auto insurance claims: no-fault or tort-based (aka fault-based). To date, the following states maintain no-fault insurance rules, while the remainder stick to the traditional tort-based system:

• Florida
• Hawaii
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• New Jersey
• New York
• North Dakota
• Pennsylvania
• Utah
• Puerto Rico

What is a Tort-Based Insurance Claim?

In the majority of states, everyone is responsible for his or her own actions. In short, if you hurt someone, you are responsible for the damages you cause. Therefore, if you are injured in a car accident, you have a right to immediately seek compensation from the other party who caused the crash. If they have insurance, then you can file a claim against their insurance and attempt to seek compensation through negotiation, or you can file suit against them. If successful in securing a judgment, their insurance company will have to pay up to its policy limits to satisfy that judgment. This is the rule in places like Alabama and Georgia.

What is a No-Fault Insurance Claim?

 On the other hand, in states like Florida, New York, and New Jersey, there are certain legal thresholds you must meet before you can proceed with a claim against a negligent driver who hurts you. Rather than immediately filing suit or even filing a claim with their insurance carrier, you must first meet a few hurdles. Depending on the state, these can vary. In some places, there is a monetary threshold, meaning you must show that your medical bills or lost income exceed a certain amount. In other places, the requirement may have more to do with the severity and nature of your physical injuries.

In a no-fault state, you must typically first file a claim with your own insurance company, seeking compensation through your personal injury protection (PIP) coverage. Once you can show that this is exhausted or that your injuries are severe enough to exceed PIP, then you can shift your claim to the other side, seeking compensation from the at-fault party.

This requirement does not apply to everyone. In some locations, motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians may be exempt from this requirement, as are certain out-of-state residents or passengers. To check the rules in your state, contact an experienced auto accident lawyer who can help you better understand your options after a collision.

The Benefits of Speaking to a Lawyer Early

 A lot of people make the mistake of trying to handle their own insurance claim, thinking that if they run into problems they can always call a lawyer then. While this may work out okay in some situations, it is usually a bad idea. For one, many of the critical decisions that can make a huge difference in your financial recovery after an accident are made in the 24-48 hours after the crash. One small mistake, and you could lose tens of thousands in compensation, or worse yet, you could jeopardize your entire case.

Furthermore, the longer you wait, the harder it can be to build a strong case. For instance, consider what might happen if you fail to get the proper diagnosis early enough. You may fail to meet the threshold for no-fault rules, leaving you limited to just your PIP coverage. An experienced attorney can make sure you get the care you need and that your claim is established properly from the start.

Call Heninger Garrison Davis, LLC today to speak with an attorney in your state who can help you build a strong case and fight for fair and just compensation.

 

 

 

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Am I Limited to the Insurance Available After an Injury?

This may be one of the more complicated questions a personal injury lawyer can answer because there are so many factors to consider. Plus, the rules vary widely from one state to another. In general, an insurance company is not required to pay anything more than its policy limit.There are, of course, exceptions.

At Heninger Garrison Davis, LLC, our main focus is to clearly and effectively advise and assist each of our clients to the fullest. This means providing straightforward communications, one-on-one consultations, and a clear path to your goals. Give us a call if you have suffered an injury and need help.

What is Insurance?

To understand your rights under an insurance policy, it is important to fully understand what insurance is. A person or business purchases a certain amount of insurance coverage in the event the person or business harms someone else. It is paid protection. If you hurt someone, your insurance company has a contractual duty to hire lawyers, defend you in court, and pay any judgments against you, up to the limits of coverage that you purchased. Your insurance company has no duties or obligations to the people you hurt.

What Happens if There is Not Enough Insurance?

Whether it is an injured party or an insured party, sometimes the insurance policy is not enough. Say, for instance, you are injured by a drunk driver who carried a small $25,000 policy. But you suffered broken bones and incurred over $50,000 in medical bills. Your injury could be worth far more than the insurance that the drunk driver purchased.

In this situation, if you were to get a judgment against the driver for more than $100,000, the insurance company would be obligated to pay $25,000, and you would have to try to collect the difference from the drunk driver individually. If that person has no financial means to pay, then you could be left undercompensated for your injuries.

Duty to Act in Good Faith

In the example above, the insurance company would be wise to pay the full value of its policy. This is because it has a duty to deal fairly with injured parties and with their own insured. If the insurance company refuses to pay or is unreasonable in handling the claim, they could expose their own insured person to a lawsuit or an excess judgment. This obligation is known as “good faith.”  When insurance companies intentionally delay, use unlawful tactics, or refuse to pay a reasonable sum of money to settle a claim, thereby leaving their own insured party exposed to a judgment, they are said to be acting in “bad faith.” Some states even provide a statutory remedy for going after an insurance company that acts in bad faith.

What is a Bad Faith Lawsuit?

Imagine that you paid your insurance premiums for years and one day you do something stupid and drive while a little intoxicated. You cause an auto accident and seriously injure someone. Your insurance company refuses to resolve the claim fairly, and the injured person sues you. They obtain a sizeable judgment against you, garnish your wages, put a lien on your home, and place you in financial ruin. Now imagine that the injured party had offered to settle the case for the amount of insurance that you had available, but your insurance company took an unreasonable gamble with your future.

This is exactly how insurance companies breach their contractual duties to their clients every day, leaving people exposed even after they pay their premiums year after year.

How to Collect Money for Bad Faith

There are a couple ways this can happen. First, if you are the negligent insured party against whom the insurance company has committed bad faith, you can sue your insurance company for bad faith and breach of contract. This may help you recover compensation for the harm that was caused by the insurance company refusing to honor its obligations.

On the other hand, if you are the injured person who can not collect because of an insurance company’s bad faith, you may be able to get the negligent party to file the lawsuit then “assign” it to you. This just means they agree to give you the money from the bad faith lawsuit in exchange for you not suing them. This allows you to bypass the negligent driver and pursue compensation from the insurance company. By doing this, sometimes there is actually a way to collect more compensation than the value of the insurance policy.

How We Help

At Heninger Garrison Davis, LLC, we can help to review the insurance company’s practices to see if they have committed bad faith. These actions are somewhat rare, but when successful, you could obtain sizeable compensation. Never assume that an insurance company knows what it is doing or is acting within the law. Many times they are not. Call us today to schedule a private free consultation to review your options.

 

 

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HGD Files Class Action Against DoorDash for Unlawful Taking of Driver’s Tips

ATLANTA, GA: (February 8, 2019) – Attorneys from Heninger Garrison Davis, LLC’s class action group filed a class action complaint today against DoorDash, Inc. (Defendant) for breach of contract and unlawfully taking tips from their delivery drivers. DoorDash is anational food delivery service and the case arises from their improper embezzlement of tips directed and intended for drivers.

DoorDash is an on-demand food delivery service which delivers groceries from Wal-Mart as well as meals from national restaurant chains and local restaurants. On its website and other marketing materials, DoorDash advertises and represents that a gratuity can be added for a delivery and that the driver would receive “base pay + 100% of tips” from the customer. However, DoorDash does not remit the full amount of gratuity represented to consumers to the driver (called a “Dasher”) providing the delivery service. Instead, DoorDash keeps a substantial portion of this additional charge for itself as its own additional revenue and profit on each delivery arranged and paid for by consumers.

When a customer places an order with DoorDash, a customer has the ability to leave an additional gratuity, or tip. The default tip for the driver or the “Dasher Tip” is currently set to 10% of the order but the customer may also leave a custom tip. DoorDash guarantees each driver a minimum sum of money for each delivery once they accept it plus 100% of the gratuity. Instead, DoorCash is using the gratuity to supplement the guaranteed minimum amount and pocket the rest of the tip.

HGD attorneys Jim McDonough and Lew Garrison bring the action on behalf of the plaintiffs against DoorDash, Inc. for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, wantonness, declaratory judgment, injunctive relief, and damages to remedy the Defendant’s improper taking of tips that resulted in Plaintiffs and Class Members not being paid the full amount owed to Plaintiffs and Class Members in light of DoorDash’s representation that they would receive “100% of the customer tip.”

Heninger Garrison Davis, LLC, is a national law firm  and our attorneys defend valuable rights for our clients. To determine if you should file suit, consult one of our qualified lawyers as soon as possible to understand your options.  We do not charge any fees upfront. In fact, we will only charge attorney’s fees if we obtain a financial settlement for you. If you do not win, we get nothing.  Call us today for your free case evaluation 1.800.241.9779.

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How To File An Uber Related Injury Claim In Birmingham

Being an Uber driver has its own advantages. You get to set your own hours and you can decide to do it as a side gig. Every occupation has its risks. Being an Uber driver exposes you to potential car accidents. You should make sure you’re insured just in case anything bad happens. You might also need a Birmingham auto wreck lawyer just in case things get out of hand. You can rely on Heninger Garrison Davis to provide sound legal counsel and to represent you in case of litigation. Most Uber drivers would like to know how to claim the insurance in case they’re involved in an accident.

How Does An Uber Claim Work

It is mandatory to have insurance when you’re signing up with Uber. Most States require that the Insurance covers personal injury protection. The good thing about it is you get to be paid the benefit regardless of whose fault it was that caused the accident. You should know that most Insurance companies don’t usually cover ride sharing. You might find yourself in trouble if you subscribe to the service offering.

According to Uber, you as the driver are responsible for covering third-party liability if you are found to be at fault. There are limits to coverage but the general ones include:

• $25,000 for property damage per accident
• $50,000 per person in case of any bodily or physical injury

There are states that are generous when it comes to injury protection. The compensation includes survivor benefits, disability, and medical expenses. The no-fault is a requirement in most states which makes compensation automatic.

Starting A Claim

The first step in getting the claim is going to Uber’s official website. You should look for an Insurance company that specifically covers Uber-related accidents. Most of the claims will require that you report via email or regular mail. There are forms that you will need to fill that is available on Uber’s website. There is the trip verification form whose purpose is to determine and verify that you were using Uber’s app at the time of the accident. You should look for a personal injury attorney who has worked with Uber before. It makes it easier as he/she knows the process, thus saving substantial time.

Insurance Claims for a Birmingham Uber Driver

The first thing you do is to report the accident on the fare review page. A company representative will reach out to you with an incident report form. The form will be then sent to the insurance provider by Uber for review. Most insurance companies respond after a few days. You should follow up if you think there is a delay in response from the side of the insurance provider. It should be noted that Uber could forward the issue to the insurance company.

Insurance Claims for Uber Fault Accidents

Uber can pay up to $250 inconvenience fee if the damage is beyond just a few scratches and dents. Uber might also be able to assist you with claiming the insurance. In many cases, you will need an expert legal guide in order to help you get fair compensation in your claim against an Uber driver. Whether you are another driver involved in an accident or a pedestrian, you need to fully understand your rights and get help receiving fair compensation from Uber and other ride sharing giants, many of which take little to no action in such claims, instead putting the problem on their insured drivers.

You can check out  https://hgdlawfirm.com/practice_area/trucking-and-motor-vehicle-collisions/ for examples of motor-related accidents and how to go about the claim process.

 

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