Do you have a legal question? Lewis & Keller can provide accurate answers to your legal questions.

Mike Lewis, Founding Partner At Lewis & Keller

Yes, medical payments coverage is very important and economical. You will be glad that you have chosen to take this type of additional coverage if you are ever in an auto accident.

Medical payments coverage is optional insurance coverage in North Carolina you can purchase as part of your automobile insurance policy. It is designed to reimburse you and your passengers for medical expenses resulting from an accident in your vehicle, and in some cases for an accident when you are in another vehicle, regardless of who was at fault. Medical payments coverage typically comes in amounts of $1,000, $2,000, or $5,000. You can find out if you have medical payments coverage by contacting your insurance agent. Your agent should be able to help you file a claim and collect your medical payments coverage. Do keep in mind you can only recover medical payments coverage up to the amount of your actual expenses. If you have any further questions, please contact our office at 877-970-4447.

Mike Lewis, Founding Partner At Lewis & Keller

You can collect Social Security Disability (SSD) or Social Security Income (SSI) benefits for mental health conditions as well as physical conditions. Eligibility for Social Security benefits depends on a number of factors. Our Social Security department would need to speak with you and gather information about your work history and medical treatment to determine if you may be eligible for benefits. Please call our office at 877-970-4447 for a free case evaluation. Thanks for asking Mike Lewis!

Mike Lewis, Founding Partner At Lewis & Keller

Thank you for contacting our office. We may be able to help you with your Social Security claim. We are often able to help our clients file an appeal after they are denied Social Security benefits. It is important to look at the date on your denial letter. You will have 60 days from the date of your denial letter to file an appeal. If you miss that deadline, you will most likely have to start the process over with a new application. An appeal can be filed at your local Social Security office, online at www.ssa.gov or over the telephone 800-772-1213. I would like to speak with you to determine if we can help you with your appeal. There is no fee for the consultation. I look forward to hearing from you.

Mike Lewis, Founding Partner At Lewis & Keller

Thank you for contacting our office about possible legal representation. I would be happy to speak with you at your convenience about your claim. After getting some additional information from you, I’ll be able to let you know if I think you would benefit from hiring an attorney to assist you with your claim. Since you are not satisfied with the insurance company’s offer, please do not sign a Release of All Claims or General Release until you have talked with an attorney. Please call my direct line at 336-714-2851. I look forward to speaking with you.

Mike Lewis, Founding Partner At Lewis & Keller

I am sorry to hear that your vacation was interrupted by your injury at this shopping center. You may have a claim against the owners of the shopping center for your injuries and the time you had to miss from work. I believe our office can assist you. If you have not done so, please make sure you fill out an incident report with the shopping center. It is important for you to follow up with the treatment your doctor has recommended so that he can determine the extent of your injuries. If you were able to get any pictures of the place where you fell, please make sure you save them and bring them to our office. We can schedule a consult at your convenience. There is no charge for the consultation. I look forward to meeting you.

Mike Lewis, Founding Partner At Lewis & Keller

Thank you for contacting our office about possible legal representation. Our law firm primarily focuses in the areas of personal injury, workers’ compensation, and Social Security disability. Unfortunately, I would not be able to advise you about how to proceed to collect on the award against this defendant. I would recommend you contact the North Carolina Bar Referral Service at 800-662-7660. They should be able to provide you with the names and contact information for attorneys in this area that could help you. Again, thank you for contacting our office. Please do not hesitate to contact us in the future if you think you could benefit from our services.

Mike Lewis, Founding Partner At Lewis & Keller

I am so sorry to hear about the problems you’ve had visiting a local nail salon. If the nail salon does not have insurance, you can first request that they reimburse you directly for any medical bills you’ve had to pay. They may be willing to do this for you. If they are not willing to pay for your medical expenses, another option would be to file a claim against them in small claims court. The number to the small claims division of Forsyth County Courthouse is 336-779-6319. They will have information about filing fees and forms you would need. If you decide you need to go that route, I would recommend getting copies of all of your medical records and expenses as well as any photos you have of your injuries. Please call me at 336-714-2851 if you have any questions. Thanks for asking Mike Lewis.

Mike Lewis, Founding Partner At Lewis & Keller

Thank you for contacting our office. I am sorry to hear that you were involved in an automobile accident and sustained injuries. I would be happy to meet with you to discuss if it may benefit you to have an attorney represent you in your claim. There is no charge for the consultation. Remember not to sign a release or give a recorded statement until you speak with an attorney. Please call my direct line at 336-714-2851. I look forward to meeting with you.

Mike Lewis, Founding Partner At Lewis & Keller

Thank you for contacting our office to discuss possible legal representation. I am sorry to hear you have experienced problems with your employer. Unfortunately, our office does not handle employment law matters. I would recommend that you contact Gray Newell, LLP in Greensboro. Their firm practices employment law and their contact number is 336-724-0330. Again, thank you for calling our office. Should you ever need help in the area of personal injury, on-the-job injury (workers’ compensation), Social Security disability or bankruptcy, please feel free to contact our firm. Thanks for asking Mike Lewis.

Mike Lewis, Founding Partner At Lewis & Keller

Thank you for your inquiry. Yes, you may have a bodily injury claim against the driver who was at fault for the accident. I would recommend that you preserve any evidence related to the accident by taking pictures of your injuries and the damage to your vehicle. It is all right to settle your property damage claim before your bodily injury claim. However, you must be careful not to sign and documents which say “release of all claims” or “release of bodily injury claim.” If you are unsure about a document the insurance company has sent you, please ask an attorney to review it with you. I would like to evaluate your situation in more detail to see if our office can assist you with your bodily injury claim. Please contact me at 336-714-2851 at your convenience.

Mike Lewis, Founding Partner At Lewis & Keller

Thank you for your inquiry. Based on the information you provided in your email, it appears that you may have 2 potential claims related to your injury. First, as your injury occurred while you were on the job, you may have a worker’s compensation claim. Second, because your injury happened as the result of an intervening act by another party’s animal, you may have a third-party personal injury claim as well. These two cases may very well be inter-related, as the worker’s compensation carrier may have a right to be reimbursed out of any personal injury recovery you receive for medical bills it has paid. However, with that being said, worker’s compensation claims for federal employees are a special sub-type of case, requiring the assistance of a federal worker’s compensation attorney. Unfortunately, our office does not handle federal worker’s compensation claims, so we would be unable to provide guidance in relation to your particular situation. There are two attorneys that we are aware of who handle federal worker’s compensation claims: Dan Read and Martin Kaplan, both of whom are located in the Raleigh-Durham area. Mr. Read may be contacted at 919-683-1900 and Mr. Kaplan may be reached at 919-247-6051.

Mike Lewis, Founding Partner At Lewis & Keller

Thanks for your inquiry. Unless the physical damage to the car is well documented and preserved by pictures, police reports, repair bills, etc. you may be trading away potential evidence in your case. So you may want to think twice about this. On the other hand if the damage is well documented and preserved. There may not be a problem. Hope this helps. Our experienced auto accident attorneys would be glad to talk with you about this.

Mike Lewis, Founding Partner At Lewis & Keller

Thanks for your inquiry. We are glad your son is uninjured. One of the essential elements of a basic legal case is “damages.” Some examples are physical injuries, mental distress, lost work time and wages, medical expenses, and the like. Some proof of these damages is also required. Here, thankfully your son was not injured. Further, while you indicate that you are “still a mess over the incident,” there is no indication that you have sought treatment or counseling for the incident or that you have been diagnosed with a psychological condition related to the incident. Put another way, there is no indication from your email that you or your child suffered any damages. So it looks like your case lacks this essential element. All this aside, your desire to keep this from happening to others is commendable. We hope you find this information helpful.

Lea Keller, Managing Partner At Lewis & Keller

Good afternoon,

Thank you for your inquiry. As an animal lover myself, I can certainly understand your concerns regarding your puppy’s eye injury. If your puppy’s eye does not improve, you may want to consider taking her to her regular vet for examination. As you are in Florida and laws differ considerably from state to state, you may wish to contact the lawyer referral service provided by the Florida Bar, at 800-342-8011, to obtain contact information for attorneys in your area who may be able to assist you.

Mike Lewis, Founding Partner At Lewis & Keller

Thank you for your inquiry. It sounds like you and your wife have been going through a very difficult time. Based on the information you provided in your email message, it is my impression that your wife has been hospitalized for psychiatric disorders as well as potential Huntington’s disease. If that is the case, it is possible that your wife’s condition has stabilized in the past week, and the concerns the doctors had concerning her ability to be home alone have abated. My suggestion would be to speak with your wife’s doctors and/or social worker to discuss the change in plan and their reasoning for the change. In any event, unfortunately, I don’t believe this is a situation in which we could provide legal assistance for you. Guardianship issues fall under family law, which is not one of our firm’s practice areas. You may want to contact a family law attorney for his or her opinion on the situation.

There are several family law practices in the Winston-Salem area that we recommend. Gatto Law Offices can be reached at 336-768-2345; Stroud and Panetti can be reached at 336-724-2600; and Morrow Porter Vermitsky and Fowler can be reached at 336-413-9115. Alternatively, you may call the North Carolina State Bar Attorney Referral Service at 800-662-7660 – to obtain contact information for family law practices in your area.

Mike Lewis, Founding Partner At Lewis & Keller

Unfortunately, N.C. law does not fully protect the innocent party whose car has been damaged. Recovery is limited to the Fair Market Value of the vehicle immediately before the wreck. Sometimes, as in your situation, the insurance companies want to rely on the NADA book value since it is less than what your vehicle was worth.

NADA value is not conclusively determinative of the Fair Market Value, but it is evidence that a jury would be allowed to consider in deciding what amount you should recover. The main difficulty for you is that unless there is a huge difference between what NADA says and what an independent appraiser would say is the value, it is probably not worth the time and effort to fight with the insurance company.

So, here’s what I would suggest: you can either go to the dealer who sold you the car and see if they will give you a written opinion of the enhanced value, or contact an appraiser, e.g., Lane Murray (336-314-6760) of Carolina Claims Associates, who can help you document that you would be losing money for an accident that was not your fault.

As far as payment for pain and suffering, there is no specific formula for the amount of the award. When I first started practicing law over 40 years ago, it was typical that insurance companies would often pay 2-3 times the amount of the medical bills in soft-tissue injury cases. That is no longer the case. Due to tort reform measures, including one that went into effect in North Carolina on October 1 of last year, insurance companies are far stricter in deciding how much they will pay.

By the same token, there are many types of injuries and claims where the pain and suffering component should be much more than 3X the amount of the bills. An experienced personal injury attorney should be able to help you evaluate the value of your claim. Please call us at 877-970-4447. We’d be delighted to help.

Lea Keller, Managing Partner At Lewis & Keller

Thank you for your inquiry. Unfortunately, in North Carolina, liability insurance carriers are not required to repair vehicle damage with Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) parts. If you choose to use original Lexus parts when repairing your vehicle, you can certainly do so. However, the insurance company will likely only pay an amount for repair that includes after-market parts. This means that you would likely be required to pay out of pocket for the remainder of the repair costs.

If you have any further questions or concerns regarding this auto accident, you are welcome to contact me directly, at 336-714-2887.

Lea Keller, Managing Partner At Lewis & Keller

Thank you for your inquiry. The pace of the criminal justice process can certainly be frustrating, especially considering your experience of having your case continued fifteen times, which does seem excessive. Unfortunately, criminal defense is not one of our firm’s practice areas, so we are unable to provide guidance as to your potential legal rights concerning the progress of your case.

Mike Lewis, Founding Partner At Lewis & Keller

Unfortunately, no. You’ve already signed a full release, meaning the insurance company has no further responsibility.

Mike Lewis, Founding Partner At Lewis & Keller

I’m so sorry to hear this is happening to you. I know many times there is an emotional value that owners place on their property. Unfortunately, the government doesn’t take this issue into consideration. In short, the answer to your question is, “No,” but you do have a constitutional right to receive “just compensation” for what is being taken. You may do better by hiring an attorney to guide you through the process and help you receive fair compensation for your property.

It is very unlikely you will be able to prevent the government from taking your land. [The policy reason behind that law is that if it were easy to stop the government from taking your land, we would never get any public projects build.]