Initiative in Print

INITIATIVE IN PRINT

TIM RAYNE PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY

HIGHLIGHTS INSIDE AWARD NEWS 2014 YEAR IN REVIEW 5 CAR INSURANCE TIPS ATTENTION HIP REPLACEMENT PATIENTS

Tim focuses his practice in Personal Injury Litigation helping people who have been injured in accidents understand their legal rights and receive fair compensation from insurance companies. For the past several years, Tim has been named a Super Lawyer in Philadelphia Magazine and a Top Lawyer in Main Line Today Magazine in the field of Personal Injury Law. In 2014, Tim was honored as a Top 100 Pennsylvania Attorney

by Super Lawyers. In addition, Tim is a Lifetime Member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, an organization limited to the Top Trial Lawyers in America who have achieved million dollar verdicts or settlements on behalf of their clients.

SOCIAL MEDIA UPDATE

Board Certification in Civil Trial Law In October 2014, I received Board Certification as a Civil Trial Advocate from the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA). The NBTA was formed out of a strong conviction that both the legal profession and its clients would benefit from the organization designed specifically to create an objective set of standards illustrating an attorney’s experience and expertise in the practice of civil trial law.

The elaborate screening of credentials that all NBTA Board Certified attorneys must successfully complete include: demonstration of substantial trial experience, submission of judicial and peer references to attest to their competency, attendance of Continuing Legal Education courses, submission of legal writing documents, proof of good standing and passing an examination.

According to the NBTA, Board Certification is the highest, most stringent and most reliable honor an attorney can receive. Approximately 3% of American lawyers are Board Certified.

2014 YEAR IN REVIEW 2014 was a busy year in my practice. I had some significant wins and a few disappointing losses but overall was very pleased with the results I was able to achieve for my clients.

Here are a few highlights and lowlights.

Jury Trial Victory in North Carolina Against Driver Insured

by Allstate

Early in the year I traveled to Greensboro, North Carolina to try a car accident case along with North Carolina Plaintiff attorney, Ben Klein. Our client had been injured in a car accident and was offered a minimal settlement of $4,000.00. Ben and I encouraged the client to reject the offer and take his chances in front of a jury. We tried the case for three days and won a verdict of over $60,000.00 including interest and litigation costs. Given the conservative venue, this was a major victory.

FIVE CAR INSURANCE TIPS Since it is early in the year, it is a good time to take a look at your car insurance coverage to make sure that you are properly protected. Consider these five tips:

1

Choose Full Tort Rather Than Limited Tort

If you choose Limited Tort, you will save money on your car insurance, but your legal rights to compensation from another driver who injures you in a car accident are also limited. Full Tort costs more but protects your full legal rights after an accident.

Don’t be sorry, choose Full Tort.

timraynelaw.com

2

Choose Proper Liability Limit Coverage

Liability coverage protects you from legal claims for bodily injury and property damage if you cause a car accident. Your insurance company must pay to defend you and must pay compensation for any injuries or property damage. The state minimum coverage is $15,000.00 per person, $30,000.00 per accident for Bodily Injury and $5,000.00 for Property Damage.

You should consider having much more coverage because the minimum coverage is insufficient to protect your assets in the event that you cause a significant crash.

3

Select High First-Party Medical Benefit Coverage as Well as Lost Wage, Funeral and Accidental Death Benefits In Pennsylvania, your own car insurance pays your medical bills, lost wages, funeral and burial expenses and accidental death benefits regardless of who causes a car accident. Provided that you choose proper coverage, you are required to buy $5,000.00 of medical coverage, but all other coverage is optional. You should consider having more than $5,000.00 of medical coverage because no deductibles or co-pays apply. In addition, you should consider having lost wage, funeral and burial as well as accidental death

Disappointing Loss in Supreme Court Murder/ Suicide Case

My final non-Personal Injury case came to a sad end when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided that my client could not sue for fraud against the sellers of a home and their real estate agent who had failed to disclose that a gunshot Murder/Suicide had been committed in the home involving the immediate prior residents. We had lost the case in front of a judge in Delaware County, had won an appeal in Superior Court and then lost a second appeal in the Superior Court. I had the privilege of briefing and arguing the case in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (which is an extremely rare opportunity), but it was a disappointment that we were unable to prevail.

Multiple Car Accident Arbitration Victories

In 2014, I tried two arbitration cases involving car accidents in Kennett Square and Cochranville with significant disputes with the insurance companies about the value of the cases. Fortunately for my clients, the arbitration verdicts were favorable resulting in awards much higher than the insurance company offers.

benefits in order to protect yourself and your family.

4

High Uninsured/ Underinsured Limits

Uninsured/Underinsured coverage protects you and your family from irresponsible drivers who either have no liability insurance or not enough liability insurance to cover the damage they cause in a car accident. If you or a family member are injured by an Uninsured or Underinsured driver, the Uninsured/Underinsured coverage that you purchase on your own policy compensates you without any penalty, such as increased insurance rates or surcharg-

Small Jury Trial Verdict

Proving that sometimes a win is not really a win this Summer, I had a disappointing verdict after a minor impact rear-end car accident jury trial in Chester County. Juries here are notoriously conservative and we knew the case was risky when we decided to take it to trial, as there was no alternative because the insurance company made a low ball offer. The low verdict was frustrating because I felt like my client did not get a fair result.

Case Settlement in McDonald’s Slip and Fall

In the latter part of the year I was able to settle a case which involved a slip and fall which occurred on a tile floor at a McDonald’s. It was raining and when my client entered the McDonald’s there were no mats in the vestibule area or warning signs. Her wet shoes caused a slip and fall and a major shoulder injury. The legal claim against M c D o n a l d ’s was settled for $125,000.00.

es. Uninsured/Underinsured coverage is not mandatory in Pennsylvania but it is critical to have in order to make sure that you and your family are protected in the event of a serious accident.

5

Stacked Uninsured/ Underinsured Coverage

“AFTER RECEIVING A $4,000 OFFER, WE TRIED THE CASE FOR THREE DAYS AND WON A VERDICT OF OVER $60,000.00 INCLUDING INTEREST AND LITIGATION COSTS.”

If you would like a free review of your car insurance policy to make sure you have appropriate coverage, please call me at 610-840-0124 or email me a copy of your Declarations page to trayne@ macelree.com and I will analyze it for you free of charge.

In a multi-vehicle car insurance policy, you have the right to “stack” your Uninsured/Underinsured coverage.

“Stacking” multiplies your coverage limit by the number of vehicles. Stacking is not mandatory, but it is relatively inexpensive and a good idea to do since it increases the coverage available to you and your family.

timraynelaw.com

MacElree Harvey, Ltd. Attorneys at Law 211 East State Street Kennett Square, PA 19348

Tim Rayne Personal Injury Attorney 610-840-0124 trayne@macelree.com timraynelaw.com macelree.com

WHAT’S MORE SCARY— WRESTLING AN ALLIGATOR OR FIGHTING WITH INSURANCE COMPANIES?

MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL REACHES 150 VIDEOS AND 8,000 VIEWS

2014 was another busy year in terms of posting educational videos on YouTube. My channel (https://www. youtube.com/user/timrayne7/videos) now contains over 150 videos and has received over 8,000 views.

Popular videos include tips on car insurance choices, what to do after a car accident, explanations of medical malpractice and slip and fall cases and many other topics relating to Pennsylvania Personal Injury law.

My former clients have also participated in numerous Testimonial videos that are featured on my YouTube channel.

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ATTENTION HIP REPLACEMENT PATIENTS

DePuy/Johnson & Johnson and Stryker hips are failing at alarming rates and causing injury (metal ions in bloodstream, tissue damage and need for early hip replacement).

DePuy/Johnson & Johnson and Stryker have agreed to settlements which will pay billions to injured hip replacement victims.

If you had a DePuy or Stryker hip replacement, you should consult with your surgeon immediately to discuss blood testing and imaging to screen for injury.

You should also consult with an attorney to protect your legal rights to compensation for future medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering.

Contact Tim Rayne for a free consultation regarding your hip replacement injury claim.