First, Careless Driving is like the “catchall charge” for police officers.  A person is guilty of Careless Driving if they fail to have “due regard” for the width, length, grade or conditions of the roadway.  In other words, if a person’s actions do not fit within other statutory violations, such as speeding or illegal turn, the circumstances of the collision can lend themselves to a Careless Driving charge.  The idea is that if an accident happened, someone has to be responsible and the broad language of the Careless Driving statute can support a broad range of conduct.  Not to say that other charges, like speeding, can’t be included with Careless Driving, but when an accident occurs, it is probably the most common charge that we see levied toward a defendant.  Finally, you should also know that a conviction of Careless Driving is either a Class 1 or Class 2 Misdemeanor (depending upon the circumstances) and also has driver’s license consequences of 4 points assessed against an individual’s license.

The post Careless Driving Information appeared first on Jaray Webster Law Firm.

On the criminal side, it’s amazing to see that people who are on probation, where they agree that they will not do an activity such as consuming alcohol, will readily put up photos of them having a good time with their friends and often times holding a beer.  It’s a direct violation and the probation officer doesn’t really have to do any work to find a reason to violate someone’s probation.

On the civil side, it is not unusual for insurance companies to conduct investigations of people’s internet activities in order to find evidence that they can use to their advantage.  Even innocent photos depicting daily activities or family events can be used to say that a person is lying about their conditions following a work or auto related injury.

This is always a MAJOR point of evidence in Domestic Law.  Facebook photos and status updates are used constantly to catch a party lying or engaging in bad behavior with children.  You can always guarantee that someone is looking at your updates and photos, and then printing them out to give to the judge.

For these reasons, people should be cautious with regard to what information they place into the public arena.  Too often people think that their online activities are private since they are just talking to their friends.  They are not.   I suggest that if you have an online presence, you should always keep one thing in mind: Never put anything online that you don’t want a juror, your mother, a Judge, or your baby’s mama/daddy to see.  It’s really that simple.

The post Thou Shalt Not Post! appeared first on Jaray Webster Law Firm.

1. I make (insert gross income here) but I have so many bills to pay that I have very little left at the end of the month. Does the Court take my expenses into consideration when calculating child support?

Answer: No. The Child Support Guidelines calculate support based on both parents’ adjusted GROSS income as well as the number of overnights. However, expenses such as health insurance premiums paid for the child, child care costs and extraordinary medical expenses ARE included in the child support calculation.

For more information, you can check out the actual statute here:

http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/Colorado

(Click on “Colorado Revised Statutes” on the left, then you can search (14-10-115) for the Child Support Guidelines – several answers will come up from the search so make sure you’re looking at the right section).

If you’d like an estimate of what you would receive or pay in child support – you can view the worksheet produced by the State of Colorado here:

http://www.courts.state.co.us/Forms/Forms_List.cfm?Form_Type_ID=94

2. I don’t have enough money for an attorney but I don’t know how to get through this on my own – are there any resources out there that can help me figure out this process on my own? Or at least help me until I can get enough money for an attorney?

Answer: People who are not represented by an attorney can check out the court’s website at www.courts.state.co.us. This website is FULL of helpful information for the pro-se (no attorney) party. Browse the website under “Forms” and “Domestic/Family” and it will give you every form you will (likely) need as well as an instruction sheet on how to use each form. There is also a flow-chart describing the process of a Family Law case from start to finish and instructions to help walk you through the process.

Also, under the “Self-Help” section, you can choose your location and get in touch with the Family Court Facilitator assigned to your Court’s district and they will be able to meet with you and walk you through this process.

Be aware, however, that every case is different and if you find yourself in a complicated case, you may need to speak to an attorney about what to do. If you find yourself in that position, please don’t hesitate to contact us for a free consultation so that we can help you either come up with a plan of action for yourself and give you some helpful information, or discuss a fee agreement that works with your budget so that you can be represented by competent legal experts.

-Reviewed and Approved by David J. Webster

The post Domestic Law FAQ – Part I appeared first on Jaray Webster Law Firm.

The best advice we can give is simply to be an informed consumer.  A few years ago Ken and I were doing research on a particular insurance company and we found that there are a lot of sites on the internet which provide a wealth of information on insurance companies with information ranging from their financial health to getting reviews by other consumers regarding their experiences.  It may require a little time on your part, but if you get into a collision it will be time well spent if you aren’t having to fight your own insurer in order to get fairly compensated.  A good place to start?  I simply went to Google and typed in the search phrase “insurance company ratings” which gave me multiple sites to explore.  The only caution I would give is to pay attention and look for sites that are independent of the insurance industry.

The post Choosing an Insurance Company appeared first on Jaray Webster Law Firm.

The post What is UM/UIM Insurance? appeared first on Jaray Webster Law Firm.

I tell this story because I’ve talked to many riders who tell me that they don’t like helmets and that if they get into an accident, they would rather die than survive and be either crippled or brain injured. My point would be that the greater likelihood is that without a helmet a person will most likely survive AND have a brain injury. Helmets greatly decrease the likelihood of suffering a brain injury due to impact of the unprotected skull with a roadway or other object. The impact of brain injuries on survivors and their loved ones is unimaginable. Imagine knowing that once you could do simple things such as figuring out how much to tip a waiter, but because of a brain injury you can no longer do that. Helmets can help you avoid brain injuries which is protection not only for you, but the ones you love as well.

The post Why should you wear a helmet? appeared first on Jaray Webster Law Firm.

How to Choose A Lawyer Who Will be Right for You

A Telephone Consultation with several lawyers or their staff is generally a good place to start. The staff will need some information about the accident and injury as well as your medical treatment. The staff should be able to answer many of your questions and if not, an attorney should return your call within a reasonable period of time (24-48 hours). Many attorneys will offer a free telephone consultation. This is a good place to start. If you get a good response from the staff and/or the attorney, ask for an in-person appointment. At the Law Firm of Jaray & Webster we always offer a free initial consultation either by phone or in person.

At the Initial Appointment it is usually helpful to bring all information you have concerning your accident and injuries. This would include telephone numbers of any insurance representatives, claim numbers, notes of conversations, pictures, a list of doctors, a police report or any other information you may have collected.

At the first appointment, it is appropriate for you to ask the lawyer and/or his staff questions about not only your claim, but how they would handle your claim if they represented you. It is also appropriate to ask them about their experience in handling the type of claim you have, as well as how they intend to keep you informed about your claim. At the Law Firm of Jaray & Webster we will do our best to address all of your concerns and answer all of your questions. We will also help you determine if your claim can be handled without a lawyer and give you suggestions about how to do so if appropriate. We do not charge for the initial appointment or telephone consultation.

Some typical discussion questions you may have:

1. Do I have a valid legal claim?
2. Is this something you routinely handle?
3. What other similar cases have you handled and what were the outcomes?
4. How much will this cost me?
5. How long will it take to solve my legal problem?
6. How will you keep me informed about my case?
7. Will you attempt to resolve my claim without going to court, and if so, how?
8. Who is available to answer my questions if you are not available?
9. Will you help me get my medical bills paid?
10. How often will we meet or talk on the phone?

After the initial interview, who should I hire?

Based on your first interview, you should consider the following factors before agreeing to hire a lawyer:

• Could you communicate effectively with the lawyer? Was the lawyer clear and easy to understand?
• Are fees reasonable in comparison with other lawyers’ charges?
• Did the lawyer give clear explanations of how he or she will let you know about progress in your case?

If you are not satisfied with this lawyer, do not hire him or her. Look elsewhere for legal help.

Our Guarantee

No one can guarantee the outcome of a lawsuit. At the Law Firm of Jaray & Webster we guarantee that we will listen to you, provide professional and honest advice, and include you in all major decisions. We will meet or talk with you on a regular basis and keep you informed about the progress of your case. We will work hard for you and treat you with the respect you deserve.

Call The Law Firm of  Jaray & Webster, LLC, today for a free  initial consultation.

The post How To Choose a Lawyer appeared first on Jaray Webster Law Firm.

In Colorado the insurance for the person who injured you does not have to pay any money until the end of your claim, making it more difficult to settle without the help of a lawyer.

The Following Information May be Helpful If You Choose To Settle Your Claim On Your Own:

What types of claims do I have if the other driver caused the accident?

Damage to your car: There are two claims to consider and settle with the other drivers insurance company. Shortly after the accident, you may be able to be reimbursed for the cost to repair your car, or its fair market value if the cost of repairs is greater than the value of the car. If your car is repaired, you may also recover for any decrease in value after the accident, if a body shop or car dealer is able to provide you with a dollar figure of how much your car has depreciated due to the fact that it has been in an accident. If your car is not able to be fixed, it is usually helpful to do some research about its value by looking in the newspaper or talking with car dealers about how much similar cars are selling for. There are very good resources on the internet that provide this information as well. Edmunds.com and other sites will give you a good start in determining the market value of your car immediately prior to the accident.

Bodily Injury Claim: The second claim you may have will be for the injuries and other losses you suffered after the car accident. The law provides that you may be entitled to collect both economic and non-economic damages from the driver of the car that caused the accident. This is usually paid by their insurance company, up to the policy limits. If they were not insured, you should determine if you had uninsured motorist coverage under your own insurance policy at the time of the accident. This coverage will provide for the same recovery as the other drivers insurance company, had they had any insurance. Economic damages include: lost wages, any out- of-pocket medical bills, money owed to any insurance company or the government for payment of your bills, or any other expenses you have incurred as a result of the injuries you sustained in the accident.

When should you settle your claim?

One of the first questions to consider is when is the correct time to settle your claim. In most cases, you should not consider settling your claim until your doctor indicates that you are at maximum medical improvement (MMI) or released from care. This usually occurs when you have reached a plateau in your recovery and it is not expected that you will get much better or worse. If you are released from care and have generally recovered from you injuries, you still may have a valid bodily injury claim, but the recovery will probably be fairly small.

What should I do after I am released from care?

Assuming you have generally recovered from your injuries, and you want to negotiate a settlement on your own, you should first make contact with the insurance company of the driver who caused the accident. Once you find out who will be handling your claim, you should ask them what information they will need to evaluate your claim and arrive at a fair settlement figure. At this point, you are not ready to give them any amount that you would be willing to settle for, but are simply trying to learn about the process they use to evaluate your claim and what information they will be considering.

Collect your medical records. In most if not all cases, the claims representative will need your medical records. If the insurance company has asked you to sign a medical HIPPA authorization form, they will collect the medical records from your doctors. It is usually advisable to allow the insurance company to do so; however, you should ask them to provide you with a copy of all medical records they receive. If you did not sign an authorization form, you should ask your doctors office for a complete copy of your medical records and bills. The doctor’s office must provide this to you, but may charge a small copy fee to do so. You should try to have all your relevant medical records available to you prior to beginning to negotiate with the insurance company.

Prepare a list of your damages. You should try to keep track of your damages, both economic and non-economic, as you go along after the accident. It is sometimes helpful to keep all of your expenses and lost wages listed in a notebook, as well as a summary of how the injuries have affected your ability to continue with your normal daily activities and/or hobbies. When you are ready to settle your claim, you should provide this information to the insurance adjuster through a written settlement letter.

How do I determine how much my claim is worth?

There is no easy way to determine specifically how much any claim is worth. The first place to start is to determine all of your economic damages, as noted above. This amount will be added to your non-economic damages (pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, permanent impairment, emotional distress). It is assumed for purposes of this material that your damages have not been very severe and that you have either fully recovered or are very close to full recovery and expect that you will do so shortly. As a very general guide, you can probably expect an insurance company to offer to pay you $2,500 – $7,500 for a muscle or ligament injury to your neck or back which has healed within about 3-6 months after the accident, plus any out-of-pocket expenses or medical bills needing to be reimbursed. This amount may vary depending on whether the insurance company believes that your were partially at fault for the accident, or that the medical records or other documentation do not substantiate your claim. You should ask the insurance adjuster to explain to you what type of documentation would be helpful to increase the value of your claim.

How do I negotiate my claim?

Once you have collected all of the information discussed above and put it in writing for the insurance representative, you are ready to begin negotiations to resolve your claim. One way to think about this process is to consider it very similar to buying a car. When you buy a car, you are dealing with someone who wants to make as much money as possible. You of course want to spend as little as possible. On some occasions, the more information you have about the car you want to buy and the process, the better the deal you can get. The same is true for settling your claim. If you followed the above process, you will be better prepared to negotiate your claim and the insurance representative will take you more seriously. In this negotiation, the representative would like to give you as little as possible, and you may want to collect as much as possible. Unfortunately, the process is exactly like buying a car, in that you will generally start higher than you expect to get and the insurance representative will start lower than they ultimately will pay. It is not unusual to go back and forth 3-6 times before the adjuster will say they are not able to settle for any more. It is also fairly common for an adjuster to eventually double their initial offer prior to indicating that they will not pay any more money. In most cases, the adjuster has discussed your case with his/her supervisor and possibly with a claims committee to arrive at a value. It is also possible that they have used a computer program to determine the value of your claim. It is always appropriate to ask the adjuster if they have done so, and try to go over the factors they put into their program to determine the value. It is also helpful if you ask the adjuster to give you their best offer prior to you giving any amount of money you would settle for. You will then be able to respond but should not be too offended if they start low, since they probably will increase their offer once they hear from you how much you are willing to accept. Sometimes, you can increase your settlement by getting the adjuster to include additional information that he/she did not include in the original evaluation. You may also increase the settlement offer by providing more documentation about either your economic or non-economic losses.

What happens after we agree to a dollar amount?

The insurance adjuster should send you a check and release within 3-7 days, although it is usually helpful to ask specifically how long it will take for them to send this to you. Once you receive the release, you should read it to make sure it indicates what you and the adjuster agreed to. Most releases are not very easy to read, but generally indicate that in exchange for your receiving a certain amount of money, you will never be able to bring a claim for any other damages from that accident against either the person at fault for the accident or the insurance company. It generally covers both known and unknown injuries and damages, and that you can never reopen your claim or ask for any more money for any reason. You will need to sign the release (sometimes in front of a notary) and return it to the insurance company. In some cases, the adjuster may ask you to sign and return the release prior to them sending you a check. It is also likely that the release will require both your and your spouses signature.

If you have a permanent injury and do not want to settle your own claim, contact The Law Firm of Jaray & Webster, LLC, today for a free initial consultation.

The post Settling Your Personal Injury Claim appeared first on Jaray Webster Law Firm.

7 Steps To Buying A Car Insurance Policy

1. Determine how much and what coverage you really need — liability, medical pay, uninsured motorist, collision, towing, car rental.
2. Review your driving record — you can get a copy by writing to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
3. Solicit comparative bids through the internet or by phone — keep track of the information you obtain.
4. Ask for any discounts you may qualify for — good driver, multi-policy, safety equipment, limited mileage, good student or away-at-college discounts, etc.
5. Choose the right insurance company. There are several internet sources to compare companies — http://www.jdpower.com/ or the State Division of Insurance http://www.dora.state.co.us/insurance/. You should keep in mind that the least expensive company may not provide the best service when you file a claim. The two highest rated companies according to J.D. Power & Associates are Amica and USAA.
6. Review the policy before you sign.
7. Cancel your old policy.

For more information about this process, call our office for your free consumer guide. You may also want to share this information with your family and friends.

The post How to Choose an Insurance Company appeared first on Jaray Webster Law Firm.

Test windows and doors – do they open easy enough? Are they wide enough? Or tall enough?

Choose a safe meeting place outside the house.

Practice alerting other members. It is a good idea to keep a bell and flashlight in each bedroom.

Conduct a Family Meeting.

Conduct a family meeting and discuss the following topics:

• Always sleep with the bedroom doors closed. This will keep deadly heat and smoke out of bedrooms, giving you additional time to escape.
• Find a way for everyone to sound a family alarm. Yelling, pounding on walls, whistles, etc. Practice yelling “FIRE!”
• In a fire, time is critical. Don’t waste time getting dressed, don’t search for pets or valuables. Just get out!
• Roll out of bed. Stay low. One breath of smoke or gases may be enough to kill.
• Be Prepared – Plan Ahead

Practice evacuating the building blindfolded. In a real fire situation, the amount of smoke generated by a fire most likely will make it difficult to see.

Practice staying low to the ground when escaping.

Feel all doors before opening them. If a door is hot, get out another way.

Learn to stop, drop to the ground, roll if clothes catch fire.

Additional Fire Safety Tips

Install smoke detectors
Check smoke detectors once a month and change the batteries at least once a year. Smoke detectors sense abnormal amounts of smoke or invisible combustion gases in the air. They can detect both smoldering and burning fires. At least one smoke detector should be installed on every level of a structure. Purchase smoke detectors labeled by the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) or Factory Mutual (FM).

Post emergency numbers near telephones.
Be aware that if a fire threatens your home, you should not place the call to emergency services from inside the home. It is better to get out and place the call to fire authorities from a safe location outside the home.

After a fire emergency
Give first aid where appropriate. Seriously injured victims should be transported to professional medical help immediately. Stay out of the damaged building. Return only when fire authorities say it is safe.

Make sure you have a safe fire escape method for all situations
You may have installed a very expensive home security system. But if you cannot escape the burning structure, you have a false level of confidence.

Space Heaters Need Space
Keep portable and space heaters at least 3 feet from anything that may burn. Never leave heaters on when you leave home or go to sleep. Children and pets should always be kept away from them.

Smokers Need To Be Extra Careful
Never smoke in bed or when you are sleepy. Carelessly discarded cigarettes are a leading cause of fire deaths in the United States.

Be Careful Cooking
Keep cooking areas clear of combustibles and wear short or tight-fitting sleeves when you cook. Keep the handles of your pots turned inward so they do not over-hang the stove. If grease catches fire, carefully slide a lid over the pan and smother the flames, then turn off the burner.

Matches and Lighters are Dangerous
In the hands of a child, matches and lighters can be deadly! Store them where children can’t reach them, preferably in a locked area. Teach children that matches and lighters are “tools” and should only be used by adults.

Use Electricity Safely
If an appliance smokes or has an unusual smell, unplug it immediately and have it repaired. Replace frayed or cracked electrical cords and don’t overload extension cords. They should not be run under rugs. Never tamper with the fuse box or use the improper size fuse.

Cool a Burn
If someone gets burned, immediately place the wound under cool water for 10 to 15 minutes. If the burn blisters or chars, see a doctor immediately!

Be Careful of Halogen Lights
If you have halogen lights, make sure they are away from flammable drapes and low ceiling areas. Never leave them on when you leave your home or office.

Fire Prevention Tips

Prevent Fires Caused by Cooking

	Always stay in the kitchen while cooking.
	Keep things that can burn, such as dishtowels, paper or plastic bags, and curtains at least three feet away from the range top.
	Before cooking, roll up sleeves and use oven mitts. Loose-fitting clothes can touch a hot burner and catch on fire.
	Never leave barbecue grills unattended while in use. ·Keep grills at least three feet away from other objects, including the house and any shrubs or bushes.

Prevent Fires Caused by Heating

	Store matches and lighters in a locked cabinet.
	Keep space heaters at least three feet away from things that can burn, such as curtains or stacks of newspaper. Always turn off heaters when leaving the room or going to bed.
	Have a service person inspect chimneys, fireplaces, wood and coal stoves and central furnaces once a year. Have them cleaned when necessary.
	Keep things that can burn away from your fireplace and keep a glass or metal screen in front of your fireplace.

Prevent Fires Caused by Smoking

Use “fire-safe” cigarettes and smoke outside.

The post General Fire Safety and Protection Tips appeared first on Jaray Webster Law Firm.