Vermont & New Hampshire Injury Blog

Motor Vehicle Accident Victim Concerns

If you or someone you care about has been injured in a motor vehicle accident, you probably have serious concerns that need to be addressed right away. How should you deal with your insurance company? What do you say to the insurance company that may or may not be harmful to the claim? Should you make a statement to investigating police, if so what should you say? Should you seek medical treatment for your injuries right away or are you afraid you will incur large medical bills that you cannot pay?  Who will pay the medical costs for the treatment you already received? How can you make up missed time at work and be compensated for your lost wages? How and when should you get your motor vehicle repaired or replaced?  Should you hire a lawyer? How do you get the best settlement for your claim?

This website can help. It is designed to provide answers to all these questions and more. Find answers to questions by going to our Frequently Asked Questions section or find more in depth information in our Library articles. Also our Automobile Accident  practice area is a good source of information. Click on any of these links and find your way to valuable information on what to do if you are seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident.

Finally, you are welcome to contact or call our firm with any questions you may have. Call us toll free at 1 (866) 632-8980  or fill out the Free Consultation contact form on the upper right hand portion of this page and someone will get back to you promptly. Please remember we are here to serve you.

New Client Testimonial

Today, we added another Client Testimonial to our site. Our client is Cheryl H. Cheryl was seriously injured in a car accident. She went to a  local law firm near where she lived. The lawyers there tried to convince her to accept a settlement that would barely cover her medical bills. Dissatisfied with that firm,  Cheryl then came to us. We advised her that she had a good claim and that we would represent her interests against the insurance company. Our skilled team put Cheryl’s claim together and then began negotiations with the insurance company. The insurance company balked at paying a fair settlement so we filed a lawsuit. We took the case through the litigation process and got ready for trial. (To learn more about the litigation process contact us for a free copy of our Personal Injury Victim's Handbook for Vermont and New Hampshire.)Finally, on the eve of trial the insurance company made what we thought was a fair settlement and Cheryl accepted it.

All to often we go through this process. After 30 years of representing seriously injured personal injury victims we know that sometimes insurance companies will not pay what we consider to be fair settlements until their backs are against the wall. Our background, experience and track record trying personal injury cases to juries gives us the leverage to make the insurance companies pay what we consider to be fair settlements, not what they want to pay. Sometimes we have to take them down to the wire, but that's ok with us as long as our client get's a fair settlement. To see Cheryl’s Testimonial, click here: Testimonial

The Sources of Tort Law

A tort is a civil wrong resulting in injury or harm to another person. The tort, or civil wrong, provides the grounds for a lawsuit. For more information on torts, see What is a Tort? A brief overview of Negligent Torts, Intentional Torts, and Strict Liability.   At Van Dorn & Curtiss, we specialize in personal injury litigation and helping injured people get monetary compensation for the harm they have suffered.  One of the ways in which we provide outstanding legal service to our clients is by being familiar with the sources of tort law and the current developments in tort law. 

Tort law is state law based upon common law and statutory law.  Common law is also known as law created by judges while statutory law is that which is enacted through the state legislature.  Both New Hampshire and Vermont have adopted state statues which apply to civil actions based on tort law.

Many judges and lawyers also refer to the Restatement (Second) of Torts.  The Restatement (Second) of Tort is published by the American Law Institute and is considered a secondary authority (as opposed to a primary authority such as a state statute). 

In addition, Federal law, such as the Federal Tort Claims Act is an important statute, which permits private parties to sue the United States in a federal court torts committed by persons acting on behalf of the United States.