If you are involved in an automobile accident in Howard County, you need access to an attorney who knows the local courts and has considerable past personal injury experience. You need to be assured that when you hire your Howard County personal injury law firm, you are in competent, experienced and qualified hands. In your search for the right Howard County accident attorney, your research will have been a success if you call attorney, Jon Portner, Richard Shure, Kevin Ruby or Nick Parr at Portner Shure.
Article source: http://mt.portnerandshure.com/portner_and_shure/maryland_car_accident_blog/2012/02/howard-county-automobile-accident-attorney.html
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced a final rule that employs the latest research in driver fatigue to make sure Maryland and Virginia truck drivers can get the rest they need to operate safely when on the road. The new rule by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) revises the hours-of-service (HOS) safety requirements for commercial truck drivers.
“Trucking is a difficult job, and a big rig can be deadly when a driver is tired and overworked,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “This final rule will help prevent fatigue-related truck crashes and save lives. Truck drivers deserve a work environment that allows them to perform their jobs safely.”
As part of the HOS rulemaking process, FMCSA held six public listening sessions across the country and encouraged safety advocates, drivers, truck company owners, law enforcement and the public to share their input on HOS
Article source: http://mt.portnerandshure.com/portner_and_shure/maryland_car_accident_blog/2012/02/us-department-of-transportation-increases-mandatory-truck-driver-rest-time.html
Maryland and Virginia teenage drivers are four times at greater risks for automobile accidents than older adults. Reasons include, inexperience dealing with emergency situations, distracted driving and the desire to show off. Below are some interesting findings and a further reason to have your teenager sign our Young Driver Contract.
Being distracted
Cell phones, CDs, food and text messaging, pose serious distractions to all drivers. Recent studies, however, with respect to teenage driving are revealing in this regard. First, one study done by State Farm Insurance reported 89% of teens noted they saw other teens driving and talking on their cell phones. Further, many have admitted during the same, and more than half said they observed their peers using ipods or text messaging while driving.
Any form of distraction increases the likelihood of a Maryland or Virginia car accident. In fact, a recent study of drivers in the Maryland and
Article source: http://mt.portnerandshure.com/portner_and_shure/maryland_car_accident_blog/2012/01/common-mistakes-made-by-young-maryland-drivers.html
2. Immediately give all insurance information for your insurance carrier and the liability carrier and health insurance to a Portner Shure paralegal. Cease all communication with both carriers.
3. During the week after the Maryland or Virginia automobile accident, work closely with a Portner Shure paralegal on all issues concerning your car repair, rental and/or total loss figures. Communicate closely with the paralegal on all issues concerning the storage cost. Cars should not be in storage for more than three to four days.
4. Within a week of the Maryland or Virginia automobile accident seek follow-up medical attention with a doctor who can get you better and is respected by the major automobile insurance carriers. Further medical attention can be obtained with an orthopaedic doctor, a chiropractor, a neurologist or an acupuncturist. Acupuncture presents a problem with billing unless the acupuncture is prescribed by a medical doctor. Unlike less experienced
Article source: http://mt.portnerandshure.com/portner_and_shure/maryland_car_accident_blog/2012/01/ten-things-you-need-to-do-for-your-automobile-accident-case-after-you-hire-a-maryland-personal-injur.html
It’s the end of the summer so many families throughout Maryland, D.C., and Virginia, are headed out for one last hurrah. With families with young drivers, like mine, let me point out one thing. While your college age youngster may have been driving for years, unless he or she is 25 or over, they cannot rent a car from most rental agencies. Further, even if you are older than 25, may companies require that you have a driver’s license for at least one year or two. One exception for folks under 25 is when they are part of a corporate or organization’s discount program.
Exceptions to the general rule can be found in New York or Michigan, where state laws require agencies to rent to drivers ages 18 and up. Of course, you will pay dearly for the privilege. In other states, if there is an exception it will come at
Article source: http://mt.portnerandshure.com/portner_and_shure/maryland_car_accident_blog/2011/08/family-vacation-tip.html
This page contains a single entry by Jonathan Portner published on August 30, 2011 3:25 PM.
Family Vacation Tip was the previous entry in this blog.
Who should you buy your automobile insurance from? is the next entry in this blog.
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Article source: http://mt.portnerandshure.com/portner_and_shure/maryland_car_accident_blog/2011/08/beware-of-the-friendly-insurance-adjuster-especially-in-maryland.html
Shop the rates. Every automobile insurance company must file with the Maryland Insurance Administration their underwriting standards and rates.
Automobile insurance companies in Maryland may use numerous factors to determine their risk and to set rates based upon the risk. Factors that are considered include: geographic location, age of driver, education of driver, type of job, distance of normal commute, and credit rating. Factors are placed in separate boxes and rates are set by which box a person matches up with. The carriers do, however, weigh risks differently, and therefore, a persons rates may depend on their particular insurance company.
Factors that may not be considered are a persons race or nationality. In other words, Korean or Chinese speaking Maryland clients can not be forced to pay more in premiums.
Insurance companies are allowed to base future rates on an insured’s traffic record and history of at fault accidents.
Since each
Article source: http://mt.portnerandshure.com/portner_and_shure/maryland_car_accident_blog/2011/08/who-should-you-buy-your-automobile-insurance-from.html
Most Maryland auto accident injury attorneys are paid through contingency fees. A contingency fee basically means that the client does not pay anything to the attorney unless there is a settlement with the insurance company or judgment from the court. When there is a settlement or judgment a Maryland accident attorney is typically entitled to a percentage of that total settlement or judgement amount. When an injured person is considering hiring a Maryland accident injury lawyer, he or she should read the fee agreement very carefully. Before signing the fee agreement be sure to check what percentage of the settlement the attorney is charging as a fee.
Some Maryland auto accident injury attorneys will charge fees that are too high. If the Maryland auto accident attorney’s fee agreement includes a fee of more than 33% for a case that settles that Maryland accident injury lawyer is a rip off artist.
Article source: http://mt.portnerandshure.com/portner_and_shure/maryland_car_accident_blog/2011/09/how-much-should-my-attorneys-contingency-fee-be.html