Coping with Injuries

A serious personal injury is a life altering event. It presents a host of challenges to people and their families, including insurance concerns, working with medical professionals, employment considerations and making ends meet. Of course, one of the many issues facing a seriously injured individual is the recovery of losses from one who negligently caused the injury. At O'Hara, O'Connell & Ciotoli, we are sensitive to those needs and concerns, and we are skilled in meeting them. Our firm is experienced and successful in attaining the appropriate recovery for injured people, and in helping our injured clients resolve the myriad of issues facing them. We maintain strong relationships with a host of experts who can provide needed testimony and guidance throughout a case.

Regardless of why a new client comes to us, O'Hara, O'Connell & Ciotoli treats each one with respect and care. We are proud of our clients because, in addition to coping with their injuries, they have decided to seek justice for themselves, their families, and others who may be in the same situation. Our work involves prompt service, thorough explanation of the legal process, and proven successes. Our success in the courtroom is due to the approach we take toward our clients. Juries are sensitive to our sincerity and the respect we give clients. While each case depends ultimately on merit and the facts presented, every decision maker sees how strongly we believe in our clients' right to justice, often affecting the quality of the award. Our work ethic and working class background gives us an insight jury's respect. We get results for our clients, no matter who they are or what their circumstances.

When the time is right, you will want to talk to an experienced and capable attorney with the necessary resources to represent you and your family in recovering the losses suffered from the responsible party. We respectfully suggest that you consult with at least two attorneys, and we hope that you will consider doing so with us. There are other matters to which you will need to tend. In their regard, we offer the following thoughts for action to take in coping with a serious personal injury:

What To Do As Soon as Possible
Of course, the first thing to do is to take care of the immediate physical needs of yourself and your loved ones. Insure that you have the physicians you need, and insist that the treating physicians keep you fully advised. Don't be reluctant to insist that they explain the information they provide to you so that you can understand it. Most physicians are very willing to do so.

If you don't have medical insurance coverage, you may need to consider applying for Medicare (Medicare.gov - Medicare Basics Overview) or Medicaid (Medicaid Consumer Page or http://www.cms.hhs.gov/medicaid/default.asp). If you thought that you had medical insurance, but are told that for some reason it is not available, you should consult with an attorney right away.

Determine whether disability insurance is available; often time this is a benefit provided by an employer at a slight cost to the employee. You should call the Human Resources office of the injured person's employer and determine if that benefit exists. If it does not, you should determine if the injured person might qualify for Social Security Disability (Social Security Online; Social Security Online - Disability Programs).

Of course, you also need to let the employer know of the injury and that the injured person won't be at work for some period of time. You are entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12 month period when unable to work because of a serious health condition or to care for a family member who has a serious health condition, provided your employer had 50 or more employees in each working day during the 20 calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year or is a public agency or a public or private school (Dept. of Labor-- Family Medical Leave Act).

Don't make any hasty major financial decisions, such as changing investments, moving, changing jobs, or retiring early, unless absolutely necessary. Defer all but the most essential financial decisions. This is a difficult time to make decisions that may have a far-reaching financial impact.

However, if the injury has resulted in the death of a loved one, you need to make arrangements for your loved one's internment. In doing so, you should tell the funeral director to provide you with multiple certified copies of the death certificate. A death certificate opens the door to much-needed financial resources. You'll need to file an individual death certificate to:

• Apply for death benefits
• Apply for retirement and Social Security benefits
• Settle the estate
• Assume sole control of assets such as bank accounts, investments, residence and vehicles, and a safe deposit box.

Make funeral arrangements

To help in this, find and read the will and any letter of instructions, which may provide funeral instructions and other guidance to survivors. These instructions are not necessarily binding on you, but they will provide you with the decedent's guidance on how the arrangements should be made. Also, see if any advance arrangements were made with a funeral home for a pre-paid funeral or some similar arrangement.

Review living wills and powers of attorney

Families of those severely injured should locate and read any living will, health care power of attorney, and other related powers of attorney. These documents can help you make important decisions and, in some cases, provide you the legal authority to carry out vital financial actions.

Control spending and create an emergency budget

Cash will be tight for many families (and perhaps remain tight) until additional financial resources, such as life or medical insurance benefits, become available. You may have lost critical income if your loved one was a significant earner. You may face new expenses, such as babysitting or housecleaning, as well as funeral expenses and other one-time costs. Identify current income sources you can depend on and try not to let expenses exceed that income. This is not a good time to run up debt.

Find immediate cash or assistance

Whether or not you currently work, you may have more financial benefits and resources than you realize. Consider:

• Personal savings accounts
• Life insurance cash reserves
• Local or state agencies
• State unemployment compensation
• Friends and relatives

CAUTION: Try to avoid dipping into retirement accounts or selling investments for cash.

Pay bills

Quickly take control of bill paying if you were not doing that task previously. You don't want to lose your good credit.

Continue health care coverage

Don't let coverage lapse for yourself or your children. If your health insurance coverage was through your loved one, contact his or her employer within 30 days of his or her death. You probably can continue coverage under the group policy, through what's called COBRA, though you'll have to pay the entire premium. (U.S. Department of Labor - Benefits: Continuation of Health Coverage' COBRA).

Buy an individual policy if you can't continue employer coverage. You can either buy it on the open market or perhaps by converting from the existing group coverage. You usually can get one without an exam or waiting period for pre-existing conditions as long as your loved one was covered under the group policy for at least 18 months.

For families who have their own policy, let the carrier know of your loved one's death. That will reduce premiums.

Handle business affairs

You may need to give some attention to critical management issues or other impending business transactions if the deceased or injured owned an interest in a business. Consult with the company's attorney, any partners and key employees.

Notify financial institutions

Notify banks, investment accounts, your mortgage holder, department of motor vehicles and other institutions of your loved one's death as soon as possible. This reduces the potential for scam artists to use the deceased's name illegally. Some financial advisors suggest, however, that such notice not be sent to your credit card company. If the card was issued based on your loved one's income or two incomes, you could lose the card or find the credit limit reduced.

Apply for death or disability benefits

First, determine what benefits you are eligible for. This could take some effort, particularly if you were not previously managing the household finances.

For known life or disability insurance policies, contact your insurance agent or the company. If you can't find the policy or aren't sure what coverage your loved one had, dig through financial records, such as checkbook records, for checks written to insurance companies. Talk to your loved one's employer, attorney, and parents and other relatives and perhaps seek professional advice.

You can also inquire about policies you can't locate by calling the Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education's hotline, 888.346.8200, or go to their Web site at www.life-line.org.

Keep a record of dates and names of all conversations when contacting representatives regarding what benefits are available and claim procedures.

• Death benefits
• Major sources include:
• Personal life insurance
• Employee life insurance
• Business ownership life insurance
• Travel insurance
• Social Security
• Veterans' or active-military benefits
• Less obvious may be death benefits attached to credit cards, payment protection for loans such as auto and home, funeral homes, auto insurers, membership in unions or professional organizations, and previous employers.

Collecting life insurance benefits
When applying for life insurance benefits, you may need to decide how you want to receive those benefits. Some of these decisions are irrevocable, so choose carefully, preferably after seeking independent professional advice. Options include:

• Lump sum payment- Often this is the best option, unless you have creditors waiting in the wings or a large tax obligation.
• Leave the benefits with the insurer- Leave the benefits with the insurer for a while and receive interest payments. You can take a lump sum payment later. Just be sure the financial health of the insurer is good and that you can't earn higher interest elsewhere.
• Installment payments- Installment payments of interest and principal over a period of time.
• Annuitization- Many financial planners advise against this until you've had time to explore all the options in light of your particular needs. Annuitization is not always the best choice.

Social Security survivor benefits

• Surviving spouses, and sometimes ex-spouses, caring for children under age 16 or who were disabled before age 22 can start collecting monthly benefits from Social Security
• Unmarried children under age 18, up to age 19 if still in high school, or disabled before age 22 also are eligible for benefits
• Widows or widowers, and in some cases ex-spouses, no longer caring for children can collect monthly benefits, starting as early as age 50 in some cases
• Dependent parents 62 or older may also be eligible
• In addition, you can collect a small death benefit

Employee benefits

• Check as soon as possible with the human resources department of your loved one's employer to see what benefits or money may be due to surviving family members. These benefits may include:
• Unpaid salary, bonuses, commissions or deferred compensation
• Unused vacation or sick days, paid out in a lump sum
• Life insurance benefits (The employer may not be in a position to help, so you may need to directly contact the insurance company for the group plan.)
• Stock options
• Regular monthly income based on a percentage of the worker's salary, paid to the spouse and dependent children. If offered at all, this may last only a limited time or until specific events occur, such as the survivor's retirement.
• Personal financial planning for the survivors
• Pension benefits. A surviving spouse usually qualifies for immediate benefits under the working spouse's pension plan even though the loved one was not retired.
• Some pension plans allow for disability retirement.
• Qualified plan benefits. Plans such as 401(k) or 403(b) plans will pay out the account's value to the designated beneficiary, typically as a lump sum, though the plan may offer the option of fixed payments for a certain period or for life.
• Some of these benefits may be reduced by benefits received from Social Security
• Veterans and military survivor benefits

As a surviving spouse or child of an active-duty member or retiree, you may remain or be eligible for certain military benefits. These include:

• Funeral benefits
• Medical care
• Commissary exchange
• Dependency and indemnity compensation
• Survivor benefit plan annuity (whether the deceased was retired or not)
• Veterans mortgage life insurance
• Medical and disability benefits

For those with loved ones severely injured or disabled, several income sources may be available:

• As discussed above, the employer may offer short-term disability payments for up to 26 or 52 weeks, depending on the plan. Payments from such insurance could run as high as two-thirds of salary.
• The employer may also offer long-term disability coverage. This could be up to 80 percent of salary when combined with Social Security payments.
• If injured on the job, the person may be eligible for worker's compensation benefits, consisting of medical benefits to treat the injury and a portion of the lost wages (New York State Workers' Compensation Board).
• As discussed above, the injured person may be eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance if the disability is permanent.
• Personal disability policies.
• Service-connected military benefits.
• Payment protection for such loans as a mortgage life insurance policy.

Address tax payments

Check www.irs.gov for specific deadlines that apply to your situation.

In the Coming Weeks and Months:

Don't let emotions rule decisions- As you go through the grief process, it is imperative that you be conscious of your shifting emotions, anger, profound sadness, hopelessness, denial and depression. Do not let them influence important decisions or you may compound your loss with financial, legal or other grief.

Organize financial records- You've already done some of this work by collecting records to apply for death, disability or pension benefits. Now collect the rest of your financial records such as investment and retirement accounts, vehicle titles, deeds, and bank accounts, and determine what debts are owed. Check income-tax returns, checkbook records and even hiding places you know of in order to identify potential assets or liabilities. This will help clarify your overall financial picture.

Develop a more long-term budget- Revisit your emergency budget. You probably have a better handle now on income and expenses. Revise every two or three months, if necessary.

Discuss finances with your family- Discuss with your immediate family financial changes. Include children old enough to understand that financial adjustments and sacrifices may be necessary, at least in the short term.

Transfer ownership- In the event of the loss of a loved one, you may need to transfer ownership to your name for any financial relationships you've held jointly with your deceased loved one. This includes bank accounts, investment accounts, loans, mortgage, automobiles, utilities and so on. You may want to obtain credit cards in your name in order to establish your own line of credit.

Postpone planned giving- Wait until you've designed a new financial plan and are certain that you have sufficient financial resources before starting or resuming any gifting.

Contact creditors- You may find yourself temporarily unable to meet some financial obligations. Contact creditors as soon as possible to explain the situation. Many will be willing to delay or even renegotiate payments.

Contact a credit counseling service if your debt problems have grown serious.

Update wills and beneficiaries- You likely will need to revise your existing will or certainly get one if you don't have one. You'll also likely need to change beneficiaries on your own personal and group life insurance, retirement accounts, will, trusts, annuities, and other documents. Powers of attorney and guardianships also may need to be changed.

Review your life and disability insurance- As the sole breadwinner, adequate life insurance is critical if you have children or others who depend financially on you. You'll also want adequate disability insurance, which provides some replacement income should you become disabled to the point you can no longer work.