After an accident where you suffered injuries and damages, you likely will want to file a claim with your insurance company to get coverage for your costs. If someone else was at fault, you’ll use their insurance policy to cover the bills for the damages that you suffered. You might think that this will be straightforward, and they’ll give you exactly what you’re owed, but that might not be the case.

More often than not, insurance companies will fight to protect their bottom lines, which means shorting you in the compensation that you should receive. Let’s take a look at the ways insurance companies will try to reduce your compensation for your claim.

When you’re preparing to see your personal injury lawyer, you might not know what to expect. You’re likely gathering all of the documentation you have so you have all the proof you need to show them what your case entails. While this is a great way to prepare for your meeting, you should also prep yourself to be asked some questions that could be upsetting, or that you might not immediately know the answer to.

While these questions could upset you, that’s not your lawyer’s intention. They just want to get to the bottom of what happened, so any question they ask, your full honesty is important. Let’s take a look at some of the questions your personal injury lawyer might ask you at your first meeting.

Sharing the road with tractor trailers can be intimidating because they’re so much larger and heavier than regular vehicles. When a large truck collides with your vehicle, you might think that the only person capable of being at fault is the truck driver, but that’s not necessarily true. Truckers have to go through extensive training and licensing in order to be able to operate the semi.

While they can also make mistakes, a collision isn’t always their fault. Their trucking company could be the party responsible for your wreck. Having a truck accident lawyer on your side can help you prove that the trucking company is the one who caused the collision. Let’s take a look at what situations might happen that make the company at fault.

When you experience an accident that causes injuries, and they are supposed to be covered by your insurance, you’ll likely want to file a claim with the company so that you can be compensated for your damages. Under your policy, your insurance company owes you, but what if they try to find a way to avoid paying you?

At DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC, we understand how frustrating it can be when your insurance company doesn’t act how you think they should. We’re dedicated to representing our clients and ensuring that they get the most favorable outcome. Let’s take a look at what bad faith insurance is and how insurance companies act in bad faith.

After an accident, physical injuries sometimes aren’t the only kind of damages that you can suffer from. You also might suffer from emotional damages that are more abstract, but you still deserve to recover compensation for them. When you have a lawyer on your side, they’ll have to prove these damages and will use different kinds of evidence to do that.

At DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC, we’re here to ensure that you have the strongest case possible. We have experience building cases for clients and getting them the compensation that they deserve for all the damages they suffer. We’ll look into everything that happened so we can make sure you don’t settle for less than you’re owed.

Being the victim of a car accident with only one other vehicle or only another object is hard enough. When there are multiple vehicles involved, it can make it even more complicated on every level. You might suffer from more injuries and damages, and you might not know who you can hold accountable for what happened to you.

With the help of a car accident lawyer from DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC, you can feel confident that your claim will be as strong as possible. You don’t have to worry about whether or not your attorneys know what they’re doing—at our firm, we have experience handling all kinds of car accident claims and will make sure we take special care with yours.

Finally, the West Virginia Supreme Court issued a decision on a case that DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC’s own Lonnie Simmons handled for five years. The decision was that retired WV Division of Natural Resources officers will not have to pay money back for their retirements, and their full retirement benefits have been restored.

Initially, the WV Consolidated Retirement Board wanted to reduce the retirement benefits that retired officers of the WV Division of Natural Resources received and had been receiving since 1997. They also wanted to require that these retired officers pay back the benefits they had received.

The WV Consolidated Retirement Board also wanted to alter retirement benefits for active officers as well. They wanted to reduce the premiums that active law enforcement officers had to pay, which would then reduce the amount of money that they receive later on when they are using their retirement benefits.

Sean McGinley died on June 3, 2021. Take one look in his office and you will see what Sean valued most in life—his wife Ana and their two sons Liam and Colin. Photos of their smiling faces are everywhere. Sean was a devoted family man who balanced his role as a husband, father, part-time coach, chauffeur, and fisherman while also being a passionate, intelligent, and successful advocate for his clients. We will always remember Sean’s great laugh, keen intellect, calming presence, and dry sense of humor. While we mourn his untimely and tragic death, we celebrate the way he lived his life and we will remember all of the good times we had with him.

The law firm wishes to thank everyone for the supportive calls, emails, texts, Facebook messages, and walk-ins. The show of support from the legal community is a true testament to the man Sean was.

When you’ve been in an accident that you didn’t cause, you might be wondering who was at fault and what they did to cause your crash. If the other driver was under the influence, then the accident could have even more serious consequences than just the injuries and other damages that you suffered as a result.

An intoxicated driver needs to be held accountable for their negligent actions and the reckless decision they made. With the help of a drunk driving accident lawyer from DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC on your side, you can feel confident that your case will be properly represented. You can know your rights will be protected and that the drunk driver will be held responsible for what they’ve done.

When you’re driving through Charleston, it’s important to know which intersections could be more dangerous than others. While you should be careful driving through any intersection, there are some with higher crash rates than others that you should be extra vigilant while driving through.

At DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC, we’re here to keep you as safe as possible by bringing to your attention the intersections in Charleston with the highest crash rates. If you experience a crash and injuries at one of these intersections and the collision wasn’t your fault, then you could use the help of our car accident lawyer in Charleston.

Let’s take a look at the different intersections in Charleston, West Virginia that you need to be wary of while driving.