The time immediately following an accident can be confusing and overwhelming for injury victims. While your main priority should be your health and well-being, you might struggle to truly focus on your recovery while you are also worried about your finances.

Medical bills, car repair costs, and lost wages from missing work can all add up faster than most people realize. Your best bet may be to pursue compensation via a personal injury claim. Unfortunately, you may face an uphill battle to get the compensation you deserve. Insurance companies are businesses, which mean they typically prioritize their bottom lines.

DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress law firm’s own J. Timothy DiPiero was recently featured in Marshall Magazine, a publication issued by the Marshall University Alumni Association for the university alumni community. You can find the article featuring Mr. DiPiero in the Summer 2022 edition of Marshall Magazine.

The article, titled “Marshall vs. Notre Dame,” begins with the line: “Tim DiPiero will utilize whatever transportation is necessary to get to South Bend, Indiana, on Sept. 10.” This upcoming date in fall 2022 marks the first meeting of the football teams of Marshall University and the University of Notre Dame.

June 3rd, 2022 was the first anniversary of Sean McGinley’s death. A Mass was held in his honor at Blessed Sacrament in South Charleston.

We remember our law partner and good friend, Sean McGinley, who died last year ago in a terrible car collision. Sean was an excellent attorney and a tremendous asset to our firm. His death left a huge void in our office. We miss his legal expertise, his management skills, his companionship and certainly his great laugh and sense of humor.

More importantly, Sean was a wonderful family man. We hope that Sean’s joy for living and the exemplary life he led will continue to inspire and comfort his wife, sons, parents, sister, and their extended family as they try to cope with his shocking death and his absence from their everyday lives.

Any time that someone is injured through no fault of their own, they face an uphill battle to recovery. While physical recovery certainly has its challenges—and some victims may never fully recover from their injuries—the financial side of an accident or injury can be just as devastating. 

Whether you were hurt in a car accident, slip and fall incident, or in a case of medical malpractice, you deserve financial compensation to make the best recovery possible. We know that the insurance company’s first offer is never what’s in your best interest—it’s in the interest of their own bottom line. 

After a car accident, you can expect that an insurance adjuster will contact you with questions about the crash. Sometimes, the adjuster will call you within 24 to 48 hours following the accident.

This conversation can be difficult to handle—especially if you are injured or dealing with issues like taking time off work or securing alternate transportation while your car is being repaired. Emotions and anxiety can also run high this soon after a traumatic event. If you don’t know what questions an insurance adjuster will ask, it can be even more difficult to come up with the right answers under pressure.

The latest statistics published by the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) show that at least 906 serious injuries occurred in motor vehicle crashes in West Virginia in 2019. There were at least 260 fatalities that same year. Those statistics mark a decline in both injury and deadly crashes over previous years. The state aims to significantly reduce occurrences even more by 2030.  

When many people are asked what types of injuries commonly result from motor vehicle accidents, they often point to recoverable ones, such as bruises, cuts or scrapes, concussions, whiplash, and broken bones. While the occurrence of these is certainly inconvenient, they’re unlikely to leave behind lasting reminders of what happened. Individuals who suffer more lasting, permanent injuries that result from car accidents may never have a chance to return to life as it was before their car crash.  

The law office of DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC is honored to sponsor a pickleball tournament to benefit The EVAN Foundation, an organization that supports families through childhood cancer diagnoses. The tournament will be held in Charleston, WV on May 21–22, 2022. DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC is especially grateful to attorney J. Timothy DiPiero for the level of skill and enthusiasm for the sport of pickleball he brings to our office.

Most of us feel uncomfortable when the lights go out unless we’re planning to watch a movie or are going to bed at night. The discomfort we feel stems from perhaps an inability to know what surrounds us when we can’t see it.

Motorcycles offer a sense of flexibility and freedom that many people do not find when behind the steering wheel of a larger motor vehicle. Riding a motorcycle can also make more financial sense for some people, as they both cost less and have better fuel efficiency.

Our personal injury law firm DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC prides itself on establishing and nurturing close relationships with our Charleston community. Thus we didn’t hesitate when an opportunity to sponsor West Virginia State University’s 8th Annual Black and Gold Gala presented itself earlier this month.