Another reason why claims get denied is a lack of medical attention. Huge gaps in treatment where an accident happens, say you don’t get treated for a couple weeks and then all of a sudden you’re in the ER saying, “Hey, my neck kinda hurts from this accident that happened a few weeks ago.”
This week we are speaking with attorney Bryant Greening about accidents, injuries, and everything you need to know.
ATTORNEY BRYANT GREENING
I feel the bright lights on me today. It’s good.
HOST
This is really all about you and LegalRideshare. We do this every once in a while and I think it’s important that we just sort of encapsulate personal injury and rideshare accidents and injuries and what LegalRideshare does.
ATTORNEY BRYANT GREENING
It’s nice to get in front of the drivers and really explain who we are, what we do, my background.
HOST
We’ll start right from the beginning. How did you start your career?
ATTORNEY BRYANT GREENING
So, let me let me take you way back. So when I went to college, I was a journalism major. I worked in newspapers for a while, and, you know, I love the investigation. I love getting a story and talking to people and putting the facts together. And eventually, I decided, hey. This is a career that that actually could translate pretty well into law. So I went to law school, used a lot of those same skills. And ever since I graduated law school, I’ve been practicing in the personal injury area. So, you know, generally speaking, what does that mean? We, I help people who have been injured in accidents.
At the beginning of my career, I did everything from car accidents, slips and falls, dog bites, construction accidents, you name it. You know, we I I could take on that case and help that injured person collect. As my career progressed, I really started to focus more on the rideshare related, aspects, which I know we’re gonna get into. But it’s been a very smooth transition from, you know, the investigative journalist using those same skills and and eventually, finding my way into the law.
HOST
I was actually gonna ask that. So it actually benefited you to use some of those same researching skills, and in an interesting way now too because we’re doing podcasts and because things are so content heavy, it obviously plays a a major role and a big benefit for us at LegalRideshare. Because you’re able to understand about pitching the media and know important stories and also dig into, like you said, data and and investigate what’s happening.
ATTORNEY BRYANT GREENING
At the end of the day, you’re gathering facts. You’re putting together the story of what happened, and you’re trying to get to the bottom of the situation and get the truth out there. So, being a journalist, being a lawyer are very similar.
HOST
It’s a good transition into obviously, we’re here at LegalRideshare. I know the story, but for those who don’t, how did LegalRideshare, start? How did it come to be?
ATTORNEY BRYANT GREENING
Yeah. Well, I was doing that general personal injury law that I was telling you about, and I started noticing all these pink mustaches on the fronts of cars in Chicago.
And I’m thinking, what what is this? And that was the early marketing for Lyft. That was how Lyft identified themselves. And I’m thinking, okay. Well, there’s this new space here.
And shortly thereafter, I start getting more calls from people saying, hey. I’m a Lyft driver. I’m a ride share driver. I’ve been involved in an accident. Nobody knows how to help me.
You know, it’s a brand new space. And I really started to learn at that time what ride share was, what its potential was, how people were being affected by the industry, whether it was workers, whether it was, passengers in the cars, how the insurance structures were were, working. And as I was getting more of those phone calls, I thought, man, there’s there’s an open space here where people are needing information and just can’t find it anywhere. There were there were not really blogs out there about it at the time. There there were just weren’t resources.
So I actually started a, Twitter handle, LegalRideshare and started taking questions from people, and people were finding me that way. And, within a pretty short period of time after creating that LegalRideshare Twitter handle, we had a brick and mortar shop, where we were practicing law as, a go to source of rideshare law because I’d taken the time to learn it when nobody else really had yet.
HOST
Right. And that really transitioned into, I think, one of the greatest things that LegalRideshare offers is that because you learned it, you were one of the first that was really in the community. And so you understood the community.
You even drove Uber for a short time, if I’m not mistaken. So, you really did understand, there’s an issue here and got involved. And then even today, a lot of times when we have guests on, you’ll notice that they often talk about you in a pretty high light of being there since the beginning and supporting, which I think is just an amazing thing.
That being said, I think we deal with this all the time and especially you as the attorney. But for those who don’t know and sometimes get confused, how does legal rideshare help drivers? I think we need to get that across.
ATTORNEY BRYANT GREENING
So LegalRideshare focuses on accidents and injuries.
We help drivers who have been in car accidents, who need help with their insurance claims, whether it’s for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, anything that relates to being physically injured in a car accident. Our focus, is drivers. We also help passengers. If you’ve been injured in a ride share related event, even as like a pedestrian crossing the road, if an Uber car, hits you. Like, anything that relates to the ride share space where there’s a bodily injury that requires medical treatment, that’s where we step in and can demand compensation.
We can put money in your pocket to pay for things, in losses such as, like I said, medical bills, pain and suffering, all that. So we really focus on trying to make people whole after they’ve suffered losses due to a crash.
HOST
How can LegalRideshare help both drivers and passengers? You know, aren’t you suing the driver? How does that work? So can you explain that process?
ATTORNEY BRYANT GREENING
No. We what we do is we make insurance claims. So in any accident, there is a layer of insurance that covers that event, whether it’s provided through the rideshare company, whether it’s provided through the at fault driver. That’s part of what we’re investigating. We’re figuring out which policy to go after.
But, you know, we can represent, people on both sides, whether it’s the driver, whether it’s the passenger, whoever’s been injured, particularly if you’re not at fault for the injury. If you’re driving your Uber car down the street and somebody rear ends you, and both you and your passenger are hurt, well, we actually could equally represent the driver.
HOST
Got it. Okay. So walk me through a typical situation.
So let’s say, I call LegalRideshare. I’m an injured driver. I tell you I’m injured. What happens next?
ATTORNEY BRYANT GREENING
I’ll give you an example. I spoke with a Lyft driver today who was just involved in a crash last night. So she calls our office and she says, “I was rear ended. I have the injuries. I don’t know what to do. My car is in disrepair. My body requires medical treatment. Lyft is is telling me that I can’t drive anymore because I’ve been in this accident.”
So right now we’re looking at this and we’re saying, okay, well there’s bodily injury, check. We can help there.
And there’s wage loss related to the bodily injury check. We can help navigate and help this driver. So, we sign up the driver. We immediately reach out to the insurance companies to put them on notice that this claim exists. In this particular case, the driver, did not know where to get medical treatment, had no idea, which medical offices might accept them.
They didn’t have health insurance, so they were uncertain as to how to navigate that. So we help that driver, get in touch with a medical office who would be able to see them and bill, the medical treatment through the auto claim. And what what that case will look like going forward is the driver will continue to get all the treatment that they need until they’re better. Once they’re better, we’ll collect all those medical records. We’ll put together a settlement demand package, and we will submit all that information to the insurance company claiming everything that that driver lost.
The full amount of the medical bills, all the wage loss that relates to that injury, the pain and suffering that they went through during the period of time from the moment of the impact until the day that they were discharged from treatment, and what we call loss in normal life, which is the inability to enjoy the things that they enjoy doing. So, they couldn’t work. This person’s not gonna be able to be as active around the house if they play sports or exercise or whatever that may be. If you’re limited from those things, we’re gonna seek damages, which means money for all of those losses that this driver sustained from the point of impact until the point that they were fully recovered.
HOST
I know this is case by case and it changes. But generally speaking for an accident like that, what can a driver expect to recover financially?
ATTORNEY BRYANT GREENING
Well, the first thing is the medical bills. So you do not wanna be in debt based on the treatment that you had to receive at no fault of your own. Somebody else causes an accident, all of a sudden you’re going to the hospital. You’re in physical therapy.
You need pain management. God forbid you need a surgery. All of those bills are gonna be taken care of, so you’re not gonna lose anything. And then each case, as you said, is different, but you know, a small case, a driver can walk away with $5,000 in their pocket. A much bigger case, it could be $5,000,000.
And it’s just a matter of, how much of the medical bills, how much damage was there to the person’s body where they were treating, how long was the treatment, and what are the diagnoses that require, these procedures. So it it can be any any range, but we’re always working to accomplish two goals, which is one, make sure the driver doesn’t walk away with debt that they shouldn’t incur. And two, make sure that we’re putting money in their pockets because they have suffered losses that the law requires they be compensated for.
HOST
That actually it brings up a good question here, and I hear this a lot with drivers. If an accident happens, say Lyft or Uber, and then Uber calls and then they settle, how financially devastating is that if they just don’t even get a lawyer, they don’t contact us, and they just take the claim?
ATTORNEY BRYANT GREENING
It’s the worst decision that you can make. So accepting a settlement too early is detrimental on several levels. First of all, if the accident just happened, you have no idea how bad the injuries actually are. A lot of times people feel fine right after an accident. Couple days later is when they start feeling the pain.
If you’ve accepted a low ball settlement offer before you’ve even gone for your initial treatment, like you’re getting pennies. You’re you’re not getting anything. And then you’ve got all this extra treatment that you need to pay for, when you’ve already settled your case. You can’t reopen it. You’re not gonna get two settlements.
Once you settle, you’re done. The other thing is insurance companies are always looking to settle with people before they hire lawyers. Because people who don’t talk the talk, who don’t see these claims every day, don’t know exactly what to say to the insurance company, how to claim the maximum benefit, and oftentimes aren’t even entirely sure what damages they’re available to seek.
So an insurance company might say, oh, I see you went to a primary care doctor and that visit cost $300. You know what here’s $500 to cover that visit and anything else that might happen in the future. If you accept that claim or if you accept that settlement, you are making that adjuster’s day. What is a much smarter move is, “No. You know what? I appreciate you reaching out, but I’m gonna hire a lawyer to make sure that I get everything I’m entitled to.”
And if my injuries or symptoms progress, that lawyer is gonna protect me from making a bad decision about settling the claim too soon.
HOST
Got it. And I wanna dig in a little bit further about this too with the claims process. Now I know in most states, and it changes of course. Typically, you have between a year and two years to file a claim. But truly, how long do drivers really have to file a claim?
ATTORNEY BRYANT GREENING
Well, the statute of limitations varies state by state, but I can tell you that claims do not get better with age. So even if you have two years to file a lawsuit but you don’t wanna wait that long. You wanna bring on a lawyer right away to ensure that evidence is being collected, to ensure, that you’re taking the necessary steps to not fall into any traps that can really hurt your case. By waiting too long to call an attorney and bring an attorney on board, you’re really just setting yourself up to fail.
If I get a call from you, a year and a half after the occurrence, chances are I’m gonna be telling you that I wish I could help, but it there’s just been too much time that’s passed. Too many opportunities to strengthen the case that have passed. And you you’ve really put yourself in a hole. So, you know, yes, you have in Illinois at least, in most auto accident claims, you have two years to file a bodily injury case. Some states are shorter, some states are longer, but there’s really no reason that you should be waiting longer than a week to be getting in touch with an attorney and making sure that all of those t’s are crossed, all of those dot all of those i’s are dotted, so that your claim is as strong as it can possibly be if and when it actually does need to be filed with the court.
HOST
Got it. And that a nice transition too my next question here, because we take a lot of calls and emails from drivers, and, again, it’s case by case. But I would love to know, what are some common reasons that both claims would get denied or we can’t assist with the case or even other attorneys couldn’t assist? What what are some common reasons that would happen?
ATTORNEY BRYANT GREENING
Well, often reasons that claims get denied are one, the insurance company claims that you are at fault for the accident. Sometimes that’s cut and dry. Maybe you were looking down at your phone and you rear ended somebody. That’s gonna be a case where the insurance company is gonna deny your claim and and not gonna be able to help.
But there are other situations where the insurance company tries to point the finger at you, when in actuality, you did nothing wrong and we can prove it. So by bringing on an attorney early, we can gather evidence that actually proves the insurance company is wrong in denying your claim and that you were not at fault for it. If you wait too long to bring on an attorney like me, that evidence is gonna be gone. Those witnesses are gonna be hard to find and we’re not gonna be able to overturn that decision.
Another reason why claims get denied is a lack of medical attention.
Huge gaps in treatment where an accident happens, say you don’t get treated for a couple weeks and then all of a sudden you’re in the ER saying, “Hey, my neck kinda hurts from this accident that happened a few weeks ago.” The insurance company is gonna say, “Wait a second, what happened in that period of time? How do we know that these two things are related? How do we know there wasn’t another accident, a slip and fall, you’ve been over and picked up something and twisted your back?”. There’s a million reasons that they can point to because you failed to make that that timely connection between the crash and the injury.
Bottom line, insurance companies are not looking to pay out claims. They’re looking for ways to get out of that. If you give them opportunities by waiting too long to collect evidence, waiting too long to go get treatment, or a variety of other issues, they’re gonna they’re gonna take the opportunity to try to either deny your claim outright or severely minimize the damage.
HOST
Right. I think the good news is I think a lot of drivers do understand that. The insurance companies are really not on their side. I think, one of the things that we’ve discovered, at least I personally have, in taking a lot of these calls and emails is as you pointed out earlier, drivers just don’t know what to do. And especially after an accident, you’re frazzled. A lot just happened. It’s mentally exhausting and physically painful.
And so when Lyft or someone calls and they go, “Hey. Just sign this line here and you’re done with it.” I think that’s why drivers do that. And, also, like you said, if things take too long. But it’s important to showcase that because it’s so easy for lawyers to put a TV ad and say, “We’ll take any case .We always win. It’s a gazillion dollars. But that’s not necessarily true, obviously, as you’re pointing out.”
If there’s one piece of advice for drivers that you could give, what would that be so that they they’re in a better situation if this ever happens?
ATTORNEY BRYANT GREENING
It’s a very simple piece of advice: just call us. Just call LegalRideshare. Get the free consultation. It truly costs you nothing to contact us, and in the very least, have a conversation about what happened, about what you’re entitled to, about the steps that you can take to protect your interests and maximize your claim. And if at the end of the day, you decide, “Look, this isn’t something that I wanna pursue. I’d rather sign that dotted line and be done with it.” Well, at least you’re going into that conversation and making that decision armed with knowledge. I would say 99 out of a 100 times after having a consultation with us and drivers understanding really what the process looks like and what they’re entitled to, they make the decision. It’s a no brainer. You come to our firm, let us handle the claim for you, take that headache away so that you can just concentrate on getting better on getting your vehicle back on the road, and let us handle all the BS with the insurance companies.
And when you’re done, when you’re healed, when your life is really coming back together after this traumatic event, well then we can be the ones to fight the insurance company, advocate for every single dollar that you deserve, and ultimately make a decision that’s gonna put money in your pocket, make sure that you aren’t saddled with debt that you didn’t cause. And you’re in a far better position, going through that process and allowing us to to work with you, then you would have been just taking the easy way out and accepting that, you know, $300, $500 offer that that they throw at you to try to make the claim go away.
HOST
Right. And very well said. This has been very insightful, even for me.
I’ve been with LegalRideshare for quite a long time, but it’s always a good refresher for drivers to know what options they have, how the system works. So I really appreciate this.
Final words here as always Bryant. How do drivers get a hold of Legal Rideshare? How does that work?
ATTORNEY BRYANT GREENING
So, like I said, you wanna get in touch with us. The easiest way to do that is to visit our website, legalrideshare.com.
It has all of our contact information. If you reach out to us through the website, I will get that email. It will come to my inbox. So that’s the easiest way for us to connect. And as I’ve said, probably 20 times during today’s episode, do not wait.
The cases do not get better with time. The consultations are free. There there’s simply no reason to not reach out to us and see how we can help put your claim on solid ground.
Awesome. Well, Bryant, thank you so much.
LegalRideshare is the first law firm in the United States to focus exclusively on Uber®, Lyft®, robotaxis, Waymo, and gig worker accidents and injuries. Consultations are always free.
LegalReader thanks our friends at LegalRideshare for permission to republish this piece. The original is found here.
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