Frequently Asked Questions

At Skinner Accident & Injury Lawyers, we work very hard to get our clients a speedy and just resolution because we know our clients ultimately just want to get back to their regular routine as soon as possible. A lot of the time, reasonable minds prevail and we are able to get our clients well compensated through a negotiated settlement. However, our clients are occasionally injured by people or companies who deny responsibility, or worse, who attempt to cover up their responsibility, eve...

If you are in an auto accident, then the most important thing is to stay calm and pay attention to your surroundings.  Don’t put yourself in more danger.  If you or someone else is hurt, then call 911. This auto accident Q&A covers some situations you may encounter after an auto accident collision:

Q:  Do I need to call ...

“Will I have to go to trial?” is a question we get pretty regularly as well. The answer is, I don’t know. We are going to treat every case as if it could go to trial. That means we’re going to put the necessary resources into it, whether that means hirin...

Underinsurance is the single most important automobile insurance coverage that you can get. To understand underinsurance, you need to understand liability insurance. This is the insurance that the other person, the one who caused the wreck, has. It’s what will be used to ...

Med Pay, or Medical Payments, is a type of automobile insurance coverage that you may have purchased when you signed up for your insurance. Med Pay doesn’t consider who was at fault in the accident; it only matters that someone was injured in a wreck. It can be used to pa...

Getting medical care after an injury is crucial. Let me give you three reasons why getting that medical care is important:

First and foremost, it helps you get better. When you have a doctor, physical therapist, chiropractor, or other medical professionals prescribing me...

I understand the impulse to hop on Instagram and tell everyone you were just in a car wreck, but I don’t think that’s the greatest idea. In an ideal world, you wouldn’t post on Facebook, Instagram, or any other social media about an injury that occurred due to...

How do you pay for your medical bills if you don’t have health insurance? Now, that is sometimes a tricky question. Of course, I’m going to give you the lawyerly answer: it depends. But the first thing you want to do is see if you actually qualify for health insuran...

You’ve got automobile insurance, and you have a declarations page that will show how much insurance you have and what kind of insurance you have. You should get this declarations page every 6 months or every year, depending upon how long your insurance coverage is. A lot ...

How much do we charge for an initial consultation? Nothing. The way we operate is on a contingent fee basis, which means we get paid a percentage of whatever is recovered at the end of a case. Early on, in the beginning, for us to investigate, for us to pursue the claim, for us...

How long does it take to get a personal injury settlement? The short answer is it depends, and an even longer answer is it really depends. The single most important thing that you can do is go get that treatment, whatever treatment that your medical providers recommend that you...

How long do I have to bring a claim in a personal injury case in West Virginia? It’s two years. In Virginia, it’s 2 years. In Maryland, it’s 3 years. But I will say that every case is different. There are unique circumstances that could change that deadline, t...

How do I pay for my medical care if I’ve been in a wreck, been in an ambulance, and been to the hospital? The ideal answer is your health insurance. You want all of your bills – the ambulance, the hospital, the ER doctors, the radiologist, your primary care physician wh...

Do you need money to hire Skinner Law Firm? No, you don’t. Skinner Law Firm works on a contingent fee basis in our personal injury cases. That means that you will never write us a check, you will never need to give us your credit card number. What ends up happening at the...

“Do I have a good case?” That’s a question that we get on a pretty regular basis. There are three things that we look at. The first one is sometimes called liability or fault, and what we really mean is, did someone break a rule? If someone did break a rule, t...

Can I get a pain and suffering settlement? The short answer is yes. Pain and suffering is one of the elements of damages, as lawyers call it, that you’re entitled to recover if you’ve been in a wreck. Other types of damages you can get are your medical bills, your l...

We’d be happy to offer you a free initial consultation for your personal injury case. It’s really that simple – no charges involved. Contact our West Virginia personal injury attorneys near you in Martinsburg and Charles Town today for a consultation.

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Are personal injury settlements taxable? No, the IRS has a provision that says that if you have a bodily injury and then you recover for that bodily injury, you don’t have to pay tax on it. The theory is you’re just being compensated; you’re being put back in ...