Business

Case Barnett Law Offers Essential Advice to Keep You Safe — Before and After an Accident

Published

1 year ago

March 17, 2022

When you are involved in an automobile accident, it can be difficult to know what to do – or where to turn for help. At Orange County-based Case Barnett Law, their legal team is committed to helping clients understand their rights and responsibilities, before and after an accident occurs.

Whether you have recently experienced a collision or want to ensure you are always protected, there are several essential strategies to keep yourself – and your finances – safe.

Before an Accident

Although no one expects to be in a car accident, everyone should be prepared. As Director of Operations Nicole Barnett explains, one of the best ways to protect yourself is with proper insurance coverage.

In California, motorists are legally required to carry a “15/30” insurance policy, which pays up to $15,000 of bodily liability damages per person and a maximum total payout of $30,000. Unfortunately, most auto accidents dramatically exceed those insurance payouts.

“If you have any type of accident, even a small accident, $15,000 is not going to be enough,” Barnett explains. “The damages are going to be so much higher than that.”

Unfortunately, with a 15/30 policy, insurance companies will pay the maximum of $15,000 per individual and then you are on your own. For someone involved in a major accident, especially an accident leading to physical injuries, this can be financially ruinous.

But with uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UIM), you remain protected even if the other driver is not fully insured.

“Their insurance company will pay 15,000, and then you would go to your insurance company, and they will hopefully provide the remaining amount,” Barnett says. “It is really cheap to add to your existing insurance policy, under $20 to add, and a lot of people don’t know about it.”

In addition to being covered for material damages, it is critical to carry the right amount of medical coverage. They recommend “Med Pay” or Medical Payments Coverage, which will protect you in the event of injuries or hospitalization.

“It is something important that people have in their insurance,” Case Barnett explains. “It is typically up to $5,000 regardless of who is at fault.”

Staying protected as a motorist is an important preventative measure, Barnett says. But what happens after an accident?

After an Accident

Being involved in an automobile accident can be disorienting, but it is essential to remember a few key steps, Barnett says.

The first step is to contact the police and talk with any witnesses. This will protect you especially if you are not at fault in the accident. Case Barnett recalls many situations in which information from a bystander helped determine liability.

“Unfortunately, people can be unscrupulous,” Barnett says. “We had a case where a driver ran a red light and lied about it. Luckily, there was someone else sitting in traffic who had a dashcam, and you could see the other driver run the red light.”

Calling the police further protects you because it provides you with an official report of what took place. When it comes time to file an insurance claim or sue for damages, formal evidence is everything.

In the event you have suffered injuries, you should seek medical treatment right away, Barnett says. This will not only help you recover physically but also will provide additional evidence for your insurance claim.

“You should go to urgent care first, and then start treatment with a chiropractor or physical therapist as soon as possible after that,” Barrnett says. “You want to have continuity of treatment – any gaps in treatment, the insurance company will say you weren’t hurt that badly or your injuries were from something else.”

Seeking Legal Help

Although many accidents can be resolved simply through your insurance company, there may be times when legal assistance is needed. Legal representation will give you the assurance and protection you need – and more than that, it will allow your voice to be heard.

“We look for three things, damages, liability, and collectability,” Barnett says. “With damages, we ask how bad is the person hurt, and what is the damage to the vehicle? Insurance companies will equate the amount of damage to the vehicle to the amount of force on the occupants of the vehicle. Liability is who is at fault. Collectability is the insurance issue – which is why having a police report and witnesses is so important.”

Case and Nicole Barnett understand how stressful and difficult it can be to recover from an automobile accident. You may have physical injuries, expensive repair costs for your car, and you may need to miss work. All of these factors can hurt you physically, emotionally, and financially.

But you don’t have to go through it alone.

They have prepared a free guide to protecting your wealth in an accident, available on the Case Barnett Law website. And if you still have questions, they are only a phone call away.

“If you have those three things in place, damages, liability, and collectability, you should absolutely call an attorney,” Nicole Barnett explains. “And even if one of those areas is weak, you can still call.”

Case Barnett Law is based in Laguna Beach, CA, and helps individuals and families who have suffered catastrophic accidents. For more information and to download their free legal report, visit www.casebarnettlaw.com.

Business

The Ultimate Guide to the Essential Social Skills in Business

Published

18 hours ago

May 30, 2023

Matthew Wiles

Effective communication and strong relationships are essential for success in the workplace. One factor that can greatly influence these qualities is emotional intelligence, often abbreviated as EQ. EQ refers to the ability to identify, understand, and manage one’s own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. Research has shown that individuals with high levels of EQ are better equipped to handle stress, communicate effectively, and work collaboratively with others (Chamorro-Premuzic & Sanger, 2016).

Research has consistently shown that emotional intelligence (EQ) is an important predictor of job performance and success in the workplace. EQ is comprised of a set of skills that allow individuals to recognize, understand, and regulate their own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. In addition, individuals with high EQ are better able to communicate effectively, build relationships, and navigate complex social situations. As a result, they are often viewed as effective leaders and collaborators, and are more likely to achieve their personal and professional goals.

In fact, a number of studies have demonstrated the significant impact that EQ has on job performance and success. For example, one study of 85 upper-level managers found that those with higher EQ scores were rated as more effective leaders by their subordinates (Law, Wong, & Song, 2004). Another study of 151 employees found that those with higher EQ were more likely to be promoted within their organization over a five-year period (Carmeli, Brueller, & Dutton, 2009). These findings highlight the importance of EQ in the workplace and suggest that developing these skills can lead to significant benefits for both individuals and organizations.

According to a study conducted by TalentSmart, a leading provider of EQ assessments, EQ is responsible for 58% of success in all job types (Bradberry & Greaves, 2009). In contrast, IQ only accounts for about 4% of success in the workplace. This suggests that EQ is a crucial skill set for individuals in any professional field. Fortunately, EQ is a skill that can be developed and honed over time with practice and awareness.

There are several key components of EQ that are particularly important for success in the workplace. These include:

Self-Regulation: This refers to your capacity to recognize and control your emotions. Sometimes treating them when they arise may be necessary. Understanding how to manage your anger is essential. However, it can also cover how to control the feelings you’ll experience.

Self-Awareness: This implies recognizing and understanding your own feelings. Do noisy places make you nervous? Do other people talking over you make you angry? Knowing these truths about yourself shows that you are working on your self-awareness. Being conscious of yourself is necessary for this phase, which can be more complex than it sounds.

Socialization: This category focuses on your capacity to manage social interactions and direct relationships. It doesn’t entail dominating others but knowing how to work with others to achieve your goals. This could entail presenting your ideas to coworkers, leading a team, or resolving a personal disagreement.

Motivation: Strong motivators include external forces like money, status, or suffering. Internal motivation, however, plays a significant role in Goleman’s concept. By doing so, you demonstrate your ability to control your cause and initiate or continue initiatives of your own volition rather than in response to external demands.

Empathy: It’s equally critical to be sensitive to others’ feelings. This may entail learning to identify different emotional states in individuals — for example, can you tell the difference between someone at ease and someone anxious? — but it also requires comprehension of how other people may react to their current situation. Empathy is one of the essential traits in business and business leadership.

A thought leader in this space, Michael Ventura has built a career advising organizations on the importance of emotional intelligence in the workplace. In his book, Applied Empathy, Ventura highlights the value of empathy in business and provides strategies for developing and applying this skill set. With two decades of experience as a leader, facilitator, and educator, Ventura’s work has made impact in with prestigious institutions such as Princeton University and the United Nations as well as corporate clients such as Google and Nike.

Through his work, Ventura advises leaders to focus on the development of EQ in order to help individuals improve their communication, collaboration, and leadership skills, ultimately leading to greater success in the workplace. Experts like Ventura continue to support the growing body of research on the value of EQ in business, and the evidence that organizations who invest in the EQ of their teams help to create a more empathetic and successful professional environment.

And it’s worth noting that EQ isn’t just important for individual success in the workplace, but also for overall organizational success. A study by the Center for Creative Leadership found that EQ was a better predictor of success than IQ or technical skills in the workplace, and that teams with higher levels of EQ tend to be more effective and productive (Boyatzis, Goleman, & Rhee, 1999). By cultivating a culture of empathy and emotional intelligence, organizations can improve their overall performance and create a more positive work environment for their employees.

In conclusion, emotional intelligence is a crucial component of success in the workplace, and individuals and organizations alike should prioritize the development of these skills. The ones that do not only develop a leading edge in their category, but also become a meaningful place to work for their teams. And in today’s rapidly changing talent landscape, the retention of highly capable, emotionally intelligent leaders is one of the greatest keys to unlocking success.

References:

Boyatzis, R. E., Goleman, D., & Rhee, K. S. (1999). Clustering competence in emotional intelligence: Insights from the emotional competence inventory (ECI). In R. Bar-On & J. D. A. Parker (Eds.), Handbook of emotional intelligence (pp. 343-362). Jossey-Bass.

Bradberry, T., & Greaves, J. (2009). Emotional intelligence 2.0. TalentSmart.

Chamorro-Premuzic, T., & Sanger, M. N. (2016). Does employee happiness matter? Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 3(2), 168-191.