When you have been injured in a car or truck accident, it is hard to know to whom you can turn for straight-forward advice and help.

With nearly 20 years of handling car accident personal injury cases, prominent Salisbury attorney J. Scott Robertson utilizes his inside knowledge of how car insurance companies operate and evaluate injury claims to relieve the stress of the claims process for his clients and help them achieve full and fair compensation under the law.

For several years, Robertson was one of the prima-ry insurance company lawyers defending negligent drivers in car accident lawsuits on the Eastern Shore. He now uses this insurance company experience—including knowledge of the methods used by many adjusters to unfairly minimize or deny legitimate claims—to the benefit of his clients.

Scott and his wife, Laura E. Robertson, a distin-guished attorney in her own right, formed Robert-son & Robertson, P.A. more than four years ago. The Robertson firm has grown to become the preeminent law firm representing victims of auto accident injuries on the Eastern Shore based upon its reputation for outstanding results.

Scott received his Juris Doctor degree Magna Cum Laude from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1993, where Laura also earned her law degree

before working with a prominent Somerset County Circuit Court judge. Scott has been honored professionally many times, includ-ing receipt of the statewide Maryland Bar Foundation’s Edward F. Shea Professionalism Award, the Leadership in Law Award from The Daily Record, and honors from local publications’ readers’ surveys. He has held top leadership roles in the Maryland Bar As-sociation, the Salisbury Chamber of Commerce, and several other organizations. He holds the prestigious AV-Preeminent designa-tion from the Martindale-Hubbell® Lawyer Index peer review rat-ings, which are based on objective, anonymous surveys of regional

judges and lawyers regarding the professional abilities and high ethics of practicing law-yers.

Scott’s primary advice for car accident victims is to ob-tain a free legal consultation

Guide Their Clients Through the Claims Process to Achieve Better Outcomes

BY MARK S. REEVE / PHOTOGRAPHY BY DOUG NAARUP

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Attorney J. Scott Robertson is a past president of the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce and has been the Runner-Up in the Metropolitan's Readers' Poll for Best Lawyer on the Eastern Shore three times, including 2012

Scott and Laura

Robertson are Wicomico County natives and focus their practice on

personal injury accident cases and insurance claims.

Injured in a Car or Truck Accident?

Get Help Early!

Auto Accident Injury Lawyers

Robertson & Robertson, P.A.

very soon after the accident takes place. “People often think of consulting an attorney to help obtain a good end result. However, some of our most important work to guarantee that success is in the initial stages of the representation,” says Scott. “Most mistakes that insurance companies often quickly exploit take place soon af-ter the accident. If we are involved early, we can shepherd the pro-cess to ensure that claims are initiated properly and mistakes and surprises are avoided.”

For instance, Scott cites several situations in which an unrepre-sented accident victim made a mistake in a recorded statement to an insurance adjuster, which resulted in a denial of coverage. Mary-land is one of a few states that recognizes the doctrine of Contrib-utory Negligence, which provides that the victim recovers noth-ing from the at-fault driver’s carrier—no car repairs or total loss payments, no medical bills, no lost wages, and no non-economic

damages—if the insurance company can place even one percent of the blame for the accident on that victim.

“The recorded statement is the tool most often used by an insurance adjuster for the other party to find something they can blame on the vic-tim in order to deny or minimize the claim,” explains Scott. “Most people don’t under-

stand that what is represented as a casual recorded statement can have perma-nent legal

consequences for their case.”Getting the Robertson

law firm involved early also takes tremen-dous time and stress burdens off their

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With all the twists and turns in the claims process, Robertson & Robertson prides itself on having an open door for clients—accessible and ready to answer clients’ questions at any time.

Back: Vera Brown, Kristin Seal &Teresa Holtzapple

Front: Scott & Laura Robertson

clients’ shoulders. The initial aftermath of a car or truck ac-cident is often the most stressful time—dealing with mul-tiple insurance adjusters, the many phone calls, paperwork, requests for statements, car repairs, documentation and medical appointments. There’s an incredible amount of confusion and aggravation involved in ensuring everything is properly handled, especially when the law concerning coordination of insurance coverages is not always logical.

The claims process can be very time consuming—and very frustrating if you are not familiar with the process. Ac-cident victims are often surprised to find out that the at-fault driver’s insurance company will not pay any medical bills or lost wages until the time of settlement. “We work diligently to ensure our clients’ medical bills are paid cor-rectly and promptly, and in a way that minimizes the out-standing bills and demand for health insurance reimburse-ment at the time of settlement,” says Laura. “This is just one of many components we handle to ensure our clients the best possible end result and to avoid surprises such as un-paid medical bills or unanticipated health insurance repay-ment demands.”

Some members of the public mistakenly believe they should only consult an attorney for an auto accident case if they want to pursue a lawsuit. Ironically, the retention of a capable attorney early in the process often reduces the chance that a lawsuit will become necessary. Scott explains, “We know how to properly navigate the claims process so that all the components fit together smoothly and properly. We are extremely detail oriented and know exactly how to submit an injury claim to ensure a full and fair settlement evaluation. By correctly handling every step in the process, we can usually achieve a great settlement for our clients without having to resort to the courts.”

With all the twists and turns in the claims process, Rob-ertson & Robertson prides itself on having an open door for clients—accessible and ready to answer clients’ ques-tions at any time.

“A frequent complaint is that lawyers are not responsive, do not communicate well or proactively with their clients, and do not return phone calls. We’re just the opposite,” Scott relates. “Our staff and attorneys are very responsive and communicate extremely well with clients. We make sure our clients are kept informed, and even encourage them to drop in with information and ask questions while they are in our office.” M

Robertson &Robertson P.A.

1205 Pemberton Drive, Suite 104, Salisbury, Md.410-749-9111; www.AccidentLawyersMd.com

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Legal Assistant Vera Brown

has 10 years of legal

experience working on

personal injury cases.

Legal Assistant Kristin Seal

has 20 years of legal

experience.

Legal Assistant Teresa

Holtzapple has worked in the legal field for

29 years.