Settling Your Personal Injury Case On Your Own

Posted on April 29, 2012 by admin

Some clients ask if they should try to settle their personal injury case on their own. There are many circumstances when settling the accident case on your own would be prudent. First, if your case only involves property damage, I would certainly recommend you resolve the matter on your own. You can seek an attorney’s guidance along the way, but you should be able to handle the property damage claim on your own without too much trouble.  Just keep in mind that it’s never fun to resolve a property damage claim and you probably won’t be 100% satisfied.  I’ve never had clients tell me they were 100% satisfied with their property damage experience.  Even if your car is a total loss, and they fairly reimburse you, you still have to go through the hassle.  That’s just the way things are. You can also handle your own case if you have minor property damage and some minor injuries.  If there isn’t any discernible property damage that can be easily seen, you’re probably better off without the assistance of a lawyer. When clients call my office for an evaluation, I always ask, “Do I need to squint to see the property damage on your car?”  If your case isn’t worth very much money, it doesn’t make sense to involve an attorney.  However, if you have significant property damage and significant injuries, it makes sense to get an attorney’s assistance. Make sure you get an honest assessment from an experienced personal injury lawyer before making this decision. 

If you need a Santa Clarita car accident lawyer to evaluate your case, please call (661) 414-7100 for a free consultation.

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The basics of automobile insurance explained

Posted on April 3, 2012 by admin


Here is a great video by my colleague Jon Gardner of Jon Gardner Insurance and Financial Services. I think he does such a great job of explaining the basics of car insurance. Here, Jon walks you through collision, comprehensive, deductibles, umbrella coverage, and other aspects of automobile insurance. To learn more, visit his website at www.jongardnerinsurance.com.

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Issues that affect pain and suffering damages

Posted on March 20, 2012 by admin

When it comes to damages in personal injury cases, there are two types. First, there are “economic” damages which are damages that can be proven with bills, receipts, invoices, etc. They are easily measurable (that’s not to say the insurance company won’t give you are hard time about those numbers). However, there are also “non-economic” damages also known as “pain and suffering” damages. They are sometimes also called “general” damages. These are more difficult to ascertain because of their inherently subjective nature.

General damages can be affected by many variables. Sympathy can play a factor. For example, a grandmother who can no longer play with her grandchildren might be entitled to more general damages than someone who doesn’t have the same situation. Another example where circumstances affect “general” damages was when a client of mine was unable to attend his father’s funeral because of a car accident. These are the kinds of things that are difficult to quantify but should be compensated. Another client of mine has a residual eye injury that may never resolve. He’s been told he’s a surgical candidate but there is no guarantee surgery will solve his vision problems.

When it comes to residual injuries, they can enhance the value of an injury case because someone has to live with a problem for their foreseeable future. Contrast that with someone who received soft tissue injuries from an auto accident and has fully healed. Juries are more prone to award “non-economic” damages where there is a genuine sympathy factor and/or a significant injury that won’t resolve itself or at the very least may affect the individual for years to come.

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Head-on Collisions Are Among the Worst Accidents

Posted on February 27, 2012 by admin

Accident can happen anytime. However, head-on collisions are often among the worst. Today, a head-on collision occurred on Sierra Highway in Santa Clarita. The impact has sent two people to Antelope Valley Hospital. From early reports, a white Honda collided with another white sedan of some sort at approximately 1:19 p.m. near Sierra Highway, just north of the Halfway House Cafe.

Officer Christian Cracraft of the California Highway Patrol said major life threatening injuries were sustained in the crash. As of this writing, it wasn’t immediately known if the drivers were the only occupants of the vehicles. Cracraft believed  but could not be certain that it was the drivers of each vehicle who were taken to the hospital.

Head-on collisions can occur when one driver tries to go around traffic, mistakenly enters oncoming traffic, loses control of a vehicle, is busy texting, otherwise not paying attention, or drinking and driving among other reasons. I extend my thoughts to the families of all involved. We shall have to wait and see what this investigation reveals.

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Make sure you take care of all liens that may be attached to your injury case

Posted on February 25, 2012 by admin

You can’t just settle your personal injury case without making sure all the doctors and other service providers have been paid. Any doctor or medical service provider is not usually providing their service out of the goodness of their heart. They expect to get paid. In some cases, the health care professional is working on a lien, expecting to get paid out of any settlement you might receive. In other casese, the health care professional may have been paid by your health insurance company but they have a balance that must be paid because they were not a “preferred” provider. This is known as “balance billing.” Other times, the doctor has already been paid by your health insurance, but what most folks don’t realize is their health insurance provider expects to be reimbursed from any settlement proceeds. They could technically come after you for reimbursement in many cases. That is an unpleasant surprise if you’ve already spent the proceeds or settled for less than you should have. Also, if your own insurance company paid any of your medical bills, they might also be expecting reimbursement. If you have Medi-Cal or MediCare, you can bet they want their money back from your settlement! You should always make sure all involved parties have been addressed.

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What To Do When Visiting The Doctor After a Personal Injury Accident

Posted on February 25, 2012 by admin

Hi. My name is Robert Mansour, and I’m a personal injury lawyer. Sometimes people say, “Rob what should I do when I go to the doctor’s office? First of all, make sure you mention all of your injuries to the doctor. This is not the time to hold back. Also make sure you go to the doctor soon after your accident. Don’t wait too long or else the insurance company for the other party is going to doubt that you were injured. Also, when you first go to the doctor, they’re going to give you an “intake form” that you have to fill out. You want to make sure that you fill that out completely. Put all of your complaints – everything that happened from the car accident you should write it down. Here is the reason: The absence of information leads some insurance adjusters to think that something never happened. So if you don’t complain about your neck pain, if you don’t complain about your back pain, the insurance adjuster might say, “Well, he must have not had any neck pain. He must have not had any back pain.” So be very, very thorough when you first go to the doctor. Whether you go to your own doctor or an attorney-referred doctor is something you should discuss with your personal injury lawyer. If you have any questions about this please feel free to contact my office. Thank you very much.

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Here is a quick video about what I look for when examining the police report

Posted on January 28, 2012 by admin

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Sometimes there are other issues involved in settlement other than monetary compensation

Posted on January 10, 2012 by admin

Surprisingly, there are times when “how much” just isn’t the most important issue for my clients. In fact, I would say most of my clients aren’t out to “get rich” by bringing a claim for personal injury. What they want is fair compensation, payment of their medical bills, protection from surprise bills, etc. I recently was involved in a case where there was significant potential for a higher settlement. However, without getting into all the details, the client just wanted to settle because he was exhausted. For two years, he tried to handle the case himself and the insurance company for the responsible party strung him along. It has now been another year, and he’s reached his breaking point. Sometimes, just getting “done” with the matter is valuable to a client…in other words, they can potentially get a higher settlement but that’s not as “valuable” as putting the case behind them. I try to listen to my clients to make sure that whatever course of action we take, they are on board and in agreement. Sometimes, settling a case for less can be of greater value to you. Just make sure you communicate such to your attorney.

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Lost earnings and your personal injury case

Posted on December 31, 2011 by admin

Hi, I am Robert Mansour.  Sometimes as part of your personal injury claim you might have a claim for lost earnings.  Now let me make something clear, you can’t just stay home and not go to work just because you don’t feel well.  You have to have a doctor’s note in most cases.  Also, you have to be able to prove your lost earnings claim via tax returns, paystubs, bank deposits.  If you want to talk about lost earnings as part of your personal injury case, please feel free to contact my office.  My name is Robert Mansour and thank you very much for watching.

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Hip replacement surgery from a car accident

Posted on December 14, 2011 by admin

I am currently handling a very interesting case dealing with a hip replacement surgery.  My client was involved in a moderate three car accident.  His knee jammed into the dashboard which caused the ball of the hip bone to ram into the hip socket.  As the weeks and months passed by after the accident, my client noticed his hip was getting worse and worse.  Soon, he was issued a handicap placard for his vehicle and was walking with the assistance of a cane.  None of his doctors could figure out what was going on, and he unfortunately endured multiple pain injections, none of which helped him in the long term.  It was extraordinarily frustrating for him.  He couldn’t even walk with his family without stopping frequently to sit down.  It was very painful.  Finally, an orthopedic surgeon took another xray and found that his ball and socket were basically bone-on-bone at this point.  The doctor explained that when the ball was forced against the socket during the accident, the cartilage was compromised.  As a result, the cartilage was obliterated over time, leading to the bone-on-bone condition that was causing the client so much pain.  As a result of the car accident, he ended up needing full hip replacement surgery.

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