What if I have an accident in California but I live out of state?

Posted on February 8, 2012 by admin

If you have an accident in California but live out of state, you can certainly have a California lawyer handle your matter.  Even though you live in another state, that doesn’t mean you have to use a lawyer in your state.  If the accident happened in Los Angeles, for example, you may likely have to file a lawsuit in Los Angeles if your case doesn’t settle.  Therefore, you might be better off having a local California attorney handling your case. However, if you seek medical treatment in another state, you will need to really help your lawyer gather all records and billing.  Sometimes, it is more difficult to obtain records and billing from out of state.   I am currently handling two personal injury cases that occurred in the Santa Clarita area, but the clients live in other states.

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Should I even bother bringing a claim for personal injury?

Posted on January 12, 2012 by admin

I met with a client today, and that was the very question we discussed.   He was in a relatively minor accident but was feeling a little stiffness in his neck.  Because there was very little visible damage to his vehicle (and not much to the other vehicle either), I was not inclined to represent him.  I was very honest with this gentleman.  I told him that his case wasn’t going to be worth much because of the minor damage.  I explained that most insurance adjusters generally equate minor damage with minor injuries (or not at all).  While I encouraged him to seek medical care for his condition, I explained that bringing a claim for personal injury requires work.  You can’t just sit there at home and expect your claim will be successful.   For this particular client, the incident was so minor that he decided it wasn’t “worth it” for him to bother.  Bringing a personal injury case isn’t always warranted, and in some cases, may not be the best thing for the client to undergo.  Bringing a claim requires active participation.

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Why does the insurance adjuster want to meet me?

Posted on January 3, 2012 by admin

There seems to be a new approach being employed by some over-zealous insurance adjusters. They will offer to meet you at your home to “discuss” your case. Make no mistake…they are not interested in “discussing” your case. They are there to offer you a quick, low-ball settlement. Insurance adjusters are often rewarded for “closing” files and resolving them quickly. For some companies, the longer a file remains open, the more questions are asked by supervisors. So the adjuster will meet with you and convince you they have tons of experience with cases just like yours and that $500 should be enough settlement. They will have their checkbook for sure. Remember, insurance companies don’t make money by paying claims. They make money by taking in premiums. If the insurance adjuster wants to meet you, talk to a lawyer first. Never sign anything until you run it by an experienced lawyer. If you sign your rights away, and accept a low-ball settlement, then you cannot come back later and ask for more.

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If I did not have insurance, can I bring a personal injury claim?

Posted on December 2, 2011 by admin

If you did not have insurance on the date of the accident, you are not in compliance with California law. Therefore, pursuant to proposition 213 (passed several years ago), your recovery is limited to your economic damages. In short, you can bring a claim but your recovery will be very limited. To learn more about limited recovery as the result of not having insurance, visit our blog post.

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Will the responsible party’s insurance company pay my medical bills?

Posted on November 26, 2011 by admin

Well, yes and no. You may be surprised to learn the other party’s insurance company usually won’t pay your bills as they come due. Your health care providers won’t be too excited about that. Keep in mind, the other party’s insurance company doesn’t have a contract with you. Frankly, they don’t even have to return your calls in a timely manner – if at all!  Even if they do eventually pay, don’t be surprised to learn they won’t pay for all your bills.  To learn more about having your bills paid by the other party’s insurance company, read our blog entry.

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What is comparative negligence?

Posted on November 21, 2011 by admin

In California, the law employs the notion of “comparative negligence.” That means one party or another doesn’t necessarily have to be 100% at fault. In other words, California law recognizes that sometimes, both parties might share in the blame. Then it becomes a matter of how much fault each party shares. This is not a scientific matter. We won’t know “precisely” but we often have to estimate fault. For example one person might be 60% at fault and the other would be 40% at fault. It could be 70/30 or any other combination. If the plaintiff is at fault, his/her recovery would be reduced by the amount of fault they share. For example, if a case is worth $100,000, and the plaintiff is 50% at fault, his/her settlement (or verdict if in trial) would be $50,000.

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How much is my broken ankle case worth?

Posted on November 17, 2011 by admin

Answer: If you’re calling me right after your accident, then I don’t know.

I got a call today from a client who got hurt about 3 days ago. His ankle was fractured, and he asked, “How much is an ankle worth?” Truth is, there is no open market for body parts so I couldn’t tell you how much an ankle is worth so early on in the case. We still don’t have all the facts. This is not like calling Walmart and asking, “How much for a basic toaster oven?” If a lawyer promises your case is worth a certain amount so early in the case, that lawyer is not giving you a fair or accurate evaluation of your case. My recommendation to the client was to keep visiting with his doctors and make sure his health was top priority. After he is done treating, he will be in a better position to approach valuation of his case.

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What should I bring to the first meeting with the personal injury lawyer?

Posted on October 31, 2011 by admin

Your personal injury lawyer isn’t going to magically know about your case. They don’t have dreams about which doctors you went to, which doctors you are going to see, what hurts you, who witnessed the accident, if there was a police report, what the property damage looks like, etc. In other words, your attorney is not psychic. You actually need to provide all this information to your attorney. Don’t assume all your health care providers are simply communicating with your attorney. Even if you make your health care providers know about your lawyer, many of them may not cooperate. You need to let your lawyer know about all the important information. During the first meeting with the attorney, you need to bring everything that could help. To learn more, check out this video regarding what to bring to your first consultation with your personal injury lawyer.

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Can you get a rotator cuff tear from a car accident?

Posted on October 9, 2011 by admin

While rotator cuff tears are often associated with repetitive use of the shoulder, you can have a traumatically induced rotator cuff tear. The rotator cuff is composed of muscles and tendons which can get injured when there is direct impact to the shoulder from a side impact, for example. However, another common way for the rotator cuff to become injured is when an individual braces for a rear end collision. By holding the steering wheel tightly in anticipation of an impact, they tighten the shoulder muscles and tendons, making it more likely for injury to occur. To learn more about rotator cuff injuries and car accidents, please visit my library article.

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Can a car accident cause the need for hip surgery?

Posted on October 9, 2011 by admin

In some cases, significant car accidents, especially side-impact auto accidents can cause hip injuries or aggravation of a pre-existing hip problem.  Trauma from a car accident to the hip can lead to very severe fractures. 

The treatment of these injuries can require the use of plates and rods or the revision of the hip replacement entirely with placement of a new, long femoral component to span the fracture.  The key in these kinds of injury cases is causation.  Was there is “mechanism of injury?”  The main question is whether or not the accident actually caused the hip injury.  Just because you have a hip problem doesn’t mean you get to blame a car accident.  If you had a pre-existing problem in your hip, the accident may have “aggravated” the condition but not necessarily made it worse.  Close consultation with a hip replacement surgeon is critical when it comes to hip injury and car accident personal injury cases.

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