Automobile insurance protects you and your vehicle from potential risks on the road. While every policy may differ, most auto insurance policies offer a range of coverages to suit individual needs. In this article, we will explore the various types of coverages commonly found in automobile insurance policies, helping you understand the protection they offer and how they can benefit you.  Having auto insurance is great.  Understanding what coverage you have is even better.  

Liability Coverage: Liability coverage is typically mandatory in most jurisdictions (like California). It provides financial protection in case you are at fault in an accident, causing bodily injury or property damage to others. This coverage helps pay for medical expenses, legal fees, and property repairs for the affected party.  If you don't have liability insurance, you are opening yourself up to lawsuits and claims which you will have to pay for out of your own pocket.  Also, if you are injured by another person's negligence, your recovery options are limited if you were not covered by auto insurance (depending on all the circumstances). 

Collision Coverage: Collision coverage pays for the repair or replacement of your vehicle if it is damaged due to a collision with another vehicle or object, regardless of fault. This coverage is particularly useful for newer or more valuable vehicles, as it helps you recover repair costs.

Comprehensive Coverage: Comprehensive coverage protects your vehicle against non-collision-related incidents, such as theft, vandalism, fire, falling objects, and natural disasters. It ensures that you are covered for damages that are beyond your control and not caused by a collision.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage: Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) coverage protects you if you are involved in an accident caused by a driver who does not have insurance or lacks sufficient coverage to pay for damages. This coverage helps cover medical expenses and property damage for you and your passengers.

Medical Payments Coverage: Medical payments coverage helps pay for medical expenses resulting from an accident, regardless of fault. It can cover ambulance fees, hospital visits, surgeries, and other medical costs. Medical payments coverage may be required in some states.

Rental Car Coverage: Rental car coverage assists with the cost of renting a vehicle while your car is being repaired due to a covered claim. It typically has a daily limit and a maximum time frame for reimbursement.  Most insurance companies offer 30 days but make sure you stay within your allotted limits and daily rate.

Roadside Assistance Coverage: More and more insurance companies are offering this coverage.  Roadside assistance coverage provides support in case of breakdowns or emergencies on the road. Services may include towing, battery jump-starts, tire changes, fuel delivery, and locksmith assistance. This coverage can be beneficial, especially when you find yourself stranded.
Understanding the various coverages available in automobile insurance policies is crucial for selecting the right level of protection for your needs. From liability coverage to comprehensive and collision coverage, each type of coverage plays a significant role in safeguarding you, your passengers, and your vehicle.

Consider your individual circumstances, budget, and local requirements when choosing coverages to ensure you have adequate protection on the road. Remember to review your policy regularly and consult with insurance professionals to ensure your coverage aligns with your evolving needs.

It’s a question people often ask after an automobile accident. Do I need a lawyer? Generally speaking, the more significant your injuries are, the more you should consider getting a lawyer on your side. A lawyer can guide you and offer you strategic advice, whether or not you choose to hire a lawyer. Insurance companies have trained automobile adjusters, and their interests are not aligned with yours. No matter how nice the insurance adjuster seems to be, his or her interests are not congruent with yours.

As a general rule, it’s never a bad idea to consult with a lawyer after an automobile accident, even to get general advice. I spoke today with a client today who does not need an attorney. The accident was minor and all he needed was some general advice so he could approach the insurance company with eyes wide open. There were many things he did not know about that I was able to explain to him.

If this is not your world, there is nothing wrong with seeking the advice of someone who has been part of that world for years.  A good lawyer should tell you when involving an attorney would be a good idea.  Sometimes, it’s not a good idea to get the lawyer involved at the beginning.  Sometimes, you can wait a little while to evaluate your case. Either way, engaging in lengthy discussions with an insurance adjuster about your injuries is rarely in your best interest.  You may end up doing more harm than good to your case. 

So once again, the more serious your injuries are in the more serious the accident is, the more it makes sense to involve a lawyer. If you have nominal damage and nominal injuries, it doesn’t really make sense to involve a lawyer although a lawyer's advice may still prove to be helpful.

I recently represented a gentleman who got hit while riding his bike in a crosswalk. He was broadsided by a vehicle that was turning left and didn’t see him. He flew through the air and landed on the ground, incurring multiple injuries. He was taken to the hospital where he stayed three days. He then had to have several surgeries including shoulder surgery and knee surgery. He had lots of visible injuries and was basically laid up at home for six months.

His medical bills were approximately $75,000. Needless to say, the accident did not just affect him physically but also affected him emotionally and affected his daily life activities. Unfortunately, the other party had $100,000 in car insurance.  That's not bad but it's not great when the case should be worth more than that.  We were able to negotiate his medical bills and get him the best recovery we could. However, if he had additional coverage via "uninsured motorist"/"underinsured motorist", we would have had additional resources we could obtain.

For example, if he had a $300,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist policy, we could have pursued an additional $200,000 for him. You see, uninsured motorist coverage doesn’t just help you when the other party has zero insurance. It often helps you when the other side doesn’t have enough insurance. Luckily, the other party had at least $100,000 in insurance when they could easily have had $25,000 or $50,000 (basically it could have been worse). How much uninsured motorist should you get? I always tell clients to get as much as they can comfortably afford. You don’t want to go poor getting great insurance. By the same token, you want to make sure you have adequate insurance if you can comfortably afford it.

We are always looking for new ways to communicate with our clients. That’s why we created our new text phone line.  This allows you to text our firm which can be helpful when a traditional phone call isn't convenient.  Our text line can be found at the top of our website.

If you need help on the weekend or during the holidays (i.e., our office may be closed), or perhaps after normal work hours, you can try texting us if you have questions regarding an automobile accident.  We also encourage folks to send photos of the damage to your vehicle as well as damage to other vehicles.  If you have any visible injuries, take photos of those as well.  Remember, documentation is key. 

In addition to our new text phone number, we have a new Free Case Evaluation form available from the menu at the top of this website.  You will also find a dedicated button on our home page for the Free Case Evaluation on our website.  When you get to that page, please watch the helpful video before you fill out the questionnaire.  It’s very short and may help you when filling out the form. That way you can understand why we need the information we are asking for.

Once you fill out the free case evaluation form, or reach out to us via our dedicated text line, our office will be in touch with you to see how we might be able to assist you. Even if we can’t help you, we will try to answer your questions or, in some cases, refer you to a colleague who might be able to assist with your personal injury case.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

This is for our "Free Case Evaluation" page

Hello everyone and welcome to the personal injury case evaluation form. Thank you for visiting my website. My name is Robert Mansour and I am the attorney here, and I'm just gonna give you a real quick tour through this form. First of all, you can always just call us at the phone number you see there on the screen and my intake staff can speak with you about your case and take the relevant information. But if you'd rather fill out this form or maybe it's after hours or on the weekend, you can go ahead and fill out this form and also send us the information for us to take a look.

So it's very straightforward. Enter your name, your address - You don't have to enter your address, but it might be helpful in case we need to mail you some forms or anything. Your phone number, where you can be reached your email address.Now this is important because that way we can reach you. And also you'll receive an email confirmation of everything that you've submitted through this form. And of course we will as well.

The date of the accident would be very important. And then just tell us a little bit about what happened, you know, how did the accident occur? Tell us about your case. If it's an auto accident, please list your insurance company - who your insurance company is. And also the name of the person who caused the accident. Now that's important because we have to run something called a "conflict check" which means that if this person is somebody who is a client of ours already, or perhaps was a client of ours before, we would not be able to help you, because that would be a conflict of interest.  Now, if you don't know, that's okay, you can just leave that blank or just put, I don't know. Include the insurance of the person who caused the accident. If you, if you have that information, just go ahead and jot that down.

If there was a police report, please let us know. Also the police officer may have given you some idea of when the report would be ready. If not, you can simply call the police station and ask them roughly when they expect the report to be ready. Sometimes also the police will have the first page of the report available. And so sometimes they'll give you that even though the full report is not yet ready. And on that first page is a whole bunch of information that might be helpful to your case.

And then we'd like to learn more about your injuries after all, this is a personal injury website, personal injury law firm. And so if there was no injury or zero injury, we're probably not gonna be able to help you.  However, we can still answer your questions and provide you with general advice if you'd like.

It would also helpful if you could upload any car damage photos that you have. And if you don't have then try to get some - maybe your insurance company took some pictures - maybe if it was taken to a body shop and maybe they have some pictures. Sometimes tow yards take pictures as well. If you have photos, please go ahead and upload them here. If you have a copy of the police report, please upload it as well. Any damage to your body, any injuries, bruises, cuts, abrasions, things like that.  If you wish, and it would be easier, you can just go ahead and text all of that to us. We have a phone number that's available only for texting which you see there on the screen. And just go ahead and text us the photos if you wish.

Then down here, you could just indicate, you know, your primary reason and maybe you have multiple reasons. So pick as many as you want, you might have just general questions. You might be wondering if you have a case worth pursuing maybe you're looking to hire somebody or maybe you're just not sure what to do. You can go ahead and fill all that in and any additional information down at the bottom that you think would be helpful to our evaluation or you think we should know. And then just go ahead and submit the case evaluation form. You'll get a confirmation screen and you'll get a copy of a PDF full of all the information that you've written. You'll also get an email confirmation and a member of my team will contact you as soon as possible. Thank you so much for taking the time to fill out the personal injury evaluation form. 

​No one expects to wake up in the morning and that day and be in an auto accident.  However, California roadways are more congested than ever (although the pandemic has temporarily made roadways more tolerable).  As such, more people on the road equals more traffic accidents.  You don't plan on getting into an accident.  By definition, an accident is an unexpected event.  

Imagine you are driving down the street and suddenly, out of the corner of your eye, you see something moving towards you.  Next thing you know, someone has t-boned your vehicle.  You are shocked, and your adrenaline started pumping. What do you do? Here is an acronym that might help: SAFE 

S – Safety First              

First, check and assess injuries - yours and any passengers. If you feel you are too injured to move, don’t! Call 911 and wait for emergency personnel.  If you get out of your vehicle, be careful.  Other vehicles may still be driving around you.  Turn on your hazard lights and if you are able to move to the sidewalk or out of traffic, remember to do it safely.

A – Alert Authorities      

If you think anyone might be badly injured, call 911.  They will ask if anyone is injured.  If so, they will send emergency personnel. This is not the time to get out of your car and start yelling at other people, blaming them for this and that.  Now is the time to make sure those who are injured are attended to as quickly as possible.

F – Fact Collection           

Try to stay calm.  Emotions can run high and these days, you certainly don't want to get caught on cell phone video losing your composure. If you do see someone taking videos of the accident, get their information and see if they will share it with you.  Take photos of your own, as many as you can of your vehicle, the other person’s car, the street scene and intersection and anything that might help for later.

E – Exchange Info     
      
When the time is right, try to collect information from all the parties and any witnesses.  Sometimes the police will assist you with that.  Just stay clear and let them do their job. The exchange of information is essential to work through any sort of claim or legal process that could result from a car accident. Get names, addresses, phone numbers, license plate numbers, driver’s license numbers, insurance providers, policy numbers.  Use your cell phone to take pictures as writing things down can take too much time.  

At the end of the day, you cannot rewind the clock.  Just make sure you tend to your injuries.  If you are hurt, make sure to get medical attention.  Report the accident to your insurance company.  Talk to an injury attorney to get advice if you have questions.

After a severe auto accident, your vehicle will definitely need to be repaired. In California, you have the right to take your vehicle to any body shop of your choice. While that sounds like a great idea, you have to be very careful. Whether you proceed through your own insurance company to fix your vehicle or you proceed through the responsible party's insurance company, you should try to choose one of the body shops that's on their "preferred provider" list. It's kind of like going to a doctor that is in your health insurance network. If you go "out of network," or off the "preferred provider" list, that can cause problems.
​
Body shops that are within and insurance company network already have arrangements with that particular insurance company regarding fees they can charge, whether they be storage fees or tear-down fees (these are fees charged when the body shop expends time and effort tearing down your vehicle to look for additional damage that might be hard to see). They have a trusted relationship and you are less likely to run into problems.

While you can indeed use a body shop of your choice, said body shop may not have those same agreements with the insurance company. Therefore, It is very likely the insurance company will squabble with your chosen body shop over charges the insurance company deems unfair or unreasonable. For example, many body shops will not charge you "storage fee" (a huge profit center for many body shops and tow yards) while the vehicle is waiting to be repaired. Others will charge of storage fee ranging from $50 a day to well over $100 a day. As such, if you choose a body shop that is not within the network, your vehicle might be held hostage as it sits there while the insurance company and the shop squabble over this fee or the other fee.

Therefore, ask the insurance company (whether it be your insurance company or the other insurance company), which local body shops are within their network (i.e., preferred shops). Jot down the 3 or 4 shops they provide. Then research those shops online and decide which shop you're going to pick. In most cases, the shop you choose will be a reputable shop as insurance companies don't like to do work with questionable body shops. They want to work with body shops that will do a good job and will follow through on their work. As such, it is usually preferable in my opinion to choose a body shop that is on the insurance company's preferred provider list.

Perhaps one of the most annoying and persistent problems after a car accident can be tinnitus (often known as "ringing in the ears"). While tinnitus may not be physically painful, life threatening, or require surgery, it can certainly affect an individual and their daily life.  It's a persistent and pervasive problem that may never go away.

The condition is basically characterized by the feeling a "constant sound" for which there is no external source. In short, people with tinnitus perceive a constant sound and hear it all the time.  Sometimes, it's more prevalent when the surroundings are silent (like when going to sleep).  The sound victims of tinnitus hear is often described as a persistent buzzing or "ringing" in the ear. Sometimes it is very high pitch, like a buzz saw.

Many people have experienced tinnitus during their lifetime, even without being involved in a car accident or without having some type of underlying disease or medical condition. In most cases, it is difficult to identify the cause.  Sometimes taking certain medications like aspirin can cause temporary tinnitus.  However, when tinnitus persists, there are times when people simply have to learn to live with it. Some people use devices that create "white noise" to reduce their perception of the sound.

Tinnitus can be the result of an abnormality in the ear. It is commonly reported by people who suffered a head injury. In many cases, victims will seek the help of an Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) specialist who will often refer them for audiological testing to confirm the diagnosis and the severity of the problem. 

Sometimes the sound is in one ear more that the other.  In some cases, tinnitus can be brought about the loud sound of a car accident crash or the loud sound of airbags deploying. If the tinnitus is from a head or neck injury, it most often affects one ear more than another. In many cases, the condition will improve over time.  Many times, victims of car accident report the tinnitus to their health care providers only to be reassured that the problem is likely temporary and will soon subside.  However, if it doesn't subside, the accident victim should seek a specialist's care.

Of course, since tinnitus is only perceived by the individual, proving it to an insurance company (or a judge/jury) can be quite difficult. That is why any symptoms should be documented as quickly as possible after a car accident. Make sure you tell all your health care providers about the problem as soon as possible.  Reporting ringing in the ears six months after an auto accident will cause others to doubt your claim. You can imagine the insurance company will argue it's not related. Your credibility along with proper medical documentation is the key to your case.

If the tinnitus doesn't subside, some ENT doctors will recommend "tinnitus retraining therapy" (TRT). This is to help people who have tinnitus retrain themselves to cope with the sound. Retraining therapy has been around for years. It's a way of helping victims of tinnitus cope with the condition and hopefully find it less bothersome. Training generally involves educational counseling and sound therapy. Victims of tinnitus are taught about the physiological mechanisms of their condition and how new habits can help break the effects of that condition.

If you have tinnitus after an accident, make sure all your health care providers document your condition to the extent possible.  If the condition doesn't subside after a few weeks, see professional help from an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist and/or an audiologist. 

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

Hello, this is Robert Mansour. Today's video is about how to document your case if you have a significant injury from a car accident.  The important thing to keep in mind is that you've got to go get medical care right away, or as soon as you can, if you have a significant injury from a car accident. Because if you don't do that and you wait too long, the insurance company for the responsible party might argue that you weren't all that hurt after all. In other words, if you were really hurt, you would have gone to seek medical care.

Now, a few things to keep in mind. If your injuries are severe, and if you had problems before the accident, but they were not as severe, or perhaps your problems were dormant for a period of time ... two or three years you were doing fine ... one of the most effective things you can do is go back to the same doctor who treated you before. Because that doctor, he or she will very familiar with your care. They will know how you were before the accident, and how you are after the accident.

In fact, when that doctor comes to testify in court, if it comes to that, that doctor's testimony will be that much more believable, because the jury will be sitting there and saying, "Well, wait a minute. This doctor knows this person from before the accident. They've been their doctor for years. They would be the best person to articulate how the person was before, and how the person was after."

You see, if you go to a doctor that your lawyer refers you to, which is fine in some cases. But if you do that, then a jury or an insurance company or other person might look at that suspiciously, and say, "Well, wait a minute. Why aren't you going to the same doctor who helped you before?"

I had a client who had a very bad knee injury from the case, and needed knee surgery. The best doctor that we could use was his knee surgeon from before. He'd actually had a prior knee surgery on the same knee, but the accident made his knee much worse, and required another knee surgery.  So who better to go to than the previous knee surgeon? That was our best bet. In fact, that doctor's credibility is going to be much higher than any other doctor's credibility.

Also, if the defense or the insurance company hires their own expert, that expert is arguably a hired gun. They've been paid for their testimony. Versus your doctor, who is your doctor from before, who's known you for several years. Your doctor's going to carry much more credibility than their hired gun is going to carry.  Now, that's not always the case. But it's something to strategically keep in mind when dealing with severe injuries from auto accidents.

My name is Robert Mansour, and I hope you found this video to be helpful. Thanks for watching.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:
Hello, my name is Robert Mansour and today I want to discuss the importance of witnesses when it comes to automobile accidents, especially if there is no police report, and especially if liability is disputed. Both parties are arguing that it was the other person's fault. If you have a he said, she said, or he said, he said, or whatever number you want to come up with, whatever variable, but the point is, when you have disputed liability, the testimony or position of an independent witness can make or break the case. So, if you have somebody who comes up to you after an accident and says, "Here, here's my business card, I saw the whole thing, I think the other party was at fault." If you don't have a police report, then you should really try to get the statement from that independent witness.

Now, your lawyer can do that by hiring an investigator to go interview that witness. The insurance company might also be willing to interview the witness especially if the witness is helpful to you and you're talking with your company. After all your company may be on your side oftentimes, and they may pay out to fix your car and then they want to go after the other party for reimbursement, in which case they're going to want that witnesses statement to tip the scales in their favor.

But here's the thing regarding witnesses, a lot of times in my experience, I have found that witnesses are very cooperative in the very beginning. They're willing to take a few phone calls here and there, talk to this adjuster from this company, this other adjuster, maybe an investigator, but after that, their patience wears thin. And in my experience, the longer it takes after the accident, the more times that witness is contacted, the less likely they are to cooperate. Sometimes we will even issue subpoenas to witnesses and they just will ignore them. They won't even show up. Why? Because they're just tired of talking to people about the accident.
​
Now, of course you can compel them to come to court, the judge can issue a warrant for them, but do you think they're going to be very happy about that? Do you think they're going to want to cooperate with your side of the case if you drag them into court unwillingly? So, the trick with witnesses is to get their testimony down on paper in an interview format that's very solid so that you can use it later on if you need to. And once again, if that witness has been interviewed by a lot of people, they will become less and less cooperative as time goes on and as the days and weeks and months transpire from the date of the accident. Anyway, I hope you found this tip helpful regarding capturing witness testimony early on in your personal injury case. Thank you very much for watching.