Los Angeles Attorneys

If you were injured in a car accident and believe that someone else was at fault, then yes, it is always worth filing a lawsuit against them. Even if you have no health insurance or if your insurance provider refuses to pay your medical bills, you can still seek compensation through litigation. If another driver caused your injuries, they should be held responsible for them.

If you’ve been injured in a car accident, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries. In fact, in some cases, you could even file a wrongful death claim. But it’s important to know what types of compensation are available for Los Angeles, CA car accident claims.

• Medical expenses
• Lost wages
• Property damage
• Non-economic damages
• Insurance Recovery
• Permanent Disability

What is my claim worth? What types of expenses may I be able to recover compensation for? Will my insurance policy cover this? These are all common questions that a person involved in a car accident may have, and a lawyer at Pacific Attorney Group may be able to answer these and many others. Arranging a free case review with a Los Angeles car accident attorney at our firm is one of the first steps you should take after a collision – it may serve to protect your right to maximum compensation.

Compensation may be defined as a sum of money paid to compensate, or make up for, losses or injuries that a person has experienced. In the realm of auto accidents, this is usually money paid by the insurance company of the driver that caused the collision to the victim or victims of the accident. The following types of compensation may be paid in a car accident claim or lawsuit:

Medical Treatment

Compensation paid for medical treatment may include any and all medical care that a victim has received in relation to the car accident. Hospitalization, doctor visits, physical therapy, medication, medical supplies and even mileage expenses to get to and from medical appointments may be covered. Future medical care may also be covered, if the victim will require ongoing treatment.

Lost Income

Money paid for lost income in a car accident claim may include any work that a victim has missed as a result of his or her injuries. It may also include loss of potential earnings, if a victim is unable to return to work in the same field or cannot return to work at all. Compensation for lost earnings can make all the difference as a car accident victim attempts to make ends meet even while unable to work.

Property Damage

This may include any and all damage to a vehicle and any personal property that was caused in the accident. Compensation for property damage can help a victim get his or her car repaired, may pay for an entirely new vehicle if the car was totaled, and can cover other damage to real property, clothing and more.

Pain and Suffering

Pain and suffering refers to compensation that usually falls under the category of non-economic damages, as these injuries cannot be easily quantified. Emotional and psychological trauma, physical pain and other suffering experienced by the victim may be compensable, depending on the case. These damages can be more difficult to obtain, but with the right approach it may be possible to recover fair compensation for non-economic injuries and losses.

If you have been injured as a result of someone else’s negligence, it is important that you hire a Los Angeles car accident lawyer who can protect your rights and recover compensation on your behalf.

The necessity of Legal Representation

The timeless truth is that in legal matters there is no substitute for the advice and advocacy of professional counsel. Should every car accident claimant retain a Los Angeles car accident attorney? The answer to this question is yes in all cases, no exceptions.

In settlement negotiations with unrepresented claimants on their own, the insurer’s agent has every advantage. First, they do it every day while most if not all claimants representing themselves are in the process for the first time. Then there is the claimant’s emotional state, in turmoil from stress and hardly conducive to either steadfast focus or logical analysis. Finally, the agents are practiced in the arts of deception and delay and not unwilling to employ these stratagems to trick claimants into accepting painfully insufficient settlement offers or losing their cases entirely and forever if delayed beyond the deadlines of statute of limitations in force in all states.

Our auto accident attorney in Los Angeles are aware of all the tricks of the insurance agent’s trade. When Pacific is on the case, settlement negotiations proceed with no unnecessary delay to fair, final offers in most cases. In exceptional cases where the insurers insist on unfair settlement offers or none at all because they believe they might prevail in trials, they find out to their disappointment and dismay that Pacific trial attorneys have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to persuade trial jurors to award damages that sometimes turn out to be much more than the plaintiff settlement proposals the insurers had rejected.

After the initial shock of your car accident, it can be hard to know what to do next. You might be injured, your car may be damaged, and you may be worried that you are going to have to pay out of pocket for the damages caused by the accident.

The first thing you should do is contact the police. You can call 911 if the accident is serious or life-threatening. If you are injured and need medical attention, get checked out at the hospital. The police will assist with this process by calling an ambulance and taking you there.

You also need to check on other drivers involved in the accident and make sure they are okay as well. If someone needs medical care, give them the information of a doctor that they can go see right away. Even if they say they do not need help, make sure that they are okay before leaving the scene of the accident.

If there are no injuries and you were not at fault; you should contact your insurance company as soon as possible. They will want to know about any injuries you suffered, what damage was done to your vehicle and any other details about the accident. You will probably also want to take pictures of the scene and the vehicles involved so that your insurance company can send them along with their report on the accident.

After you’ve spoken with your insurance company or another representative from your insurance company has arrived on the scene, make sure that you fill out an accident report form with them or give them any other information they need from you regarding how this accident happened and why it happened.

You should also contact any witnesses who might have seen what happened during this car crash and ask them if they would like to provide their contact information so that they can speak further with an investigator from your insurance company’s claims department or law firm if necessary.

In order to prove liability, you must show that the other driver was negligent (careless). Negligence is often defined as failing to take reasonable care in a situation where a person has a duty to act reasonably. In order for you and your car accident lawyer to bring a lawsuit against someone else for damages caused by their negligence, there are several things that need to be proven:

• The defendant had a duty of care toward you
• The defendant breached this duty of care
• As a result of this breach, you suffered an injury or property damage

A person who is involved in a car accident may experience various injuries, caused by the force of impact itself, by the airbag striking their face or hands, by the vehicle crumpling in on them, or by being ejected from the vehicle, and many other scenarios. The following are some of the types of injuries that a person may experience in a collision:

• Whiplash
• Head trauma
• Brain injuries
• Neck injuries
• Back injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Lacerations (cuts)
• Contusions (bruises)
• Broken bones
• Facial injuries
• Dental injuries
• Burns
• Amputation/loss of limb

For minor fender benders, there’s not much to do. Call your insurance company as soon as possible to report the incident. The insurance company will send someone to inspect the damage and take photos if necessary. In most cases, the other driver’s liability insurance policy will cover any damages to your vehicle or injuries sustained by passengers in your vehicle.

If you have been in an accident that was not your fault, then you may be able to use your own insurance coverage to pay for the rental car. Your insurance company will reimburse you for any reasonable expenses related to the accident, including vehicle damage and medical bills. However, if your insurance policy does not cover these expenses or if you have no insurance at all, then it becomes more difficult to determine who will pay for your rental car.

In a multi-vehicle car accident, the fault will be determined by the police officer who arrives on the scene. The officer will determine who is at fault based on a number of factors, including:

• The position of the vehicles involved in the accident
• How fast each vehicle was travelling when the crash occurred
• Whether any drivers were intoxicated or distracted by cell phones or other devices at the time of the crash
• Whether any other traffic violations occurred during the accident (i.e., driving too fast for conditions, failure to yield)

You’ve been in an auto accident, and now you’re asking for information about it. This brief guide should help to explain what you can expect going forward, as well as some advice on how to handle the situation.

Still have questions? We encourage you to pick up the phone and contact us as soon as possible. In cases involving personal injury accidents, you do not have the luxury of taking your time. You need to move quickly to ensure that your legal rights are protected as you fight for maximum monetary compensation. Our firm knows what is on the line – we will do everything that we can to help you protect your legal rights.

After an accident, you may wonder whether you have grounds for a lawsuit and what person can be held responsible for the injuries you or a loved one have sustained. The general principle of personal injury law in Los Angeles is that the incident must have stemmed from negligence, intentional wrongdoing, or strict liability. In these cases, the defendant (the person responsible for your injuries) must have acted or failed to act and this caused your injuries. The actions may have been intentional, as in the case of an assault, or unintentional, as in most motor vehicle accidents.

If you have recently been injured or made ill by the actions of another, then you are likely well-aware of the confusion that can arise from dealing with a personal injury claim. If you have questions that you would like answers to, we encourage you to contact a lawyer from our firm as soon as possible. Over the years, we have proven to be advocates for the rights of the accused – you can trust that we will go above and beyond in our efforts to help you during this troubling time. Below, we have compiled some of the most commonly asked questions and answers. Please read through these and contact us if you have further questions.

Simply speaking, the statute of limitations (SOL) is the given timeline that you have following an injury; it is a window of opportunity that you have to file a claim. In California, general personal injury and negligence claims have a SOL of two years. This involves the Discovery Rule, however, which means that the SOL does not apply until the injury or illness has been discovered or would have reasonably discovered. There is a one year SOL for cases of wrongful death, although this does not apply to cases involving asbestos or medical malpractice. For medical malpractice, it is three years.

No two cases are exactly the same, and as such it may be difficult to determine exactly what your injury claim should be worth. However, a lawyer experienced with these matters can work with experts in medicine and economics to establish what your case should be worth – based upon what amount of compensation will best help you rebuild your life as much as possible.

Personal injury law covers a broad range of accidents and injuries, all related to or stemming from negligent or intentional conduct or strict liability. All types of auto accidents are covered under personal injury law and are the most common grounds for these types of cases. Additional cases may involve medical malpractice, dog bites, slip and fall accidents, defective products as well as toxic exposure and poisoning.

Depending on the case, whatever party or parties who caused your injuries may be held responsible. In an auto accident, this may be the driver of the other car. In a case involving medical malpractice, this may be the doctor that made a mistake or acted carelessly in providing your medical care. If you were injured by a defective product or a defective drug, the manufacturer may be held liable. By investigating your particular incident and what led to your injuries, an experienced Los Angeles personal injury lawyer can determine against what party you may be able to file a claim or lawsuit.