Category Archives:Personal Injury Attorneys

October 02, 2010 Personal Injury Attorneys
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Personal Injury Attorneys in Redding

The main reason of personal injury is an accident by any means such as motor-vehicle accident, collapse of building, fall, violence etc. The damage caused by these accidents is very much disastrous and life threatening. However, the damages caused by these accidents are legally recoverable. Therefore, it is very important to know how a personal injury attorney in Redding will provide legal representation to injured persons in order to get adequate compensation.

Personal injured persons are entitled for following damages which could be make available by personal injury attorneys in California very quickly:

  • Medical Expenses: includes all sorts of medical expenditure required for victims’ medical treatment like hospitalization, doctor’s fees, medicines etc.
  • Rehabilitation for victims: in an accident, the victim got injured badly and his/her body muscles bended that requires a physiotherapist to regain the shape of the body; the injured person has also legal right of rehabilitation of this kind.
  • Lost wages: if the accident is very severe, consequently, the victim is not able to go to his/her work place, thus, the victim has legal right to get lost wages from the offender.
  • Some other rights victims could ask to offenders are – claim for pain and anguish, compensation for property damage, and in some other cases victims could also ask for punitive damages. The purpose of punitive damages is only this that offender do not repeat his/her reckless behavior in future again.

Whenever, you or your loved one face any type of accident such as motor-vehicle accident, violence, fall etc. it is crucial to contact personal injury attorney to get your problem solved properly. If you do not represented by the Council it is not necessarily mean that you might get a court appointed personal injury attorney, provided by law of California Court. On the other hand, if you hire inexperienced or less knowledgeable attorney again you are in difficulty. Therefore, it is necessary to consult a well experienced and knowledge attorney to get proper evaluation of your case.

Since, injury occurred due to an accident is a complex problem and some time it is very difficult to prove the fault of offenders; secondly, most of the personal injury victims have misunderstanding that they are also responsible for their injury or paucity of knowledge i.e. where to go or whom to consult, subsequently, they do not consult any personal injury attorney. But the personal injury attorney has sufficient knowledge and experience to solve your problem effectively. He can provide legal representation to analyze your case which ultimately assists you to get impartial judgment and maximum compensation. Personal injury attorneys are very adept and have presentation techniques which support the judge to find the truth easily. Therefore, it is always suggestive and essential to consult personal injury attorney immediately after an accident.

September 11, 2010 Insurance, Personal Injury Attorneys
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When Should You Consult With An Accident Attorney?

You have been in a accident, automobile, slip and fall, workplace, etc.. Should you see or speak with an attorney?

The answer is always yes.

When should you consult with an accident attorney? You should seek the advise of an accident attorney as soon as possible after the accident. Do not wait. You could be giving up certain rights. You should definetly speak with an attorney before speaking with the other sides insurance agent, adjuster or attorney.

You say that you can not afford an attorney. Most accident attorneys will consult with you for free and, if they take your case, will handle it on a contingency basis, not taking any fee untill the case is settled. Most settlements are increased to cover the cost of the attorney and therefore normally the attorney costs you nothing. Many attorneys will also advance all court costs for you if they are forced to file suit.

You say that you were injured, however, the insurance company has offered to pay your medical bills and you do not feel it is right to take advantage of them by asking for additional money for your, pain, suffering, lost work, etc.. Don’t you feel that you as a person are worth something? Do you think so little of yourself that you feel that your pain, suffering, inconvience, etc. is worthless. You did not cause this accident. What you are going through was caused by someone else. You deserve to be compensated. The insurance company, as a matter of good business, has already built these types of costs into the premiums that they charge their customers. If the money does not go to you it will probably go to their shareholders or to increased salaries or ?. Why shouldn’t you be properly compensated. Remember most good attorneys are ethical and although they will attempt to obtain as much money for you as is due, they will not take your case unless they feel that it is proper.

You say someone else admitted liability and said that their insurance will pay all your damages. That’s great, however, what if the person changes his or her story later on and says that you were at fault. Or what if the other side’s insurance company refuses to pay what you think is proper. In fact, how do you know what is proper? Remember, an insurance company may pay claims, but it is in business to make money. It normally will not offer one dollar more than it has to and if you are not represented by an attorney the insurance company adjuster or attorney may feel that he or she can “get away” with paying much less than the claim may be worth. Additionally, what people state at the time of an accident is not always what they state after having spoken with a friend, insurance agent or attorney. Finally, an insurance adjuster or insurance attorney works for the insurance company, not for you. How do you know that what they are telling you is correct or true. Remember, in most instances, they are there to try and save the company money. You need an attorney on your side to tell you what your rights and obligations are.

You say that you were not hurt that bad or at all. How do you know how badly you were hurt. Some injuries do not show up for months. Other injuries may aggrivate a prior problem. Even if you have been found to be “ok” by a doctor, how do you know that a problem will not come up later. If you have insurance and did go to a doctor, who is going to pay your co-pay or deductible. If you do not have health insurance, who is going to pay for your examination which should include xrays, etc.. If you retain an attorney he or she can probably refer you to a doctor who will accept a lien against the insurance settlement, thereby saving you from paying money out of your pocket.

You say you have accident insurance, why not let them handle everthing for you. Your insurance company is there to defend any claims against you not to represent you in any claims against other parties. Additionally, they also are in business to make money. How do you know if they are trying to settle a case to help you or to save themselves money.

August 19, 2010 Compensation, Personal Injury Attorneys
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How to Determine Compensation For Pain and Suffering

Injuries may come to pass in public venues, in the homes of friends or acquaintances, or even in the workplace. If an injury happens in any of these venues there is often a possibility of receiving compensation for your pains and stress that have happened because of your injury. This sort of law is referred to commonly as personal injury law. There are attorneys that specifically work in this field of law. They look to help people win back money for the injuries that they have suffered.

A personal injury can be a big thing or a little thing. This could mean that someone slipped and fell because of a wet floor in a supermarket. Perhaps the wet floor was not marked with a sign and it caused them to bump their head and break their leg. When this happens the store is liable for the injury sustained. The injury does not have to be as significant as a broken leg however.

There are some people that have suffered smaller problems, such as drinking coffee that was a little too hot. The customer did not recognize that the coffee would be too hot to drink and burned her mouth. By doing this she was subject to pain for some time. Although this sounds like a small problem, she actually received millions of dollars in compensation for her injury. Whether you have broken a leg or burned your mouth, you may have a personal injury case that an attorney would look into.

Each attorney has their qualifications available to be researched. Make sure that you find an attorney that will have the skills and education necessary to take care of you if you seek their help. Another thing to consider when choosing your attorney is whether or not you will be able to afford the attorney. Each attorney charges different rates and has different plans for their services. Some charge by the hour while others only charge when their client is rewarded with money.

Choose the personal injury attorney that is right for you if you are seeking compensation. These attorneys are often found in commercials, on billboards or in ads in your local phonebook.

August 07, 2010 Personal Injury Attorneys
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How Should You Choose A Personal Injury Attorney?

(As published in Shasta Business Journal)

It’s a constant source of amazement to me (and bewilderment) hearing how the average individual decides which attorney or even which doctor to hire.

Often, it is no more than an advertisement on TV or a glaring, boastful sign stuck on the back of a taxicab or telephone book that makes the difference. How often do you hear someone say, “well he’s such a nice person” or “he looks so distinguished” as an explanation as to why they chose a particular doctor or attorney.

As in medicine, if you have a legal problem, you want to get the attorney that specializes or restricts his practice to the specific area of your problem. If you were going to have back surgery, you would want THE doctor that does more of that type of surgery successfully than any other doctor around.

Likewise, if you have a personal injury case, you want an attorney or firm that specializes its practice in personal injury work. Now that’s not the same as saying “handles” a lot of personal injury cases. Handling a case or representing thousands of clients can simply mean that the attorney settles the cases quickly and cheaply rather than actually take any of them to a jury trial. Indeed, the majority of so-called personal injury attorneys have NEVER HAD A JURY TRIAL or very few of them. Beware of the attorney that advertises a multitude of areas of practice.

Why is extensive and successful JURY TRIAL EXPERIENCE important to you? Simply because the insurance companies that pay out the money for the negligent conduct of their insured’s that injure you, will NOT PAY FAIR VALUE if they know that your attorney will not go to trial if pushed. They know who settles easy and who gets top dollar for their clients—and it’s always—without exception — the attorneys that try the most cases to a jury that also get the best settlements for their clients

What should really scare you, is that more than three quarters of the attorneys that claim (in the yellow pages) that they handle personal injury cases, have never actually taken a personal injury case to a jury (court trials don’t count since insurance companies NEVER WAIVE A JURY TRIAL).

So what do you do? JUST ASK YOUR ATTORNEY: “how many personal injury JURY trials have you tried to completion?” “How successful have you been?” Most will give you an honest answer although may attempt to undermine it’s importance. Ask around—spend as much time researching who you should hire for your serious personal injury case as you would spend researching the value of a car or home purchase—it could actually mean that much to you in the long run!

Don’t be too impressed by the vast numbers of legal organizations that most attorneys are “members” of—they are, for the most part non-selective and anyone can join. For Trial attorneys, however, there is one organization, The American Board of Trial advocates (ABOTA) that is invitational only—they only invite the attorneys with the most trial experience to join; even then, they have three levels—Associate, Advocate, and Diplomat, with Associate being the less experienced and Diplomat being the most experience. The few attorneys that qualify for this organization are not allowed to advertise that fact, but if you ask them, they can tell you if they belong and what their ranking is.

In addition, Martindale-Hubbell is the only universally recognized authority within the law profession in actually rating attorneys by both legal competence and ethical standards. The Highest rating is “AV-Pre-eminent”; the lowest being CV. A lack of rating in Martindale-Hubbell is tantamount to less that CV. Again, ask you prospective attorney what his Martindale-Hubbell rating is and whether he is a member of ABOTA.

Obviously, if you could choose the perfect attorney for a serious personal injury case, he or she should be a member of ABOTA, have an “AV-Pre-eminent” Martindale-Hubbell rating, and have taken ever-so-many personal injury cases successfully to jury trial.