One of the best ways to maximize compensation for a personal injury claim is to hire an experienced California personal injury lawyer. An attorney can help you take the steps you need to take to protect your legal rights. Your lawyer also helps you avoid common mistakes many people make when handling an injury claim without an attorney.
However, there are several things that you can do to help your personal injury lawyer maximize compensation.
Four Ways You Can Help Your Personal Injury Attorney Get the Most Money for Your Claim
1. Don’t delay seeing a doctor.
Delays in medical treatment can hurt your personal injury claim. Don’t give the insurance company or the other party any reason to dispute your claim. See a doctor as soon as possible to document your injuries from the accident. Follow up with your physicians and stay with your treatment plan until your doctor releases you from treatment.
2. Document your injuries and financial losses.
Throughout your recovery, document your injuries by taking photographs of the injuries and making notes about your recovery. Include notes about your pain level and how the injuries impact your daily activities and relationships with others. Carefully document your financial losses and expense, such as medical bills, lost wages, and travel expenses. Keep copies of receipts, invoices, and other evidence of financial losses.
3. Don’t work directly with the insurance company.
Don’t provide a statement or sign any documents for the insurance provider until you have an opportunity to talk with a personal injury lawyer. Anything you say could be used later in the case to undervalue or deny your claim. Signing releases and other documents could result in a much lower settlement amount, or you could give up some of your legal rights to pursue a claim.
4. Don’t accept a settlement claim without speaking with an experienced California personal injury lawyer.
Most initial settlement offers are well below the actual value of a personal injury claim. Until you have a chance to meet with a personal injury lawyer to discuss your claim, you may not want to accept a settlement offer. Once you accept the settlement offer, your claim is closed. You cannot seek additional compensation even if you discover additional injuries or damages.
Accepting a settlement amount before you complete treatment for your injuries can result in the loss of thousands of dollars. It is impossible to know the exact value of your claim until the full extent of your injuries is known. If your injuries result in permanent impairments or disabilities, you might be entitled to additional compensation for future damages.
A personal injury lawyer understands how to calculate the maximum value of your injury claim.
Contact Our California Personal Injury Lawyers for More Information
Our law firm handles a variety of personal injury claims, including claims related to motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, premises liability, dog attacks, elder abuse, and defective products.
For a free consultation with one of our California personal injury lawyers, contact The Tiemann Law Firm by calling (916) 999-9000 or by visiting our website. Our legal team is here to help you seek the compensation you deserve after being injured by another party.
With the high cost of car insurance, it is not uncommon for drivers to search for ways to lower their car insurance premiums. Shopping around for car insurance is one way to reduce insurance premiums. Using one insurance company for all your insurance needs is another way to save money on car insurance. A new way to save money offered by some car insurance companies is by using an insurance tracking device to document safe driving for discounts.
What Are Insurance Tracking Devices for Safe Driving Discounts?
Several of the largest car insurance providers have introduced new ways to save money on car insurance premiums. Some insurance companies offer usage-based insurance programs that reduce the premium for drivers who do not drive as much as other drivers. Other companies have instituted safe driving discounts that are based on a driver’s actual, real-time driving behaviors.
Unfortunately, the way that the insurance companies track usage and driving behavior is by collecting data. Some companies use car tracking devices installed directly into the vehicle. Other companies use apps on a person’s cell phone to track driving behavior. In either case, the driver is giving up his or her privacy. It may save the driver money on insurance premiums, but the data collected can also be used in other ways.
Using Tracking Data in a Car Accident Case
Data collected from car insurance tracking devices and apps could be used in a car accident case to prove fault for a crash. A defense attorney could subpoena the data from the insurance company. Why would a defense attorney go through the trouble of getting this information? To try to blame you for contributing to the cause of the accident.
If you contributed to the cause of the car accident, your compensation can be reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to you for the collision under California’s comparative fault laws. Insurance companies always look for ways to reduce the amount of money they pay for an accident claim. If it can use your insurance tracking device against you, it will.
Of course, insurance tracking data could work in your favor. If the other driver uses a tracking device or app, the data retrieved could prove that the other driver caused the car crash.
Because the technology is still somewhat new, many attorneys may not be aware that they should check for data during a car accident investigation. Hiring an experienced car accident attorney in California can help you protect your rights and seek fair compensation for a car accident claim. An experienced attorney understands how the latest technology and safety features can be used to recover key evidence that helps prove liability and fault for a car accident.
Contact Our Sacramento Car Accident Lawyers for a Free Case Review
Before you discuss your claim with an insurance adjuster or accept a settlement offer for a car accident claim, talk to one of our Sacramento personal injury lawyers. We can review your case to determine your options for pursuing compensation for all damages from the driver who caused your car crash.
Call The Tiemann Law Firm at (916) 999-9000to schedule a free consultation with one of our California car accident lawyers.
Our California wrongful death lawyers handle a variety of cases involving the death of an accident victim. A wrongful death claim can arise from many different situations, including but not limited to:
- Car Accidents
- Premises Liability Claims (slip and fall accidents, swimming pool accidents, amusement park accidents, etc.)
- Motorcycle Accidents
- Medical Malpractice
- DUI Accidents
- Pedestrian Accidents
- Dog Attacks and Animal Attacks
- Commercial Vehicle and Truck Accidents
- Defective Products
- Elder Abuse
- Bicycle Accidents
Almost any personal injury accident can result in a wrongful death. Unfortunately, there are several defenses to wrongful death claims. Our experienced Sacramento wrongful death attorneys are familiar with wrongful death defenses and how to overcome many of the ways people try to avoid taking responsibility for their negligence and wrongdoing.
Defenses to Wrongful Death Claims
There are many different ways a party may try to avoid liability for a wrongful death accident. Four common defenses used by many parties are:
Self-Defense
If a death occurs because of a physical altercation or attack, the party causing the death may argue that he or she was only acting in self-defense.
Assumption of Risk
Another wrongful death defense that a party might claim is the assumption of risk. This defense can be used with or without a waiver or release of liability. The party claims that the person who died knew that an activity or action held certain risks of injury or death and decided to participate even though he or she understood the risk.
Comparative Fault
Comparative fault alleges that a victim had some responsibility in the cause of his or her death. For instance, a person was speeding at the time of a deathly car accident; therefore, the victim is partially at fault for the crash that took his life. According to comparative fault laws, the victim is not entitled to full compensation for damages because he contributed to the cause of the accident.
Statutes of Limitation
Wrongful death lawsuits must be filed before the expiration of the statutes of limitation for such claims. Statutes of limitation set deadlines for filing certain types of claims. In most cases, California wrongful death lawsuits must be filed within two years of the date of death.
However, some exceptions can lengthen or shorten the time to file a wrongful death claim. For instance, wrongful deaths arising from a medical malpractice claim usually must be filed within three years of the date of death.
Contact a Sacramento Wrongful Death Lawyer for Help
Losing a loved one is never easy, but it can be very traumatic when the death is unexpected and sudden. Thinking about a lawsuit is usually one of the lowest priorities after the death of a family member. However, as stated above, your time to file a claim is limited.
If you suspect that the death of your loved one was because of the error, negligence, or wrongdoing of another party, contact our office to discuss your situation with an understanding wrongful death lawyer. We can help you investigate the death of your family member to determine whether you have a claim for wrongful death.
Contact The Tiemann Law Firm at (916) 999-9000 or by visiting our website to schedule a free consultation with one of our California wrongful death lawyers.
Do you have questions about a car crash? It is natural to have many questions about a car crash, especially if this is the first experience with a traffic accident. A majority of the questions about car accidents concern filing an injury claim and receiving compensation for damages. Our Sacramento accident lawyers answer all your questions about car accident claims during a free consultation, including the three most company questions shown below.
Three Most Common Questions Asked About Car Accident Claims
Question One: How much is my car crash claim worth?
This question is typically one of the top three questions asked during every consultation. Traffic accidents result in a variety of damages, including financial losses, pain, and suffering. It is normal to want to know how much your claim is worth so that you know how much money you may receive to catch up bills, pay debts, and get back on your feet.
Our Sacramento personal injury attorneys are honest with clients. Giving you a figure during your first visit is not ethical. We need to investigate your case and carefully analyze all the factors to calculate the maximum value of your claim.
Furthermore, if you are still under the care of a doctor, we do not want to value your cause because your damages could be much more severe when you complete treatment. We want to know all the facts before calculating the value of your claim so that we can give you the best chance of recovering maximum compensation for all damages.
What we will do now is work with you closely to document each type of damage and loss to ensure we include all damages when calculating your claim.
Question Two: How long does it take to get my money after a car crash?
You do not receive compensation for a car crash until the claim is settled. A settlement might occur at any time after the car crash through the end of a trial. Once an injury claim is settled, you typically receive your portion of the settlement proceeds within 30 to 60 days. Of course, if the amount is set by a trial, a defendant can appeal the verdict, which would delay the receipt of the settlement until the appeal is resolved.
The important thing to remember is that you do not want to settle your car crash claim too early. Settling your injury claim before you complete medical treatment, have all the facts/information, or have a full understanding of the extent of your financial and physical damages could result in receiving a much lower settlement amount. Work with your attorney to determine the best timeline to use that gives you the best chance of an optimum result.
Question Three: What does it cost to hire an attorney for a car crash claim?
In most cases, our Sacramento personal injury lawyers accept car crash claims on a contingency fee basis. With a contingency fee, you do not pay upfront attorneys’ fees when you hire our law firm. Our attorneys’ fees are paid as a percentage of the money we recover for your injury claim. Therefore, if you are not paid, our attorneys’ fees are not paid.
A contingency fee agreement allows you to have the legal counsel, support, and aggressive advocacy of trained trial attorneys to help with your car crash case, regardless of whether you have the funds right now to hire a law firm. We believe all injury victims deserve to have legal help as they seek fair and just compensation for a car accident claim.
Contact a Sacramento Car Crash Attorney for More Information
You likely have many more questions about your car accident and injury claim. Instead of trusting an insurance adjuster who works for the insurance company, get advice from a trusted legal advocate who only works for injury victims like you.
Contact The Tiemann Law Firm at (916) 999-9000 or by visiting our website to schedule a free consultation with one of our California car crash attorneys.
Whiplash is a common soft tissue injury that occurs as a result of motor vehicle accidents. However, whiplash is also a common injury in premises liability cases (slip and fall accidents), sporting injuries, recreational activity accidents, workplace accidents, and physical assaults. Many cases of whiplash heal within a few weeks, but some whiplash victims experience long-term or chronic whiplash symptoms and complications.
Seeking medical treatment from an experienced physician and legal advice from a trusted Sacramento whiplash attorney can help protect your health and legal rights after sustaining a whiplash injury.
Common Whiplash Injury Signs and Symptoms
Whiplash injuries occur when your head is thrown suddenly in a backward-forward motion. The sudden motion extends the neck, causing the soft tissues to extend and potentially tear. The result can vary from minor pain to severe headaches and limited range of motions.
Five of the most common symptoms of whiplash injury include:
1. Neck Pain and/or Stiffness
2. Loss of Range of Motion
3. Headaches
4. Dizziness
5. Shoulder, arm, and/or upper back pain and tenderness
If you experienced any of the above symptoms, it is a wise choice to see a doctor so that the doctor can confirm whiplash and evaluate the extent of the injury. Minor whiplash injuries may be treated at home with rest and time. Most severe whiplash injuries might require substantial medical treatment. Chronic or traumatic cases of whiplash might require braces, physical therapy, injections, or surgery. A medical provider is trained to evaluable, diagnose, and propose the correct treatment plan for whiplash.
Brain Injuries Associated with Whiplash
When the head is thrown backward and forward, neck injuries are common. However, brain injuries may also occur. A closed head injury occurs when the brain moves around within the skull because of a sudden motion. The soft brain tissue strikes the bony portions of the skull causing brain damage. The severity of the brain damage depends on the location of the damage and the level of damage.
Some symptoms after whiplash that could indicate a closed brain injury or traumatic brain injury include, but are not limited to:
- Blurred vision
- Loss of consciousness
- Fatigue
- Ringing in the ear
- Depression
- Sleep disturbances
- Lack of concentration
- Memory problems
- Mood swings and irritability
- Nausea and/or vomiting
- Slurred speech
- Lack of coordination
If a person experiences any symptoms that could also be associated with a brain injury or other injuries after a whiplash injury should see immediate medical attention. Also, victims whose symptoms persist or continue to worsen after a whiplash injury should see a doctor as soon as possible. Prompt medical attention can help prevent the development of serious complications and worsening conditions.
Whiplash Can Result in Long-Term Conditions
A whiplash injury can result in long-term impairments and disabilities. Some victims are unable to return to normal daily activities of living or return to a normal work schedule. The damages in a whiplash can be substantial. For that reason, you need an experienced Sacramento whiplash attorney to investigate your case, identify the cause of the whiplash, name the responsible parties, and seek full compensation of all damages.
Contact our Sacramento Whiplash Attorneys for Help
If you suffer from whiplash, let us help. Contact The Tiemann Law Firm by calling (916) 999-9000 or by visiting our website to request your free consultation to discuss your accident and injury claim with a Sacramento whiplash attorney.