Personal injury attorney | lawyer in Sacramento

Personal Injury

Whether you have been injured in an automobile / motorcycle / trucking accident, a slip and fall, an airplane or train accident, an assault, or any other kind of incident, nothing can be more frustrating than dealing with all of the procedural issues that come up – on top of trying to heal from your injuries. Some people may be reluctant to seek help from an attorney because they don’t want to be seen as litigious or greedy. But there are some very simple truths you about which you should be aware:

1. The insurance company is trying to pay you the lowest amount possible. If you have any experience dealing with an insurance adjuster, you have probably already figured this out. First, let’s look at the obvious (but often overlooked). This person’s title is “adjuster.” So what are they charged with adjusting? Your claim, downward. Adjusters do not get promoted for paying more than a claim is worth, or for repeatedly paying what a claim is worth. Their job is to “adjust” your claim to the lowest possible amount you will accept.
   
   Many injury victims think it will be easier, quicker, and cheaper to handle their own claim. In their mind, they can’t justify paying an attorney a fee from the proceeds of the settlement or verdict. They think the fee will reduce the amount they are paid for their claim. In most cases, nothing could be further from the truth.
   
   
2. First, an insurance adjuster will usually not take your claim seriously if you are not represented by an attorney. They have handled thousands of claims, and will often take advantage of those who have never negotiated a claim. An adjuster often will believe that if you didn’t think your claim was serious enough to hire an attorney, then why should he or she view your claim as being serious?
   
   Secondly, there are laws that can reduce your obligation to pay medical bills from the proceeds of a settlement or verdict, only if you hire an attorney. Not only is the adjuster’s job to pay you as little as possible, but there is also a collection agent, or a lien holder’s representative, whose job is to try to have you pay as much as possible for the medical bills, even if you had a policy of health insurance in place at the time of the incident. With these two professionals “working” on your claim, are you qualified to look out for your own interests?
   
   
3. The person(s) or company that injured you will not, in most cases, be financially destroyed if you are paid full value on your claim. Unless the conduct causing the injury was reckless (e.g., drunk driver) or intentional (e.g., an assault) many personal injury victims are concerned that if they are paid full value on their claim that they will financially destroy the person who injured them. Many people, out of the kindness of their own hearts, are reluctant to enforce their rights because they don’t want to punish somebody for an accident. This is usually derived from two courses of thought: (1) they realize that they could have made the same mistake; and (2) they believe that insurance rates are already too high because of “greedy” Plaintiffs and Plaintiffs’ attorneys.
   
   It is important to remember that people/companies have insurance policies to cover injuries to a third party – you. Secondly, there is a chance that you will be suffering long after all of the financial aspects of your claim have ended. Do you really want to feel sorry for the insurance company, whose sole purpose is to provide coverage for these types of events, especially knowing that they are trying to pay you as little as possible?
   
   
4. It is not a good strategy to find out what the insurance company is willing to pay, and then decide if you need an attorney. Many personal injury victims, in an attempt to “save money,” avoid conflict, and/or “choose the high road” will attempt to first resolve their claim on their own and then seek representation when they are dissatisfied with the insurance company’s offer. This is a very bad strategy for several reasons. First, the insurance adjuster is trained to use everything you say against you. This is why they will politely ask you if you mind if they record the telephone conversation.
   
   They will then pick and choose what you say and twist it into saying that you were at fault or are recovering at a rapid rate and that you will be fully recovered in no time, regardless of whether or not this is true. They will also politely ask you to sign a release to obtain all of your medical records. They do not do this to see if there are other injuries for which they can provide compensation. Rather, they are looking for pre-existing conditions to use against you at a later date, in order to argue that your claim is worth less. Of course, they rarely tell you that you have the right to refuse to provide them with these records (at that time), but it is often written in the authorization/release in such a manner that most laypersons don’t see it, or understand it.
   
   Secondly, by employing this strategy, you are negotiating something that is often too personally close. You may also be on medication or experiencing levels of pain that have an adverse impact on your judgment. Insurance adjusters are trained negotiators with respect to injury claims. Most injury victims do not have enough experience or training to meaningfully represent themselves in this process.
   
   Thirdly, should you later decide to seek representation, any mistakes you make in the negotiation will most likely hinder the attorney’s negotiation. Every time an adjuster speaks to a claimant or an attorney on the telephone, they are taking down notes, and “documenting the file.” Any perceived weakness, whether real or imagined, in your negotiation, will be used against you at a later date. Hiring an attorney after this process can minimize the damage, but it is not in your best interest to have your attorney enter into negotiations having to undo harm that you have done to your case.
   
   
5. You deserve to be compensated. Certainly, no attorney can go back in time and prevent the incident or make your injuries magically heal. Under our system of laws there is generally only one way in which accident victims are made whole, and that is by way of monetary compensation. Some people are uncomfortable with this concept, and trial attorneys are unfairly attacked in the media, but you deserve to be compensated. How else can you recover your property that was damaged, your lost wages, or all of the pain and suffering you have endured through no fault of your own? What about the impact that your injuries have had on your life, your family, your friends?

What should you do if you have been involved in an accident?

1. Cooperate with all authorities at the scene
   
   
2. Do not express your opinions as to whose fault the accident was. You are not the Judge or the jury.
   
   
3. Seek medical treatment, if necessary.
   
   
4. Do not speak to the insurance company until you have consulted with an attorney.
   
   
5. Consult with an attorney as soon as possible. Most attorneys will visit you in the hospital, if necessary.
   
   
6. Do not give a recorded statement to the insurance company.
   
   
7. Do not release your medical records to the insurance company prior to consulting with an attorney.

If you have been injured, please contact our office to discuss your case. You can tell us about your case confidentially online, or call us at (916) 441-5566.