If you get involved in a car accident, try to take certain steps immediately to protect yourself and your legal rights. The car insurance company overseeing your claim will search for reasons to deny or diminish your benefits, such as an admission of guilt or a delay in seeking medical care. What you do (and don’t do) after an accident can affect your ability to recover financial compensation for your losses. If you can, take the following steps:
1. Pull over at the scene of the crash. Never flee the scene of an accident without stopping.
2. Check yourself and anyone else involved in the accident to find out if there are any injuries.
3. Report the car accident and any injuries to the police by calling 911 right away.
4. Exchange contact and insurance information with the other driver(s).
5. Don’t admit fault for the car accident to the other driver or the police.
6. Write down a description of the other car, as well as its VIN and license plate numbers.
7. See a doctor for medical attention for your injuries without delay.
8. Contact your car insurance company to report the crash as soon as possible.
9. Report the car accident to the Department of Motor Vehicles within 10 days if anyone was injured or the property damage exceeds $750.
10. Contact a car accident lawyer before accepting an insurance settlement.
After you notify your insurance company about a car accident, it can contact the other driver’s insurer for you to start a claim. You will be contacted by an insurance claims adjuster soon after your crash. Be wary when talking to the adjuster, as he or she does not have your best interests in mind. Before signing anything given to you by an insurer, contact a lawyer to discuss your recovery options. You may be entitled to greater financial compensation than what is being offered.
If you can file a claim for damages, we will help you understand what types and amounts to list in your initial demand letter against the at-fault party. Every car accident case is unique, with different damages and losses survivors suffer. Seeking an appropriate amount can increase the odds of securing a successful insurance settlement. A auto accident lawyer from Nordanyan Law can review your case and calculate a fair amount to claim. Then, we can help you fight to obtain this amount or greater from an insurance company or another defendant in LA County.
• Existing medical debts
• Future hospital bills and health care expenses
• Temporary or permanent disability accommodations
• Past and future lost wages
• Vehicle repairs or replacement
• Physical pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Mental anguish
• Lost enjoyment of life
• Wrongful death damages
• Punitive damages
If you suffered catastrophic injuries or a loved one died in a car accident, your case could be worth a significant amount. Do not let an insurance company convince you to settle for less than the true potential value of your case. Retain an attorney from our firm to help you fight for the recovery you need to move forward in comfort and confidence. We can estimate the reasonable value of your case during a free initial consultation.
California has complex car accident laws that are important to understand as a victim. Otherwise, you could accidentally make a mistake that leads to less compensation for your damages – or no compensation at all. After a serious crash, contact an experienced car accident lawyer as soon as you can for information about your specific accident. We can make it easy to navigate the laws pertaining to your case.
Statute of limitations. One of the key laws to know is your statute of limitations, or deadline for filing a claim. In California, all crash victims have two years from the date of their car accidents to file injury claims and three years for property-damage only claims. The courts generally do not give exceptions to this rule. The clock may not start ticking until the date of discovery if this is after the date of the collision.
Fault-based car insurance. California follows fault-based car insurance laws. All drivers must carry adequate vehicle insurance: bodily injury coverage ($15,000 per person, $30,000 per accident) and property damage liability ($5,000). After an accident, injured parties will file claims with the at-fault party’s insurance provider for damage recovery. Injured victims may also have the right to bring lawsuits instead of insurance claims, depending on the situation.
Liability laws. The State of California does not bar a victim from financial recovery for partially causing an auto accident. Instead, the rules of pure comparative negligence will reduce the victim’s recovery award by his or her percentage of fault. Even if the victim was 99% responsible for causing the wreck, he or she could still recover 1% of a compensation award. An attorney from our firm can help you stand up for yourself against a comparative negligence defense.
One of the reasons clients hire Nordanyan Law is for our deep and working knowledge of California’s car accident laws. We stay updated on the latest changes in the law – and we also push for positive changes through our litigation. We are often at the forefront of the laws in California. Our mission is not just to help victims recover, but to make a positive impact on car accident laws in general through our legal representation.
Common Car Accident Injuries
Our car accident lawyers in California focus heavily on car accident law due to the frequency and severity of these accidents. We understand how these injuries impact people and how to best help them fight for appropriate compensation awards. We can help clients with all types of personal injuries during car accident claims.
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Back and neck injuries
• Permanent disabilities
• Scarring and disfigurement
• Bone fractures
• Major lacerations
• Soft-tissue injuries
• Burns
• Fatal injuries
• Wrongful death
We also help clients fight for compensation for nonphysical injuries. California law allows plaintiffs to demand compensation for their emotional, mental, and psychological suffering as well as their physical pain and economic losses. Our firm may be able to help you seek a fair amount for your pain and suffering, emotional damages, anguish, grief, distress, and post-traumatic stress disorder after a bad auto accident.
At Nordanyan Law, we want to help car accident survivors and the loved ones of those who lost their lives in vehicle collisions through the injury claims process. We handle all auto accident cases on a contingency basis. You are only charged a fee if we are successful in getting you compensation.
You may have grounds to bring a claim against one or more parties for your recent automobile accident, contact our car accident attorneys today to set up a free consultation to discuss your case with an experienced lawyer.
We will help you get the justice and compensation you deserve for a wide-range of Personal Injury cases: Motor Vehicle Accidents, Premise Liability, Slip and Falls, Dog Bites/Animal Attacks, Catastrophic Injury Accidents, Wrongful Death Accidents, and more.
Founded by Minas Nordanyan, since 2014 the Burbank-based law firm has been actively pursuing Workers' Compensation and Personal Injury claims throughout Southern California. The firm has built a reputation on getting MAXIMUM RECOVERY for the injured and is not afraid to go all the way to Trial/Judgement. The firm has over 10+ Awards granted by Judges in the 6 digits.The firm has multiple attorneys who are members of www.caaa.org and www.caala.org. They are two leading associations in Workers Compensation and Personal Injury in California as the attorneys strive to stay current with all the changes in the Law.
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