Motorcycle Accidents Archives - Experienced Attorneys Upland

Nov 20 2015

Why You Need A Personal Injury Attorney

I need a personal injury attorney? Anyone who has ever had to deal with an insurance company will tell you that it is nearly impossible to get a fair settlement. That is why you need the assistance of an experienced personal injury attorney. A minor collision involving only vehicle damage may not require a personal injury attorney. It is a different story in cases involving serious injury or even death. It is easy to get compensated for a scratched fender from an insurance company. It usually takes getting a few estimates and submitting them to the adjuster. It is far more complicated when serious injury or death is concerned. The insurance company will offer you a settlement that is good for them but it will most definitely short change you. That is unless you have an experienced personal injury attorney on your side.

A Personal Injury Attorney Can Get You The Settlement You Deserve!

Determining what is fair compensation for a spinal cord injury, head injury, broken bones or the death of a loved one is a daunting task. Insurance companies use many techniques to reduce or deny your claim. They may try to assign blame to you. They may not agree to pay all of you medical bills or future medical bills. In short, they will do everything possible to get the best deal for them.

Our expert personal injury attorney have more than 100 years of practice experience. Our experts will accurately determine the value of your case (“damages”). Damages in a personal injury case include: Medical bills, future medical treatment, lost wages, loss of future earnings, pain and suffering, property damage and many others. An experienced personal injury attorney from the Law Offices of Marc Grossman can get you the settlement you deserve.

Our personal injury attorneys use modern science and forensic investigation along with medical specialists, economists and other experts to maximize your claim. We unleash these resources on the insurance company if they won’t agree to settle for what you deserve. The insurance company will usually make a more reasonable settlement offer when faced with the mountain of evidence uncovered by our experts.

What if they are unwilling to settle? We will use the courts to force them to pay what you deserve. Our personal injury attorneys have more trial experience that most law firms in the area. We are not afraid the take on the toughest insurance company lawyers. We know that if we are taking your case to trial, we have done everything possible to prove your case. that is how we have won hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients.

Anyone can hire the best personal injury attorney. We never charge any upfront fees for our personal injury clients. Our fees are factored into the settlement. This means you pay nothing out of your pocket to hire one of the best personal injury attorneys. So, no matter what your financial circumstances are, we can help.

“Our promise to you is that you will not pay us a dime unless we get you the settlement or verdict that you are entitled to.”

Call us today for a free, no obligation consultation 1-855-LOMG-911 or use the contact form on this page to request a call or email from one of our personal injury experts.

Aug 29 2015

10 Things Insurance Company Doesn’t Want You To Know

10 Things Your Insurance Company Doesn’t Want You to Know.

Whether you will recover damages from an insurance company and how much you will recover often depends on your knowledge of your policy and how the insurance company administers your insurance claim.

Knowing these 10 principles will help you to take on your insurance company and maximize your claim.

1. An insurance company must act in utmost good faith in their dealings with a policy holder.

An insurance company cannot cause an unreasonable delay in settling your claim or put its financial interests ahead of yours. They cannot lowball your claim by paying less than its true value. Insurance companies cannot use deceptive tactics or trickery in sales or claims handling. In essence the insurance company must treat you fairly. If they don’t, they have breached their duty of good faith which the law imposes on insurance companies. It exposes the carrier to potentially significant damages.

2. If an insurance company breaches its duty or treats you unfairly they may be compelled to pay your attorney fees.

So your insurance company has unreasonably denied your claim or delayed settling it and you have had to hire an attorney to make them treat you fairly. Your attorney will go after them and force them to pay your attorney fees.

3. Your insurance agent misrepresented your policy coverages or other material fact or detail regarding your policy, the insurance company can be forced to honor what your agent had told you.

Insurance agents have been know to misrepresent exactly what a policy covers, the limits of coverage, the effective date of coverage and many other aspects of insurance policies. Sometimes this is intentional on the part of the agent. They exaggerate policy coverages or the benefits of the policy to make a sale. Other times, the misrepresentation is inadvertent. It can be caused by the agent being confused about which policy he/she is selling or that the agent is not familiar with the product or due to a change in policy that the agent was unaware of. In any event, in most cases, the insurance company is responsible for the representations that the agent makes. Your attorney may be able to compel the insurance company to honor the representations of agent.

4. If your insurance coverage is not sufficient to cover your injuries because your agent recommended a lesser amount of coverage, the insurance company may be forced to pay.

It is always a good idea to take notes when dealing with your insurance agent and to keep those notes in a file with your policy. You may also choose to communicate by email with him or her so that their is less deniability in what they recommended. Sometimes when you are shopping around for less expensive coverage, your current agent may recommend that you reduce your coverage amount to save on the premium. This is a tactic used to keep your business with a lower premium but it may not be in your best interest if the coverage is insufficient to cover your loss or medical expenses. If this occurs, your lawyer may force the insurance company to pay an amount that is sufficient to make you whole again.

5. Anything that is ambiguous in your policy must be resolved in your favor.

Anyone who has ever read an insurance policy knows it is pages and pages of legal terminology and rhetoric. It is often difficult for even attorneys to understand what it covers and what is excluded from coverage. Often times insurance companies will leave wiggle room in the policy that is not clear to anyone as to the coverage and limitations of a policy. These ambiguities will often be used by the insurance company to deny claims but, if you know the law, you can call the insurance company on this little trick of theirs and insist that the claim be resolved in your favor based on the ambiguous language of the policy. You will likely need to consult with an attorney to take on this issue with your insurance company.

6. The insurance company demonstrate why a claim is not covered.

Frequently this is misunderstood by policy holders. It is not a policy holder’s duty to prove that their claim is covered by their insurance policy but, rather, it is the insurance company’s duty to either pay the claim or demonstrate to you why the claim is not covered by the policy. The insurance company must use the facts and evidence of the claim and their investigation of the claim and then apply that to the specific coverages of the policy. Don’t let the insurance company bully you. Provide them whatever they may ask for but if they deny your claim without proper explanation for the denial, call your attorney. He or she may be able to force the insurance company to pay.

7. Your insurance company may have a duty to defend you against lawsuits.

Every business, homeowner, auto or similar insurance policy has a liability portion of the policy that protects you from lawsuits by others. This requires your insurance company to pay your legal defense costs and fees if you are sued. Often, an insurance company will refuse to honor their duty to defend you because you have been sued for something that is not specifically covered in the policy. But, it must defend you in any situation which potentially seeks covered damages in most situations. For example, if a complaint is filed against you do not see damages within the scope of your overage but is capable of being amended or modified to include such damages, your insurer must defend. Furthermore, if the insurance company learns of facts from any source which would trigger coverage (not just the complaint itself), it must also defend you. In addition, it must defend where the policyholder has a reasonable expectation that it will do so. You will likely need to seek out the assistance of a lawyer to demand that they insurance company pay for your representation.

8. Your insurance company may unlawfully try to cancel your coverage after you have made a claim based on a misrepresentation that you may have made.

Insurance policies can be extremely complicated and they are often drafted based on information that you have provided to your agent or in a questionnaire without having all of the information you needed to properly answer the questions. If you have provided the insurance company with incorrect information, whether you did so intentionally or inadvertently, an insurance company may try to deny you claim because of this misrepresentation. Insurance agents will also modify your information or lead you to answer a question in a certain way so that you won’t be denied coverage. But, whatever the reason, if you provide false information to the insurance company they may attempt to deny your claim. A qualified lawyer can however examine your case and use the prevailing law to force the insurance company to pay your claim.

9. Punitive damages are awardable against insurance companies for unreasonably refusing to cover a claim of a policy holder.

Knowing that the insurance company must do or not do the items above, you hold a powerful weapon in your arsenal. Using the threat of punitive damages for violating your coverage rights or breaching their duty of good-faith that they owe to you, an insurance company may think twice before denying your claim. In most cases however, you will need to contact an attorney to assist you before the insurance company will take you seriously.

10. Get free advice from an attorney before it is too late.

Most attorneys will give you free advice in cases where the insurance company has acted either in bad-faith or unreasonably denied your claim. Often they will take your case against the insurance company without any out of pocket cost to you. So, it is better to get a lawyer involved in your case sooner than later. In some cases you have a limited time to take action, so call today if you are experiencing this kind of problem.

Aug 29 2015

Hit By a Car Crossing the Street Who is at Fault

Who Is at Fault When a Pedestrian is Hit by a Car Crossing the Street?

When a pedestrian is hit by a car crossing the street it is not always the driver who is at fault. Laws of negligence will usually determine who is at when a pedestrian is hit by a car crossing the street. Negligence usually rests on the question of reasonableness. This is to say, was the person crossing the street acting as a reasonable person would when he was hit by a car crossing the street. For example, it could be said that a reasonable person would not in the exercise of normal prudence, cross a four lane, busy road in the middle of the street at night but, instead, a reasonable person would have used the lighted crosswalk at the corner. Conversely, a driver of a motor vehicle has a duty to use reasonable care when operating his vehicle and to operate it in a manner so as not to endanger pedestrians. For example, a reasonable driver would not send text messages on a busy four lane road while his vehicle was in motion. Instead, a reasonable driver would not use a cell phone while driving. In many cases, both the driver and pedestrian can be partially at fault. So, you must analyze both parties behavior immediately before the accident occurred to determine fault when a pedestrian is struck crossing the street. It is not usually cut and dried. You will likely need the assistance of an experienced personal injury attorney to help you determine fault if you are hit by a car crossing the street.
An experienced personal injury attorney will look at the same things that a judge will look at to determine who is at fault when a pedestrian is hit by a car crossing the street. The following are some of the things that may be examined to determine fault in a pedestrian vs. motor vehicle accident.

Police Reports and Insurance Company Findings

The police will take statements from the driver, pedestrian, and witnesses to determine who was at fault. They may make a conclusive finding on the spot or conduct a detailed investigation to make the finding later.
The police report will show which party the investigating officer determined to be at fault. However, the police findings are not conclusive and they are subject to being challenged by both the insurance companies and your attorney. Insurance adjusters conduct their own investigations and they may determine something far different than that of the police. This can place you in a odd position where your insurance company may conclude you are at fault and the police may determine that you were not or vise versa. Only an experienced personal injury lawyer can sort out these kinds of messes and insure that you both get compensated for damages and protect your rights against any charges or citations that the police may issue.

Insurance Coverage for Pedestrian Accidents

Injured pedestrians will typically be covered by their health and disability insurance policies, or worker’s compensation coverage, if the accident occurs on the job. They may also be covered under one or more auto insurance policies.

Payment Under Auto Liability Insurance

An injured pedestrian should typically file a claim against the driver’s or vehicle owner’s insurance policy. California requires all vehicle owners to carry liability insurance to cover personal injuries to third parties and damage to third parties’ property. However, if and how much you can recover depends on who’s at fault and the policy limits of the insured. It may be necessary for your personal injury attorney to file a lawsuit against the other party so that a judge can assist you to determine fault. If litigation becomes necessary, payment for your injuries will be delayed until after the litigation has been resolved.

Why You Need a Personal Injury Lawyer.

Insurance companies have teams of lawyers all dedicated to making sure you get the smallest possible award. If this isn’t enough to make you call a personal injury attorney consider this: if you do not agree to the settlement amount offered by the insurance company, you will need to file a lawsuit to get what you deserve. While the litigation is pending, you will still likely need medical treatment and transportation, your personal injury attorney can help to arrange this for you. Also consider that you will not only be taking on an insurance company but also the guy who hit you. Very few people have the knowledge and ability to successfully navigate a personal injury lawsuit without the assistance of a lawyer.

Aug 29 2015

Stages of a Personal Injury Case

What are the Stages of a Personal Injury Case?

Depending on the case, personal injury litigation can take many different forms. They are often to complicated to cover every possible situation in a single blog post but knowing these basic steps may help you better understand the process.

You are injured in an accident: Collect as much information about the accident as possible. Get the names, addresses and telephone numbers of everyone involved. Take photographs of the scene if before it changes. Most importantly, get medical attention as soon as possible.
Find a Personal Injury Lawyer: You will meet with them and provide as much information as you can. Your attorney will request medical records, police reports and other information need to move your case forward.
Collect and Demand: After your attorney has all of the information they need they will prepare a demand letter to submit to the insurance company and the other party. The demand letter will state all of your damages to date and the anticipated future damages that you may suffer. Your attorney will set a reasonable deadline for the insurance company t respond. If a response is not received by the deadline or if the demand is rejected, your attorney will begin preparing for the litigation process.
Filing a Complaint: The complaint starts the lawsuit and puts the other side on notice as to what they are being sued for and the general basis on which you seek to recover damages. After it is filed, the complaint must be served on the other side and they have 30 days to file a response.
Discovery: Discovery is a sort of fact-finding process in which they parties request and provide each other with information about your case. This may include written discovery, depositions and medical examinations amount other things.
Motions: Before you go to trial there is a potential for several rounds of motions and oppositions between the parties. These motions are necessary to sort out any number of issues before trial. Not every case requires pre-trial motions but it is not uncommon. Your attorney will advise you if pre-trial motions are necessary.
Settlement Negotiations: Typically, before you actually go to trial, your attorney will attempt to settle the matter with the insurance company and other parties. In fact, in California most courts require personal injury cases to go through some formal form of alternative dispute resolution. It could be private mediation or a mandatory settlement conference sponsored by the court. Settlement tends to be better for all concerned because it does not tie up courts and it doesn’t add the expense of a court trial. Another benefit to settling your personal injury case before trial is that the parties have more control over the outcome. If you go to trial a judge and jury will decide the outcome.
Trial: Formal trial involves the presentation of physical evidence as well as oral testimonies that serve to support or discredit the parties’ cases. The parties’ lawyers use the evidence to support their own arguments and legal theories. This stage also includes opening and closing arguments
Judgment Collections: If you were only up against an insurance company and that insurance company covered all of your claim there is usually no problem collecting your award. However, personal injury damages often go beyond the coverage of limits of the insurance policy. If that occurs, you will have to go after the assets of the person who caused your injuries to collect the rest.
Distribution: After the settlement or trial, the insurance company will usually write a check made payable to both you and your attorney. Your attorney will deposit the check into his or her trust account. Now, your attorney must settle all of your medical bills and pay off any other liens or obligations created on your behalf and deduct the cost of your legal representation and attorneys fees. After everything has been settled, the attorney will distribute the remaining money to you. People are sometimes surprised by the final amount of the distribution but, the reality is if you win $100,000 but, you have $99,999.99 in medical bills, there just isn’t that much left over to distribute. Thankfully, that is not usually the case and most clients will walk away tidy sum of money.

The above timeline can be broken in the three stages referred to in the related video and it should give you a general understanding of the personal injury case process.

Aug 27 2015

How to Damage Your Personal Injury Case with Social Media

Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Google+ and dozens of other social media sharing sites offer us countless ways to share every moment of lives with the world. We have become so comfortable with Instagram, Snapchat and the others that we don’t think twice before posting a photo of ourselves rock climbing in Southern Utah while our attorney is in court arguing that your back injury has caused you to be permanently disabled. It may sound ridiculous but search for personal injury and social media and you will find dozens of cases where the plaintiff had their case dismissed because they posted a picture of themselves in a karate tournament, playing tennis, lifting heavy furniture or similar acts of physical prowess when they have alleged debilitating injuries in their lawsuit. Even a photo of yourself holding your child and laughing can be twisted into something that works against you especially if you are claiming that you have so much back pain that you cannot work.

Here are 10 specific ways that you can damage your personal injury case with social media.

1) Posting details about your accident.

This includes tweets but especially Instagram and Facebook. If you post pictures and details of your accident online you are inviting the insurance company to examine those posts to find defects in your case. Also, avoid chats and other forms of online communications with your friends. Not only does this open the door to other side to discredit you as a witness but also by sharing important details with people who are unrelated to your case you are turning your friends into potential witnesses. Imagine you were kidding around and said, “I am going to make millions off these losers for a couple of bumps and bruises.” Even if you were joking, written text does not translate in the same way as spoken word. That statement could damage your case and sour a jury against you.

2) Posting photos of yourself.

OK, we already mentioned this above but clearly people are not getting the message. If you have a personal injury case do not post pictures of yourself online. Let’s look at one case specific case where the plaintiff was run over on the freeway by a semi-truck while riding his motorcycle. He was seriously injured and confined to wheelchair while his broken pelvis healed. He went from very active to sitting in front of a computer posting pictures on Facebook all day. Unfortunately for him, he posted photo’s of himself doing “stunts” on his motorcycle just a couple of days before the accident. Even though when he was struck he was riding his motorcycle in a safe manner, at trial, the defense presented the photos of him performing stunts. You could see on the faces of the jury that they had turned against him. Ultimately, his award was far less than what it could have been.

3) Playing Online Video Games All Day.

If you think that online gaming is not a form of social media, you are wrong. Part of the online gaming experience is the various ways that you can interact with other people online. Chats, instant messages, profile messages and other exchanges in gaming systems on Steam and other like are just as much social media as Facebook. Your comments, posts and chats on gaming platforms is actually easier to get than comments, posts and chats on Facebook. A jury may not like the fact that you were playing video games 12 hours a day but trying to claim that you are too injured to return to your job as a bookkeeper where you only sit a computer for 8 hours per day.

4) Complaining about everything.

Perception is everything. Many counties in California are chocked full of lower income people, retirees and unemployed people right now and they frequently end up on juries. These are all fine, hard working people with good intentions. But imagine them reading post after post of you complaining about your job and how much you don’t want to go back to work, how small your house is and how you can’t wait until you get your millions in your settlement, how do you think you might be perceived by the jury? Not very well is the answer.

The Bottom line.

Take a break from social media. Pick up the phone or write a letter. There is still a possibility that those could be used against you but they tend to be a much more private form of communication that is not readily available to a defense attorney for the insurance company.