Generally, if you have been injured through the neglect or carelessness of another you have the right to compensation for your reasonable and necessary medical expenses, wage loss, damage to property, and pain and suffering.

Legal Liability : Unfortunately people get hurt in a variety of ways, from slipping on a poorly maintained floor, to being hit at a red light, or being injured by a defective product. Our office focuses primarily on injuries arising from automobile collisions including car accidents, auto versus bicycle, auto versus pedestrian, motorcycle, drunk and DUI drivers, and truck accidents.

Next you must show the defendant breached that duty of care by failing to be as careful as they should have been. This may be from speeding, following too closely, running a light, drunk driving, etc.

Third you must show that the defendant's failure to be careful was the cause of your injuries. This is called causation. The general test is that the defendant's failure to exercise ordinary care was a substantial factor in bringing about injury or harm.

Finally you must show that you suffered damages.

Proving your case : As the injured party seeking compensation from someone who hurt you, the burden of proving your case is on you. This means that in the absence of proof you lose. In our court system cases are proved through a combination of documents and witnesses. Evidence that may help prove your case can take many shapes and forms.

For example, photographs of property damage can help show the severity of the impact and establish injury. Photographs of skid marks can help show how an accident happened, where an accident happened and even the speeds of the vehicles involved.

Information from third party witnesses can help establish how an accident happened. Accordingly it is important to gather information about witnesses at the accident scene.

If you know of any visible injuries then get pictures of them immediately. Examples may include cuts, scrapes, or bruises. Pictures over time can also be helpful.

Reasonable And Necessary Medical Expenses : The person who injures you through their lack of ordinary care is only responsible for compensating you for your reasonable and necessary medical expenses you incur. That is the legal test in California.

The expenses must be reasonable and the treatment received must have been medically necessary. As you may imagine opinions may vary about what charges are reasonable and what services are necessary. Just because you go to the doctor does not mean the other side has to pay for it.

The medical expenses you incur are ultimately your responsibility. The purpose of making a bodily injury claim is to shift these expenses to the person who injured you, but, again, the other party is only responsible for the reasonable and necessary expenses.

If you have medical payment coverage through the insurance on the vehicle you were in, that is often the best way to take care of your medical expenses as you receive healthcare services. In our experience medical payment coverage generally pays a significant proportion of the medical expenses incurred.

Health insurance coverage generally does not work as well as automobile insurance medical payment coverage in the personal injury context. Our experience has been that many services are not covered and health plans often only pay a portion of the charges incurred. This is certainly better than nothing, but if you have medical payment coverage you should use it first.

The defendant does not get a discount for amounts paid by your insurance. This is called the collateral source rule, and it exists to encourage people to get insurance coverage to protect themselves.

Sometimes healthcare providers will accept a lien on your personal injury case. In essence the healthcare provider is extending credit, and it is secured by a claim on any monetary awards you receive from your personal injury case. This is similar to a mortgage on a house. You are promising to pay the doctor out of any settlement your receive. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE DOCTOR'S RIGHT TO GET PAID DEPENDS ON HOW YOUR CASE TURNS OUT. If you lose your case, you are responsible for paying the doctor.

Often there will be a delay between the time you incur expenses for medical care and the time when you may receive compensation for your injuries. Our office may be able to assist you in arranging liens in order to help you get treatment or to help you deal with collection agencies. Frequently a healthcare provider will not accept a lien directly; instead they send the account to collection. Once the account is sent to collection then we may be able to arrange a lien with the collection agency.

Please be warned that this could result in a reference on your credit report that services were not paid within terms or that a debt was sent to collection. Unless you pay or your own insurance pays for the services provided within the payment terms granted by the healthcare provider you risk having items reported to collection agencies.

Our office is not responsible for paying your medical bills.

Our office is not responsible for managing your financial affairs or creditworthiness.

Wage Loss : Your are also entitled to compensation when you miss work due to your injuries. Documentation is very important with these types of claims. Get disability slips from your healthcare providers excusing you from work or school. Make and keep copies.

Even though you may not lose money for time missed from work because you use sick time or vacation time, you still have a wage loss claim. This is another example of the collateral source rule discussed above.

If you are able to work but you miss time from work to go to the doctor, that type of wage loss claim is not as strong as a claim for lost wages due to the inability to work.

Property Damage : The party causing injury to harm to you through by failing to exercise ordinary care is also responsible for damage to property. This means they have to pay the reasonable expense for repairing the property or the reasonable value of the property if the cost of repair is higher than the value of the property. This also includes incidental expenses such as towing, storage and car rental.

Please note that as an injured party you have an obligation to mitigate your damages. This means you must take reasonable steps to reduce the harm caused by the other side. In other words, you cannot stand by and let things get worse. You have to help yourself. In practice this means taking steps to avoid further harm or expense. This includes avoiding storage expenses. Try to find an inexpensive rental car. Do not rent a car for longer than it takes to complete the repairs.

Car Rental : If you rent a car try to find an inexpensive vehicle. This is recommended for the practical reason that you do not want to be in the position of incurring a large expense for renting a car and then have to pursue the other party for reimbursement. It will be easier on you, and your finances, to avoid having a large expenditure outstanding.

When renting a vehicle check with your own insurer to see if you will be covered under you own automobile policy. The other side will refuse to pay for collision damage waivers, liability insurance, etc. on the rented vehicle.

Pain And Suffering : This is a claim for compensation for any pain and suffering that results from the injuries you suffered. It includes, among other things, pain, suffering, emotional distress, shock, and embarrassment. These claims are doubly subjective: your experience of pain is subjective and people have different ideas of what pain and suffering is worth.

You can keep a diary or journal to document your experience. An even better practice is to send your attorney letters from time to time about what you are going through.

If you have been injured in an accident it makes sense to get legal representation right away so you will have help with all these different procedures. Call for a consultation now.