Car Accident Attorney

In its 2007 Annual Urban Mobility Report released by the Texas Transportation Institute covering the period 1982 to 2005, Los Angeles is the 24th most congested in the United States. On the average, travelers take 24 hours of traffic delay annually.

Los Angeles is characterized by a large network of freeways, streets, and local and regional means of public transport. There are nineteen freeways that serve the Los Angeles area alone. Rush hour in the morning is from 6 am to 11 am, and 3 pm to 9 pm during the evening. Traffic congestion may happen at a time you do not expect.

Assessing the Need for a Lawyer
The need for a Los Angeles car accident attorney is dictated by the conditions surrounding the event. It is vital to consider the extent of damage to the car. For instance, a broken fender can be resolved by your insurance company. However, injuries that involve physical harm may necessitate a lawyer. Of course, if both parties were not hurt, seeking legal remedy is no longer required.

If you sustain a personal injury in Los Angeles due to a clear negligence on the part of the other party, you may need the help of a personal injury lawyer. Immediate legal assistance is required in the following conditions:

• Serious injuries such as broken bones and hospitalization
• One of the parties involved got killed in the accident
• When other parties such as pedestrians and other vehicles are involved in the accident
• The question of liability has not been clearly established
• Erroneous police report making you the liable party
• Technical, medical, and legal issues

Insurance matters such as reduced limits on liability insurance, no insurance, non-payment of insurance policies, and problem with the insurance provider. However, if there is a need to process an insurance claim, soliciting the help of an automobile accident attorney may be vital. Usually, any car collision lawyer will encourage you to consult them so that you will be able to file a lawsuit in the future. Unfortunately, they do not provide the specifics of when you need to consult a lawyer.

Furthermore, a car collision lawyer can assist you in determining liability, handling your claims, and if you are in doubt whether to negotiate for settlement. Likewise, they can help you out as well if the insurance adjuster requests for medical records prior to the accident or give you a deal that is not in accordance with your claims or offers partial payment instead of lump sum.

Consulting a car accident expert is vital in the following cases:

• Your application for claim has been denied by the insurance company
• You sustained serious injuries with huge medical expenses or have residual disability
• The victim is a minor
• Your claim is important but your evidence is vague
• Question of liability
• The details and circumstances surrounding the accident is complicated
• You have been sued by the injured party

Finally, a car accident attorney will inform you of your legal rights.

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1. In an instant, your beautiful car turns into a pile of junk.

2. Car shopping is no picnic.

3. Remember how much fun it is to deal with car dealers?

4. Car rentals aren’t cheap.

5. Hospitals aren’t fun.

6. Nurses ask you to put on those flimsy hospital gowns.

7. This is not how you want to use vacation days from work.

8. Some people believe these things come in threes.

9. Injuries take time to heal

10. Lawyers (actually, we’re very nice).

Here are ten actual tips of advice from a car accident attorney to follow if you have been in an accident.

Obviously, if you have had an accident, and you are reading all of this advice, it may have been a few hours since the accident. However, if you ever have another accident, or if it’s only been a few hours since you were hurt, here’s what you should do from the start.

First, take a look around and determine if you or anyone, are hurt. If so, taking steps like trying to prevent further injury or loss of blood are the most important thing you can do. Even if some other driver caused you to be injured, it’s just good manners to help the other driver if they are hurt. They may even be so thankful that they admit their fault to you. The worst thing you can do is get angry or start a fight.

Second, make sure everyone is safe from being injured further. If you are in the middle of traffic, and you are dizzy, sit down away from traffic. If your vehicle is a traffic hazard and you have accident warning devices like flares or triangles, put them out on the road to warn other drivers and get away from the car. Let the police an other emergency personnel investigate the scene with the vehicles in place and move them more safely at a later point.

Third, call the police. Accident reports are extremely helpful if the police will do such a report. Let the police know you are injured immediately. Answer the police questions honestly. But if you are dazed or confused, let them know you need medical treatment and answer only what you feel sure about. Remember, your statements can and will be used against you if you admit fault, and it will be too late and too fishy to later say you didn’t know what you were saying at the scene. Police know that your best recollection is immediately after an accident.

Fourth, get the other driver’s information including their names, addresses, driver’s license numbers, make and model of their vehicles, license plate numbers, and their insurance company name and policy number. If there are witnesses, get their names, addresses and telephone numbers as well. If the other driver makes any admissions of fault, write those down as well.

Fifth, if you have a camera on your cell phone or in the car and you aren’t too injured, take some photos of the vehicles and the scene. If you can’t do it right away, do it after you are released from the hospital.

Sixth, if you are hurt, obtain medical treatment. Don’t decline the ambulance or hospital examination to save your insurance company money or to be stoic. Take your valuables out of your car if you can and get checked out at the hospital. If you are not hurt, don’t get treatment you don’t need. However, remember, after an accident, you may feel a rush of adrenaline that causes you to only start feeling symptoms of pain a few hours later. If you have a health plan that requires you to obtain permission first, call them and find out where you are allowed to seek treatment.

Seventh, call a good car accident lawyer as soon as you have had your initial treatment, so the attorney can gather other important evidence and prevent the insurance company from taking advantage of you and obtaining such things as recorded statements that you feel fine, when many of your symptoms have yet to manifest themselves. A good car accident lawyer can save you from making a great deal of mistakes and can shoulder much of the hassle of knowing what to do about car repairs, car rentals, medical treatment, witness statements and the like. If you think you will save money by not having an attorney, think again. A good car accident lawyer can almost always obtain much higher settlements, obtain reductions of medical bills and insurance liens and prevent you from making costly mistakes. Also, most car accident attorneys advance costs of obtaining police reports, medical records and the like and are paid and reimbursed for these costs only out of any settlement.

Eight, you will need to report the accident to your insurance company, but since they will want to take a recorded statement from you, just like any other driver’s insurance company, it’s good advice to retain an attorney first. And if the other driver did not have insurance, remember that it is your own insurance company that will be your adversary. You will also need to report the accident to the Department of Motor Vehicles and your lawyer can give you the form for this.

Ninth, do not agree to settle your claim privately with the person at fault for the accident. This almost never works out to your advantage. Don’t agree not to call the police. Police reports that determine the fault for an accident are golden. Your agreement to not involve the police only affords an opportunity for the other driver to change his story and blame you when the police will no longer investigate the accident.

Tenth, don’t pay a traffic ticket without a fight if you weren’t at fault or agree to accept a small payment for your vehicle repairs without knowing that the amount will in fact cover the cost of all the repairs.

If you’ve had a car accident in Orange County, Newport Beach, Anaheim, Irvine, Huntington Beach, Corona del Mar, Laguna Beach, Santa Ana, Orange, Fullerton, costa Mesa, Westminster, Buena Park, Mission Viejo, Garden Grove, Laguna Niguel, San Clemente, Chino Hills, or anywhere in Southern California, we have the knowledge and resources to be your Santa Ana Car Accident Lawyer and your Orange County Car Accident Attorney. Be sure to hire a California law firm with auto, motorcycle, truck, bicycle, pedestrian, car, bus, train, boat and airplane accident experience, wrongful death experience and insurance law expertise who can ensure you are properly represented and get the compensation you deserve.

If you have a personal injury legal matter, a dog bite or if you’ve lost a loved one in a wrongful death accident, call the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson, or visit our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com and learn how we can assist you.

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