Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyer

A skilled California personal injury lawyer can be invaluable to your injury case. The most important things your attorney can do are:

Tell You What Your Rights Are

After an accident with injuries, you probably have rights you are not aware of. Never rely on the negligent party’s insurance company to tell you what you are entitled to under the law. The insurance company will try to minimize their financial liability and pay you only a fraction of what you deserve.

For instance, California has a law allowing lane splitting on a motorcycle. So, if you were hurt in a motorcycle accident and were lane-splitting at the time, you aren’t to blame if someone hits you. Your injury attorney will know about this, but the defendant’s insurance company probably will neglect to tell you! Your attorney will tell you what all your legal rights are so you can obtain better compensation.

Investigate The Accident And Claim

Your attorney will listen to your story and ask questions about what happened. Next, they will investigate the accident and look for evidence to win the case. An experienced personal injury attorney in Sacramento has a good idea of the evidence to look for.

You should have a good attorney helping you with your case because there are things you can do to hurt your cause. For example, if you were injured in a car accident and have back injuries, you should never post anything on social media that looks like you are not hurt. If the insurance company finds out, this could hurt your case, and your attorney will keep you apprised of these things.

Also, a skilled attorney understands the discovery process, which is the court-supervised process of collecting evidence before a court case. When the lawsuit is filed, your attorney will demand the defendant produce all evidence they have. This could include documentation and witnesses your attorney can interview under oath.

Your attorney can obtain a court order to produce the desired evidence if the other side does not turn over specific evidence. Your attorney knows how to get proof that helps your case and how to apply pressure when the defendant’s attorney is dragging their feet.

Hire Expert Witnesses

In cases involving car accidents, medical malpractice, or product liability, your attorney will probably hire expert witnesses to build the case. Experienced attorneys have a network of expert witnesses they use to win cases. In addition, hired experts can help in insurance settlements and at trial.

If you’re hurt in a truck accident, your attorney could bring in an expert economist to prove how much work you will miss because of your injuries. This is important to receive enough compensation for future lost earnings.

Write Legal Documents

If the accident claim is settled before trial, your attorney will craft a settlement agreement to cover all the financial details of the insurance settlement. However, if the case goes to trial, the attorney will file a complaint, motions, and more.

All it takes is one incorrect word in a legal document to cause problems. So, your attorney is invaluable for drafting these critical legal documents.

Negotiate With The Insurance Company

When an injured party doesn’t hire an attorney, they usually settle for far too little money. The reason is the insurance company is a professional negotiator, and you probably aren’t.

An experienced Sacramento personal injury lawyer knows how to negotiate aggressively with stingy insurance companies. Your attorney will fight for every dime for you. After all, the attorney gets paid more by contingency agreement if they get you a larger settlement.

Go To Court

Most personal injury cases end in a settlement. But your attorney is prepared to go to court and win if the insurance provider won’t give you a fair deal. Personal injury lawsuits usually involve tens or hundreds of thousands of damages, so it’s essential to go to court with an experienced lawyer.

It also helps the negotiation process if the defendant’s lawyers know you have an experienced attorney working for you. This tells their insurance company if they don’t give you a fair settlement, they could be taken to court and pay a lot more.

You should select an attorney with these qualities:

• Focuses on personal injury claims: California personal injury laws change often. It takes time and skill to stay current with the law, so you should have an attorney who only works in personal injury.
• Has financial resources: Taking on the big insurance companies in a lawsuit is expensive. So you need a law firm with the financial backing to go to court and win.
• Has a strong reputation: Hiring a personal injury attorney respected by the insurance companies and courts is critical. Insurance companies are likely to want to avoid a trial if they know you have a tough lawyer in your corner.

Types Of Cases A Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyers Handle

An experienced personal injury law firm handles most or all of these accident cases:

• Car accidents
• Pedestrian accidents
• Motorcycle accidents
• Bus accidents
• Truck accident
• Amusement park ride accidents
• Train accidents
• Medical malpractice
• Slip and fall
• Uber accidents
• Product liability

1. After an accident, you may have trouble moving if there are severe injuries. But, if you can, there are several things you should do to ensure your health and preserve evidence:
2. Stay calm: After a car accident, for example, adrenaline will probably rush through your veins, and you’ll be upset. Instead, take a breath and stay calm.
3. Get to safety: If you’re in a car and it’s disabled in traffic, get to safety immediately. Move the vehicle if you can, but the most important thing is to get yourself out of danger.
4. Check everyone for injuries: Before you call law enforcement, see if anyone is hurt to know if an ambulance is needed. Even if you think you are ok, it is essential to see a doctor anyway. You could be injured and not know it for a day or two.
5. Call law enforcement: Make sure the responding police officers write a police report. Of course, the police report isn’t the final word on accident liability, but it is a helpful piece of evidence.
6. Collect evidence: If you are ok, take photos of the accident scene, vehicles, and injuries. Also, get contact information from others involved in the incident and eyewitness statements.
7. Never admit fault: It doesn’t matter if you were at fault or not – never admit fault! If you do, it will be harder for your attorney to get compensation for you. If a witness hears you apologize even if you didn’t do anything wrong, it could torpedo your case.
8. Talk to an attorney: A Sacramento personal injury attorney knows how to handle these situations and get you the most money. The sooner the attorney is involved, the better the outcome will be.

Another reason to hire a personal injury attorney is they will find every potentially liable party after an accident and hold them accountable. Did you know, for example, there could be several responsible parties after a car accident? Some of the potential parties to blame could be

• Drivers
• Vehicle owners
• Companies the drivers employ
• Product manufacturers and designers
• Property owners
• Government agencies
• Repair services

The more entities and people that are held liable, the better your chances of a large settlement. California has a comparative fault rule

even if you were partially at fault. This means an injured party can still recover damages if they were partly responsible for the incident.

For example, if you were 40% responsible for a crash that resulted in $50,000 in damages for your injuries, you could still receive $30,000 in a settlement. Your attorney will fight for you to receive every dime you are entitled to, even if you are partially to blame.