Personal Injury Claims Sometimes Become Lawsuits.

When most people think about hiring a personal injury attorney, they think they are going to have to sue someone and go to trial. In actuality, hiring a personal injury attorney does not necessarily mean you will be in a lawsuit. In fact, we usually reach a settlement without a lawsuit.

Our first task as your personal injury attorney is to open a claim with the responsible party’s insurance company. This is not a lawsuit but rather documentation of damages and expenses that our attorneys use to negotiate with insurance company claims adjusters to settle your claim. In almost all situations, our attorneys reach a settlement with the insurance company out of court.

Sometimes the Statute of Limitations Leads to a Lawsuit

Once a claim is opened, there are several reasons why a lawsuit may become necessary.

One of our biggest concerns is time. In California, the statute of limitations (the legal time limit you have to file a lawsuit) for a personal injury claim is generally two years from the date of your accident, although there are many exceptions. If this time limit has been exceeded, then you cannot recover anything. California Law only allows you so much time to pursue your legal rights so we might file a lawsuit if your deadline is approaching.

We also file a lawsuit when an insurance company gives us an extremely low offer and you need money as soon as possible. Instead of waiting for us to negotiate back and forth on the terms of your settlement, a lawsuit can produce a quicker resolution. Sometimes, by filing a lawsuit, you actually gain leverage over an insurance company, perhaps causing them to budge on a low initial settlement offer.

Your Attorney Might Suggest a Trial

Even though statistics show that the large majority of car accidents settle well before trial, our personal injury attorneys have found that the type of cases that go to trial are most often the cases that are close calls. Trials usually occur when the amount of money you should be paid is unclear.

Here are some general examples of when a personal injury lawyer might have to go to a trial:

The money offer from the responsible party’s auto accident insurance company is too low and would be an unfair settlement to you.
It is not clear who caused your automobile accident.
The responsible party’s insurance company might think that you, the injured party, is not telling the truth or might be exaggerating any injuries.
The insurance attorney might believe that you, the injured party, is completely making up an injury claim. One good example is when a person injured in a car accident claims that their tooth was injured when all they suffered was whiplash.
The damages to either person’s car in a car accident appear to be minor so that a jury might determine that the car accident damages were inadequate, in their minds, to have caused any injuries.
The responsible person’s insurance company may believe that their driver was not actually insured at the time of the accident. This is called a reservation of rights.
It might be argued that you made your own car accident injury worse by not protecting yourself, such as not wearing a seatbelt, riding in a car that was driven by a teenage or adult drunk driver (DUI).
Too much time has gone by since the date of the car accident until now and the statute of limitations may become a concern.

Call Us Now For Help With Your Insurance Claim

Since 1992, our San Diego law offices have been helping people just like you recover the maximum financial compensation for their personal injury. You shouldn’t have to worry about fighting insurance companies, so leave that to our experienced personal injury attorneys. Let us help you recover the maximum personal injury settlement by properly filing your insurance claim.

Leave the personal injury claim process to us. It’s what we do.

If you would like help with your personal injury claim, then please contact our bilingual offices as soon as possible at 1-800-655-6585 or click here for a FREE consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney in San Diego. We handle all cases on a contingency fee basis, which means that you owe us nothing until we recover money on your behalf.

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[caption id="attachment_21715" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Photo Credit: The San Diego Union Tribune"][/caption] Last week, we reported on a car accident in San Diego that resulted out of alleged teen street racing. In new developments, the 18-year-old driver charged with the death of the two teenagers involved in the street racing has pleaded not guilty to vehicular manslaughter among four other charges according to reports at the San Diego Union Tribune. The news follows the earlier arrest of another 16-year-old driver that was taken into custody on similar charges. Just shortly after his arraignment, Michael Johnson, the 18-year-old driver of a Volvo S40, said, according to his attorney, that he is not the responsible party in the tragic San Diego accident fatalities that occurred April 4. Accident reports indicate that Johnson was returning from a spring break beach party in La Jolla when he was allegedly involved in a street racing contest with another teen driver – the unidentified 16-year-old driver of a Volkswagen Passat whose name has not been released since he is a minor. According to Deputy District Attorney Kristen Spieler, the two vehicles were zigzagging across lanes at speeds reaching up to a staggering 100 m.p.h. The 16-year-old driver in the Passat lost control over the vehicle, causing the car to flip over several times across multiple lanes of the road. Two passengers, Anthony Foreman, 18, and Jayli Campbell, 16, were thrown from the Passat and died at the scene of the accident. Two passengers survived the crash. Charlotte McQuillen, survived the accident although she suffered serious injury as a result of the collision including reports that say the teen will have to recover from traumatic brain injury. Anthoney Taylor, 16, also survived the crash although his injuries are unclear at this time. Johnson did not flee the scene of the accident according to police reports and cooperated with authorities once officers assessed the scene of the collision. The teen has no prior criminal record, although authorities say his vehicle was found containing a small amount of marijuana. Johnson is being charged with intoxicated driving, although his lawyer says there were no field sobriety tests to confirm the teen’s alleged intoxication. Teen driving: reminders for concerned parents Last week, we blogged on actions parents can take to prevent teen car accidents. Tips include:

Sign a parent-teen contract. Download your free contract now.
Enforcing the rules. Every teen driver needs to know that rules are there for a purpose, and when they are broken, consequences will follow.
Have a DUI backup plan. As most parents can attest, there are many instances when teen drivers run into problems that supersede their know-how and maturity. Drinking is one of those problems. In cases of emergency, your teen should have an open-door policy where they feel safe to call you when they need help – such in the case of drunk driving or driving while intoxicated.

About the Law Offices of Michael Pines, APC The Law Offices of Michael Pines, APC are specialists in car accident injury. Every personal injury attorney in our San Diego office works hard to seek maximum recovery for every injured client. Your case is handled without any out-of-pocket costs, so do not hesitate to speak to a San Diego personal injury lawyer today for a free legal evaluation. Call us at 1-800-655-6585.