Why I Handle Personal Injury Cases in California?
I have been practicing law for over 25 years. I still get people who tell me they didn’t know I handled personal injury cases. I have a small practice that deals mostly with criminal cases in California. Occasionally, I go to Federal Court. Occasionally, I travel to other states when my client’s ask me to. Mostly, I hang around Southern California from Santa Barbara to Orange County and anywhere in between. I don’t advertise, but I do get friends and family and other referrals who call me about handling their injury cases. It might be a car accident or dangerous condition that causes an accident. It might be a workplace injury or a medical procedure that went horribly wrong.
When people ask me why I do it, I usually tell them it’s because I can help people. It sounds corny, doesn’t it. It’s really fairly simply, and it goes like this: The legal system can be a bit overwhelming. After an accident, most people are normally scared. Who’s fault was it? How do I get my car fixed. I don’t have insurance, but I need to go to the doctor. Are my insurance rates going to go up? What do I do about a rental car? How come these insurance people keep calling me and telling me I need to give them a statement?
After an accident, try to stay as come as possible. Pull off the road and park in a safe place. Make sure everyone involved in the accident is ok and that nobody needs medical attention. Exchanged insurance and personal information with the other side. Try not to assign blame for the accident right away. Try not to apologize for the accident even if you think it was your fault. If your car is safe to drive, you can drive it home. If not, call a tow truck and have the car towed to your home or local body shop. Once you get home, this is a good time to call me. We can talk about the way the accident occurred. Were you injured? Do you need to see a doctor? How do you report the accident to your insurance company? Who should you or should you not speak to about the accident?
If nobody was injured in the accident and it just involved “property damage”, I will direct you to contact your insurance company to report the accident and cooperate with your carrier as they investigate and help you resolve the claim, get your car fixed and get back on the road.
If the accident involved injuries, whether they were serious or not, we can then talk about “liability” or who caused the accident. If you caused the accident, there will be no personal injury claim. However, if the other side caused the accident, then we must decide if we are going to pursue a personal injury claim. The law says that when we are in an accident that was not our fault and we are injured, we are entitled to collect damages (money) for our medical bills, lost wages, other out-of-pocket expenses and for pain and suffering for our injuries, stress, aggravation, and inconvenience.
If you need help finding a doctor, my office can help with that. If you don’t have medical insurance or money to pay for doctor bills, my office can help with that. I work with hundreds of doctors who help my clients on what we call a “lien basis”. This means that the doctor agrees to provide treatment now and wait until the case is settled to get paid for his services. The level of medical services depends upon the extent of your injuries. I always encourage my clients to see a doctor immediately after an accident to get checked out. If the doctor feels you need additional services, he or she will refer you to those professionals for other services like x-rays, specialists, therapy, etc.
If the doctor refers you out to a specialist, like an orthopedic surgeon or a neurologist, I can usually find one to treat you on a lien. If the doctor prescribes therapy, I work with a long list of therapists and chiropractors who handle injury cases. The chances are that I have a provider within a short distance of your home or work.
While you are working on getting healed up, I can be working on getting your case resolved. I can talk to the insurance company for you or with you. I can get police reports. I can get all of your medical bills and reports together so you don’t have to. My job is to help make your life easier. My job is to help you get healed up quickly and back to work or family or other responsibilities. My job is to negotiate with the insurance company to get you the most money for your car. My job is to negotiate with the insurance company to get you the best possible injury settlement.
Did you miss work? Let me help you get your lost wages from the other side. Do you think you might need additional medical attention in the future? Let me get you payment for future medical needs as part of your settlement.
Yes, it’s true that you may be able to do this on your own. It’s true that I take a portion of the recovery as my fee. How much experience do you have negotiating injury settlements with insurance companies or other lawyers? I have decades of experience. I’ve recovered millions of dollars for my clients. I’m good at this. In fact, I am so good at this that in most cases, the work that I do will net you a higher final recovery even after I have been paid. That’s right, after my fee is taken out, you will normally still walk away with substantially more money than if you tried to handle the settlement on your own.
Did you know that many doctors and therapists will reduce their bills when I ask them to? Did you know that your auto or health insurance company may pay for all or part of your medical expenses? Did you know that if they do pay for all or part of your medical expenses and you recover even one dime from a third party, you will normally have to pay your own insurance company back? Did you know that this repayment is also negotiable? Sometimes our insurance companies reduce the payback. Sometimes our insurance companies will waive it all together. And this is all part of my job. Did I mention that I’m good at my job?
Did I mention that I don’t take a dime if I don’t get you a settlement? What do you have to lose?
From minor accident to wrongful death and anything in between, if you or someone close to you has been injured in an accident, call me for a free case evaluation:
Attorney Jeffrey Vallens (818) 783-5700 or (888) 764-4340 or email me at: vallenslaw@yahoo.com
I look forward to helping you.
Please visit my sites for more information:
www.4criminaldefense.com or www.westlakecriminaldefense.com