Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs
How Much is my Case Worth?
Every case is different. There are many factors involved in each and every matter. It boils down to Liability and Damages. Was the other party at fault and what are your damages? However, it is not that simple. Within fault and damages, lie hundreds of other questions that need to be dissected to properly evaluate your case. Beware of attorneys that tell you what your case is worth before really knowing all the facts of your case, or even worse, imputing your information into a persona injury “calculator” on their website that will magically tell you your case worth.
In California, we have Contributory Negligence. This means that juries can assign percentages of negligence. For example, let say you are able to prove $100,000.00 dollars in damages at trial. And let’s say the jury thinks the other party is 90% at fault for the accident and that you were 10% at fault for the accident. In this scenario, you would actually recover only $90,000.00 dollars.
Identifying your damages is a big factor in figuring out your case worth. The key here is the seriousness of your injury. Some people have pain for a couple months and it goes away; other’s pain is unbearable to the point they require pain management for years. Others require surgery and lifelong care for their injuries. The more injured you are the more you need in medical treatment. More doctors and procedures mean more billing and more billing means more damages. The more damages you can prove, the greater your case worth.
This is a simple explanation for a very complex question. There are many more factors involved in determining case worth such as loss of earnings, pain and suffering, future care, causation of your injuries, etc. Please contact us today for a FREE case evaluation.
What do you charge?
We do not charge you for a case evaluation. We do not charge you to handle your property damage claim. We do not charge you unless we win or settle your personal injury claim case. When we win or settle your case, we charge 33% plus costs before litigation and 40% plus costs after commencement of litigation. Therefore, it is very important to us to properly evaluate your case from the very beginning.
How long will this take?
In California, you have 2 years to file a personal injury claim and 3 years for a property damage claim. This varies if you’re filing a claim against the government or a medical malpractice action.
Often cases can settle within the first 3-6 months. Others can last years. Again, there is no easy answer and each case stands on its own. In Los Angeles County, if you file a lawsuit today, you won’t get a trial date until a year later. It’s a step by step process and we will have a better sense of how long your case will take when we analyze all the facts and circumstances of your case.
What am I supposed to do while this is going on?
Let us worry about everything. We are your representative now and we will take care of all the little things for you. You just have to worry about your injuries and getting better. We will speak on your behalf to all insurance companies, attorneys, body shops, insurance adjusters, police officers, etc. We keep a detailed electronic and written file of your case and will keep you informed of the entire process from the moment you sign on with us. We take this very serious and we pride ourselves in our superior client experience (SCE) policy.
What about my car?
Like previously stated, we do not charge you to handle your property damage claim. We will help you get immediate attention. This means we will contact the body shop and insurance companies right away and have them evaluate your damage. If you need a rental, we will help facilitate getting you into one within hours of your accident.
I just got into an accident, what should I do?
The best thing to do is talk to an attorney first. We will guide you through the process right away. Check out our blog for a step by step process on what to do. Most of our clients have our cell phones so if you just got into an accident you can usually contact us within seconds. This is part of our Superior Client Experience (SCE) Policy.
**Please see our blog for much more information on frequently asked questions and issues.