What to do if you’re injured in an accident in Palm Desert, California

There were about 6.7 million auto accidents reported by police in the United States in 2018, leading to about 2.7 million injuries, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Car insurance industry estimates suggest the average driver will be involved in three to four accidents in their lifetime.

Auto accidents are an unfortunate reality of life, so it’s always a good idea to be prepared and have a game plan in place in case you’re injured in an accident in Palm Desert. The below game plan can help ensure your own physical safety as well as preserve your legal rights and ensure you can be compensated for your injuries.

1. Ensure everybody’s safety and request medical assistance. Check everyone involved in the crash for injuries if you are physically able, then call 911 for medical assistance if any injuries are present. Make sure everyone is in a safe location.

Call 911 even if the vehicles involved are not badly damaged. Don’t be talked out of calling 911 by other drivers and don’t agree to any deals with other drivers, even if they plead for you to leave insurance out of the situation and to not call the police.

Tell 911 your location, if anyone is injured, if there’s any dangers at the accident scene like leaked fuel, and if it appears alcohol or drugs played a factor in the accident.

2. Gather information while saying as little as possible. You can start gathering information once you’ve ensured everyone is safe, but you’re going to want to be especially cautious while doing so. You’re going to want to speak as little as possible during this phase to avoid accidentally implying your own fault in the accident. What you say during this stage can negatively impact your ability to obtain compensation for your injuries.

Some states, including California, allow those partially at fault for accidents to obtain compensation for their injuries from the other driver’s insurance company.

Get the contact information and insurance information of any drivers involved. Get the contact information of any witnesses to the accident. Don’t rely on police reports and expect police reports to have all the witnesses’ contact information on them. Take plenty of photos of the accident scene from multiple angles, including photos of any and all injuries and vehicle damage.

3. Immediately seek medical treatment. It is critical that you seek medical treatment as soon as possible after an injury to make sure that you can be compensated for any injuries, even if you don’t think you’ve been injured.

Adrenaline and endorphins can mask injuries after an accident, and sometimes injuries don’t show themselves until days or weeks after an accident. Unfortunately, if you wait too long to seek medical treatment after an accident, the at-fault driver’s insurance company can make the argument that your injuries could have been caused by something other than the auto accident. This argument becomes more convincing the longer you wait to seek treatment after an injury, so seek medical treatment immediately after any accident to promptly document any injuries you may not know you have.

Describe your injuries in as much detail as possible when receiving treatment. It is important for your injuries to be documented in as much detail as possible by your doctors if you would like to be fully compensated for your injuries.

4. Don’t talk to the insurance companies. Do not talk to insurance companies after you’ve been injured in an accident, even your own. The number one priority of insurance adjusters is minimizing your payout to maximize the profits of the insurance company.

Insurance adjusters are trained to manipulate people into accidentally implying their own fault for an accident. You should let an attorney speak to the insurance companies for you in order to avoid accidentally incriminating yourself to an insurance company.

5. Obtain an experienced lawyer in Palm Desert. A lawyer can deal with the insurance companies so you don’t have to. Dealing with the insurance companies isn’t just dangerous since you can accidentally incriminate yourself to them, it’s stressful, time-consuming and inconvenient. Experienced personal injury lawyers can handle everything for you, including talking with insurance companies, while you focus on what’s important: recovering from your injuries.

It’s important that you obtain local counsel because character judgments are best made in person. You can meet a local lawyer in person and judge their character for yourself before hiring them.

It’s important that you obtain a lawyer if you’ve been injured in an accident because insurance companies won’t offer you fair payouts if you don’t have a lawyer, and why would they? They have no reason to pay you fairly if you don’t have a lawyer. They can offer you a pittance and laugh at you when you sue them, since they know you can’t beat their expensive lawyers in court if you don’t have a lawyer of your own.

Experienced personal injury lawyers can also get you to the best doctors who can help you recover from your injuries – doctors who won’t charge you for their services until your case is over. This way you can get the best treatment available, no matter your income level.

6. Dutifully attend any follow-up appointments regarding injury recovery. It is absolutely vital that you dutifully attend any follow-up appointments regarding your injury recovery if you want to be compensated fully for your injuries. Failure to attend any follow-up appointments with physical therapists, chiropractors, etc., will be pointed at by insurance companies as evidence you’re not really injured.

Hopefully, you’ll never be in an auto accident. However, if you’re injured in an accident, following the above steps can make sure you preserve your legal rights and are compensated fully for your injuries.

10 Crucial Things To Look For When Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyers Houston

A personal injury attorney is the one who focuses on cases where someone is injured. It’s natural if you’ve injured thanks to someone else’s default. The matter arises once you don’t have the skills to carry that author for his or her fault. In such circumstances, it’s worth hiring a private injury lawyer to urge justice. What qualities to look after for the best Personal Injury Attorney Houston for you to get relief? Here are 10 things to look for when hiring a personal injury attorney:

• Will you be able to trust your Injury Attorney?

Naturally, the majority of people don’t take time to believe the personal injury lawyers until they get into a personal injury. You’ll have to find a personal injury lawyer in Houston. Who features a license to practice during a state where you simply were injured. To settle on a personal injury lawyer is a sensible move, so you want to take the step to finalize your injury lawyer with care.

• Process of hiring a professional attorney:

Most people do not know where to start when searching for a legal representative. When you have been involved in a car accident that resulted in personal injuries, and you were either partly to blame or not at fault, you need a personal injury lawyer. Not all personal injuries are equivalent, and hence, not all personal injury lawyers concentrate on an equivalent field.

• Is it worth hiring a private personal injury lawyer in Houston?

If you’ve suffered a personal injury in an accident then you would possibly be confused on whether you commit to hiring a personal injury lawyer or not. If personal injury is severe then you want to consult a personal injury lawyer otherwise not. If someone is liable for your serious personal injuries then it’s worth hiring a personal injury lawyer for creating that author for your loss.

• When to look for the best attorney?

The solution is simple: whenever you’re injured in an accident thanks to another person’s fault, it’s your right to urge justice there. Choosing the proper personal injury lawyer is often a challenge for you. Whenever you’re injured, choosing the proper attorney is going to be overwhelming. You’ll hire the best personal injury lawyer so that you’ll make another person purchase, it’s their fault. It’s normal to seek out the difficulty in choosing a lawyer.

• Reputed Attorneys

The best personal injury lawyer will always have a good reputation within the community. A lawyer with a positive reputation will always plan your case. Before hiring, do some research about it. Reputation adds value to the professional career of personal injury lawyers. Their good reputation puts the client in a good situation to recover the quantity of your loss.

• Does Professional record matter?

It matters tons what proportion of cases a lawyer has fought and How many cases won. Professional experience counts tons. If a lawyer does not regularly achieve good results for clients then it’s not an honest attorney. However, it’s not a guarantee that the personal injury lawyer will win your case.

• Every lawyer has a different mindset

Yes, technically every person has a different mindset and in this field, there are two types of lawyers.

1. The one who accepts every case that comes to their desk.
2. Who accepts the case after researching the whole case and making decisions. It is necessary to understand every one of your clients because as they come in and go out as quickly as possible as giving attention to every client and getting to know every client.

What should you ask yourself after contacting an attorney?

There are some questions that you simply must ask after contacting a personal injury attorney. The questions will assist you to settle on the proper personal injury attorney. These are:

1. How long did the personal injury lawyer respond?
2. Was the assistant of the personal injury lawyer polite?
3. How resourceful is your attorney?
4. Were you ready to speak with the personal injury lawyer easily?
5. Did the lawyer offer you proper attention?
6. Who goes to require on your injury case?
7. Has the lawyer received any disciplinary sanction?
8. What are your attorney’s previous clients saying? Do they have reviews on Google?
9. Has this lawyer received any professional awards?

• Check everything whether the lawyer had the right education and skills in this field.

1. These are some questions you should ask the lawyer :
2. The law school that the lawyer attended?
3. Where did the lawyer start practicing law?
4. How long has he/she been handling these types of cases?
5. Does that lawyer be good at representing claims against insurance companies?

• What if you simply find a personal injuries law attorney?

It’s a private choice that you simply select the proper personal injury lawyer. Confirm that your Car Accident Lawyers Houston has taken the time to concentrate on your problem. Repeat an equivalent process with the simplest choices of some lawyers you’ve got made.

Whether you get hurt on someone else’s property or sustain injuries from a defective product, you might be entitled to financial compensation. You could file an insurance claim or lawsuit and hold the person liable for their actions. Typically, premises and product liability cases are the results of some sort of negligence.

Negligence is the legal theory that one party’s failure to act or not act in a certain way causes another person harm. Here, we’ll discuss what types of injury accidents might fall under premises or product liability laws and what needs to be proven to get the full and fair compensation you deserve.

What is a Premises Liability Claim?

Premises liability refers to an injury caused by the defective or unsafe condition of another person’s private or public property. The most common types of cases like this include:

• Slip/trip and fall
• Dog bite
• Swimming pool accident
• Fire or explosion
• Elevator and escalator accidents
• Poor maintenance and repairs
• Inadequate lighting
• Icy pavement or sidewalk
• Cracked, damaged, or uneven flooring
• Toxic chemicals
• Missing or faulty handrails

All property owners and business owners owe their guests a reasonable degree of care to prevent them from harm. There are three categories of guests that indicate the owner’s level of responsibility towards them:

• Invitee: Has an implied or expressed permission to be on the property. Examples include neighbors, friends, or relatives. The owner owes them the duty of keeping the property safe and free from hazards.
• Licensee: Has the owner’s implied or express permission to enter the property but is doing so for their own purpose. For example, a salesman is allowed to be there but is attempting to make money rather than just visiting. The owner has a minimal duty to warn about any dangerous conditions.
• Trespasser: A person who does not have the authorization to enter the property. The owner does not have any legal duty to warn them of hazards or reasonably prevent them from harm.

St. Louis premises liability lawyers have the knowledge and skills to review everything that happened to determine how you got hurt and who was at fault. You were most likely an invitee at the time of the accident, meaning you had a right to know if any dangers on the property could have caused you harm. If your attorney discovers that the owner didn’t provide proper warning or knowingly ignored hazards, you could pursue legal action.

What is Product Liability?

Product liability is the result of a manufacturer or seller providing a consumer with a defective product. When that happens, anyone involved in the product’s chain of distribution could be held liable for injuries someone sustains.

Three main types of product defects might exist and could have been the reason you got hurt:

• Design defect: A product’s design is inherently dangerous even if the consumer uses it properly.
• Manufacturing defect: An error occurred during the manufacturing or assembly of the product.
• Failure to warn: The company failed to provide adequate warning labels about the risks of using their product.

Your St. Louis product liability lawyer can perform an investigation and gather evidence that shows the exact cause of your injury. It’s crucial to determine the type of defect that occurred so the individual or entity can be held financially responsible. You suffered a great deal of harm and deserve compensation for your damages.

What are Damages?

Damages refer to all the losses associated with an accident or injury. They fall under two categories: economic and noneconomic. Economic damages are actual expenses, while non-economic damages are intangible losses. They include:

• Medical bills
• Lost wages
• Lost earning capacity
• Pain and suffering
• Mental anguish
• Property damage
• Loss of qualify of life
• Loss of consortium or companionship

Whether you were the victim of a premises liability or product liability, you can file an insurance claim or civil lawsuit. It not only holds another person liable for their carelessness but also reimburses you for your total damages. You shouldn’t have to pay out of pocket for any of your expenses. The at-fault party should be financially responsible.

To make sure that you get the full and fair compensation you’re owed, make sure to speak with a skilled St. Louis premises liability lawyer who has the right skills, experience, and resources to handle your case. There is a limited time to file an injury claim if you’ve been hurt on someone’s property or if a defective product has harmed you, so make sure to take swift action and hire a qualified injury attorney right away.

With every accident, expenses come in hand and there is always a possibility to rip off your pocket. If you want to ensure your pockets are safe, you should consider getting a fair auto accident settlement, and thus you better start doing your math. Every accident is different and thus asks for a different auto accident settlement. So, it’s tough to know whether you are getting fair compensation or not. But just like any other car accident the damage includes physical and emotional pain that should be taken into account.

However, it can be a daunting experience for you to get your car accident settled with fair compensation. To make this process easier, you can rely on highly experienced and skilled Car Accident Lawyer Beverly Hills. Moreover, you need to know the worth of your claim so that you can ask for the right compensation that you deserve. You should learn about the major facts before you accept the first settlement offered to you.

You have the complete right to ask for the right compensation rather than just accepting the first offer made to you. With the right attorney on your side, you can negotiate at it’s best and get the perfect deal.

But before you start on that, you should first decide upon the money yourselves. And for that, 3 major things should be considered, such as:

Know your Claim’s Value

Just like every other company, the main motive of the insurance company is to earn a good amount of profit, thus the first offer made to you will be just a convenient amount that they think you will accept willingly. But it’s not always a closing settlement, you can maximize it further accordingly. Even if it seems like a fair auto accident compensation, you should always accept it after analyzing and doing your research for damages. Several things should be considered before accepting the offer. There should be a proper account of damages that you have to pay for currently or in the future. Before you miss on anything, there is a list of damages that you should consider:

• Vehicle Repairing
• Medical Bill in case of any injury
• Cost of Rental Vehicle until repairs
• Cost for a maid to do the daily work, as you are injured
• A salary that you have lost due to missed work
• Property damages
• Damaged Possessions
• Future therapy and treatments
• Emotional Damages
• Physical pain and suffering
• Expected Future Lost earnings

There can be many more possibilities that can be counted for compensation such as new opportunities for earnings and more. Thus, you should calculate accordingly and ask for fair compensation. If in any case, the insurance company is not settling with a fair amount of compensation then you have the complete right to file a case against it and get justice.

In such situations, hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer Beverly Hills can be of great help to negotiate on your behalf. Most people do not want to hassle for fair compensation, but if you hire a dedicated lawyer, you are all covered. A professional attorney can not just help you to provide a fair settlement but can also maximize the compensation for the difficulties you have faced to claim your money.

Identify the Person Behind Accident

Before asking for any compensation, you should know who caused the accident. There can be possibilities of involving more than one person responsible for the accident. It can either be the one who was driving at the moment of the accident, you, or even both. Just imagine, if the driver was drunk driving or you were crossing road texting without looking at the stop sign, then in such case it’s either the fault of the driver or you. But if you missed the sign and the driver was drunk too, then both are liable for the cause and have to compensate accordingly.

Thus, it is important to analyze the situation first and then act. Knowing the faulted man and his part of the cause can help you make a fair deal. If you are at any fault, you should consider that and discuss with your attorney to present it in the best light before anyone does.

Be informed about binding liability releases

You should be well informed about the binding liability release before accepting the offer made by an insurance company. As it properly states that you cannot ask for any more compensation after the agreement is closed. This means that it is a final agreement and cannot be updated or modified further in any circumstances.

Several medical conditions do not show any symptoms at the beginning but can turn into a severe condition afterward. And that is why it’s so critical to look after your wounds and what it will mean for your capacity to be utilized later on, portability, wellbeing, and personal satisfaction.

An expert lawyer can assist you with deciding the estimation of your case, going about as a backer to improve the probability that the insurance agency will make a reasonable offer from the beginning simultaneously. An accomplished lawyer can construct a convincing case so you can get the most extreme compensation, which incorporates investigating the subtleties of the case, talking with your clinical group, and so forth.

Conclusion

The whole process may take up your time and efforts, but it’s all worth it once you claim the compensation that you deserve. Thus, don’t think of the hassle and let your Personal Injury Lawyer Beverly Hills work towards providing you fair compensation. To ensure you are doing everything right, mark the above-mentioned points and follow from the start. I wish you all the luck that prevails!

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) cause changes in brain function. Though they may occur spontaneously due to strokes or other medical events that take place within the body, a significant percentage of TBIs are caused by external force. It is the latter that we will concern ourselves with here: accidental brain injuries for which another party’s negligence or recklessness may be to blame. Tragically, there are a great many types of accidents that may result in such injuries.

If you have suffered a TBI in an accident, you are no doubt overwhelmed by physical and cognitive symptoms, not to mention loss of income and financial burdens. Once you have been properly diagnosed and are being treated for symptoms that accompany such severe injury, it is imperative that you or a family member contact a personal injury attorney with experience in brain injury accident cases. A talented lawyer with a history of successful outcomes can mean the difference between an unremitting financial struggle and a secure future for you and your loved ones.

Types of Accidents That Commonly Cause Traumatic Brain Injuries

Though our brains are designed to be well-protected by the bones of the skull, a hard blow or collision can result in severe injury to their delicate tissue. Depending upon what part of the brain is impacted, it is possible to suffer a broad range of symptoms, including:

• Loss of consciousness (briefly, for a prolonged period, or permanently)
• Sensory loss (e.g. loss of sight, hearing, tactile sensation, smell or taste
• Motor impairment, partial or complete paralysis
• Cognitive deficits, such as memory loss or mental acuity
• Mood disorders, depression, inexplicable rage
• Inability to speak
• Seizures

The harsh reality is that accidents like those listed below may, in a matter of seconds, result in death or permanently alter your life.

Traffic Accident Brain Injuries

As the media makes us aware, serious traffic accidents occur on a daily basis and some result in TBIs. Whether you are driving or a passenger, traveling in a car, truck, bus or trolley, riding a motorcycle, motor scooter or bicycle, or simply a pedestrian, a traffic accident can damage the organ you most depend on.

If someone else is responsible for the serious harm that has come to you, you are entitled to receive substantial compensation. If you were hit by a drunk, speeding, or otherwise reckless driver, were the victim of a poorly maintained public vehicle or a poorly maintained road surface — an aggressive traffic accident attorney will protect your rights.

Sports Accident Brain Injuries

In many cases, so-called sports “accidents” are caused by improper supervision (especially of children and teenagers on school or recreational teams) or defects in helmets or other protective gear. In such cases, a savvy sports injury attorney may well be able to win damages from the school district, athletic organization, camp, or manufacturer of defective sports equipment.

Examples of sports in which you may have suffered a brain injury include:

• Contact sports like football, hockey or boxing
• Diving
• Cycling
• Horseback riding
• Basketball or baseball

Don’t just assume that sports injuries are nobody’s fault. It is very possible that you may have legal recourse.

Slip and Fall Brain Injuries (Premises Liability)

While some falls are simply the result of clumsiness or misstep (tripping over your own shoelace, for example), many TBIs occur as a result of someone else’s negligence. If you trip on your neighbor’s property, at a store, office, public building or sidewalk as a result of an unmarked:

• Hole
• Obstacle
• Slippery floor
• Broken step or banister
• Falling debris
• Construction materials

a competent slip and fall attorney may be able to win damages for your injury and its concomitant expenses. Whether your TBI occurs when you’re making a deposit at the bank or walking in your local supermarket’s unsanded icy parking lot, you need a knowledgeable premises liability lawyer to see your case through.

Nursing Home Brain Injuries

It is painful to realize that a certain number of elderly patients in nursing homes suffer severe injuries due to negligence or abuse. While most nurses and aides are dedicated to their patients, some allow them to fall and suffer TBIs by:

• Not supervising them carefully enough
• Failing to assist them when they need to go to the bathroom or want to walk, leaving them to navigate unsafely on their own
• Overmedicating them to keep them submissive, which impairs their balance and makes them disoriented, increasing the risk that they will fall
• Shoving them or slapping them so that they fall and hit their heads

If your loved one has suffered a traumatic brain injury due to such awful treatment, you should contact a nursing home negligence/abuse attorney to give your family the best chance of obtaining justice. 

Medical Malpractice Brain Injuries

No one likes to admit the possibility that medical professionals may cause injury or disease, least of all doctors or nurses themselves. Still, the grim reality is that a certain number of patients suffer TBIs due to one of the following types of medical malpractice:

• Anesthesia error
• Failure to diagnose a condition that might lead to a stroke
• Misdiagnosis of a brain infection that delays treatment
• Medication error (e.g. accidental overdose)
• Birth injuries that occur due to negligent obstetric care

Even though in all but the rarest cases, medical mistakes are unintentional, the person or entity responsible for your loved one’s injury must be held accountable. You will need a skilled brain injury attorney to fight vigorously for the funds that will be needed now and going forward.

What an Accomplished Brain Injury Attorney Will Do to Help

No matter whether the brain injury suffered was one the patient was able to recover from through surgery and/or extensive rehabilitation, or has resulted in permanent disability or death, your lawyer’s job will be to:

• Investigate the accident carefully
• Pore over the police report
• Exam all medical records
• Interview witnesses
• Consult with experts who may be able to give pertinent testimony
• File all required legal documents promptly

More than that, your personal injury attorney will commit to fighting tooth and nail to win you the damages you deserve. 

Recoverable Damages in Brain Injury Cases

TBI cases result in some of the highest verdicts and settlements because the consequences of brain damage are so often catastrophic. How do you calculate what a patient is owed for blindness, loss of memory, constant confusion, loss of the use of one side of the body, complete paralysis? Depending on the particular circumstances, your attorney will seek to provide you with resources to pay for:

• Medical costs
• Lost income, present and future
• Pain and suffering
• Permanent disability
• Physical, psychiatric, and occupational therapy
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Alterations to make your home accessible
• Long-term nursing and home care

Though it is hard to carry on with your life after a traumatic brain injury, with the help of a highly competent, compassionate attorney, you will have the very best chance of overcoming this tragedy and moving forward in a positive direction.