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Redkey & Gordon

Sutter Creek, California Auto & Car Accident Attorney

THOUSANDS OF AUTO ACCIDENTS HAPPEN EVERY DAY IN CALIFORNIA AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY

California Motor vehicle accidents are the number one cause of unintentional injury death in the state of California. California’s high population, and especially its congested cities, has led to California having the highest number of car accidents, injuries, and deaths in the country each year. Negligent, drunk, drowsy, and drugged drivers, unsafe road conditions, faulty vehicle parts, all of these things contribute to the high number of auto accidents on California roadways.

In 2016, there were 2,177,000 car accidents nationwide that involved physical injuries. These injuries range from whiplash and broken bones to traumatic brain injury and paralysis. For every one of these accidents, someone was at fault.

The number of fatal accidents is even more alarming. In 2017, 37,133 people died across the country in traffic accidents. In California alone, there were 3,304 fatal car accidents causing a total of 3,602 fatalities. There were 48 car accident deaths per 100,000 people in California. If your family member was killed in a California car accident, it is vital that you contact a dedicated auto accident attorney immediately to ensure that your rights are protected and you are as best equipped as possible to recover for your loss.

WHAT ARE THE FIRST STEPS TO TAKE AFTER AN AUTO COLLISION IN STOCKTON & SUTTER CREEK, CA?

After checking for injuries, obtain a police report! If you are involved in a motor vehicle collision, it is imperative to have the responding police officer document the necessary information regarding the collision. Often, parties to an accident change their statements or opinions after the collision. A law enforcement officer will take statements from all involved parties and obtain the identity of any witnesses. An officer will also obtain the necessary insurance information from any driver which is required should you have a claim for physical injuries or property damage.

If you need to contact the other driver’s insurance, you do so at your own risk. An insurance company is in the business of reducing the amount of money they want to pay on accident claims.

There are some “do’s” and “dont’s” for clients. People make many mistakes when dealing with insurance companies following a collision. So, before you reach out and communicate with either your insurance company or the other driver’s insurance company, consider the following:

  • DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN A RECORDED STATEMENT — this recording is often used to contradict your testimony at later legal proceedings.
  • DO NOT LET YOUR VEHICLE BE FIXED BY THE OTHER INSURANCE COMPANY’S AUTOBODY SHOP – This is a way that insurance companies minimize the cost and quality of repairs to your vehicle. Take your vehicle to a reputable body shop of your choice who can deal directly with the insurance company.
  • DO NOT SIGN MEDICAL AUTHORIZATIONS — Insurance companies often try to get victims to sign these documents as an attempt to “help assist in getting their medical records.” However, most of these medical authorizations are unlimited in time and scope and allow the insurance company to retrieve ALL of your personal medical information over the course of your life. Your entire medical history is an open book when you sign these authorizations. The insurance companies attempt to attribute your injuries in this collision to some event or complaint that you may have in the past.

WHY WOULD YOU NEED AN AUTO ACCIDENT ATTORNEY IN STOCKTON & SUTTER CREEK?

An insurance company is going to protect their own interests. They are large corporations that have a strategy to minimize the payments of claims. Many of these claims can be reduced by doing such things as offering clients money initially, in a time in desperation, for a small percentage of the actual value of the claim. In that situation, the client needs a car accident attorney to provide a reasonable estimation of the value of their claim in relation to what the insurance company dictates to the client.

An experienced auto accident attorney will also be able to facilitate and aid in the medical treatment of their clients to ensure that they get back to pre-accident status. Some clients DO NOT have medical insurance to cover the treatment. Redkey Gordon can assist in guiding the client to a medical provider who will accept a medical lien. That is crucial to effectively settle the claim at resolution. Many medical providers will not allow treatment without the issuance of a medical lien prior to settling a third-party motor vehicle accident case. Our Stockon & Sutter Creek Personal Injury Law Office has developed lien relationships with a number of medical providers to ensure that the medical bills are paid through the settlement. This is a great benefit to the client as the client’s medical bills are often unpaid until the settlement of the claim, and the lien ensures that the unpaid bills will not be transferred into a collection company.

ARE CATASTROPHIC INJURIES THE ONLY CLAIMS WORTH CONSULTING AN AUTO ACCIDENT ATTORNEY FOR?

Absolutely not. We often tell our clients that any motor vehicle accident in Sutter Creek that involves medical treatment is likely eligible for representation and assistance. In some cases, clients have benign or minor complaints, but as time goes on, these injuries turn into much larger complaints requiring much more medical treatment, and much larger settlements. Ultimately, the rehabilitation and recuperation pattern from these injuries is unsettled and unexpected.

OUR PERSONAL INJURY LAW FIRM IN STOCKTON & SUTTER CREEK INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING PRACTICE AREAS:

HOW CAN YOU HELP YOUR AUTO ACCIDENT LAWSUIT?

The most effective way to assist our Stockton & Sutter Creek auto accident attorney is to contact our law firm as soon as possible following the incident. The insurance company will take many steps to try to reduce the value of the client’s claims right after an accident takes place. Therefore, the client’s interests must be protected from the point of the incident forward, and the best way to do that is to establish a relationship with our law office from the immediate start.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I AM HIT BY AN UNINSURED DRIVER IN?

California law requires that every driver on the road keep a minimum level of car insurance in case of an accident. Not everyone, unfortunately, follows the law. If you are in an accident that is caused by an uninsured driver, what can you do to avoid being financially devastated by any auto damage, property damage, or medical bills that result?

After any traffic accident involving an injury, and especially if you discover the other party is uninsured, the first step is to call the police. The police report is one of the first and best pieces of evidence regarding your crash and can make a big difference if you end up needing to bring a lawsuit. You should then collect all the information you can – collect contact information from the other driver, take photos of the damage to your car and the location of the crash, talk to any witnesses. This is likely when you will discover that the other driver is uninsured. If they do show you an insurance card, take down their information and plan to check with their insurance company, just in case their policy is expired, canceled, in someone else’s name, or otherwise not valid. Then, call your insurance company. California law does not require that your policy cover crashes with uninsured drivers, so you will need to ask your insurance provider if you do have that coverage.

Finally, call a personal injury attorney. Even if you do have insurance coverage for uninsured driver collision, your insurance company may resist the claim. You may end up having to fight with your insurance or with the other driver to pay you out of pocket. Should you end up in a legal battle over payments for your medical bills and other damages, it is vital to have a dedicated Sutter Creek personal injury attorney in your corner, helping you gather the right evidence and make the best arguments in order to maximize your compensation.

CAR ACCIDENT CONTENT:

WHY SHOULD YOU CHOOSE REDKEY GORDON LAW CORP?

Our attorneys have exclusively represented and settled personal injury claims over the last 23 years. We understand the medical treatment that is required to recuperate and rehabilitate our clients. We understand the medical lien issues which are complex and varied, and we understand the legal causation issues that sometimes surface in these personal injury claims. Our car accident attorneys have personal and direct communication continually with the client which can facilitate a successful resolution to their claim.

CONTACT OUR CAR ACCIDENT LAWYERS IN STOCKTON & SUTTER CREEK, CA FOR A FREE CONSULTATION AT 209-680-3089.

Compassion for our clients is both required and a hallmark of our success. A successful resolution to an automobile claim requires constant personal and compassionate communication with the client as well as maximizing the client’s financial interests in this most unfortunate event. Our car accident attorneys can serve the emotional and financial interests of such a claim to your complete satisfaction.

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