Dunnion Law provides you with answers to the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) related to personal injury, auto accidents and hiring an attorney.
Accidents happen in the course of daily life regardless of whether your age – there seems to be no limitation on where and when they occur. You can be just about anywhere and become the sudden victim of a slip-and-fall-injury.
Insurance agent regrets to inform victim about refusal to pay compensation
Walking out of your apartment, visiting a friend, doing routine shopping… all are normal daily activities until the unthinkable happens. Now, what do you do? Call a lawyer, a doctor, or just let it slide? These are normal questions, and hopefully, we can answer a few for you here.
Any time you are involved in an accident, whether it’s related to a slip-and-fall or otherwise, you should contact a personal injury attorney in California right away. There are statutes of limitations in the state concerning how long you have to file a claim for certain injuries. Protect yourself ASAP by contacting a lawyer right after the accident to help you navigate your case effectively.
It may take days or weeks to recognize that you’ve been injured at all. The shock and awe of falling can send mixed messages to the body that don’t immediately process pain signals. Get medical attention right away to document your injury and let us get started on seeking compensation for damages.
A slip-and-fall injury is a personal injury claim in California, so there are certain time constraints on how quickly you must proceed with a case. In the state of California, you typically have only two years to start the claims process, but you should contact an attorney to see if you may need to file sooner. Our attorneys can help explore the depth of your case to determine the limitations on your specific case.
It’s a sad situation for everyone should you suffer a slip-and-fall accident at a friend’s or family member’s home, but your feelings of guilt shouldn’t deter you from getting the compensation and treatment you need, particularly if they have homeowner’s or renter’s insurance. Our California personal injury attorneys can help you build a case against their landlords or their insurance company, and you can get the help and assistance you need without putting a strain on friends and family personally. That’s what insurance is for!
Your attorney will work diligently to prove your case, which includes reviewing medical documents, accident records, police statements, adjuster evaluations and any other relevant information to confirm statements regarding claims. We are on your side from start to finish to ensure you get a fair settlement.
Whether you are at fault or not, California is a purely comparative negligence state, which allows parties to collect for damages even if they are 99 percent at fault. However, the amount of damages is limited by the party’s actual degree of fault. Our attorneys can help you navigate these complex waters and ease your burdens.
Whether you were putting away holiday decorations, are a senior with mobility issues, or just happened to encounter a hindrance that caused you to slip and fall, a personal injury attorney at Dunnion Law can be the best advocate to have on your side as you navigate your way back to health.
That’s a difficult question, and ultimately depends on assessing the unique conditions of your claim, which cannot be done by an automated calculator. According to the All-Industry Research Advisory Council (ARAC), a typical personal injury case without an attorney settles for $3,262, while a client with an attorney will recover $11,939 – that’s over 3.5 times more money in your pocket.
Though we cannot guarantee or warrant case results, our personal injury lawyers have a proven reputation for successfully fighting for top-dollar settlements, and have secured more than $800 million for our clients. We know how to get clients much more than they would have gotten on their own or with another attorney.
To get an estimate of your settlement, you can speak with one of our experienced personal injury attorneys. They will assess your claim based on its unique circumstances and provide an estimated settlement once they gather the details of your case.
Under most circumstances, the information you remember can often be enough for us to provide some guidance for your case. However, the more information you have in hand, the more effectively we can review the viability of your injury case, and help get the legal prorcess underway. The most helpful documents are:
When you meet or speak with our personal injury lawyers, having as much documentation as possible can benefit your case though we can also help obtain essential documents for your case if you need our assistance. Once our personal injury team starts work on your case, they will manage all the additional documentation needed for your case.
Our clients trust us to advise and guide them about whether to accept an injury settlement or not. It is best to speak to one of our personal injury lawyers who can inform you with knowledgeable and experienced insights. But, in any case, you should not settle until meeting with our team. If at a later date, you need further medical treatment, or your injuries keep you from work, you will not have the option to seek additional compensation. It is likely that your offer from the insurance company is not what you truly deserve. Insurers take advantage of unrepresented individuals who are not aware of the true value of their case. With our knowledgeable, experienced personal injury attorneys, you can be assured that you will be compensated to the maximum extent possible.
In California, the insurer of the at-fault party must respond and acknowledge your accident claim within 15 days. Typically, the insurance company will begin their accident assessment which can take anywhere from a few days to several months to complete depending on the parties, circumstances and other details related to the accident.
It’s important to know that most insurance companies often take measures that can delay or prolong the assessment process and consequently, the settlement of your claim. During this time, they are building their own case to pay as little on your claim as possible. In the meantime, you’re faced with financial burdens and pressure resulting from the inability to work, or the seemingly insurmountable medical bills associated with your accident injuries. At that point, the insurance company may make you an initial offer, which you may be tempted to accept even when you know it’s far lower than you or your injury deserve.
If you’re concerned that these delay or lowball tactics are being used to force you into a lower settlement, a talk with our Dunnion Law team may be your next best step.
When Medicare applies payment for your medical expenses, it is considered a ‘conditional payment.’ Medicare offers this payment option when you are unable to make the payments yourself, helping you avoid going into debt or taking out loans to cover the cost of your medical care. These payments are made with the ‘condition’ that they will be repaid once you have funds available.
As a result, Medicare will expect re-payment once your settlement become available. The settlement is the single amount obtained at the end of the case to reimburse you for your accident injuries, damages and costs – including Medicare’s conditional payments.
Even though you may not be at fault for the accident, the at-fault driver’s insurance company will not pay for your medical bills, nor your property damage, until they complete their own liability and damage evaluation. Until then, you must make payment on medical costs associated with your accident or, have your health insurance pay them while your case is underway. It’s important to make sure that all of your medical providers bill your health insurance.
We recommend that you keep copies of these bills to help track how much you’ve paid, and determine the amount that will need to be recovered later. If you’re unable to pay your medical bills in full, or are uninsured, we recommend you make either a payment plan or other arrangements with your provider to avoid the bills from being forwarded to a collection agency. When you call us, we can even help manage the medical bills for your injury. The at-fault driver’s insurance company may take months to finish their liability evaluation and those bills could affect your credit score in the meantime.
If you’re unsure about the insurance company’s plans to reimburse your costs for medical care or property damage, contacting one of our experienced accident attorneys can help you determine whether it’s time to get legal help on your claim.
You should report the accident to your insurance company and the at-fault driver’s insurance company. You may also need to arrange to have your vehicle evaluated by the at-fault driver’s insurance. When you contact us and get your case underway, we can also take care of these insurance notifications and vehicle arrangements for you. At that time, we can also confirm coverage for your rental car. The insurance adjusters will assess the property damage and provide a settlement amount so repairs can be made. Sometimes, they may even refer you to a repair shop so you can get estimates to repair the damage.
It’s also important to know that the adjuster may declare your vehicle as ‘totaled,’ meaning the damage costs more than the vehicle is worth. In those circumstances, the insurance company will pay you the lesser amount between the cost of the repair and the vehicle value. While you may dispute the adjuster’s assessment, legally the insurance company’s responsibility to you is restoration of the vehicle’s fair market value before the accident occurred.
If there are extenuating circumstances on the property damage, such as damage to items in your vehicle or, injury to yourself or others, speaking with our attorney can help you get clarity on the value of your damages and loss.
Before telling the insurance company about the accident, we recommend that you speak first with one of our personal injury lawyers. If you must talk to the insurance company, do not consent to being recorded, and limit your conversation to the vehicle’s condition and location so that its damage can be assessed.
Do not feel pressured to admit that you caused the accident or that you could have avoided it. It’s also advised that you do not discuss your injuries or how you are currently doing. It can often take days or weeks for the full extent of your injuries to manifest, and the insurance company could later use your comments against you. Taking these precautions will help strengthen your case, and will allow us to make sure you are fully compensated – something insurance companies are determined not to do.
Payment for a rental car is based on who was at fault for the accident, how clearly they were at fault, and the type of insurance coverage that’s available for the parties involved. Gathering this information and sharing it with our personal injury team can help you get a clear answer as to who will pay for your rental car.
We know how important a vehicle can be for getting to doctor appointments, going to work and generally focusing on your recovery and health. If your vehicle is currently under repair or otherwise unavailable, you can call us to understand how payment of your rental car will be covered.
Nearly 50 years ago we began our journey with the singular goal of fighting to prevent any insurance company from exploiting vulnerable victims for its own financial gain. Since then, we have held insurance companies, countless government entities, and other businesses financially responsible for the harm and injuries caused to our clients. We are dedicated to representing injury victims in California and protecting those individuals from injustice:
LEADERSHIP
Dunnion Law challenges inequity within the insurance system, proactively pushing the scale back toward those injured through no fault of their own.
TRUST
We fight entirely on behalf of the victim, defending him/her from insurance companies selfishly motivated to pay him highly undervalued amounts for his injuries.
COMPASSION
We provide compassionate, trusted service fully aligned around the victim and his needs, relieving him of the stress, angst and frustration that accompany being injured due to another’s negligence.
