Personal Injury Attorneys Santa Clarita, CA
Have you or a loved one experienced a personal injury accident in Santa Clarita? Don’t worry, we’re here to help.
Personal injury law addresses those injury-causing accidents that are caused by the negligence of someone else. Common examples include traffic accidents, slip and falls, pool drownings, and dog bites. Motorists, commercial property and pool owners, and pet owners all owe others a duty of care that requires them to maintain reasonably safe standards. If they fail to meet these standards and injuries result, personal injury law addresses the victims' damages. If someone else's negligence leaves you injured, an experienced Santa Clarita personal injury attorney can help.
Santa Clarita Accident Attorneys
Your personal injury claim will be singular to your situation, but there are several things every claimant can do to help protect their own health, recovery, and claim.
Seek Immediate Medical Attention
If you’ve been injured in an accident that was caused by someone else’s negligence, seeking immediate medical attention is paramount. Even if you don’t think you’ve been seriously injured in the accident, it’s important to recognize that some serious injuries are slow to present with recognizable symptoms. Further, obtaining an early diagnosis can greatly improve your prognosis. It’s also important to follow your doctor’s instructions carefully moving forward. Not only is it the right thing to do for your health, but it also lets the insurance company know that you take your physical injuries as seriously as they are expected to take them.
Gather Evidence at the Scene
If you can, it’s an excellent idea to gather evidence at the scene of the accident that leaves you injured. Doing so can mean any of the following (that apply):
- Taking pictures and videos of the accident’s results, such as the crashed vehicles and your physical injuries (in a car accident) – or of anything else that makes sense within the context of your accident
- Gathering eyewitness accounts (and eyewitness contact information)
- Not commenting about the accident at the scene unless you are asked to do so by an attending officer
- Obtaining a copy of the accident report
- Jotting down your recollections of how the accident happened as soon afterward as possible (preserving your memories can go a long way toward bolstering your claim)
Consult with an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney
The sooner you consult with an experienced personal injury attorney, the sooner he or she can begin working for you by tightening your claim. Personal injury claims tend to be complicated, and the insurance company is not likely to make it easy for you. Your attorney, however, has the experience and the legal insight to help effectively and efficiently guide your claim toward its best possible conclusion.
Comment on Your Claim as Little as Possible
Your personal injury claim will proceed through the at-fault party’s insurance company. This company is driven by profits, which means that it is driven to minimize your claim by whatever means possible. As such, you can count on the insurance company watching for you to trip up. Such a mistake can be something as simple as a post you make about the accident on social media that the insurance company twists to mean something else entirely. The best way to handle the insurance company from your position is to give them as little to work with as possible and allow your dedicated personal injury attorney to provide them with whatever information and documentation they need. You, as the claimant, are not required to provide the insurance company with an official statement, and you do your claim a favor by not doing so.
Negotiations with the Insurance Company
The insurance company involved in your claim is motivated by profits, and toward this end, it may engage in some practices that are less than scrupulous. These can include:
- Denying claims from the outset
- Prolonging and overly complicating the claims process
- Making an early lowball settlement offer
- Attempting to shift blame
- Calling the amounts of the damages suffered into question
Again, dealing with the insurance company is a job for your accomplished personal injury attorney.
Your Damages
The damages you seek in your personal injury claim can include your medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
Medical Expenses
The medical costs associated with a serious injury can be immense and depending upon the kind of injuries you suffer, they can also be ongoing. Some injuries lead to secondary health conditions that expand your need for medical care. Your medical expenses can include the cost of all the following:
- Emergency care and transportation
- Surgery
- Hospitalization
- Treatment and care from doctors, specialists, and other medical
- professionals
- Physical and occupational therapy
- Rehabilitation
- Follow-up care
- Prescription medications
- Home health care
- Adaptive physical devices
Lost Earnings
Not only are you likely to experience a decrease in wages while you are recovering from your injuries, but you might also be facing a diminished earning capacity into the future. Further, your career path may be altered. Because our careers play such an important role in our lives, job losses can be as emotionally damaging as they are financially damaging.
Pain and Suffering
Being injured in an accident that was caused by someone else’s negligence can be as terrifying as it is painful, and the associated pain and suffering you go through can be exceptionally difficult. Your pain and suffering can take many forms, including:
- Sleep disturbances
- Increased anxiety
- Anxiety attacks
- Depressive episodes
- Accident flashbacks
- Self-isolation
- Severe mood swings
- Irritability
- Lashing out
- Paranoia
The pain and suffering you experience can be debilitating and shouldn’t be minimized in your personal injury claim.
An Experienced Santa Clarita Personal Injury Attorney Is Standing by to Help
The journey from being injured in an accident that was caused by someone else’s negligence toward healing can be long and difficult, but the compassionate Santa Clarita personal injury attorneys at Los Angeles City Law are well equipped to help guide your claim toward a favorable resolution. Your rights and your rightful compensation are important, so please do not hesitate to contact or call us at 866-522-4895 for more information about how we can help you today.
