PERSONAL INJURY FAQ’S

No matter the severity of the injury, you need to seek medical attention! It doesn’t matter if it is a low speed car accident injury, a slip and fall injury, or you were injured at a  nursing or long-term care facility You need to see a doctor.

Even if you ultimately decide not to pursue a claim, your health is of the utmost importance. Seeking medical attention immediately after your injury can also help against long-term ill effects.

If you do decide to pursue a claim, one of the first things that insurance adjusters will look at is when you sought care. If you went to the ER immediately after, set up an appointment with your doctor or urgent care, etc. close to the accident and continued care, there is a stronger likelihood of proving the accident caused the injury than waiting 3-6 months or longer before going to a doctor. The longer you wait, the more likely the insurance company can create doubt that your injury was connected to accident. While not all personal or auto accident injuries manifest themselves immediately, it does not change the fact you should seek immediate medical care. Do it for yourself!

If you’ve been in an auto accident, please see our detailed Auto Accident Checklist on what to do immediately after the accident occurred.

If you have any questions regarding a personal injury claim or auto accident injury claim questions please contact us at (916) 619-5452 fillout our FREE case evaluation form

If you were in an auto accident, whether it was a car, truck, motorcycle, or involving a bicycle or a pedestrian, your fault, uninsured (question about not having insurance), or not (why you should hire a personal injury attorney), it can leave you feeling jarred. Getting into an accident, and possibly being injured, is the last thing we think about when getting into our vehicle, or jumping on a bike, or going for a fun. However, accidents do happen. And they happen quickly and unexpectedly.

If you are in an auto accident, the following is a checklist of things you can do:

1. Try to move to a safe area, if possible, park the car, and put on your hazard lights

If the accident and injuries are minor, try to move your car or vehicle to the side of the road. While the shoulder can still be dangerous, it is safer than leaving your vehicle in the middle of the road. Whether you moved it to the side of the road or not, after that shift the car into park and stop the vehicle. Put your hazard lights to warn other drivers that something has happened and to slow down. If you have cones, flares, or warning triangles in your trunk you can use those for added safety and notification.

2. Check on Injuries and Call 911

Check for injuries to yourself, as well as other parties involved, to make sure no one is seriously hurt. Call 911 if anyone was injured. This is important from a safety perspective because even minor injuries can result in serious health complications.

3. Cooperate with Police but do not admit fault or blame others

A police report can aid in your personal injury claim when dealing with insurance companies and other drivers. Cooperate fully and be polite, but do not admit fault or blame others. Simply give the facts of what happened (question about speaking with police) and allow the police to objectively determine who, if anyone, was at fault.

If the police don’t appear, you still need to file an accident report with the California DMV if damage was over $1,000, anyone was injured (even minor injuries), or anyone was killed. The link to the DMV website can be found here.

4. Gather information

Try to gather as much information as you can get the scene:

• Take pictures of:

o Driver’s license of other drivers in accident
o Insurance card of other drivers in accident
o Vehicles in accident
o Scene of the accident

• Write down:

o Drivers and passengers names and contact information
o Vehicle descriptions (make, model, year)
o Driver’s license numbers
o License plate numbers
o Insurance companies and policy numbers
o Witnesses: names and contact information
o Location of accident/address
o Police officer’s name and badge number

5. Get Immediate Medical Attention

The most important thing is your health. It is important to get checked out either by going to the Emergency Room or immediately scheduling an appointment with a doctor. Insurance companies will look at how long you wait to get care. If you wait 3 months, they will argue that something else may have happened and try to reduce your claim. Take care of your health AND protect your claim (why you should hire a personal injury attorney).

6. Notify Your Insurance Company of an Accident

More than likely, your insurance policy contains a clause that you are required to notify your insurance company an accident happened. Follow the procedures in your policy to notify them an accident occurred (question about notifying your own insurance). Do not offer additional information (question about recorded statement with other insurance company). until you’ve spoken to a personal injury attorney to evaluate your claim.

7. Call a Personal Injury Attorney to Evaluate Your Claim

Insurance companies are in the business of making money. If they can try to poke a hole in your personal injury claim and pay you less than you deserve, they will. Personal injury attorneys, like those at Hanecak Law Inc (why you should hire a personal injury attorney) will help level the playing field in negotiations and take hold of the communication with the insurance company. Don’t miss out on the compensation you deserve.

If your auto accident occurred in the state of California, Hanecak Law Inc can be your auto accident attorney. We offer a FREE case evaluation. You can find it here or by calling us at (916) 619-5452.

It is best if you contact a personal injury attorney as quickly as possible after your injury. This is especially true if the injuries are severe or there was a death. While defense attorneys like to paint this in a negative light, there are important reasons for quick contact to a personal injury attorney (“Why Should I Hire a personal injury attorney?”). Valuable evidence can disappear or be destroyed, witnesses move, memories of the parties involved or witnesses fade, and ultimately, the longer that time passes, the harder it may be to prove your case.

If you are beginning treatment, or still being treated by a physician, an attorney can help guide you through the process as well as how to deal with medical bills. While litigation is stressful, having a seasoned personal injury attorney there to help walk you through the case and evaluate things lessens this burden. Don’t be afraid to contact a personal injury attorney today if you’ve suffered an injury and would like your claim evaluated.

There are many benefits to hiring a personal injury attorney. The following are just a few ways that an experienced and zealous advocate on your side can help you.

Get You the Compensation You Deserve: Insurance companies will almost always offer a quick settlement that does not fully compensate you for your injuries (or offer nothing at all).  Your personal injury attorney should fight to get you every penny you are entitled to in a cost-effective manner.  They should also fight to recover your lost wages, pain and suffering, medical bills and other expenses that add up.  The cost of renting or buying wheelchairs, walkers, home healthcare, shower chairs, and other expenses that are not covered by insurance that are necessary for your recovery.

Reduce the Stress of Financial Recovery so that You can Focus on Physical Recovery:  Litigation is stressful. This is true in any area of law where there is a potential for trial. Whether you hire us as your personal injury attorney or another firm, your attorney will immediately begin dealing with insurance companies (“Do I need to give a statement to other insurance company?”) on your behalf so they will no longer be contacting you directly. When a suit is filed, your personal injury attorney takes on the negotiation aspect so that you can focus all of your attention on your recovery.  Reducing your stress and anxiety can help you heal more quickly and get back to your life, family and friends.

Statute of Limitations and Other Potential Legal Pitfalls: Many victims in personal injury cases miss out on pursuing their claims because of the Statute of Limitations (“Are there time limits on when I can file?”). This is a cut-off period of time where you have to bring your claim or otherwise be forever barred from seeking recovery. If you do not file a complaint within the time permitted by law, you will not be able to pursue your claims and lose your right to sue the adverse party or seek insurance coverage. In California, the Statute of Limitations for personal injury is 2 years. Your personal injury attorney will be knowledgeable in how to handle additional potential legal pitfalls the lay person is unaware of.

Ability to Negotiate: Your personal injury attorney can utilize the threat of filing a lawsuit to your strategic advantage when dealing with insurance companies. This will require the insurance company to spend money and time to defend the action. Because laypeople are not generally trained in the law, insurance carriers do not feel this pressure from them. This means a layperson will have less negotiating power. Additionally, if you handle your own claim, it is possible to overvalue it because you were the one injured. This can hurt a claim because it will cause the adverse carrier to fight more and lengthen the process. Your personal injury attorney will be able to objectively evaluate (link to Personal Injury Claim Case Evaluation Form) your claim and damages.

At Hanecak Law Inc our personal injury attorneys, have experience dealing with these and many more issues to maximize their clients’ results. Our personal injury attorneys have over 30 years of experience. Call today for your FREE personal injury case evaluation! 

Whether you were involved in the accident or are a witness, you should speak with the police. However, when you speak to them, only stick with the facts of what happened. Do not take blame for the accident or accuse the other party of being at fault. Don’t say anything that will implicate yourself and don’t apologize. Be calm and polite, but don’t say anything that makes it seem like your fault. Because it may not be. You may accidentally incriminate yourself and this could result in a citation and potentially damage your insurance claim.

Additionally, unless the police officer was a witness to the car accident, the police report is hearsay in court. This means it cannot be taken as fact or truth on its face. A police officer may determine you are at fault in a police report, but after investigation, it may be determined that the other party was at fault. This is why it is important to just stick to the facts of what happened.

What seems like a straightforward question is actually very complex. When you first meet with a personal injury attorney, they will work through your set of facts to try to get an initial idea of your “damages.” Damages for your personal injury may include: past and future medical bills, past and future lost wages, past and future pain and suffering, lost or damaged property, and other miscellaneous damages that may come up. However, this does not mean that you will be able to collect on all of these. For example, if you are retired or do not work, then lost wages will not apply. If no future medical attention or treatment is required, you will not get future medical bills or may not get any future pain and suffering.

While some of these numbers are hard costs that can be shown through invoices, bills, etc., some damages aren’t so easy to determine or there may be circumstances that reduce your claim. For example, pain levels in each person are subjective and one person may suffer more pain than another in a given injury. Or, you may have contributed to the injury and your claim may be reduced by the percentage of fault you are found to have.

Any good personal injury attorney should be hesitant to give a true case value at the outset. This is because there has not been a full investigation of the facts (and juries can be fickle). Sometimes these investigations turn up good things, but unfortunately, sometimes they turn up bad. It is up to the attorney to find both and address them accordingly.

If you would like a free case evaluation of your personal injury claim, please fill out our Personal Injury Questionnaire or contact us at (916) 619-5452.

Our case evaluations for personal injury claims are FREE. We will typically do an initial intake on the phone or through email to see if your claim qualifies. If we believe you may have a claim, we will schedule an appointment for you to come in to meet with us. These appointments usually range from about 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the complexity of the case.

If you do not make it past the initial screening, we by in no way mean to degrade or detract from your injury. Unfortunately, there are some situations where there may be a significant injury, but no remedy under the law. Just because we don’t take your claim, however, doesn’t mean you don’t have one. We always recommend that if we don’t take your claim to keep trying other personal injury lawyers, because someone may take a different approach to your case.

Typically, personal injury cases are taken on what’s called a “contingency fee.” This means that the attorney takes a percentage of any recovery. In most cases, the personal injury attorneys will front the costs of the case (filing fees, deposition transcripts, court reporters, etc.). Any costs that arise during the litigation will be reimbursed to them from any recovery. However, if there is no recovery, we don’t get paid and you will not owe us for those costs. Our fees are competitive and in line with those in the area. If you would like a free, no obligation case evaluation, please contact us today.

Yes. In California, the statute of limitations (meaning the time limit to sue) is 2 years for a personal injury claim. If the person is a minor or someone with a serious mental disability, it is possible to extend it beyond that time.

If you’ve been injured on public land or are making a personal injury claim against a government entity, the rules are slightly different. You must file a claim within SIX (6) MONTHS if you are pursuing a claim against the government. If you do not file within that time period, you will likely be barred from bringing the claim at all. This is just one of many reasons to seek an evaluation of your case from a personal injury attorney right away.

These are general guidelines as it relates to personal injuries. Medical malpractice is only 1 year. There are exceptions to the above. If you’ve been injured or have a question about the statute of limitations on a potential claim, you should consult with a personal injury attorney to determine your rights and preserve your claim.

If you’ve been in a hit and run accident, you should immediately call the police. This is especially true if someone has left the scene. Once the police arrive, make a report to document the incident. If anyone was injured make sure to call an ambulance. Take pictures of the damage with your cell phone and get the names and phone numbers of any witnesses. Please see our Auto Accident Checklist for more detail. If you were the driver and hit a parked car or other property, try to find the owner or driver. If you cannot, make sure you leave your name, address, explanation of what happened, and the name and address of the car’s owner (if it isn’t you) in a conspicuous place. You also need to notify the local police or CHP by phone or in person as soon as possible. If you don’t, you run the risk of serious fines or potentially jail time.

If you were the victim of a hit and run, you can make a claim to your insurance company if you have uninsured motorist coverage (UMC). However, if you chose not to carry this type of coverage you may not be able to recover anything. In addition, if you have Medical Payments Coverage (Med Pay), this can cover up to the limit you purchased.

Yes. You are under a duty to cooperate with your own insurance company. Most insurance companies require you to promptly report any accident you’ve been involved in. If you don’t notify them, it could result in complete loss of coverage for the accident.

However, when you do speak to them, stick to the facts of the incident. This is similar to speaking with the cops or the other driver’s insurance company. Do not place blame or accept blame—simply notify them of the accident and the facts surrounding it. Although many of follow up questions may seem harmless, they can be designed to poke holes and potentially reduce your claim. Before speaking with your insurance company again, and providing any other information, you should speak with a personal injury attorney to discuss your situation.

The best thing to do is to hire a personal injury attorney to handle communication unless you want to risk hurting your claim. Upon being retained, your personal injury attorney will send a letter of representation to make them the contact point.

Unfortunately, Insurance companies can take answers to what appear as harmless questions and make it as if you were never harmed or reduce your compensation.

The short answer is NO. While you are certainly obligated to cooperate with your own insurance company and give them a statement, this does NOT require you to give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance company.

In fact, you shouldn’t give a recorded statement until you have consulted with a personal injury attorney. After you’ve retained a personal injury attorney, they will send a letter of representation to the insurance companies to make all contact through them.

Insurance companies’ claims adjusters are professional negotiators with extensive experience. They are well-trained and their questions are designed to hurt your claim. An adjuster’s job is to save money for the insurance companies. They do this by making liability questionable or possibly by establishing that your medical claims are unfounded or unrelated so that they can avoid paying for the full extent of injuries.

No. While you have a duty to cooperate with your own insurance agent, you are under no obligation to give a statement to the other driver’s insurance company. Anything you say to the other driver’s insurance company will surely be used against you.

Insurance claim adjusters have a monetary interest in seeing your claim either not paid out or paid below the policy limits. One way that they do this is to receive written or oral statements from you by asking questions that could lead you into admitting fault, being unclear as to who was at fault, or even downplaying injuries or medical bills. These transcripts or interviews are used later down the road once litigation is filed to limit their liability.

Because insurance companies are professional negotiators that work to strike your claim, it is to your advantage to contact an auto accident attorney to speak to the insurance company on your behalf. This way you can be assured that you are not saying something that will damage your claim down the road.

If you’ve been in an auto accident and the person who hit you doesn’t have insurance, you may not be able to recover anything. There are two ways you may be able to recover damages if the at fault driver doesn’t have insurance: either they have significant personal assets or you possess under-insured (UIM or uninsured motorist coverage (UMC). Insurance companies are required to offer you UIM coverage, but you have to pay for it. If you choose not to buy it, you will have to sign a waiver.

If you were in a car with someone who has UMC coverage, you have your own UMC coverage, or are covered under a family member’s coverage you reside with, then there is still a chance you can recover for your damages. Typically, most policies have language that include family members that reside with the policyholder. You can ask the insurance company for a copy of the policy to see if it has this type of coverage.

Unfortunately, there are many drivers who do not carry any insurance and run this risk for themselves and other drivers who follow the law. If you’ve been in an auto accident with someone who does not have insurance, do not be afraid to contact us to evaluate your claim. We do this for free and do not get paid unless you are compensated. Contact us today at (916) 619-5452 or fill out our Personal Injury Questionnaire for your free case evaluation.

California law requires that drivers carry the following coverages: minimum bodily injury liability of $15,000 per person / $30,000 per accident and property damage liability of $5,000 minimum.

Unfortunately, this means that no matter how devastating the injuries or expensive the medical bills are for you, if the at fault party has minimum coverage, the insurance payout under their policy is limited to $15,000. You will not be able to recover more from them unless they have substantial assets. If there is more than one person in the accident, the amount is limited to $30,000. However, the likelihood of someone with minimum coverage and substantial assets is usually highly unlikely.

This is one reason it is important to carry under-insured/uninsured motorist coverage (UMC/UIM). UMC/UIM coverage can kick in where the at fault party’s coverage falls short. While this may be an additional expense, having that protection is worth it in the event of a serious auto accident injury.

These are not the only policies that may cover you, however. There are different policies (such as from the driver if you’re a passenger in a car that was hit, relatives who reside together, umbrella policy from homeowner’s, etc.) that your personal injury attorney can look into to see if you are covered.

If you’ve been in an accident and would like to see what your options are, please contact us today and let us see if we can help.

An underinsured driver is a driver whose insurance policy has lower policy limits than yours. If your damages are more than the other driver’s insurance and your insurance policy has higher limits than the driver who hit you, you can make a claim against your own insurance policy to recover your damages in an amount up to the difference between your insurance policies.

For example, let’s say the other driver’s policy limits were 15,000 per person / 30,000 per accident. And your limits are 25,000 per person / 50,000 per accident and your damages are 20,000. You can seek up to the difference ($20,000 – $15,000 = $5,000) from your own insurance company.

This is one reason it is important to carry under-insured/uninsured motorist coverage (UMC/UIM). UMC/UIM coverage can kick in where the at fault party’s coverage falls short. While this may be an additional expense, having that protection is worth it in the event of a serious auto accident injury.

California law requires drivers to have a minimum 15,000/30,000 policy for bodily injury. However, depending on the severity of the injury and the medical bills, this can be quite low. This is why it is important to look into paying a little bit extra for UIM coverage when offered by your insurer.

Yes, you can still sue even if you don’t have insurance. If you’re driving your own car without insurance and you’re hit, you can sue the other driver for medical bills, lost wages, and other money damages. However, you cannot sue for pain and suffering.

Also, don’t assume you aren’t covered because you don’t have your own insurance. If you’re driving a borrowed car and you’re in an accident, the owner of the vehicle may have coverage for other drivers that could cover you or the vehicle itself.

However, it is important to note that California law requires every driver to have insurance or other proof of financial responsibility and a minimum policy of $15.000 per person / $30,000 per accident bodily injury coverage. Simply because you know a car is insured does not mean you should be driving without insurance. This is for your sake and others as well.

If you sustained injuries in an auto accident and don’t have insurance, you should still contact a personal injury attorney to evaluate your options.

Yes, you can, but there are some things you need to take into consideration. If you have your own rental car coverage under your policy, it is better to use that so you don’t have to front any funds and seek reimbursement down the road. However, if you don’t have that type of coverage you will likely need to pay first and then be reimbursed.

Either way you go, you are entitled to reimbursement for reasonable usage and time of a rental car while your vehicle is being fixed. The party who caused the accident and your ability to use your car is legally responsible for: 1) providing a rental car for the reasonable time of loss of your vehicle; or 2) pay a reasonable rental value (or “loss of use”) for each day your car is not fixed.

If you decide not to rent a car, or use a friend’s, you can still claim “loss of use” because you went without your vehicle for a period of time.

California is a “comparative fault” state when it comes to auto accidents. What this means is that a percentage of fault is attributed to each party. In some cases, the fault lies entirely with one party. However, in others, there could be actions taken by both parties that that contribute to the harm. Each party is proportioned their share.

For example, if there was an accident and one party was found to be 35% at fault while the other was 65% at fault, there would be a 35-65 allocation. If 65% of the fault was allocated to you that means you pay 65% of the other party’s damages (ex: if his damages are $10,000, your insurance company pays $6,500.) However, this also means that if your damages were $100,000, their insurance company would be required to pay $35,000, or 35%.

This depends on a few different factors and who has what, if any, coverage. If you have your own collision/comprehensive coverage, it is probably best to go through your own insurer first. It is much faster to go through your own insurer because they won’t care about who’s at fault. Their focus is on repairs.

If you don’t have collision coverage or you don’t have your own insurance, you will need to go through the at fault party’s insurer. It is important to note, however, that they will want to conduct an investigation, take statements, and try to determine who is at fault before they agree to pay. This no doubt will take some time and delay you in getting your car fixed or replaced. It is also during this time that if you don’t have an attorney, they will ask questions or get statements to try to reduce your claim or knock it out altogether.

Even if you have a deductible to pay for your car to get fixed, it is easier to pay it, get your car repaired, and then have it refunded after your insurance company demands reimbursement (provided the other side is found at fault).

Every situation is different though. It depends on the type of coverage you have, if the other driver is covered, and if you have the funds available to pay for the deductible and then wait for reimbursement. These are all questions that we can help evaluate and guide you in the right direction.

You are allowed to pick the shop you go to. However, the insurance company will likely require it to be a licensed repair shop.

Out of pocket expenses are any costs that you have had to front that relates to your injury or loss of property. You will want to keep proof of purchase such as a receipt or a bank statement showing that you had to spend the money. Examples would be a rental car or medical bills like an ER visit or ambulance. However, it is not limited to just those examples.

Sometimes you are required to travel extra distance for care from medical providers. This is also something that is possibly reimbursable. Make sure you keep track of the mileage to and from your medical provider for this reason.

Yes. One of the things that personal injury attorneys use to calculate your damages is missed time off of work. The amount of time you miss has to be reasonable based on your injury. If you are retired or unemployed then you will not be able to make a claim for lost wages unless you were hired for a position and have to start late or cannot take the position. That is a different scenario.

Insurance adjusters will typically want to see some form of income verification, a doctor’s note that says you are relieved from working those days, your medical records related to your injuries, and sometimes a note from work that verifies your income or days missed.

Yes. If you have been injured and have already lost wages up to the present time, it is possible that your earning capacity in the future will be affected. Your “earning capacity” is your ability to earn an income, not the actual loss of income.

A reduction in your capacity could be anything from missing a short time at work and returning to your previous position 100%; needing to find a less stressful position on your body; or possibly not even being able to return to work.

To recover on this type of claim, you must demonstrate that the income you are asking for is reasonable based on the work you performed or would expect to perform in the future. And that you are no longer in a capacity to perform such work without it aggravating your injury. This is done through expert witnesses such as doctors and economists that take various factors like age, employment history, past earnings, education, job skills, and any physical or mental impairments the injury may have caused into consideration. The economist will build a profile for you based on that information using life expectancy tables, earnings of similarly employed/educated individuals, inflation, and other statistically relevant data to help provide a picture of your losses.

It is also important to note that even when you are injured you have a “duty to mitigate” your damages. This means that if there is some way that you can still earn an income without aggravating your injury, you must try. Essentially, the duty to mitigate is so people don’t “milk their injuries.” If you can still work within your doctor’s limitations, you will have to look into that. This is something that would be covered with your personal injury attorney.

Yes. If you are self-employed and your injury causes you to lose income, you are still entitled to claim that loss. Additionally, if your injury requires you to hire other people or incur additional costs to keep your business running, you can make a claim for those costs as well.

Determining lost self-employment income can be a little tricky because business may be up and down from year to year or month to month. There can be larger fluctuations in self-employed income. Previous tax returns, balance sheets, accounts payable, and current contracts are just some things that can demonstrate your loss. Typically, in a situation like this your personal injury attorney will hire an expert witness who specializes in economic losses to determine that amount.

Your economic damages are not limited to what you’ve already lost in the past, but can include future loss or loss of earning capacity, lost profits and opportunities, and good will to your business.

Yes. Typically adjusters will ask for a note from your doctor and employer to demonstrate that it was reasonable for you to take the time off from work and that you did in fact take the time off.

Bodily Liability Coverage is required in California and covers you if you cause physical injury to others. The minimum amount you can have in California is called a “$15,000/$30,000 policy.” This means $15,000 for the death or injury of one person and $30,000 for the death or injury of 2 or more. The coverage will not pay more than the policy limits and if there are 2 or more people, the amount is shared.

While carrying the cheapest policy may seem like the most attractive option, we recommend getting a $100,000/$300,000 policy. This is because you can be sued personally for any amount that is over the policy limits.

Property Damage Liability Coverage covers damages to another person’s car or objects and structures that you may have hit. The minimum in California for this type of damage is $5,000. But again, we recommend going higher if you can because you could be sued personally for anything over that amount.

This covers any injuries to you or the person in your car if you were in an accident with a driver who doesn’t have insurance and is at fault. The limits are the same amount as your liability coverage limits.

By law, the insurance company is required to offer you this coverage. If you choose not to buy it, you will have to sign a waiver stating that you were offered the coverage, but decided not to accept it.

This covers damage to your vehicle or property in an accident with an uninsured driver who is at fault. The limit on this coverage is $3,500 and only pays if the driver is identified. If you were in a hit and run, you may still have options. You may not need this coverage if you have collision coverage.

By law, the insurance company is required to offer you this coverage. If you choose not to buy it, you will have to sign a waiver stating that you were offered the coverage, but decided not to accept it.

Medpay covers the cost of medical expenses for you or your passengers that are injured. This type of coverage kicks in to give immediate medical care, no matter who is at fault. The minimum for medpay coverage is $1,000 for each person who is injured, but you can obtain higher limits as well.

Collision covers damage to your car caused by contact with another vehicle or object. This will cover the amount to fix the vehicle minus your deductible.

Unlike other coverages, this one is not required to be offered by the insurance company and you will have to request this coverage. If you have a car loan, this will be required by your lender.

Comprehensive covers damage to your vehicle that is caused by something other than a collision. This could be from a fire, theft, vandalism, falling objects, or weather, etc. This type of coverage does not cover a breakdown, normal wear and tear, or maintenance. Unlike other coverages, this one is not required to be offered by the insurance company and you will have to request this coverage. If you have a car loan, this will be required by your lender.

There are four things to look at when it comes to evaluating a slip and call claim: duty, breach of duty, causation, damages.

Duty: Whomever you are suing must have a duty to maintain safe spaces or prevent hazardous situations or defects from arising that could cause injury. For example, grocery stores have a duty to maintain their aisles from spills or produce to prevent a hazard.

Breach: There must be a breach of this duty. In our example above, it would mean that grocery store employees knew or should have known that there was a spill or something in the aisle and they neglected to clean it up.

Causation: This means that the defect itself caused you to fall and resulted in damages. I.e., it was the liquid in the aisle that should have been mopped up that resulted in your falling on the floor and being injured.

Damages: There must also be resulting damage. If you slipped and fell but were not injured, there is no claim. Damages can be both tangible and intangible losses such as loss of income, medical costs, pain and suffering, and future loss or cost.

While pictures of the scene definitely can help establish liability, many of those who are injured don’t think about taking pictures for various reasons. However, this doesn’t mean you are forbidden from making a claim. There are several things an experienced slip and fall attorney can do to establish liability. There may have been witnesses that can corroborate the condition. They store likely has a video surveillance camera that captured the before and after of the fall. This can be important because it can show just how long the dangerous condition existed and if anyone saw or should have seen it.

If you were knowingly trespassing, then it can be very difficult to recover damages for an injury. There are, however, some instances where you may be able to recover.

You didn’t know you were trespassing. If there is no clear markings such as a sign, fence, or barrier, then it may be impossible for you to know you were on private property.

The property owner knew of regular trespassers and a hazard on the property. If the property owner knows that people regularly trespass, and that there is a dangerous hazard on the property, the owner will potentially have an obligation to either prevent them from coming on to the property, inform them of the danger, or remove the danger altogether.

The trespasser is a child. If the trespasser was under 18 and injured, there are stricter rules that apply. This is especially true for children who are too young to understand trespassing or to recognize the danger of a hazard.

The answer here is tricky. Most times it is extremely difficult to sue the city for an injury unless you can show that they were negligent in their maintenance. The laws of who maintains or “owns” sidewalks varies from city to municipality. Some, like Sacramento, state it’s the owners of the adjacent property’s responsibility to maintain the sidewalk, while other municipalities try to limit their liability by putting some form of immunity or strict language about premises liability into the law. So really the answer depends on who “owns” the sidewalk in that municipality, if their properly maintained it, and if that failure to maintain caused your injuries.

If you were injured on publicly owned property, there are also specific notice time lines you must adhere to before filing suit. If you don’t follow these timelines, your claim for injuries could be barred.

These situations are difficult and it really depends given the exact circumstances of each case. Your first concern is the health condition of your child and proper recovery. But after that, there is the very real risk of a friendship being ruined when you seek payment for the medical expenses associated with their negligence. We understand just how stressful this can be.

Some of the things that your slip and fall attorney will take into consideration are: where did the accident occur; the extent of injuries and care; if the property owner was at fault; if there were witnesses; and if the property owner is willing to cooperate.

Meeting with a slip and fall attorney to help you determine your options is probably the best route in a situation like this.

It depends. Schools can be held liable where there is negligent supervision or if there is a dangerous condition that isn’t fixed. However, just because an injury occurred on school grounds doesn’t mean they’re automatically negligent. For example, if your child was playing kickball and ran into another child on the basepaths and was injured, this is probably not going to be enough for a claim. Accidents do happen. However, if there is defective playground equipment that causes injury, that could give rise to a claim.

If the school is public or private also makes a difference. If the school is public, then it is considered a governmental entity and will have different rules associated with bringing a claim than a private school.

Elder abuse is any knowing, intentional, or negligent act by a caregiver or other person that causes harm or serious risk of harm, to an elderly individual over the age of 65. California has a special set of laws called The Elder Adult and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act (The Elder Abuse Act).

Under the Elder Abuse Act, “abuse” is broadly defined to include: physical abuse, neglect, financial abuse, abandonment, isolation, abduction, or any other acts that result in physical harm or mental suffering.

Some examples of elder abuse:

• Physical abuse
• Physical or sexual assault
• Restraining or confining the victim in an unreasonable way or for an unreasonable amount of time
• Administering improper drugs or chemicals
• Mental abuse
• Verbal threats or intimidation
• Prolonged isolation
• Creating fear in the mind of the victim if they do not comply with the abuser’s demands
• Neglect
• Physical and mental abuse
• Failure to properly administer medication
• Failure to take to doctor’s appointments
• Failure to assist with personal hygiene
• Failure to ensure adequate nutrition

Elder abuse can occur anywhere by anyone. Typically, abusers are either family members or caregivers at long-term or assisted living facilities. While there are many skilled and compassionate nurses, the main objective of nursing homes or long-term care facilities is to generate a profit. This can be done by reducing staff or hiring less experienced or skilled staff to replace nurses.

The hours are round the clock, intensive, and can be very tiring, especially for those who are untrained and in a reduced staff setting. This can lead to negligent care. In some instances, caregivers are purposely abusive and try to take advantage. Unfortunately, loved ones don’t possess the physical/mental strength to fight back or withstand such abuse and the consequences can be quite severe.

It is important to stay alert in any situation where a loved one is in one of these facilities or has regular in home care.

While an individual sign does not necessarily mean there is abuse, some things to look for are:

• Bruises, pressure marks, broken bones, abrasions, or burns
• Depression or unusual behavior patterns
• Bedsores, poor hygiene, unattended medical needs, weight loss, malnutrition
• Sudden change in financial situation
• Depression or agitation with anyone, especially the caregiver
• Unsanitary conditions
• Failure to attend doctor’s appointments or check ups

Abusers can be master manipulators. It is possible that the victim is either suffering in silence out of fear of retribution, or that the abuser has the victim believing they are actually helping them. The most important thing is to be alert to any potential signs.

In California, there are laws that protect the residents in skilled nursing and long-term care facilities. Under the California Patients’ Bill of Rights, victims may be able to seek remedies for up to $500 per incident, attorney’s fees and costs.

Additionally, victims can recover past and future medical expenses, wage loss, if any, and damages for past and future pain and suffering. If the misconduct is severe enough, the victim can be awarded punitive damages as a deterrent to the facility not to act in such a way again.

If the elderly person has died, survivors can recover all of the above plus damages resulting from the loss of comfort and care which would have been provided by the victim. If the elderly person is alive at the time of suit, but passes before trial, the plaintiffs can still recover for pain and suffering. This makes elder abuse different from other personal injury cases where the right to claim pain and suffering dies with the plaintiff.