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Car accidents are some of the most common reasons injured individuals reach out for legal assistance. A car accident can severely complicate someone’s life, and vehicle damage is just the beginning. Serious injuries resulting from car accidents can prevent a victim from returning to work, cause permanent physical and psychological trauma, and destroy financial security. Insurance doesn’t always cover the full extent of a victim’s injuries, and that’s where our San Bernardino car accident attorneys can help.
The team at DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo understands what car accident victims and their families endure. For the last three decades, we’ve built a reputation for excellence in personal injury cases in San Bernardino. Our job extends far beyond negotiating settlements and aggressively pursuing lawsuits.
We are also some of the most accessible accident attorneys in the area and we’ll take the time to come to you to discuss a case. If you need medical help, we’ll ensure you have access to qualified healthcare professionals. We want to help you make the best possible recovery after suffering from a car accident.
Insurance carriers will do what they can to limit how much money you recover for your claim. Often, this means they may even deny your claim initially, or they may try to shift some or all of the blame for the incident onto you. When you have a skilled San Bernardino vehicle accident lawyer by your side, you will have an advocate available to push back against any tactic by the insurance carrier.
Your lawyer will have the resources necessary to help you through every step. This will include fully investigating the incident to find the evidence needed to prove what happened and ensuring that you are evaluated by a trusted medical professional. Your lawyer will be the one to negotiate with the other parties involved. You will not have to handle any of that. If necessary, your car accident lawyer will fully prepare your case for a trial by jury to ensure that you are treated fairly. In a case where you have lost a loved one in a car accident, our San Bernardino wrongful death lawyers can help.
Determining liability is the key factor in any vehicle accident case. Some cases are clear-cut, but many involve factors that are not readily apparent. For instance, you might assume that the driver is always at fault in a single-car crash. However, many single-car crashes occur because of a defective part. In those cases, the manufacturer is wholly liable for any resulting damage and injuries. In accidents involving multiple vehicles, one or more drivers may shoulder some of the responsibility.
Every case is different, and only a careful evaluation of the facts will yield the information needed to hold a defendant accountable for the accident and resulting injuries. Other drivers on the roads, truckers, auto manufacturers, rideshare companies, and roadway construction companies may be potential defendants in a car accident claim. We may also hold an auto insurance company liable for failing to honor the terms of a policy and provide fair compensation.
When most people think of car accident injuries, they think of the traumatic injuries that occur, including, but not limited to, the following:
In addition to physical traumatic injuries, crash victims may also endure significant but less visible physical and emotional pain and suffering. Physical pain and suffering can be caused by the initial injuries, as well as the ongoing recovery process and any disability caused by the incident. Emotional and psychological pain and suffering often arise not only as a result of the pain of the injuries but also any loss of quality of life due to the incident.
Data from the California Office of Traffic Safety indicates that there were more than 226,000 total traffic collision injuries across the state of California during the most recent reporting year of information on file.
San Bernardino car accident victims are often able to recover a range of compensation types if their claim is successful. At DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo, our goal is to help clients recover both economic and non-economic damages through an insurance settlement or as a result of a personal injury jury verdict.
Economic damages. Economic damages, sometimes referred to as special damages, revolve around calculable expenses San Bernardino car accident victims will most likely incur. These are verifiable expenses for the most part, meaning we can examine receipts and bills crash victims receive to adequately calculate the losses. Some of the most common economic damages associated with these incidents include:
Non-economic damages. There are various types of less calculable expenses crash victims often endure, and these are referred to as non-economic damages, or general damages. These types of losses revolve around the physical and emotional pain and suffering endured by a crash victim, which means there typically will not be receipts or bills that can quantify the damages. There are other accepted calculation methods for non-economic damages after a San Bernardino car accident, and your attorney can help you with this process.
There is no set amount of compensation paid to injured crash victims. There are various factors that can influence the total settlement amount, including the severity of your injuries, whether or not you can work, how long it takes to recover from your personal injury, how much it costs to repair your vehicle, and whether or not you shared any fault for the incident.
Affording an attorney to help with your car accident case is easier than you think. At DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo, we handle car accident claims on a contingency fee basis. For you, this means absolutely no upfront or out-of-pocket costs related to your case. You will not even have to pay legal fees until after we successfully recover the compensation you need to get through this. You will pay an agreed-upon percentage out of the final settlement or jury verdict. Additionally, if we do not win your case, you will not pay any legal fees at all.
After a vehicle accident occurs in San Bernardino, there are various steps you can take not only to ensure your chances of making a successful recovery but also your chances of recovering fair compensation. As we review some of the steps you should take after an incident occurs, we understand that not all of these steps will necessarily occur in this exact order. However, we encourage you to do everything you can to accomplish the tasks on this list, and if you have any questions, talk to your lawyer as soon as possible.
Car accident victims in San Bernardino should plan to file their claims as promptly as possible. First, insurance carriers typically require the incidents to be reported within a day or two after the incident occurs. Failing to do so could result in a claim delay or denial. However, aside from insurance carrier reporting, we have to remain cognizant of the California personal injury statute of limitations.
In this state, personal injury claims must be filed in civil court against the alleged negligent party within two years from the date the injury occurred. Failing to file a claim within this two-year time limit will likely result in the case getting dismissed, leaving the crash victim unable to recover any compensation for their losses.
When you work with your San Bernardino car accident attorney, they will quickly assess which deadlines apply to you and get your claim filed on time.
We understand that you need compensation after a vehicle accident occurs, and you need it as quickly as possible. However, the actual timeline for recovering the compensation you need will vary depending on the circumstances surrounding your particular claim.
Most vehicle accident cases get resolved with a settlement from an insurance carrier. These settlements can occur as quickly as a few weeks or months after the incident occurs if fault for the incident is relatively straightforward and there are no other complications. However, if there are any disputes over liability or any other aspect of the claim, such as how much compensation to pay out, this will likely delay the case.
If the insurance carrier or other parties involved refused to offer a fair settlement, it may be necessary for the crash victim, via their attorney, to file a lawsuit against the alleged medical giant party in civil court. This will start the discovery process, which is when attorneys for both sides exchange information with one another, including evidence, witness statements, and any other information that could be used in the trial. Attorneys will also have a chance to take depositions of potential witnesses. The discovery process can take quite some time and can even last more than a year after the case gets filed. In the event the claim does not get settled during this process, a jury trial will be scheduled.
At DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo, our San Bernardino work accident attorneys fight hard to obtain the best possible outcome for our clients based on careful considerations of financial losses, job impacts, and current and future medical expenses. In some cases, we can effectively settle cases out of court saving time and money while maximizing compensation. If needed, we can and will pursue a trial.
Every initial consultation is free. For more information about how we can help you recover after a car accident, contact our office in San Bernardino at (909) 436-4610 today.