Articles Posted in Miscellaneous Personal Injury

If you are involved in an injury accident in California, you may not know what to do. It could be your first accident and you may have never spoken with an attorney in your life. We understand. We hear many times from our California personal injury and wrongful death clients that it is the first time they have ever had to hire an attorney. Some people think that hiring an attorney makes them litigious. It does not! If you are not at fault in the accident, you are the victim, you have a right to an attorney to make sure that the insurance companies do not take advantage of you. You deserve to be treated fairly and you deserve fair compensation for your injuries, loss of earnings, diminished value of your vehicle, pain, suffering, etc.

Do not wait to call us. Many former clients know to call us from the scene of their accident. We can help right away. You may think you are doing the right thing, but without speaking with an experienced California personal injury lawyer, you may be making some hidden mistakes. For example, sometimes people don’t call 911 because the other party convinces them not to. If you are injured in an accident that is not your fault, you should call 911 and request the police come to the scene. You need a police report because sometimes the other party may change their story later on, even if they admit fault at the scene. If your injuries warrant it, you should also request paramedics respond. Sometimes 911 operators may ask you if anything is broken or if you are bleeding, and if you say no, they may not send paramedics. It is your responsibility to let them know that you need paramedics. For example, you may have a concussion, which is a traumatic brain injury, which needs to be examined and treated right away.

If there are any witnesses to your accident, get their information (at a minimum their name, phone number and email address) so we can contact them later and get a written statement from them. Even if you don’t think you will need the witness, do it anyway. Before you talk to the police and give your statement at the scene, call our experienced lawyers and tell us what happened. We can help you! There is no cost for this type of consultation.

Many victims of abuse by Boy Scout leaders are confused about what to do, especially in view of the Boy Scouts of America filing for bankruptcy with a bankruptcy claim deadline fast approaching on November 16, 2020.  While sometimes dates may change or be extended, especially because of the Corona virus pandemic and the vast reach of the Boy Scouts, if you were a victim you should file your claim now to avoid any time issues.   If after reading this article you have any further questions or need legal guidance, please call us at 1 866 INJURY 2 or 818.222.3400 or simply use our contact link.   Remember, with our injury law firm there is NO charge for the consultation-it is absolutely FREE!

Over the years we are approached often by victims of serious accidents, usually it’s a family member of someone killed in an accident with a wrongful death accident claim, but too often its AFTER the time deadline often called the statute of limitations.

In California for most injury accidents the time deadline is two (2) years from the date of incident [which is double the time and certainly is better than the one (1) year time deadline when our law firm started our personal injury and wrongful death practice in the 1970s, causing some injured claimants to be left without a remedy if they did not settle or file suit within this short one (1) year time period and it also caused more litigation since too often only a one year time period is just not sufficient time to resolve for the best amount a serious injury or wrongful death accident claim].  In California there are other time deadlines, including if a government entity is involved a claim must be filed within six (6) months, if it is a medical malpractice claim then suit within three (3) years of the date of the malpractice but not more than one (1) year from the date the claim was or should have been discovered.  There are many time rules and exceptions so if you were injured its best to consult with an injury lawyer right away!  The above is provided only as a general guideline, each case is different and you are advised to consult with a qualified injury lawyer as soon as possible after any injury accident.

Myth: Personal injury lawyers have no ethics.

We hold our firm to the highest ethical and moral standards. If someone wants to make a fake accident, or set up a false insurance claim, we are not the firm to call. We believe that as lawyers, members of the California State Bar, we have a duty to do what is right and help our clients in every legal way possible. We are not the only firm that operates this way. We have many friends, colleagues and associates in the industry who strive to help people the right way. We know that cutting corners or acting unscrupulously can have a very short term benefit, but we are not doing this for the short term. In the long term, all our clients benefit because they have lawyers who they can trust. However, it is not just that. Our adversaries know that we pursue honest, legitimate claims, and that helps us obtain the best settlements possible for our clients. Insurance companies know which attorneys are honest and which attorneys are running scams. Our reputation gets us the best possible results. We have been around for over 45 years and our reputation is something we hold dear.

There are personal injury lawyers who are unscrupulous. There divorce lawyers who are unscrupulous. There are mechanics that are unscrupulous. There are doctors and teachers who are unscrupulous. No particular field or profession is immune to this problem. It is important that there are regulating authorities, like the California State Bar, who have a duty to do their best to weed out those who are unscrupulous.

Two counties in Ohio just settled their claims relating to opioid addiction against four defendants, three of whom are distributors and the other a manufacturer of opioids, for $260 million.  The three distributors are AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson.  The manufacturer is Teva, an Israeli based drug maker.  Reportedly, the three distributors are paying $215 million and Teva is paying $20 million plus it will contribute $25 million worth of the generic Suboxone, which is a drug used to treat addiction to opioids.

The two Ohio counties that settled just before opening statement to the jury in the trial set in Cleveland, Ohio are Summit County and Cuyahoga County.

For those readers who do fully understand what opioids are, opioids are a class of drugs naturally found in the opium poppy plant.  Opioids work in the brain to promote pain relief plus some other different effects.

What is the effect of dockless eletctic scooters, also called e-scooters, in the City of Glendale?

Are these e-scooters contributing to causing more accidents in Glendale, Los Angeles and elsewhere?

What should cities like Glendale do in regulating the use of dockless or e-scooters?