Car Accident Claims In Beverly Hills, California
Every move your make right after a car accident in California affects your settlement claim. That's why you're always advised to gather evidence, have your accident recorded in police reports, and have your injuries checked so they're documented.
After your accident, you'll need to contact your insurance provider to ensure that your incurred costs are covered. However, if the insurance provider lowballs your claims or refuses to give you anything for your accident, you have the option to hire a Beverly Hills Car Accident Attorney to get the compensation you deserve.
Contacting Your Insurance Provider
Your lawyer will write the insurance a letter explaining your injuries and property damage, as well as a total of your financial damages for:
Medical expenditures
Any out-of-pocket expenses you may have had due to the accident
Lost income from missed work
Vehicle repair costs
Additionally, the other driver may be uninsured or underinsured. They may have given you outdated or incorrect insurance information. More than likely, they have insurance limitations that are insufficient to cover your damages, whether medical expenses or property losses.
You must file a claim against your uninsured and underinsured policy with your own insurer in either situation. However, it's as easy as contacting your own insurance carrier and filing a claim.
Adjusters, on the other hand, make adjustments. Therefore, all of your issues with the other driver's claims adjuster may apply to your conversations with your own insurer. Fortunately, a Beverly Hills Personal Injury Lawyer can assist you in dealing with your own insurance company in the same way that they can with another's.
The claims adjuster for the other driver's insurer will respond after your attorney submits your claim letter, providing the claims adjuster didn't send you the company's appraisal of your claim before you sent your letter.
It's possible—even likely—that the insurance will make a low settlement offer. If that's the case, things will start to become interesting. The insurer will, at the absolute least, write you a letter of reservation of rights. This letter will just recognize that they have received your claim and are willing to talk to you about it, but it will not accept that your claim is valid.
Insurance firms profit from their investments. Most of them lose money on their underwriting business, which involves paying out claims to or on behalf of the drivers they insure. That isn't to say they don't try to keep compensation to a minimum. They are very likely to make a low initial offer. They may refuse to bend far enough away from that initial offer to make a decent settlement offer.
Low-value claims are more likely to settle quickly and easily, but if you have significant or long-term injuries, the adjuster is more likely to refuse to pay what you believe is fair.
Nonetheless, if the insurance company refuses to make what you consider a reasonable offer, your lawyer may launch a lawsuit on your behalf. This does not necessarily imply that your case will proceed to trial. While a case is underway, settlement discussions can happen simultaneously. Personal injury lawsuits in Beverly Hills have been settled before everyone gets to court.
What Happens If You Can't Come To An Agreement?
If the insurance adjuster's response to your claim letter isn't adequate, you have options other than accepting a low offer:
Send Them Additional Evidence. You could give the insurance adjuster documentation of your damages, the accident police report, witness statements, and surveillance camera footage from the scene. If none of this leads to an acceptable settlement offer, it may be time to file a lawsuit.
File A Lawsuit. Settlements can take place at any time between the filing of the case and the jury's return with a verdict. Filing a lawsuit doesn't mean that settlement talks are over. In many cases, this is only the start.
In any case, keep in contact with your Beverly Hills Personal Injury Lawyer, so you know what to do.
What is the Process of Filing a Lawsuit?
Suing someone in civil court is a standard procedure handled by our pre-screened Beverly Hills Personal Injury Attorneys. Everything, including deadlines, is governed by state civil procedural regulations. Still, most states allow for some flexibility within the rules if both parties agree.
The basic steps are as follows:
Making a formal complaint. Once the complaint is served, the defendant—in most cases, the driver who was at fault in the accident, not the insurance company—has a certain amount of time to respond.
This is usually done in 30 days. Some states have longer waiting periods, while others allow for extensions.
File discovery requests. Both parties can submit discovery requests. But, first, the parties will meet with the judge to work out a discovery schedule.
Discovery, which includes written questions, document requests, and witness depositions, can take anything from a few months to a year or more.
Trial. The majority of traffic accident claims last barely a day or two. But, once again, it depends on the case's intricacy and whether or not expert witnesses are involved.
Usually, a settlement is reached before the matter goes to trial and before the jury returns the verdict. The losing party has the right to appeal, but they must have a good reason. They must also believe that the appeal is worthwhile.
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