Car accidents are scary, and they cause significant amounts of damage. If you or someone you love has been injured or killed in a wreck, it is difficult to know what to do next. If you’ve been injured seriously enough that you can’t work, you’re likely worried about paying your regular bills, as well as the mound of medical expenses that are piling up. You may be eligible for compensation for your injuries and out-of-pocket losses. The San Diego personal injury lawyers of OnderLaw are here to help.
At OnderLaw , we have built our excellent reputation on serving families just like yours for nearly 20 years. We take our job seriously so you can focus on recovery. Don’t let the aftermath of the car crash, with calls to insurance companies and fretting about finances, weigh you down. Let us lift the burden from you.
If you or a family member has been seriously injured or killed in a car accident, call us or contact us online. There is no time to lose.
After an auto accident, there is so much to keep organized and to take care of that there is no space to catch up and recover. It’s easy for paperwork to get looked over and for unintended mistakes to really hurt your claim.
The truth is that the people responsible for the accident are trying to avoid paying for the consequences of their actions. Every misstep you take gives them an advantage and helps them shut down your claim for compensation.
An effective lawyer will not let that happen. They will take over managing the investigation, calls, and paperwork of your claim so that you can focus on your health. An experienced lawyer can guide you through your claim and help you figure out your next steps.
Your lawyer will coach you in knowing how to deal with insurance companies when they call. If you deal with them alone, you risk your chances of securing the compensation you deserve. They will appear nice and friendly, but they are trying to get as much information from you as possible in order to build their case against you. Do not share anything with them until you have spoken with a lawyer. A lawyer from OnderLaw will make sure you have a full understanding of your rights and stand up for you and your family during this trying time.
From the creation of our firm almost 20 years ago, our founder, Jim Onder, has worked tirelessly to establish a culture of warm, caring, and skilled lawyers who are wholly committed to establishing lasting relationships with our clients. Despite our national recognition and over $3 billion in settlements, our biggest victories have been with our clients when we help them regain their lives.
When we focus on building a personal connection to our clients’ stories, we have that extra push to fight for them as if they were a member of our family. We make ourselves available to our clients in every way possible to open the lines of communication. Then we strive to empathize with our client’s situation, and go from there. There are many law firms to choose from, but what sets us apart is that we care about our clients and our community. When we win your case, we score a win for the good guys of our community.
Regardless of the kind of accident you were involved in, our team has years of experience in serving clients that have been through the same kind of situation. Here are some of the most common accidents that we see:
Car accidents often involve high speeds and serious damage to both drivers and vehicles. Injuries can be anything from cuts and bruises to serious traumatic brain injuries. Making sure you get the care you need is very important. These are some of the injuries we commonly see in auto accidents:
After a serious injury in a wreck, there are a number of types of compensation you may be eligible for. You could recover money for the losses you’ve suffered after the accident, both financial and emotional. Not all types of compensation will be available for everyone; that depends on your specific accident. You could be compensated for:
You can also file a civil lawsuit seeking punitive damages. These damages will fall outside the umbrella of most insurance policies and are a financial penalty to the wrong-doer designed to curb egregious misconduct in the future. To be awarded punitive damages, you will have to prove that the person responsible acted with malice or the intent to defraud or oppress you.
Whether you choose to pursue a settlement from the at-fault driver’s insurance company, go to trial to obtain a better settlement than the insurance company offered, or file for punitive damages, your lawyer will be there make sure you and your family’s needs are met now and in the days to come.
There is no reason for you to have to pay for anything related to your recovery from something you had no control over. Your lawyer will stand and fight to make sure that does not happen.
Claims processes seem simple, but there are pitfalls even when filing with insurance companies. This is doubly true if you are also seeking punitive damages in civil court. The following steps outline how we handle filing claims:
File a claim- we will determine which insurance provider we will file a claim with, and then make that filing That will be either the other party’s provider, your provider, or both.
Investigate– we will conduct a thorough investigation of every detail of your claim. We will need statements from you, witnesses, and anyone who has knowledge of the accident. We will gather every possible piece of evidence from the accident site, and ask you to provide every receipt related to your care and recovery. This includes any vehicle repair estimate or any other property damage repairs.
Send the demand letter- at the conclusion of our investigation, we will send a letter to the insurance company with our settlement demands. This is where we will formally state what we feel is fair and reasonable for you and your family to receive to recover what was lost and what you will need to move forward.
Negotiate- if the insurance company agrees, we will document a settlement agreement. But they will conduct their own investigation and determine what they feel is a fair and reasonable settlement amount. It is more likely they will respond with a counter-offer that is lower than our demand. As the process unfolds, if we can’t agree, we will move forward with a civil lawsuit to reclaim the losses from your accident.
If you are put in a position where the insurance company has refused to offer what you deserve, you may go to court. The legal process for filing a civil lawsuit is as follows:
File with the court- your lawyer will file your complaint with the court, which will then serve the at-fault driver with the lawsuit. They will have 30 days to respond, and that will officially get the ball rolling.
Discovery- this is the phase where all of the paperwork, medical bills, medical records, and receipts for your losses will come together. Your lawyer may take depositions from everyone involved. They will devise their strategy for defending you and your family. It is absolutely vital that you share everything you can. The more information your lawyer has from you, the better prepared he can be to get you the full and fair compensation you deserve.
Pre-trial settlement conference– before a trial, the judge will bring both parties’ legal teams together to make a final attempt to reach a settlement without going to trial. If it remains unresolved, the next step is to go to trial.
Trial- you and your lawyer will go to court and present your case to a jury, and the judge will make the ruling on your case.
The state of California’s statute of limitations, that is, the time you have to file a lawsuit, is two years from the date of the accident. If someone died in the accident you still have two years to file, but the clock starts on the day the victim dies. If you are seeking compensation for property damages, you have three years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit.
At OnderLaw, we know the challenges you face after a car accident. Our team is committed to connecting with you and your pain as deeply as we can to make sure that you get everything you are owed. Every passing moment opens the door a little wider for someone to deny your claim. There is no time to lose. Stand up for you and your family by calling us today or contacting us online.
