California Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

Traffic Accidents – Some Tips To Help Avoid

November 30, 2010 | by Gary Walch

There are so many ways to get into car, truck, motorcycle and bicycle accidents in congested Los Angeles, including Hollywood, Inglewood, Culver City, Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, Woodland Hills, Canoga Park and Calabasas, so we want to provide a couple of useful reminders to share with your loved ones and friends to try to avoid getting into a preventable accident.

Turning right – When turning right, how often does someone look right, then left and then turn, without checking again for oncoming cars, bicycle riders, skateboarders and pedestrians suddenly coming from the right. Always look right again before turning right.

Turning left — Never turn unless you can see all oncoming cars and you know it is clear. Ignore the honks from the person behind. That person won’t be around to pay your damages or increased insurance rates if you make an unsafe turn causing a collision (Yes, your insurance rates will go up if it is a chargeable collision – that is, if it is decided by your insurer that you contributed more than 50% to causing the collision. More about that in a future blog).

California Medical Care on a Lien

November 28, 2010 | by Robert Walch

Many of our California personal injury clients do not have access to health insurance and cannot afford to pay out of pocket for the medical care that they need. Some of our injured clients have health insurance, but it won’t cover chiropractic care, or the wait to see a doctor or to obtain physical therapy is just too long.

If you have been injured in an accident in California, you do not have to wait or pay out of pocket to see a doctor right away. We have been handling personal injury claims in California for over 30 years and we can find you the medical care you need, on a lien basis, so that you do not have to wait to see a doctor or pay a co-payment before every treatment.

Many California injury victims need a doctor’s examination, chiropractic adjustments, physical therapy, an orthopedic or neurological exam, psychiatric evaluation or treatment, etc.

Happy Thanksgiving From Your Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorneys

November 25, 2010 | by Robert Walch

We, at Gary K. Walch, A Law Corporation, your Los Angeles personal injury attorneys, would like to wish all our family, friends, clients and colleagues a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

Throughout the year, and for over 30 years, we have been helping injury victims obtain recoveries for their losses. Recently, we have helped and obtained settlements for a wide range of injury victims, from people who have had an auto accident in North Hollywood, a slip and fall accident in Woodland Hills, a dog attack in Van Nuys, a burn injury in Encino, and many more injury claims throughout the greater Los Angeles area.

We recently obtained a very favorable settlement for a woman who was hit by a car in San Bernardino. Despite the insurance company originally treating her unfairly, after we filed a lawsuit on her behalf, we were able to get her the recovery she deserved for her injuries, pain, suffering and loss of earnings.

Slip and Fall Injury in Los Angeles

November 24, 2010 | by Robert Walch

Many Los Angeles residents come to our office for injuries they have suffered in a slip and fall incident. These claims are very difficult, but certain key things that you, the victim, can do after the incident, can help get you a recovery for someone else’s negligence.

Just because you have fallen on someone else’s property does not mean that the owner of the premises, or its operator, is responsible. In order to prove that the premises owner/operator is responsible, you must be able to prove that either they created the hazard that caused you to slip and fall, or that they should have known about it and did not fix it.

The first scenario is simple, if a store employee spills a bottle of soda, leaves without cleaning it, and you slip and fall on the soda, that element is met. However, what if you do not know how the soda you slipped on got onto the floor? One thing you should do if you find yourself in such a situation is take pictures of the hazard that caused you to fall. Report the incident to a manager and make sure the manager takes down an incident report. Also, you should try to find any witnesses that saw the fall, saw how the hazard got onto the floor, or know how long the hazard has been on the floor.

One way our office has successfully shown that the store should have known about the hazard, is by obtaining copies of the store’s “sweep sheets,” which show how frequently the store employees maintained and checked the aisles for hazards. If the aisles are not checked in a reasonable amount of time, the store may be responsible.

Avoiding Los Angeles Personal Injury Case Pitfalls

November 22, 2010 | by Robert Walch

It is continually getting harder and harder to obtain a fair personal injury settlement in Los Angeles. Insurance companies will make every argument possible for why you, the victim of someone else’s negligence, do not deserve a fair recovery for your Los Angeles personal injury claim.

One mistake that accident victims frequently make is giving statements to the other party’s insurance company after an accident. If you give a statement, without an experienced Los Angeles personal injury attorney present, you may be committing certain mistakes that can seem innocent at the time, but may torpedo your case’s settlement value.

Another mistake Los Angeles accident victims make is thinking they can handle their claim on their own. We get countless calls from people who attempted to handle their case on their own, and then felt like they were being given the run around and treated unfairly by the insurance company. While we are usually able to help these people, there is not much that can be done to reverse some mistakes that they have already made. These clients often tell us they wish they called us the day of the accident, or from the scene of the accident, as they learn that this would have helped them maximize their recovery on their personal injury case in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Auto Accident Recovery Keypoints

November 20, 2010 | by Robert Walch

If you are injured in an auto accident in Los Angeles, the last thing you are probably thinking about is preserving evidence for a personal injury case. However, if you are physically able, or have a family member or friend who can help you, getting and preserving evidence will have a huge impact on your potential recovery.

Once you have obtained the other driver’s information (driver’s license number, address, phone number, license plate number, insurance company policy information, etc.), it is then important to document how the accident happened. If the other party is admitting liability (fault) at the scene, and seems genuinely apologetic, see if the other party will sign a short document stating that he/she caused the accident. While this may seem silly, especially in cases such as a seemingly simple rear end collision, oftentimes the responsible party will change his/her story when it comes to reporting the facts of the collision to his/her insurance company. If you have a signed document, this will help prevent the other party from changing his/her story.

One important type of evidence is photographs. People injured in an accident in Los Angeles should take photographs of the scene of the injury as well as of any visible injuries. Take photos from multiple angles and get injury photos with good lighting. Photos of visible injuries, taken as soon as possible after the auto accident, can significantly increase the value of your case. Make sure to keep the pictures in a safe place and maintain them until well after your case is fully resolved.

Huntington Beach Drunk Driving Prevention Proposal

November 17, 2010 | by Robert Walch

Due to a significant problem with drunk driving injuries in Huntington Beach, the Huntington Beach City Council and Police Department are considering a policy of publicly shaming drunk drivers on Facebook.

According to the Los Angeles Times, “A July report by the city said there is ‘a significant DUI problem in Huntington Beach,’ citing 274 alcohol-related collisions and 1,687 drunk-driving arrests last year — one of the highest rates statewide for a city its size.”

This is a major concern as we all know the risk that drunk drivers pose to not only other drivers and pedestrians, but also to themselves. The theory seems to be that the threat of injury, severe fines and possible jail or prison time are not enough and that the fear of a public ridicule on Facebook may help prevent drunken driving injuries in Huntington Beach.

Car Accident Help in Los Angeles

November 16, 2010 | by Robert Walch

If you have been injured in a car accident in Los Angeles, you need an experienced Los Angeles attorney you can trust. If you need it, our office can help you with all of your accident and injury needs, including:
1) Getting your car repaired (or reimbursed if your vehicle is a total loss);
2) Coordinating a rental for any time you are without your car, or getting you compensated for any time you are without the use of your car;
3) Helping you find a doctor in your area who can see you on a lien basis (meaning the doctor will wait for payment until your case is resolved and you will not have to pay up front or pay any co-pay for each visit);
4) Facilitating a loan on your settlement if you are in urgent need of funds; and
5) Fighting to obtain a monetary settlement that compensates you for your damages, which may include: pain, suffering, loss of earnings, loss of ability to take part in and enjoy life activities, and any other losses you have suffered as a result of someone else’s negligence.

Value of Witnesses in Accident Cases In California

November 14, 2010 | by Gary Walch

If you have an accident in California, we cannot emphasize enough how important it is to obtain the identity of all favorable witnesses and their contact information should you need their testimony to win your case.

Two recent cases we handled within the past year show the importance of having witnesses even when you might believe the other party is at fault and witnesses might not be necessary.

In a recent premises liability case we settled for over two million ($2,000,000.00) dollars, the other side tried to place some comparative liability on our client because he had a few beers earlier in the day. In this case, the railing on a balcony broke, causing our client to fall to the ground. The other side tried to suggest our client may have jumped or fell due to intoxication. Our client was clearly not intoxicated, and even if he was, the railing breaking had nothing to do with moderate drinking. Nevertheless, the fact we secured statements from two others confirming only very moderate drinking and no intoxication, eliminated that issue from the defense attorney’s contentions.

What You Should Do If You Are In A Car Accident In Los Angeles

November 13, 2010 | by Gary Walch

Accidents happen. We all hope to avoid them, but what should you do if while driving in Los Angeles you are stopped for a red light and rear ended or while going through a green light hit by someone who ran the red and broadsided you, often called a T-Bone collision?

If you are the victim of an accident in L.A. (which includes Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley with North Hollywood, Studio City, Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Reseda, Tarzana, Canoga Park and Woodland Hills) here are some things you should do:

• If the collision is not your fault, you should call 911 to report it to the LAPD to obtain a police report called a Traffic Collision Report. Even with the wait for the police to arrive, this time will be more than saved later by having the police document what occurred, the parties involved, who is at fault and why.
• If you are injured, do not be shy or macho when asked. Do not deny it or make light of it. It is important to document all injuries. Further, we understand that often the LAPD is busy and may not come to investigate and prepare a report of an auto accident unless there are injuries. Thus, when asked, be sure to identify each injury you have.
• Be sure to get the full name, current address and telephone numbers of all persons involved. Ask to see their drivers’ licenses and proof of automobile insurance, write down all of the information on the license and insurance card, and ask if there are any new addresses.
• Write down the full license plate number on each involved vehicle.