With 8.5 miles of some of the best surfing in the state, Huntington Beach attracts visitors from around the world. However, there is a downside to having beaches that draw in a crowd of 11 million or so each year: the traffic that results in congestion, particularly along the 405 Freeway Corridor. The downside of heavy traffic is an increase in traffic accidents, and the injuries that occur as a result of those accidents.
If you've been injured in a car accident in Huntington Beach that was the result of another driver's negligence, you may be able to seek compensation for the financial and psychological impacts of your injury through California's personal injury claims process. An experienced Huntington Beach car accident lawyer can evaluate your claim for free and provide a number of services to assist you with this often-complex legal process.
REQUEST A FREE CONSULTATIONThe personal injury claims process generally begins when the injured party attends a free case evaluation with a car accident lawyer. If they decide they want to hire this lawyer to assist them with their claim, they will be asked to sign a contingent fee agreement. This agreement allows the claimant to wait to pay for their car accident attorney’s services until they have had a successful outcome to the claim. In exchange, a percentage of the compensation that is received is used to pay for the car accident attorney and their legal team.
The car accident attorney will investigate the accident and determine who is liable, as well as the auto liability insurance policy that the liable party has available to compensate the claim with. After valuing the claim, the car accident attorney will submit is to the at-fault insurance provider, who will assign a claims adjuster to evaluate the claim and determine whether compensation is owed to the claimant. The claims adjuster can either choose to accept the claim as submitted, deny the claim, or offer to settle the matter out-of-court for less than the claim’s established value.
The car accident attorney can manage communication with the claims adjuster in order to negotiate a settlement that fairly compensates the claimant for their injury. If the insurance provider fails to resolve the claim by compensating the claimant, the claimant’s attorney can submit it as a personal injury lawsuit. This is a legal claim that is filed in civil court in order to present the case to a judge or a jury so they can make decisions about liability and compensation.
Once the claim has been resolved either through a negotiated settlement or a court-ordered award, the compensation will generally be sent by the insurance provider directly to the claimant’s attorney. The car accident attorney will deposit these funds into a trust account, satisfy any medical liens placed on the award, and then turn the remainder of the compensation over to the claimant.
California’s laws allow those who have been injured in car accidents resulting from another’s negligence to seek compensation for out-of-pocket expenses they incurred as a result of their injury, such as:
Claimants can also seek compensation for the psychological impacts of their injury, such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of consortium, and loss of the enjoyment of life. In some cases, when the claimant and their attorney can prove that the accident was the result of malice, oppression, or fraud, punitive damages can also be sought. This is a type of compensation that is not related to the claimant’s expenses and impacts, but is ordered by the court to financially punish the defendant for particularly egregious behavior leading to an accident in which others were injured.
In California, car accident claimants generally have two years from the date of their injury to file a personal injury lawsuit in order to obtain compensation through the court process. This time period is known as the statute of limitations on the claim. Many claimants—having been made aware that most personal injury claims are resolved through settlements, not litigation—think that this deadline doesn’t apply to their claim. However, regardless of how the case is resolved, the statute of limitations applies to every claim.
Failing to file a lawsuit within California’s two-year statute of limitations will almost always result in the claimant losing their right to seek compensation for their injuries through litigation. However, the main reason that insurance companies choose to make settlement offers is to avoid the expensive and uncertain endeavor of a trial. If you no longer have the ability to take the case to trial, the insurance company no longer has a compelling reason to compensate the claim, meaning the expenses and impacts you experienced as a result of your injury are likely to go uncompensated.
One of the most important services an experienced Huntington Beach car accident lawyer can provide is protection of your right to the court process through management of the flow of your claim in order to ensure that the lawsuit is prepared and ready to file before the statute of limitations expires.
An unexpected injury can completely alter the course of a person’s life, and the lives of their loved ones. The experienced team at Kash Legal is committed to providing legal advice and representation to help our clients navigate the frustrating and confusing legal process of obtaining the compensation they need.
Let our experienced car accident attorney provide you with more details about the process and the services we can provide. For your free case evaluation, contact us online or by calling (888) 527-4128.
We will be in touch within 24 hours.
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