Riverside Car Accident Attorney

Largely due to dangerous driving behaviors, car accidents are an unfortunate fact of life in the 21st Century. They can cause serious injuries requiring extensive medical treatment and time away from work. If you have been hurt in a car accident caused by someone else’s negligence, contact the law firm Hanson & Mouri in Riverside County, CA today for a free consultation. Our motorcycle, truck, and Riverside car accident lawyer is here to help you navigate through the difficult times, deal with insurance companies, and to help you pursue full and fair compensation for your injuries.

Why Hire Our Riverside Car Accident Lawyer?

• We have secured millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts on behalf of our clients. 
• Our car accident lawyer can offer a unique and valuable insider perspective, having once worked as an insurance defense attorney.
• We are always prepared to take our cases to trial, if that’s what is necessary to obtain the compensation you deserve. 

Common Riverside Car Accident-Related Questions

• First Steps to Take After a Riverside Car Accident
• What Compensation is Available in a Riverside Car Accident Settlement?
• How Much Does a Riverside Car Accident Attorney Charge?
• How is Evidence Collected to Prove Your Case?
• Do You Need To Go To Court if You File a Car Accident Claim?
• What Should You Say to Your Insurance Provider?
• When Can You Expect a Settlement Check?
• Contact Us for Riverside Car Accident Legal Representation You Can Trust

First Steps to Take After a Riverside Car Accident

The aftermath of a car accident can be a stressful ordeal, so it is vital to know the right steps to take. Here’s what to do: 

1. Stop everything and don’t panic. Check if anyone is injured, and if possible move to safety or stay in your vehicle. 
2. Call 911. One of the parties involved should call 911, so that emergency responders can attend to anyone who is injured, and the police can fill out an accident report. This report plays a critical role in proving liability. 
3. Gather information. Hopefully, the other driver stopped at the scene. Ask for their name, phone number, car registration details, insurance information, and drivers license number. In return, you should give them your details. If there are any witnesses, ask them for their contact information as well. They may have a great bearing on how your insurance provider will treat your claim.
4. Don’t admit fault. Choose your words carefully when you’re interacting with the other driver. Saying something as simple as “sorry” could imply an acknowledgment of being at fault, and could possibly be used against you in an insurance claim. 
5. Take pictures and/or Video. Photographic evidence of the damage, your injuries, and of the scene can be very useful. Along with witness accounts, pictures and video can help you when fault is being disputed. 
6. Call your insurance provider. After collecting all the required information, you can notify and make a claim with your insurance provider. 
7. Speak to a car accident lawyer. Call an experienced Riverside car accident attorney as soon as possible. They will immediately begin investigating the crash and will prevent you from making mistakes that could damage your claim. 

What Compensation is Available in a Car Accident Settlement?

When you are hurt in a car accident caused by someone else’s carelessness, or intentional disregard for safety, then it should not be on your shoulders to handle the resulting financial consequences. The following types of compensation are available in a car accident settlement:

• Medical bills
• Future medical bills
• Property damage to your vehicle
• Current and future lost wages due to your recovery
• Lost earning capacity
• Pain and suffering – physical pain from your injuries and emotional suffering
• Disability or disfigurement 
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Loss of companionship for the effect of your injury on your relationship with your spouse

However, even if an insurance company has agreed to cover your claim, they do not intend to pay beyond the policyholder’s limits. Your attorney will review all claims, policies, and settlement offers prior to accepting compensation, to ensure it is enough to fully cover your losses. 

When an insurance company refuses to settle for the policy limit where the damages clearly exceed it, you have the option of filing a personal injury lawsuit against them or the at-fault driver personally. Fortunately, California does not place limits on the amount of compensation you can claim in a car accident lawsuit. 

On the other hand, if more than one party is responsible, then you may be able to collect compensation under the multiple insurance policies.  

How Much Does a Riverside Car Accident Attorney Charge?

A reputable Riverside car accident attorney typically does not charge up-front fees or retainers to take your case. They instead work on a contingency fee basis.

This means that their legal fees (typically one-third of the verdict or settlement) are not collected until your case is resolved. There are no charges for out-of-pocket expenses until you receive your settlement. If you don’t win, you don’t have to pay. 

How is Evidence Collected to Prove Your Case?

Holding a negligent driver responsible involves collecting as much evidence as possible by you, or both you and your attorney. Immediately after the accident, there is evidence that you can begin collecting at the scene if you’re physically able to. As previously discussed, photographs and video are powerful tools in proving how the accident occurred in a concrete way, and will link your injuries to the crash. You can even record witness statements and contact information. If you are seriously injured and cannot take pictures or video, ask someone else to do it for you. 

Other examples of evidence you will need to obtain after the accident include: 

• The police report;
• Clothing you were wearing at the time of the accident;
• Medical records and bills;
• Pay stubs and tax returns to establish the amount of your lost wages; Vehicle damage receipts;
• A copy of your insurance policy; and, 
• Evidence of premium payments. 

Now, you may be feeling very overwhelmed at the thought of collecting all of this information. The good news is, an experienced car accident attorney can help you. They will perform an independent investigation on your behalf and explore all potential forms of evidence that will support your case, including: 

• Sending out trained accident scene investigators;
• Taking accident scene pictures and pictures of intersections that you may have missed;
• Completing an accident reconstruction, if necessary;
• Collecting and reviewing all medical records;
• Requesting a copy of the police report and reviewing it;
• Finding out if any businesses or individuals have surveillance video of the accident;
• Reviewing traffic camera recordings if available;
• Subpoenaing cell phone records, if appropriate;
• Collecting black box data, which some passenger vehicles are equipped with. They can provide valuable information from right before the accident, such as the vehicle’s speed, braking, and steering;
• If necessary, coaching you in how to describe your car accident; and,
• Subpoenaing witnesses, if necessary.

A car accident lawyer will not only help you preserve critical evidence that could be destroyed quickly, but will help you avoid making inadvertent mistakes that can hurt your case.

Do You Need To Go To Court if You File a Claim?

Most car accident claims in California settle before going to court, but not all do. Your claim may end up going to court if you, and the insurance company cannot agree to a fair settlement on your claim, or if there is a dispute on who was at fault. No two car accidents are the same, so only an attorney can tell you if it will be necessary to try your case or not. Since most car accident lawyers take cases on a contingency fee basis, you fortunately will not have to risk any money out-of-pocket if your claim does proceed to trial. 

What Should You Say to Your Insurance Provider?

Even if you did not cause the car accident, you will still likely need to report the collision to your insurance provider. Failing to do so may result in the cancellation of your policy or the loss of other legal rights. Be honest when you report the accident, but keep in mind that adjusters are always looking for ways to avoid having to pay out on a claim. Only answer the questions they ask and refrain from giving any unnecessary information, such as comments on fault, or on how you are feeling. Your attorney can deal with any follow-up discussions regarding liability and your injuries.  

When Can You Expect a Settlement Check?

It can take as little as 1-2 weeks for you to receive a settlement check after you have signed the insurance company’s release of liability form. But unfortunately, there is no definite answer as to how long it will take for an agreement to be made and for your case to be resolved. 

In California, insurance companies have 40 days to either offer a settlement or deny your claim once they receive proof. After that, the adjuster can still take their time to investigate and respond to inquiries. Whether you accept the claim offer, reject it, or appeal a denial, can also impact the waiting period. If your claim ends up in court, a car accident trial typically only takes 1-2 days once it has begun. However, the entire process generally takes at least one year. Since there are phases of litigation that can delay your trial date, such as: 

• Serving the complaint. Which can take a few weeks or up to several months if the defendant is difficult to track down.  
• Waiting for an answer. The defendant has about a month to file an answer to the complaint. 
• Discovery. Both parties exchange the information they have regarding the accident, which may become evidence. This phase can take several months or sometimes over a year to complete. 
• Appeals process. The outcome of a trial can be appealed by either party, possibly adding years before a final judgment is made. 

It’s important to note that car accident lawsuits can still settle at any point. Oftentimes it will occur when one party presents evidence that can swing the outcome of the case. 

Car Accident Legal Representation You Can Trust

Contact our legal firm now for a free consultation and we will listen to your automobile accident case. Our Riverside car accident lawyer will keep you informed of significant developments and provide legal services promptly and professionally. You deserve to live the same life you had before your auto accident and a Hanson & Mouri personal injury attorney can work to make you whole again. We also serve car accident victims in San Bernardino.

Our law office serves Riverside, Corona, Norco, Temecula, Murrieta, Lake Elsinore, Hemet, Banning, Beaumont, Moreno Valley, & Calimesa.

Client Testimonial

A fantastic attorney who did a wonderful job for us. He explained the process thoroughly and he’s also a very pleasant guy. – R. Parker