Riverside
Car Accident Lawyer

Riverside Car Accident Attorney

Car accidents consistently rank among the top causes of accidental injuries and deaths throughout the United States each year. Each state has different laws and statutes for resolving car accident claims, and in California, every driver is required to carry auto insurance. If you cause an accident with another driver, they have the right to file a claim against your insurance policy to seek compensation for their losses.

Experienced Legal Advocacy for Victims of Car Accidents in Riverside

Unfortunately, insurance isn’t always enough to cover the full financial impact of a serious car accident, and the state has a very high rate of uninsured and underinsured drivers. This means there is no guarantee that you will be able to rely on another driver’s insurance coverage if they hit your vehicle and cause an injury. Many car accident victims must file not only auto insurance claims but personal injury claims as well to secure full recovery from their damages.

If you are suffering from injuries and economic losses caused by another driver, a Riverside car accident attorney is the right resource to consult to determine your most viable recovery options. Kenneth M. Sigelman & Associates has experience handling all types of personal injury claims in Riverside and offers the professional experience of both an attorney and a medical doctor, providing an unmatched level of legal counsel to any car accident victim struggling with severe injuries. Whatever your case entails, you can rest assured that our team will guide you through all your recovery efforts fluently and with ongoing compassionate reassurance.

Benefits of Hiring an Attorney for Your Car Accident Claim

While it is possible to navigate your recovery efforts on your own without an attorney, you face several risks in doing so. There is no guarantee that insurance alone will cover your damages, but even if it can, the insurance company has no incentive to pay your claim right away and offer the maximum settlement under the driver at fault’s policy. Most insurance companies will look for all the reasons they can find to reduce a settlement offer or deny a claim outright, avoiding paying out on claims whenever possible.

Even if you managed to secure a favorable settlement offer from the insurance company, you might need to take further legal action if you have outstanding damages insurance can’t cover. Filing a personal injury claim may seem straightforward at first, but you might face unexpected challenges that you do not know how to resolve. Do not risk your recovery out of fear of paying an attorney’s fees. The attorneys at Kenneth M. Sigelman & Associates make legal counsel accessible and affordable with contingency fee billing, so there is no risk to you by hiring our firm to represent you.

When you have an experienced Riverside car accident attorney handling your case, you are not only more likely to secure much more compensation than you could have managed on your own but also more likely to streamline your recovery efforts significantly. Your attorney can help manage all the procedural red tape involved in filing your case and uncover every channel of compensation available to you. You have the best chance of securing as much compensation as possible when you have an experienced Riverside car accident attorney handling your case.

Common Causes of Car Accidents and Proving Liability

Before you can obtain any sort of compensation through insurance and/or a civil suit, you must be ready to prove exactly how your accident happened and identify the driver or drivers responsible for causing it. A few of the most common examples of negligence and misconduct that generate car accident claims in the Riverside area include:

• Distraction behind the wheel, which is the top-cited cause of all motor vehicle accidents throughout the country each year. Whenever a driver is not paying full attention to the road, they put themselves and every other driver around them at severe risk.
• Speeding. This behavior not only increases the likelihood of an accident occurring but also the severity of the resulting damages. Accidents that occur at high speeds have the greatest chance of resulting in fatal injuries, potentially prompting wrongful death claims from victims’ families against those responsible.
• Moving violations. Whenever a driver carelessly or negligently interrupts the flow of traffic, they can easily cause an accident. Running red lights and stop signs, performing illegal turns or lane changes, and failing to signal for turns are just a few examples of this.
• Reckless driving. Unfortunately, some Riverside drivers engage in intentional misconduct while operating their vehicles, showing clear disregard for the safety of others. If a driver causes an accident in this manner, they face criminal charges alongside liability for victims’ damages if they cause an accident.
• Driving under the influence (DUI). It is illegal for any driver to operate their vehicle while intoxicated by drugs or alcohol. Penalties for DUI conviction automatically increase when the defendant has injured or killed someone else through the course of their actions.

There are other ways an automobile accident might occur in Riverside, but regardless of the actual method, if another driver is responsible for your damages, you must be prepared to prove their negligence or misconduct directly caused those damages. Your Riverside car accident attorney can help gather evidence like vehicle computer data, traffic camera footage, cell phone records, and statements from eyewitnesses to help you firmly establish liability.

Filing an Auto Insurance Claim for Your Accident in Riverside

Every driver must have auto insurance that includes the minimum coverage amounts for property damage and bodily injury set forth by state law. A minimum-coverage policy must include “15/30/5” coverage, which means at least $15,000 for bodily injury liability coverage for a single person, at least $30,000 for all persons injured in an accident, and at least $5,000 in property damage liability coverage.

These coverage amounts might be enough to compensate for the damages from a minor accident, but if you suffered any serious injuries, you would likely need to pursue additional legal recourse aside from your auto insurance claim. You have a limited time in which to file your insurance claim, typically only a few days after your accident. Before discussing any type of settlement with the insurance company, you should reach out to an experienced Riverside car accident attorney to have them assist you with filing your claim.

A good attorney can help file your demand letter to the insurance company, and once the insurance company’s representative notices you have legal counsel, they will be far less likely to attempt any handling of your claim in bad faith. Your Riverside car accident attorney will handle correspondence with the insurance carrier on your behalf and ensure their settlement offer is suitable for the scope of your damages. Once you have recovered as much as you can through insurance, any outstanding damages will need to be sought from the defendant through a personal injury claim.

Compensation and Damages Recoverable in Your Personal Injury Case

California law allows the victim of any personal injury to seek full repayment of all economic losses a defendant inflicted with their negligence or misconduct. Your initial auto insurance claim against an at-fault driver may yield some valuable initial compensation, but when your damages exceed the scope of their coverage, your personal injury claim is your best option for maximizing the compensation you secure.

The economic damages you could potentially obtain from a successful personal injury case in Riverside include the following:

• Medical treatment costs. An automobile accident can easily cause a host of injuries like broken bones, facial injuries, internal organ damage, and many cuts, scrapes, and bruises. The driver responsible for your crash is responsible for any and all medical treatment costs you face to recover from your injury. Their insurance may provide some of this compensation, but all outstanding medical expenses can be included as economic damages in your personal injury action.
• Long-term medical expenses. Unfortunately, some car accidents result in catastrophic injuries like traumatic brain damage, spinal cord injury, and others that will require extensive ongoing care. The defendant will also be responsible for these damages. Your Riverside car accident attorney can work with your medical care providers to ensure you expose the full range of medical expenses you face in the future for your recovery.
• Lost wages. Your car accident could leave you unable to work until your injuries heal. If your injuries force you to stay home and/or use accrued paid time off, the defendant who caused your accident is responsible for this lost income.
• Lost future earning capacity. When your accident has caused a severe permanent injury that diminishes your ability to work and earn income, the defendant’s responsibility extends to these unrealized economic losses as well. If, for example, you cannot return to your previous job and must accept lower-paying work, they are liable for the difference in your income. If you were injured too severely to ever work again, they could face liability for all the future income you would have reasonably expected to earn if the accident had not occurred.
• Property losses. An auto insurance claim should yield some compensation for vehicle repair and/or replacement costs. However, if your vehicle was a total loss and its actual cash value exceeds the property damage liability coverage in the defendant’s insurance policy, you can seek compensation for the remainder of your injury claim.

Once you have an experienced Riverside car accident attorney handling your case and reviewing the total economic impact of your accident, you might be surprised to discover your case is worth much more than you initially expected. However, your recovery does not end with your economic losses, as the state allows you to seek pain and suffering compensation as well.

Pain and Suffering for Car Accident Claims in Riverside, CA

No limit applies to the amount of pain and suffering compensation you can seek from the defendant who caused your accident in Riverside. California only enforces a cap on non-economic damages for medical malpractice. However, it is important that you seek reasonable compensation according to the severity of the physical injuries and psychological distress you experienced from your accident. It can be difficult to determine an appropriate financial figure for intangible losses like these, but your Riverside car accident attorney can provide valuable guidance for this aspect of your recovery.

If your injuries should heal completely in the near future, your attorney is likely to seek a per diem pain and suffering compensation arrangement. Your legal counsel would determine a fair amount of compensation per day you spend recovering from your injuries. You would then receive this amount each day until you reach maximum medical improvement from your injury. In the event you have suffered a catastrophic injury resulting in permanent harm, they would be more likely to seek a large lump sum of pain and suffering compensation. Most attorneys will multiply their client’s total economic losses by one to five according to the severity of their injuries.

Resolving Your Personal Injury Claim

When you have the right attorney on your side after an accident, it may only take a week or two to receive an insurance settlement check, and if you need to file a personal injury claim, you can streamline these proceedings substantially with your attorney’s assistance. Kenneth M. Sigelman & Associates will take time to get to know you and learn how your car accident has negatively impacted your life.

Our firm is particularly skilled at handling catastrophic injury claims thanks to Attorney Sigelman’s professional credentials as both an attorney and a doctor. We will do everything we can to maximize the compensation you receive for your injuries and economic losses, and we will seek the most efficient path to recovery. We’ll seek a swift settlement with a compelling initial complaint, but if settlement isn’t an option for any reason, we are fully prepared to represent you in litigation. Ultimately, whatever your case entails, when you choose our firm as your Riverside car accident attorneys, we will provide ongoing support through every phase of your recovery efforts.

Riverside Car Accident Lawyers FAQs

Q: How Much Compensation Can I Receive for an Automobile Accident?

A: The amount of compensation you secure from your recovery efforts after an automobile accident depends on the scope of economic losses you suffered and whether you were permanently injured in the incident. Your Riverside car accident attorney will help you maximize your recovery by seeking compensation for medical expenses, future medical bills for managing severe injuries, lost wages during recovery, lost future earning potential, vehicle repair costs, and your pain and suffering.

Q: What if I’m Partly Responsible for Causing My Recent Car Accident?

A: The state enforces the pure comparative negligence rule. This means if you bear partial fault for your recent car accident, you will lose a portion of your case award to reflect your shared fault. If, for example, you have 25% fault for the accident, you lose 25% of your case award. Having an experienced Riverside car accident attorney represent you is the way to minimize any shared fault you hold.

Q: How Long Do I Have to Sue for an automobile accident?

A: If an auto insurance claim against the driver at fault is not enough to fully compensate your losses from your recent accident, you must file a personal injury claim against them within two years of the accident. Meeting this statute of limitations is essential, so it’s best to hire reliable legal counsel as soon as possible after your accident to ensure your case proceeds as intended.

Q: How Much Will It Cost to Hire a Riverside Car Accident Attorney?

A: The attorneys at Kenneth M. Sigelman & Associates accept most personal injury clients on a contingency fee basis. This means the client does not pay any upfront or ongoing legal fees for their attorney’s counsel, and they are not required to pay anything at all if the attorney fails to win compensation on their behalf. If we win your case, we only take a portion of the final case award. This system ensures you have the legal counsel you need when you need it, at no financial risk to you.

Q: Is It Worth Hiring a Riverside Car Accident Attorney?

A: Even after you account for the cost of hiring your attorney, their representation can make a tremendous positive difference in the outcome of your case. An experienced legal team will know every avenue of compensation you can explore to maximize your recovery. It’s likely that when you choose a reliable attorney to handle your claim, they will help you secure far more compensation than you could have obtained on your own.