1. Past damages

Your past damages stemming from the car accident may include some or all of the following:

• Ambulance fees;
• Emergency room costs;
• Hospital fees and expenses;
• Doctor’s fees;
• Nursing, therapy, and other medical expenses;
• Prescription and non-prescription drugs;
• Prosthetic devices, canes, walkers, and other equipment;
• Lost earnings from work you couldn’t perform as a result of the injury;
• Reasonable transportation to medical care;
• Household help;
• Non-economic injury, including pain and suffering.

2. Future damages

Future damages from your car accident can be tricky to calculate—your Orange County auto accident lawyer doesn’t want to be too speculative, but he will want to be comprehensive by including some or all of the following:

• Hospital expenses;
• Doctor’s fees;
• Nursing, therapy, and other medical expenses;
• Prescription and non-prescription drugs;
• Prosthetic devices, canes, walkers, and other equipment;
• Reasonable transportation to medical care;
• Household help;
• Loss or diminution in earning capacity;
• Non-economic injury, including pain and suffering.

If you have been injured in a car accident and would like a free, confidential initial consultation, contact experienced Orange County auto accident lawyer Samer Habbas at (888) 848-5084.

* The number of judges available to hear trials.
* Other trials the lawyers in the case may have pending in other areas.
* The amount of cases that have yet to reach the trial stage.
* The format of the trial calendar. (For instance, some trial calendars may have what is known as a “trailing docket,” and criminal trials may or may not have priority depending on the trial calendar.)
* The completion of all discovery procedures, including depositions and interrogatories, by both sides.
* Various other possible factors.

In some states, a case can reach trial a year or less after the initial suit has been filed; however, in some jurisdictions this process can take several years. Regardless, an Orange County car accident lawyer should be able to inform you when your case reaches the trial stage.

Another common question clients have is, “How much notice will I get before trial?” Although you will likely receive ample notice to prepare for trial, in some jurisdictions you may have to “get ready” multiple times before your case actually reaches trial. In some areas, court will schedule many cases for trial, but only a few reach the trial stage. An Orange County car accident lawyer will clarify this process for you.

If you have been injured in a car accident and require the services of an Orange County car accident lawyer, please contact Samer Habbas at (888) 848-5084 for a free evaluation of your case.

Both sides can readily access the police report. This means that either the insurance adjuster or the defendant’s attorney can use it to deny liability or even reduce possible damages because of comparative negligence on your part. Thus, if the police report is unfavorable to you, your Orange County auto accident lawyer should try to challenge it or figure out how to use it in your favor. Your attorney can do this in several ways:

• Looking at the officer’s role in the investigation (to see whether he was an eye-witness to the accident, an after-the-fact investigator, or an expert in accident reconstruction), as well as his background, training, and experience;

• Hiring investigators or accident reconstruction experts in order to get physical evidence, forensic evidence, or expert testimony;

• Meeting with the officer and getting additional information in order to later impeach or cross-examine him at the trial;

• Contesting any administrative, traffic, or criminal charges stemming from the car accident in order to cross-examine the officer, do discovery, and prevent a conviction that can later be used against you in a civil lawsuit;

• Filing court motions to exclude certain parts of the police report;

• Doing a deposition on the police officer so he has to commit to his testimony in trial; and

• Finding out whether the police officers made a videotape at the scene of the accident or immediately following the accident.

If you’ve been in a car accident, and you’re thinking of filing a lawsuit, contact Orange County auto accident lawyer Samer Habbas for a free initial consultation.

Most people who pursue personal injury cases related to car accidents hope to end with a settlement. In order to settle, you will need to decide what an acceptable range of settlement is for you. Your Orange County car accident lawyer will then send a letter of demand to the insurance company.

The letter of demand is a formal expression of the intent to initiate settlement discussions. In addition, it summarizes the most significant parts of your claim. After receiving the letter of demand, the insurance carrier’s claims adjuster will secure the authority to settle by meeting with appropriate supervisors. The adjuster will respond to the letter after reaching the authorized final figure. Your Orange County car accident attorney and the insurance adjuster will then negotiate until they reach an agreement.

Some factors that can affect the amount of time it takes to complete negotiations include how many cases are handled by the insurance adjuster and the nature of the insurance company. Written correspondence, telephone communication, and office conferences are sometimes all that is needed to complete a settlement agreement.  An experienced Orange County car accident attorney can help you to reach a settlement with the insurance company more quickly. Please call (888) 848-5084 to schedule a free consultation with Samer Habbas.

Following a doctor’s medical advice is helpful in terms of actually recovering from the injuries you sustained in the car accident, but it is also important for your car accident lawyer’s case that you follow the prescribed course of treatment—including following your doctor’s advice about what activities you should avoid.

There are many leisure activities that you obviously should not do after a car accident injury. For example, marathon-running, rock climbing, and skiing are probably inadvisable after you have suffered a serious strain or sprain in a car accident. Leisure activities such as these, while fun, should be relatively easy for you to put on hold in the aftermath of your injury, especially if you are in severe pain.

One activity you may be tempted to do, even if your car accident injury makes it extremely difficult, is going to work. Medical bills may be piling up, your car could have been damaged or totaled in the accident, and cutting off your main source of income will seem especially difficult because of these financial pressures.

However, if your doctor advises you not to go to work because of your medical condition following your car accident, it is important that you follow his or her advice. An experienced car accident attorney will attempt to recover lost earnings as part of your car accident lawsuit, and a failure to heed your doctor’s advice not to work will be seen by the jury or the opposing party as being noncompliant with your treatment.

If your doctor has advised you not to work because of injuries sustained in a car accident and you want a car accident attorney to advise you about what to do, please contact me at (888) 848-5084 for a free consultation.