California Personal Injury Blog

Personal injury cases are notoriously complex, and it is not always clear how the insurance company goes about evaluating cases to determine how settlement money to offer. The process can be quite opaque. An Irvine personal injury attorney may be able to help you understand what’s going on.

The question on how to calculate damages in personal injury cases or wrongful death cases is somewhat complicated. Damages can be divided into two groups: economic damages (which are calculated first) and non-economic damages (which are calculated second). Non-economic damages are usually the largest damages, but economic damages are easier to quantify first.

Economic damages usually consist of loss of earnings or earning capacity. It may also include damage to property or loss of property. In some jurisdictions, it may include loss of credit or loss of insurability, because these are losses of a positive value caused by the defendant. Your Irvine personal injury attorney will know the latest relevant case law and can answer your questions about what is and is not included. It also includes negative costs such as past and future medical costs, rehabilitation costs, and special accommodation costs resulting from the injury.

Non-economic damages are either regarded as positive values lost or negative values incurred depending on the circumstances. It may be stronger rhetorically to argue that they are positive values lost, in order to emphasize your diminished health and capacity. Effects such as pain, mental suffering, anguish, and physical disfigurement, as well as loss of enjoyment of life and loss of society, are considered non-economic damages.

If you have further questions about how damages are calculated, contact knowledgeable Irvine personal injury attorney Samer Habbas at (888) 848-5084. The initial consultation is free of charge.

If your personal injury case goes to trial, you may be frightened at the prospect of testifying before a jury about what happened. Testifying can be intimidating, but an Irvine personal injury attorney will be able to prepare you and coach you to say the right things and tell your story most effectively. Here are some tips for witnesses preparing to take the stand:

Tell your story with confidence. Some people seize up on the stand and speak in a low voice and in a halting manner that seems insecure; this makes the jury doubt their credibility. Instead, speak in a confident voice and positive manner to give the jury reason to believe you. Your Irvine personal injury attorney may give you other advice before you actually testify.

Don’t get distracted by papers put down in front of you. Think of it like a TV newscast: newscasters know how to communicate information without keeping their eyes on the paper. Don’t look down at your paper and answer at the same time, as the jury will lose eye contact with you and might not pay attention to you. If you are being asked a question, don’t look down at what’s in your hands, but pay close attention to the attorney asking you and make sure you understand what they are asking. Listen to the question, then look at your report if you need to, then look back and confidently answer the question.

If you need help preparing to testify at a personal injury case, contact skilled Irvine personal injury attorney Samer Habbas at (888) 848-5084 for a free initial consultation.

Even the most experienced Orange County personal injury attorney sometimes finds himself at an impasse with insurance company about a client’s settlement. However, there are techniques that your attorney can use to get negotiations for your settlement back on track.

For example, your personal injury attorney can check the unfair claims practice laws. California laws govern the insurance company’s practices. These laws restrict, among other things, the amount time the claims adjuster spends investigating the claim. If your attorney suspects the adjuster is dragging out the investigation phase in order to stall negotiations, he may be able to use these laws to leverage the adjuster into resuming negotiations.

Failing that, you attorney might try the time-tested technique of setting a time-limit. A letter with a reasonable settlement demand stating that a response is required in 10-20 days could spur a hesitant adjuster into resuming negotiations.

Your attorney can also start asking concrete questions as to what specifically the adjuster is investigating. Direct pressure in this manner can reveal an insurance adjuster who is stalling rather than an adjuster who is earnestly running into unforeseen trouble in his investigation.

If all else fails, your personal injury attorney may decide that the best way for you to recover damages is to file a lawsuit. If a lawsuit does proceed, the adjuster is no longer involved in the case.

Make sure you have an experienced Orange County personal injury attorney on your side, no matter how your claim proceeds. Call Samer Habbas today at (888) 848-5084 for a free initial consultation.

If you are filing a personal injury claim from an accident, you may be wondering how the insurer will evaluate your company and how they determine its settlement value. There are a multitude of factors used to evaluate cases, and not all of them apply to every case. For information on what the relevant factors are to your case, contact an Irvine personal injury attorney.

One factor you may not think is important but actually is relevant is your expectations. Clients who are easy to deal with and have reasonable expectations are likely to see higher settlements than difficult clients. Your Irvine personal injury attorney may fight harder for a higher settlement for clients who are appreciative instead of impossible to please. Even so, your attorney will probably tell you to keep your expectations low.

It is also important to consider how many witnesses can testify in your case, and more importantly, how reliable and compelling their testimony will be. The quality of liability and damage witnesses has a significant effect on the likely settlement value of your case. If you only have one witness and it is a family member, your case will be weaker than one that has several impartial witnesses to the accident. Additionally, even if your doctor testifies on your behalf, your case may be hurt if the doctor makes a poor witness and cannot testify well. Your case is only as good as the quality of your evidence, and in this case, your evidence is your witnesses.

If you have further questions about the settlement value of your personal injury claim, contact experienced Irvine personal injury attorney Samer Habbas at (888) 848-5084 for a free consultation.