Personal Injury

Personal Injury

How Long Does It Take To Settle My Case?

Each case is different based on numerous factors, but certain rules apply to all cases:
  • We need convincing documentation to back up your claim. This includes complete medical records and billing for treatment of your injuries. In practical terms, this means you need to be done treating and healed from your injury prior to settlement of the bodily injury portion your case. Your property damage can be settled as soon as we set up a claim with the responsible insurance company and they inspect your vehicle.
Other documents typically submitted are property damage photographs, witness statements, police reports, and proof of lost income from your employer, etc.

  • We need a reasonable offer from the insurance company. If the responsible insurance company disagrees with our evaluation of the responsibility for the accident or thinks that your damages are far less than we believe, we may have to file a lawsuit to press your rights. If this happens, it will typically take about 6 months to 1 year for the case to settle after the lawsuit is filed. If a lawsuit is not necessary, it typically will take about 30 to 60 days after all our documentation is submitted to settle your case.

How Much Money Is My Case Worth?

This question is almost impossible to answer during the initial interview, since the extent of your injuries and healing time have usually not been ascertained. The following things affect the value of your case:

  • The type of injury you received;
  • The amount of your medical bills;
  • The type of medical treatment you received;
  • The time it takes for you to recover from your injuries;
  • The amount of fault the person being sued bears in relation to you or other uninsured parties;
  • The philosophy of the insurance company involved (Some will never give you a fair offer until you file a lawsuit);
  • Your desire for a quick settlement vs. litigation;
  • Your ability to describe the events of the accident and the injuries you suffered (What kind of witness will you make?);
  • Your attorney's reputation of being willing to fight for your rights or litigate if called for;
  • The existence of reimbursable or non-reimbursable health insurance; and
  • The attorney fee and costs - the farther the case advances toward trial, the higher the costs and attorney fee. Our office is always willing to litigate, if necessary, to get a fair settlement and we strive to maintain a good reputation with the local insurance claims' industry, so that they know we will stand behind our clients. Many of the above questions will not be answerable until the case progresses, but the attorney should always be able to tell you if you have a strong or a weak case.

Will My Case Go To Trial?

Probably not. The art of accident litigation is to properly assess the value of a case and then settle. Many times a lawsuit will be required prior to all sides getting enough facts to make this evaluation. If the case proceeds to trial, everyone loses because most cases cost more to try than they are worth. Both your attorney and the insurance
company know this. Every now and then in extremely large cases with serious disputes about liability, a case will logically proceed to trial. Statistically, less than 1 % of accident cases go to trial. Every case, however, needs to be worked up as if it will go to trial because the probable trial result determines the value of your case. The attorney is always willing to go to trial if necessary, i.e., the insurance company persists in an unfair settlement posture.

Personal Injury Fees

Our office operates on a contingency fee basis for all personal injury cases regardless of the type of accident. This means that we do not get paid if you don't. Our current rates are as follow:
  • If the case settles without the need to file a lawsuit, our fee is 28% of the total settlement; or
  • If we need to file a lawsuit (Superior Court, Arbitration, or Small Claims), our fee will be 33 1/3%; or
  • If we need to go all the way to jury trial (a rare situation, but it does happen), our fee is 40% of the total settlement.
NOTE: In addition to our fees as described above, any out of pocket costs that our office pays will be taken off the top before our fee is calculated.
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Postal Address

9124 Elk Grove Blvd.
Elk Grove, CA 95624



Fax: (916) 686-8260

In Business Since 1995

Business Hours

Mon - Fri: 09:00 AM - 05:00 PM
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