Maison Law represents the victims of Fresno car accidents. Our personal injury lawyers aggressively seek compensation for our clients from insurance companies who must take responsibility for reckless drivers. Please contact us after an accident caused by another driver’s carelessness. We provide a free, no-obligation consultation for all local injury victims. It’s a no-risk opportunity to find out what your injury may be worth and how to hold insurance companies fully responsible for recovery costs.

Do I Need a Lawyer After a Fresno Traffic Accident?

If your injuries end up being serious after a collision, it’s a good idea to talk to a lawyer about your options. If you suffer an injury like a broken bone or head trauma, you may need strong protection to keep insurance companies from limiting the support you receive and leaving bills in your lap.

When medical costs are high, car insurance adjusters fight hard to avoid having to pay out full compensation. They’ll try to shift blame in an accident or use their own doctors to say that your injuries aren’t as bad as your medical charts say. Your lawyer is your shield against these ridiculous tactics. Your Fresno car accident lawyer gathers powerful evidence to force insurance companies to provide the maximum in compensation for you and your family.

Fresno Car Accident Claims Process

Do I Need to Hire a Fresno Car Accident Lawyer?

California law gives injured car accident victims one chance to pursue compensation for the injuries and damages that they suffered as a result of the carelessness and negligence of somebody else. From the moment that a victim is injured in an auto accident, it’s extremely important that the processing of a claim or lawsuit be handled professionally.

Given the fact that medical bills from an accident and lost time from work can range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the fact that permanency of an injury can range from occasional to permanent and constant disability, the legal and personal perils of failing to retain quality counsel and advocacy are too risky.

What To Do After a Fresno Car Accident

A chain-reaction accident along Highway 99 or a rear-end collision on Yosemite Freeway might leave you in shock and suffering from the pain of an injury. However, if you are strong enough, you should consider securing as much evidence as possible in the moments after your Fresno crash.

This evidence will prove key to the claim you’ll file against an at-fault driver’s car insurance provider. Even when you are totally free of blame, without strong evidence, an insurance adjuster can greatly reduce the support you see or even reject your claim completely.

To make sure you receive a car accident insurance settlement check that covers every need you have, try to secure this evidence on the scene:

Call 911. Allow EMTs to examine every wound you have. Offer police officers or the California Highway Patrol any details you can remember about how the accident occurred.
Take pictures of the scene, the vehicles involved, and any visible injuries.
Get contact information from any witnesses on the scene.
Examine the surrounding area for the possibility of surveillance systems. Get the addresses of homes and businesses with cameras.
Get yourself and your loved ones checked out by your family doctor. Get full documentation of injuries. Save receipts.

What Sort of Compensation Can I Receive After an Accident?

Your evidence will be compiled into an effective case to be filed against an insurance provider. Your Fresno Personal Injury Lawyer will also be adding evidence, collision reports, documents, and testimony secured in the aftermath of your accident.

Also included in this claim will be a complete list of every hardship you and your family have suffered through. This list will factor in economic and non-economic damages endured:

Economic Damages:

Hospital bills now and for the care expected to be needed in the future.
A fair appraisal of expected expenses over a lifetime if you must live with a permanent disability.
Travel costs for making doctor’s appointments and consultations with specialists. Shuttle service fees while you are off your feet.
All income and benefits you’ve lost while missing on-the-job hours.
Property damage.

Non-Economic Damages:

The physical pain you suffer in recovery and perhaps much longer.
The emotional trauma you experience in the accident and in a difficult recovery. You may experience depression over a loss in your enjoyment of life while dealing with serious injuries. PTSD symptoms and anxiety are also possible after a violent crash.
Loss of consortium. The loss of intimacy and changes in relationships with family members, especially a spouse.

What Does it Cost to Hire a Car Accident Lawyer in Fresno?

You won’t need any money upfront when you hire a skilled Fresno Personal Injury Lawyer to represent your accident case.

Most qualified Fresno personal injury lawyers work on a contingency basis. This means you don’t pay for attorney fees unless they win your case.

Your attorney will usually also front many of the investigative costs and legal fees for your case. This is helpful for clients because they don’t have to worry about these costs until they’ve received fair compensation from an insurance company. However, these beneficial practices for you add up to a risk for your attorney.

If a case is tossed out on a technicality or new information emerges that makes a lawsuit impossible to win, the attorney can end up doing a lot of work over many months for no pay.

For this reason, attorneys generally get around 33% of any award or judgment earned for a client. Again, they only receive payment if they secure a favorable outcome for the client.

Fresno Car Accident Rate

As reported by the Fresno Bee, Fresno ranks 15th in the nation’s worst cities to drive in, and it ranks fifth in drunk drivers. Aside from those drunk drivers, Fresno ranked 18th for traffic tickets, 24th for speeding tickets and 31st for accidents. That’s not a very good traffic safety record at all for a city that’s just a bit larger than Omaha. Here are just a few of the common causes of auto accidents in and around Fresno:

Distracted driving.
Drunk driving, drugged driving or a combination of the two.
Following too closely
Speeding.
Driving too fast for weather or traffic conditions.
Disobeying red lights and stop signs.
Sudden lane changes at high speeds.

Fresno Fatal Accidents and Wrongful Death Claims

There’s nothing more heartbreaking than losing a loved one in a terrible accident. It’s especially hard when the accident could have easily been prevented.

When someone’s negligence caused the death of a family member, you are allowed to act on behalf of the close relatives left behind by filing a wrongful death claim. This civil lawsuit would hold an at-fault party’s insurance company responsible for all costs associated with any emergency response provided on the date of the accident. The suit would also ask for full payment for a funeral and burial for the victim.

Families must also protect their futures by requesting help to replace the financial support the deceased can no longer provide through job income. As far as the future goes, the family should receive additional support for loss of the care and guidance a loved one will no longer be able to provide in the years to come.

A wrongful death claim may be filed by a spouse or children of the victim. A Fresno wrongful death attorney may also file this lawsuit on behalf of all close relatives. A skilled attorney would investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident to make sure all at-fault parties shared in the liability. The attorney would confront insurance companies to secure the most support possible while disturbing the family as little as possible to allow them time to grieve.

How Does Liability Work When One Driver Is Drunk and the Other Is Texting?

Drunk drivers aren’t always found at fault in every accident. Texting drivers could strike them from behind and be found fully responsible. However, the drunk driver would still face criminal DUI charges and is more likely to be assigned blame.

There’s also the legal concept of comparative negligence that can factor into any traffic accident. Two drivers involved in a collision can share blame in a crash. A drunk driver and a texting driver could be assigned percentages of the blame for the same collision.

This would happen if an investigating officer felt both drivers contributed to the accident. Yet, any driver found to be intoxicated is more likely to receive a bigger share of fault or all of the fault.

Texting is generally just an infraction and only becomes a misdemeanor when fines aren’t paid. The violation would generally have less impact on the determination of fault when the other motorist was driving under the influence.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to file a claim after a Fresno Car Accident?

California extends a time limit of two years from the date of the accident for victims to file an injury claim. Your case will benefit if you take action as soon as possible so your lawyer can access fresh evidence.

Should I talk to the at-fault driver’s insurance adjusters?

No. They will call you asking to record you making a statement about what happened. Decline. This statement can be used against you later. Give basic information and refer them to your attorney.

Should I save any evidence from the accident?

Yes. Keep any damaged personal property. Preserve any damaged or bloody clothing and don’t wash them. If you were on a bike when you got hit, save your damaged bicycle.

Contact a Fresno Car Accident Lawyer Today

Contact Maison Law to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with an actual Fresno car accident lawyer. We want to hear what happened to you. We’re going to answer your questions and make sure you are fully aware of the insurance tactics you’ll face. These shady practices are meant to limit the money you receive. Avoiding these pitfalls will be key to earning what you’ll need to rebuild your life.

Maison Law serves all victims in Fresno County and makes sure they aren’t taken advantage of by insurance adjusters. We seek to get the maximum in compensation available for victims and their families.

If you feel we can help you earn more for your injury, you won’t need any upfront money to hire Maison Law. We don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the insurance settlement check you receive.

Additional Car Accident Resources:

Fresno Car Accident Lawyer