Yes. When the fault in an accident is unclear, insurance companies will go to work trying to remove the blame from their policyholders. A lawyer fights on your behalf and makes sure you aren’t blamed for an accident you didn’t cause.
Getting unfairly blamed for a traffic accident or slip-and-fall at a grocery can mean that you are left to pay enormous medical bills. The Fresno personal injury lawyers at Maison Law offer a free case consultation to all accident victims. It’s a confidential, no-obligation way to determine if you can get justice by handling an injury claim yourself or if you could need the protection of a skilled attorney to hold an insurance company fully responsible.
Do I Need a Personal Injury Attorney After a Fresno Accident?
You may not realize all of the dangers you and your family members face as you all go about your days in Fresno. A reckless driver on Blackstone Avenue could strike your family SUV from behind, to cause major injuries. A spilled drink on an aisle at the grocery store might take your foot out from you and send you down on the hard floor. It’s often the case that an employee or manager had the chance to mop up that hazard but didn’t
If you are injured by someone else’s carelessness, California law empowers you to seek help in paying medical bills after an accident. But what if an at-fault party doesn’t accept the blame for your accident? Or what if an insurance adjuster for the at-fault party would rather blame you?
A false accusation could leave you without any help in paying your hospital bills. You’d have no assistance with keeping up with car payments, rent, and credit card bills while you were out of work with an injury.
Don’t Let an Insurance Company Blame You After an Accident
An insurance company for a careless driver or an insurer representing a grocery store chain will be hoping they can blame you for an accident and that you won’t fight back. They attempt to transfer the fault to you even if a California Highway Patrol accident report or a business incident report blames someone else.
If you accept some or part of the blame, you could end up without support to pay your own medical bills and you might end up having to provide compensation to someone else. A skilled Fresno Car Accident Lawyer or Slip-and-Fall Lawyer puts an end to this unfair behavior.
Your lawyer would be gathering all evidence, including photos you took from the scene, accident reports, surveillance video, and witness testimony, so an insurance company couldn’t transfer fault. Once an insurer knows you have a Fresno personal injury lawyer protecting your rights, adjusters usually stop trying to change the facts of the case. It’s then up to your attorney to demand what’s fair in a settlement offer and hold out until you have everything you need to recover physically and financially.
What If I Am Partially Blame for My Accident?
Sometimes the fault in an accident is clear, but an insurance company isn’t wanting to accept liability. But in other instances, fault is left in doubt by a police investigator after a traffic accident. They may not assign blame. Sometimes a landlord may contest that a crumbling stairwell caused you to fall and fracture your hip. They may suggest that you were just careless or clumsy.
In some cases, two or more parties can be made to share blame. California follows the legal concept of “comparative liability.” It means that you and another driver may have to split up the liability after a car accident. You could have to accept 40% of the blame for speeding, while the other driver is assigned 60% of the blame for making an illegal turn.
In this example, you could receive a settlement award to help pay for your medical bills, but whatever amount you were awarded would be reduced by the 40% you were found responsible for.
The same situation could play out when you fall on a wet spot left out on a restaurant floor. You may have to absorb some blame because you were looking at a cellphone and not watching where you were going. The company that owns the restaurant chain could have to pay some compensation for not cleaning up the hazard.
Sometimes two or more at-fault parties have to accept a portion of the blame in a personal injury accident, but your Maison Law representative wouldn’t automatically accept that. Your Fresno personal injury lawyer would be fighting to get your percentage of blame as low as possible. And if you truly deserved no share of the blame, your lawyer would be fighting back with evidence to get your fault reduced to zero.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file an injury claim after a personal injury accident?
Two years. California grants two years for accident victims to file a claim. It’s not wise to wait this long because in the meantime evidence can disappear and witnesses can be harder to locate.
What if I can’t afford a Fresno Personal Injury Lawyer?
You don’t need to have any money to hire a skilled lawyer with Maison Law. We don’t accept payment unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the settlement you are awarded.
Contact a Fresno Personal Injury Accident Lawyer
If you or a loved one are hurt in a car accident or another personal injury accident where fault is in question, protect yourself by talking to a skilled Fresno personal injury lawyer. You should know your rights when liability is in dispute and have access to powerful protections.
Maison Law offers a free, no-obligation case consultation for all Fresno County victims. We will investigate what happened to you and collect all evidence available to show who was really to blame for your accident. We then work to maximize the amount on an accident settlement check you receive.
