Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

I was involved in a car accident on December 17, 2009 at 12:30pm in Fremont. I was driving down and intersection through a green light, when a young driver hit me after he was making a right turn into my street. My car was pushed into the island and was totaled. His car continued to cross through oncoming traffic to the other side of the street and hit a tree.

At the time, my adrenaline was so high, I didn't feel anything. But since this accident, I've already been to Kaiser 2 times. I have back aches, back spasms, front aches, side aches, nausea, headaches, severe whiplash, and my right ankle is sprained and I have to wear a boot/cast thing for support.

I am also self employed where I do body wraps, which is a very labor intensive position. I have lost business not being able to do body wraps for my clients. I also can't drive due to the boot/cast thing on my right foot. I'm in a lot of pain and am on pain medications to control the back spasms and pain.

At the time, since no one was severely injured, the police ruled it as a non-injury accident. However, within a couple hours of the accident, I felt everything!

I contacted AAA and changed the case to an injury accident and have been assigned a new claims adjuster because of my injuries. Both of us has AAA, by the way.

My van was completely totaled and I'm frustrated because it's been paid for for years now, we just had work done on it and we just paid registration. It also had a lot of sentimental value because it was our first family car. The money we will get from the insurance company to replace the car is nothing compared to a fully paid van in the condition it was in.

My question is, I'm not 100% sure that AAA will have my best interest at heart due to the fact they're representing both of us. I only want what's fair in this situation, but I'm not sureexactly what that is, since this is all new to me, and I've never been in a car accident before. Is this a case your company would take? Or can you give me advice on how best to handle this situation?


Asked on 12/19/09, 12:39 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Robert F. Cohen Law Office of Robert F. Cohen

It's often better to have an attorney on your side because insurance companies might attempt to take advantage of those who are unrepresented.

As far as the van goes, probably the most they'll offer is the Kelley Blue Book value for the old vehicle which probably won't be sufficient to find a comparable replacement. You should review your policy to see if your policy provides for replacement or just cost.

I suspect that you're treating your injuries, and you will heal in time. You are right to be suspicious when an insurance carrier represents both drivers in an accident although, theoretically, the two adjusters are not supposed to compare notes. Make sure to keep all income records from the past year to show that your income has suffered because of the accident.

Read more
Answered on 12/24/09, 2:42 am
Melvin C. Belli The Belli Law Firm

Your collision not accident sounds serious enough to warrant at least talking to an experienced personal injury attorney such as ourselves. Whatever the police report says is only good for settlement purposes but is not admissible in court. The more important question is when did you first go see a doctor? If you saw one that evening or in the next couple days then there shouldn't be an issue as to the causation of your injury. You are right typically people do not feel their injuries at the time of the collision and it is only after the adrenalin has worn off do they notice a problem. Recently one of my clients had a bad collision, broke a couple ribs and his writ. He called me right afterwards and told me he might go to the ER later that day but he needed to run some errands first! I convinced him otherwise and fortunately so as he had to be picked up by ambulance and spent the next 10 days in the hospital.

Since your case is typical of the cases we handle so you may give me a call and I will discuss your situation for free. Even if you don�t call me call someone else as soon as possible as any delay will effect your case. Also you need to make sure that you are getting treated for your injuries and if you are having a problem go to the doctor. Unfortunately you are not rewarded but rather penalized for toughing it out

You can check our website out at bellilawfirm.com or call us at (866) 981-1850 if you want.

Good luck and hope to hear from you. Best wishes for a happy and better new year.

Read more
Answered on 12/30/09, 10:05 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Personal Injury Law and Tort Law questions and answers in California