Fountain Valley Personal Injury Lawyer

Suffering a serious personal injury – whether it is the result of an auto accident, or a dog attack, or due to a dangerous or defective product – can be a traumatic and life-changing event. Such an incident can effect an enormous disruption and change to your life and routine, leave victims and families with tremendous emotional and financial strain. If you have been seriously injured due to someone else's negligence and/or wrongdoing, you may be able to recover compensation for your losses.

For more than 40 years, the experienced Fountain Valley personal injury lawyers at Bisnar Chase have successfully handled an array of personal injury cases for our clients. Our goal is to help injured victims and their families secure maximum compensation for their losses. We value the reputation that we have earned and secured over the years by providing quality legal representation and superior customer service to our clients and their families. Please contact us if you are in need of advice and guidance with regard to your potential personal injury claim in Fountain Valley.

Have You Been Injured in Fountain Valley CA?

If you or a loved one has been injured in Fountain Valley, there are a number of steps you can take in order to ensure that your legal rights and best interests are protected.

Document the incident. Whether you have been injured in an auto accident on a local roadway or freeway or you've hurt yourself in a slip-and-fall accident in a neighborhood supermarket, documenting the incident is extremely important. For example, if you have been injured in a car accident, make sure you file a report with the police while also ensuring that your account of the incident is mentioned in the report. It would also be a good idea to obtain a copy of this police report for your own records. If you slip and fall in a supermarket aisle, file an incident report with the store's owner or manager. This helps determine the time, date and the location where the incident occurred.

Gather as much evidence as possible from the scene. The value of collecting pertinent evidence from the accident scene cannot be overemphasized. In many instances, your case may only be as good as the evidence you have. So, if you have been involved in a Fountain Valley car accident, it would be a good idea to get as many photos as possible from the scene of the crash. In addition, it is also crucial to get relevant information from the other parties that are involved such as other drivers as well as contact information for any eyewitnesses. It is important to collect this information immediately after the crash as accident scenes tend to get cleared out pretty quickly. If you are injured and are unable to get these critical pieces of evidence, ask a family member or friend to help you out. Your Fountain Valley personal injury lawyer will also be able to help you gather such evidence.

Obtain prompt medical attention. If you have suffered personal injuries in any type of incident, it is very important that you get prompt medical attention, treatment and care. For example, if you have taken a fall on someone else's property, make sure you call 911 and get to an emergency room so you can get treated right away. Similarly, if you have suffered injuries in a car accident, get medical attention immediately. This helps establish and document the nature of your injuries as well as the treatment you received. So, in addition to putting you on the road to recovery, getting prompt medical care helps create a record that shows the extent of the injuries you sustained in the accident.

This type of documentation can prove invaluable to your Fountain Valley personal injury claim, especially if your case goes to trial. Even if you "feel fine" after the accident, it would be in your best interest to schedule a visit with your doctor. Our Fountain Valley personal injury lawyers often find that injury symptoms may not surface for days or even weeks after a traumatic event. So, the first step to take here is to get the right diagnosis of your injuries and start recovering your health.

Be wary of what you say. Providing statements about the incident to anyone but the police or your personal injury lawyer can work against you. If possible, you should talk to your attorney before you talk to anyone else. If you have been involved in a car accident, simply exchange basic information with the other parties involved. Don't engage them in a conversation by talking about who was at fault. Worse, do not admit fault or make statements that suggest you may have been at fault. Remember, anything you say can and in all likelihood will be used against you.

If you have been injured in an accident, the other party's insurance company will call you soon after. While you should report the details of the crash to your auto insurance company, please refrain from speaking with the other parties' insurers or attorneys. Never agree to provide a recorded statement. It is generally a good idea not to talk to anyone regarding the incident other than your injury lawyer.

Do not rush into a settlement. The insurance company will often attempt to pressure injured victims into agreeing to a quick settlement. What you need to remember is that such an agreement tends to work in an insurance company's favor. In the aftermath of a personal injury accident, the insurance company is not your friend. Their business model is based on not paying their customers or settling for the least amounts possible.

Minimizing these payouts is what insurance adjusters are trained to do. They are not looking out for you. They work for the insurance company and their role hinges on working out deals that benefit their employer. Your personal injury lawyer is the only one working for you and bearing your interest at heart. So, do not rush into a settlement or sign any type of agreement until you've talked to your injury lawyer. Once you do, there may not be a way to undo that step and the subsequent terms that it involves. You may not be able to seek any further compensation once you've agreed to a settlement.

One of the most important steps for securing the compensation you deserve after a traumatic injury is to seek and obtain the counsel of an experienced Fountain Valley personal injury lawyer. There are certain aspects in this regard that will help you choose the right lawyer for your case. First, you need to find someone in your area who is familiar with local courts and specializes in personal injury law. Look for someone who has significant experience handling personal injury cases exclusively. Visit the attorney's website to see what types of cases they handle, what their success rate is and the types of verdicts and settlements they have obtained for injured clients in the past.

Retain a lawyer who also has trial experience. While it is a fact that a vast majority of personal injury cases are settled outside a courtroom, you may still need a lawyer with trial experience – one who is not afraid to take your case to trial should the need arise. In some instances, the litigation process may be your best option to ensure the defendant pays fair compensation. When you are looking to retain a lawyer, you may wish to consider a personal injury lawyer who is an active member of local and state trial lawyer groups. Attorneys who are committed to success with their personal injury practice tend to collaborate with other peers.

You also need the law firm handling your case to have substantial resources, not just in terms of staffing but also when it comes to their ability to have expert witness and subject matter experts provide testimony if required. Preparing a personal injury case may quickly become expensive. There are a number of steps that bear associated costs such as taking depositions and getting the necessary experts to testify.

Try to make an assessment regarding the law firm during your initial consultation. How do their offices look? Do they seem successful? How did the person at the front desk treat you? How did the lawyers and the other employees of the firm treat you during your visit? Did they offer you a free initial consultation? Your personal injury lawyer should be someone you like and trust as cases may take several months to years to be settled or decided.

Damages in a Personal Injury Case

There are a number of different types of damages that you could receive in a Fountain Valley personal injury case. Here are some of the damages that are most commonly awarded in such cases:

• Medical expenses: This includes costs relating to emergency transportation, hospitalization, cost of surgeries, medication, medical equipment and doctor visits. Some severely injured victims may incur future medical costs. For example, if you need to undergo back surgery as the result of an auto accident in which you were injured a year ago, then, that expense should also be part of the compensation you receive.
• Lost wages: When you are injured in a traumatic incident, you may not be able to return to work for a while or until you completely recover from your injuries. You may lose days, weeks or even months of work resulting in loss of income and severe financial challenges for you and your family. This is particularly true in cases where the injured victim is the sole breadwinner or primary wage earner. Families may also suffer without health or other benefits during this time. These types of losses should be a part of the personal injury claim.
• Rehabilitation costs: Most injured victims need some type of rehabilitative treatment of therapy to get them back to their pre-accident condition. For example, individuals who have suffered broken bone injuries may require several weeks of rehabilitation to regain strength and mobility in the affected area. This might include physical therapy, chiropractic care and so on. Often, health insurance may not cover these types of rehabilitative costs. The patient may have to pay these expenses out of pocket. However, these are expenses you should include in your personal injury claim.
• Pain and suffering: When you are injured in a Fountain Valley accident, you may not only experience physical pain, but also emotional trauma. Injured victims may become depressed or suffer a post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD, which might require counseling and treatment. A number of these traumatic incidents such as car accidents and dog bites also result in scarring and disfigurement. This could have a serious psychological impact on victims as well.
• Permanent injuries: Unfortunately, a number of victims may never completely recover from their injuries. This is particularly true in cases where victims have sustained catastrophic injuries such as amputations. In these situations, they may never be able to return to their jobs or earn a subsequent livelihood. Such victims may be entitled to receive disability benefits and additional compensation for permanent injuries, disabilities and loss of future income and inability to earn a livelihood.
• Wrongful death: When a loved one is killed as a result of someone else's negligence or wrongdoing, you may be able to seek compensation by filing a wrongful death claim. Such claims seek compensation for damages including medical expenses, funeral and burial costs, lost future income, pain and suffering and loss of love, care and companionship.

Why Contact Bisnar Chase?

At Bisnar Chase, we are committed to providing our clients with quality legal representation and recovering just compensation for them. We are proud of the track record we have achieved of getting positive results for our clients throughout Orange County. We have recovered money in over 96 percent of our cases. We have been advocating for average citizens and consumers for forty years – inside and outside of the courtroom.

We also provide a no-win-no-fee guarantee, which means you do not pay anything unless we recover compensation for you. Initial consultations are always free. With more than $500 Million won including punitive damages and thousands represented, our firm has earned a reputation as one of California's toughest injury law firms. Please call 949-203-3814 for a free consultation with one of our experienced injury lawyers in Fountain Valley.