Los Angeles Injury Attorney, Personal Injury Lawyer in Southern California

What is Medical Payment (Med-Pay) Coverage and Why Should I Purchase it?

Many auto insurance carriers in California offer Medical Payment or Med-Pay Coverage, when selling automobile insurance.  Medical Payment Coverage provides benefits to the occupants of a vehicle who get injured in an automobile accident.  In some circumstance it may also provide coverage to the insured individuals, if they are injured in any other type of automobile related accident, such as pedestrian accident, bicycle accident or if injured in another person’s vehicle.

Medical Payment Coverages are usually either “Reimbursable” or “Non-Reimbursable”.  The Reimbursable type of Medical Payment Coverage requires the benefits to be paid back to the insurance carrier, if and when the injured person receives compensation for the injuries from a third party.  The Non-Reimbursable type of coverage, does not have such a requirement.

Medical Payment Coverages can also be either “Primary” or “Excess”.  Primary Medical Payment Coverages, pay any medical bills that are incurred as a result of a covered loss.  Excess Medical Payment Coverages, only pay the medical bills or portions of medical bills for covered losses, that are not covered by individual’s health insurance.

Depending on the type of Medical Payment Coverage, the policy language, and other considerations in each individual case, an experienced auto accident attorney, maybe able to negotiate a resolution to maximize recovery to the injury victim.

Contact one of our experienced accident attorneys to learn more about your auto insurance coverage, before you ever need to use it.

Woman Settles Her Case Against the County of Los Angeles For $1.175 Million

Many times after an accident, an injured individual is victimized again by negligence of people who are supposed to care for them.  Unfortunately due to reasons that are beyond the scope of this article, emergency rooms in many urban areas, are overcrowded, understaffed or run by over worked and under trained personnel.  Emergency rooms in Los Angeles, are no exception.

Recently the County of Los Angeles had to pay $1.175 Million to a patient, who was transported to UCLA Harbor Medical Center after an accident, where she was supposed to be treated for her injuries.   The patient claimed in her lawsuit against Los Angeles County, that her vessel walls were injured when a procedure was improperly performed.

The injuries she sustained at the hospital, in the hands of the doctors, were probably far worst than the ones she had suffered as a result of the auto accident.

As it was the case in the mentioned scenario, it takes an experienced personal injury attorney to make sure that all responsible parties are held accountable.

An aggressive Los Angeles injury lawyer can go after the at fault driver, owner of the at fault vehicle, or the doctors and nurses who improperly treat the injured person.   In analyzing our clients’ cases, we review the records and consider all the facts before determining who the liable parties maybe.

In many cases, there maybe more than one person or entity that contributed to the circumstances that causes injuries.  By consulting with a Los Angeles injury lawyer, you can learn more about your rights in each individual injury case.

I was in an auto accident; what is my claim worth?

Valuation of a personal injury claim is more of an art than science. When a driver is responsible for causing an accident, then he or she is liable to pay the injured party, a wide range of damages.

The damages may include; medical bills, loss of income, permanent disabilities, pain and suffering, future medical care, loss of consortium, and in some rare cases, even damages to punish the wrongdoer.

Although, many of these damages seem very straight forward, proving the full extent of it, requires expertise of an injury lawyer who specializes in representing injury victims who have been involved in auto accidents, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, bus or trucking accidents, and any other type of serious injury accident.

With offices in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, Riverside, and throughout Southern California, Law Offices of Jubin J. Sharifi, APLC, has been assisting injury victims get compensation from the largest insurance companies and corporations for the last eleven years.

Jury Convicts Drunk Driver for Killing Three People in a Car Accident

In Santa Ana, California, Jury convicts drunk driver of killing three individuals in a car accident. This particular case got a lot of media attention, because one of the victims was a major league baseball pitcher. However, unfortunately everyday drunk drivers cause serious injuries and even deaths on the roads of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, and Riverside counties.

Although, the case mentioned involved a criminal prosecution of a drunk driver, many individuals who have been injured in accidents involving drunk drivers, seek justice by suing for damages in civil court.

In a civil suit, the injured party can seek a variety of remedies against the responsible party. The type of damages that an injured party is entitled to can include reimbursement of medical expenses, loss of earnings, loss of earning potential, pain and suffering, cost of future medical care and also punitive damages.

Many of these types of serious injury cases that result from auto accidents, motorcycle accidents, bus or trucking accidents, involve dealing with the insurance companies, defense attorneys and the court system.

It is always a good idea to consult with an experienced and aggressive personal injury attorney to learn about one’s rights when involved in a legal case.

With offices throughout Southern California, Law Offices of Jubin Sharifi, APLC is available for FREE CONSLTATIONS.

When Injured, Don’t Fall Victim To Dirty Insurance Company Tactics

After being injured in a serious accident, the last thing people worry about is the insurance companies spying on them. More and more insurance company adjusters and or investigators resort to the Internet to investigate individuals who are presenting an injury claim.

Many years ago, before the advent of the Internet and the social networking websites, it would cost an insurance company thousands of dollars to hire a private investigator to follow a claimant around, to determine the legitimacy of an injury claim. The cost and the effort required to conduct such an investigation, usually limited it to major insurance claims, such as a long-term disability claim, workers’ compensation claim, or a catastrophic injury claim.

However, now an insurance adjuster can sit in his or her own cubicle and within a few minutes locate anyone’s online profile, on websites such as facebook, twitter, myspace, or any number of other online resources.

We have noticed that many insurance companies conduct routine online searches to gain access to injury victims’ profiles, using their email addresses, names and other identifying information. Even in cases that involve very serious and REAL injuries, insurance companies can gain information to the detriment of the injured party using very questionable tactics. For example, pictures, videos and postings regarding vacations, travel schedules, or outdoor activities are often used to raise doubts about the validity of an injury claim.

After being involved in any serious injury, such as a car accident, motorcycle accident, pedestrian accident, trucking accident, bicycle accident, drunk driving accident, or a slip and fall, it is a good idea to be aware of the information that is available to the public, online. Expect to be investigated, spied on, and checked out!

When injured, it is always a good idea to consult with an experienced personal injury lawyer. You may always contact anyone of our offices in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, Riverside, or Miami.

Finding Liability in a Slip and Fall or a Trip and Fall

Everyday, many are injured as a result of a fall. In cases where a substance or an uneven surface creates a “dangerous condition” a property owner or manager can be held liable for the resulting injuries.

However, a less obvious cause of a fall can be easily missed. Examples of less obvious causes such injury causing accidents are: missing railing around a stairwell, missing friction strips on exterior steps, inadequate lighting, or other building code violations.

If any of the aforementioned defects result in a person losing balance and falling, the property owner, manager or the business operator maybe sued for personal injuries. After a fall, back injuries, spinal injuries, knee injuries, broken bones, head trauma, or wrist injuries are common.

If you or anyone you know is involved in a slip and fall or a trip and fall accident, you should call an experienced injury lawyer immediately. An aggressive Los Angeles attorney can evaluate your case and assist you in handling of your claim.

Who Is Entitled To Loss Of Earning Capacity?

If you are injured in any type of accident, such as car accident, motorcycle accident, taxi accident, airline accident, or trucking accident, your ability to earn a living in the future maybe affected. This type of damage is called “loss of earning capacity”. An experienced Los Angeles Injury Lawyer can assist you in proving and recovering such damages in case of a serious injury accident.

Since this type of claim involves assessing damages into the future, it is more complex than other types of injuries, such as recovery for medical bills, pain and suffering, loss present earnings, and other types of injuries. Therefore, consulting a local accident attorney is always recommended.

Calculating loss of earning capacity involves gathering information regarding the injured person’s current earnings, his or her potential for future earnings, and resulting limitations due to the injuries.

If you or a loved one is seriously injured in any type of accident in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, or Orange Counties, please contact us for a free consultation regarding loss of earning capacity or any other type of injury claim.

Compensation For Loss Of Earnings After An Accident

Being in a car accident, boating accident, motorcycle accident, pedestrian accident, bus accident, truck accident, or even a train accident, can not only result in serious bodily injuries, but also result in loss of earnings. In order for an injured person to recover damages for loss of earnings, he or she would have to show evidence of such a loss.

The following are usually required as basic evidence of loss of earnings:

Medical Records – usually explain how the particular injury may limit an individual’s ability to perform his or her job duties. Medical records of an injury victim - with a fractured hand for example, would explain why he would not be able to work.

Employment Records – will further explain why the limitations placed on an injured person by the doctor would keep him from working. A construction-worker who injures his back in a car accident, would probably not be able to perform his regular job duties and may be forced to take time off.

Proof of Earnings – such as paycheck stubs, deposit receipts and other documentary evidence of the injured person’s earnings at the time of the injury causing accident, is helpful in determining the actual value of the loss of earnings.

Obviously not every claim is going to fit the simple examples provided above. Self employed individuals, professionals, persons with permanent disabilities, pre-existing conditions and other variations presented in real life can complicate the issue of loss of earnings. An experience personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles, Encino, Glendale, Long Beach, Covina, Pomona, Colton, Fontana, Rialto, or San Bernardino should be consulted in any serious injury accident.

Distractions Cause Accidents

Carelessness is often the cause of many Los Angeles car accidents. Distractions in the car, such as the radio, pets, children, and most commonly cell phones are cited as the cause of many injury accidents in California. In Los Angeles, drivers spend hours in their cars, commuting to and from work; spending lots of time on their cell phones.

According to a study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTSB), driver distraction was documented in 80% of auto accidents and was the main cause of 25-30% of auto accidents.

Although, using handheld cell phones while driving, have been illegal in California for some time, many still engage in this distracting and dangerous activity.

If you are involved in an auto accident and suspect that the party who is at fault was using a cell phone at the time of the accident, be sure to give this information to the investigating police officers.

In the event of a serious accident, such as a car accident, trucking accident, taxi accident, or a pedestrian accident, an experienced personal injury lawyer can assist you in handling of your case. At the Law Offices of Jubin Sharifi, we are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for a FREE CONSULTATION.

How to Avoid Intersection Accidents

Many injury causing auto accidents, tend to happen at the intersections. Intersections are often controlled by stop signs or traffic lights. When drivers do not adhere to these traffic signals, chances of a serious traffic collision increase exponentially.

Running a stop sign, ignoring a red-light, making an unsafe turn, and speeding are common causes of auto accidents in intersections. Busy Los Angeles intersections, such as the ones in Encino, are scenes of many accidents that result in serious injuries, such as back injury, whiplash injury, head injury, burn injury, or even wrongful death.

An experienced local personal injury lawyer should be consulted immediately after a car accident. A car accident lawyer, who is experienced, aggressive and caring, can be a great asset in evaluating the case and getting compensation for an injury victim.