That’s right. Drink Up! You are at a party to have fun, so have another! What could go wrong? After all, you have a better personality after a few drinks. You can hold your liquor! These and other foolish thoughts cross your mind as your drink. What doesn’t cross your mind is whether you will get arrested or get into a major accident that will forever change your life or that of another.

Whether the accident is your fault or not it will change your life forever, both emotionally or physically. You may receive a life changing injury or you may be responsible for one. You will have to live the rest of your life regretting drinking that night.

So what happens if you are in an accident, THAT IS NOT YOUR FAULT? My office focuses on representing clients on Accidents & DUI’s. The following 11 steps take place…if you are LUCKY:

  1. We help clients get medical help from good doctors that know how to write a med-legal report.
  2. A settlement demand is sent to the defendant’s insurance company in order to get a good settlement.
  3. If no settlement is reached then we file a lawsuit (Summons and Complaint) and serve the defendant.
  4. The defendant has 30 days to Answer.
  5. Information (discovery), in the form of Interrogatories (written questions), Request for Documents, Depositions and Request for Admissions takes place.
  6. The court may order the case to non-binding Arbitration. The arbitrator renders an award within 30 days. It can be accepted by both Plaintiff and Defendant and the case is over or either Plaintiff or Defendant has 30 days to file a request for a Trial de Novo with the Court.
  7. If either Plaintiff or Defendant requests a Trial de Novo, a Mandatory Settlement Conference (MSC) is scheduled 4 to 6 months before a Trial date.
  8. The MSC is the last court hearing before Trial. It is where all attorneys make one last formal attempt to resolve their case before the judge.
  9. If no agreement is reached at the MSC, the case proceeds to Trial where a final verdict is rendered. However the case can be sent for trial anywhere in Riverside County.
  10. After a settlement or verdict the insurance company’s sends a settlement draft. It can take 30 days or more to receive this draft. Unfortunately insurance companies continue to “deny and delay” in order to stall paying the money and allowing the insurance company to get the “float” on the money.
  11. Once the draft is received the client signs the check or request that we endorse and deposit it into our Trust Account. Our Accounting Department then prepares a Disbursement Sheet showing the draft amount and who gets what! We arrange for our client to come in to approve this and execute their Disbursement Sheet. We then tender the net amount to our client, for which we suggest checking with your CPA to confirm the money is TAX free. We then mail checks to the medical providers as itemized on the Disbursement Sheet. This concludes the case with our office.

Suggestions for future articles? Contact Dale Gribow (760) 837-7500 or dale@dalegribowlaw.com.

DALE GRIBOW

REPRESENTING THE INJURED AND CRIMINALLY ACCUSED

“TOP LAWYER” – California’s Prestige Magazine, Palm Springs Life (PI/DUI) 2011-20

“TOP LAWYER” – Inland Empire Magazine 2016- 2019

PERFECT 10.0 AVVO Peer Rating

“DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE OR TEXT AND GET A DUI OR ACCIDENT. CALL A TAXI, LYFT OR UBER. THEY ARE A LOT CHEAPER THAN CALLING ME”. SO DRIVE SOBER OR GET PULLED OVER.

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