By Dale Gribow
Whether you follow Ginger Jeffries or Patrick “Mr. Fulvio Sausage” Evans, the predictions are the same: Rain for the week of September 21, 2015 and the ensuing El Nino weeks. It is a well-known fact that first rains cause the street and highway oil buildups to surface. This results in slippery roads from the oil buildup. That is why there are more auto accidents after first rains……..and during the winter months with increased rain.
In addition because you settled your case does not mean you will receive your money right away. Insurance companies make money on “the float”. The insurance companies stall getting your money to you and then you cashing their checks. By doing this to millions of accident victims throughout our country they are making a lot of money on their delay or “float”. Thus they delay not only the settlement but delay again and again in getting the money to you.
The insurance companies come up with excuses to delay such as: 1) awaiting the police report; 2) investigating the causation; 3) interviewing the witnesses; 4) waiting to review property damage pictures; 5) reviewing the medicals: 6) awaiting their manager’s approval, 7) the file is transferred to another adjuster who has to go through the aforementioned factors all over again etc.
Because you were in an accident does not mean you will receive a fair settlement offer from the insurance company. You must understand that you did not win the lottery because you were rear ended. Many potential clients do not understand why their case is not as valuable as their neighbors who also were rear-ended.
These victims do not consider liability, the amount of property damage, which doctor they saw, whether their doctor was a chiropractor or orthopedist, the amount of the bill and length of time of treatment etc. These are all factors that affect the value of the case.
The most successful accident cases have the following factors which the victim did which helps to establish liability and damages. These are the two essential elements of an accident case.
The victim stopped and took picture of the scene and the damage to both vehicles. In addition the police were called to prepare a report. Of course the victim should not give a statement and they immediately seek medical care. It is often better if you do not give the insurance company your medical or Medicare information, it can be helpful for the settlement of the case.
Seek legal help asap or within the next day or two, but not longer. Your lawyer will assist you in getting medical care in a lien and getting you a body shop. A client with good insurance coverage is always a plus to the case and of course the victim should not sign anything without their lawyer’s approval.
The odds are whether an accident takes place in the next month or so from rains or other factors, some things are certain; either you, a friend or a loved one will encounter one. Next week I will go into detail about why the aforementioned factors help a victim recover a good settlement to fairly compensate the victim for his/her pain.
My practice is focused on people and protecting their consumer rights. We deliver results not false promises and get top dollar on our cases. When the case is successfully concluded, our clients tell us we were courteous, professional and caring and that we “DID TURN WRONGS INTO RIGHTS”.
DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE OR TEXT AND GET IN AN ACCIDENT, CALL A TAXI OR UBER………IT IS A LOT CHEAPER THAN CALLING ME
DALE GRIBOW
TOP LAWYER – Palm Springs Life-Accidents (2011-16)
Perfect 10.0 AVVO Peer Rating
“Preeminent” Rating – Martindale Hubbell Legal Directory
“Best Attorneys of America” Selected by “Rue” (Limited to Top 100 Attorneys per state)
2015 Client Appreciation Award/ 2015 Martindale Hubbell Client Distinction Award
Only Attorney Selected to CVAG Public Safety and CLINTON Foundation committees 2014-2016
Hosted weekly legal Talk Show and Legal Column “ACCIDENTALLY YOURS”
For questions or suggestions for future columns contact dale@dalegribowlaw.com or 760 837 7500
