For a Greater Palm Springs Accident to have value, a lawyer looks at several factors. You may not realize it, but who is at fault is only one of them. A lawyer does not want a case where the client has told the police s/he was not hurt or that no police were called. An experienced Palm Desert Accident Attorney looks at how long after the accident did the victim seek medical attention? Was it by a chiropractor or an MD? Was it the family MD or a new doctor.
Most clients don’t realize that a family doctor has the past records of ALL complaints. This could be a slip and fall in the shower, or an injury playing tennis. In addition it could include your advising your doctor of a substance abuse problem, an affair, or a sexually transmitted disease that you don’t want others to know about.
Does this treating doctor know how to write a proper Med/Legal report? I personally lectured for many years to an Annual Convention of Orthopedic doctors on “How to write a medical/legal report”. Preparation of a report for a legal matter is not taught in Med School.
Furthermore, did the doctor recommend physical therapy or advise the client to go home and soak in a hot bath and take aspirin? How many doctors visits were there and over what period of time. Is the medical bill mostly diagnostic with X-rays/MRI’s/CT’s? How long was the treatment?
Did the victim talk to the insurance company or have prior accidents for which they brought a claim? If so, how long ago were those accidents?
For the first time in over 30 years I have received calls from potential clients who are notably upset when I will not accept their accident case. I explain that any accident case places the Burden of Proof on the injured plaintiff to prove Liability (that someone else is at fault) and Damages (that they were injured). In addition, it is more expensive than ever during the Age of Covid, for a Palm Desert Accident Attorney to litigate a Personal Injury case.
A Greater Palm Springs Accident Lawyer should advise a potential client, that when the case settles some of those costs get passed on to them. I do not want a client that will be unhappy in the end because most of the money went to costs and not them.
All this is especially true during our Covid restrictions. It is hard to find doctors in their office to examine and treat the injured client. If you can see a doctor how difficult is it to go to the pharmacy to get prescriptions filled? Who wants to wait in line with people that are picking up drugs because they are sick?
Unless you are rear ended, the defendant often lies and claims you were at fault……..or partly at fault. They will argue they had the right of way……especially if there was no witness or police report. It becomes “liar’s poker”, and a lawyer must evaluate how likely it is that the jury will believe the plaintiff. During Covid and the arguments to lessen funding for the police, good luck in getting a police report prepared.
California has Comparative Negligence and thus if the defendant can show the plaintiff was partly at fault, that degree of fault is deducted from the settlement. For instance, if the Plaintiff client was 50 % at fault, s/he would lose 50% of the value of their case.
TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK:
If you have any questions or suggestions for future columns contact Dale Gribow 760-837-7500 or dale@dalegribowlaw.com.
DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE, CALL A TAXI OR UBER………IT IS A LOT CHEAPER THAN HAVING AN ARREST OR ACCIDENT AND CALLING ME ………SO DRIVE SOBER OR GET PULLED OVER
DALE GRIBOW
Legal Representation Of The Injured and Criminally Accused
“TOP LAWYER” – California’s Prestige Magazine, Palm Springs Life (PI/DUI) 2011-21
“TOP LAWYER” – Inland Empire Magazine 2016-19
PERFECT 10.0 AVVO Peer Rating
SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE ARTICLE? CONTACT DALE GRIBOW 760-837-7500/dale@dalegribowlaw.com
