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 factor. 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 whether there was a DELAY in seeing a doctor? Which chiropractor or MD? Was it the family MD or a new doctor.
Most clients don’t realize a family doctor has records of ALL the past 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 your 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 doctor’s 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?
A major factor is whether the victim talked to the insurance company, or had prior accident claims? If so, how long ago were those accidents?
For the first time in over 28 years in the CV, 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 in 2022, during the Age of Covid, for a Palm Desert Accident Attorney to litigate a Personal Injury case.
A CV Accident Lawyer should advise a potential client upfront, 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 for investigation and expert, and not to the client.
During the Covid restrictions for the past few years, 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 climate of defunding 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) 2011-22
“TOP LAWYER” – Inland Empire Magazine 2016-19
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