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Santa Ana Personal Injury Lawyer

What Types of Cases Does Beckerman Anderson Handle?

Over the years, our Santa Ana personal injury attorneys have helped countless victims protect their legal rights after being injured in accidents. Some of the cases that we handle for our clients include:

• Car accident claims
• Truck accident cases
• Pedestrian accidents
• Bicycle accidents
• Medical malpractice cases
• Product liability cases
• Premises liability cases
• Wrongful death cases

If you have been injured as a result of another person’s negligence, you must reach out to our personal injury lawyers right away. Our team can help you file a personal injury case against the negligent party who has caused you harm.

Being involved in an accident can have a significant impact on your life. Unfortunately, we see countless people forced to deal with overwhelming consequences. Trying to move forward after an accident can be incredibly challenging. This is especially true if you have never been involved in an accident before. Trying to navigate the legal system without the assistance of a personal injury attorney may seem nearly impossible. Thankfully, our Santa Ana injury lawyers at Beckerman Anderson, APC are here to guide you through the legal process and fight for what is rightfully yours.

What Steps Can I Take to Strengthen My California Personal Injury Claim?

If you are interested in filing a personal injury case after being involved in an accident, there are several steps that you can take starting on the day of your accident in order to increase your chances of making a full and timely recovery of compensation for your damages.

Document the scene: When it comes to creating the strongest personal injury claim after an accident, one of the best things that you can do is start collecting evidence while still at the scene. Evidence that is collected from the scene of the accident can include:

• The names and contact information of every person involved in the accident
• The names and contact information of anyone who witnessed the accident occur
• The name and badge numbers of all responding officers
• Pictures of any hazards at the scene of the accident that may have caused it to take place – you should also take pictures of any property damage, your injuries, and other important information found at the site of the accident

Start a personal injury journal: After suffering a catastrophic injury as a result of an accident, there is a good chance that you may be overwhelmed by emotion. As a result, you may have problems recollecting what took place at the time of the accident itself. For this reason, it is important to start a personal injury journal on the same day of the accident. In your first entry, it is important that you record everything that you remember about the accident specifically. It is important to understand that no detail is too small to include in your journal. What may seem like a minor facet of the accident could turn out to be a critical piece of evidence that helps with your claim later on. Your journal is also a convenient location to write down the names and contact information of people involved in the accident and any witnesses. All subsequent entries in your journal should detail how your injuries and the accident have affected your everyday life. You will want to include information about your symptoms and write down when they appear and how often. Also, take note of any side effects that you experience from medications.

Refrain from posting on social media: After suffering catastrophic injuries in any type of accident, you may feel tempted to vent to other people via social media. Unfortunately, posting anything about the accident online can have serious consequences when it comes to filing a personal injury claim against the responsible party. It is in your best interest to deactivate all of your social media accounts until after your claim has been resolved. If you do choose to use social media to talk to anybody about any aspect of your case or your accident, the insurance company may use any videos, posts, or photos that you share online as evidence against you. They may even use your posts in order to disprove credibility or dispute the severity of the injuries that you have suffered. If you cannot deactivate your account entirely, change your privacy settings so that only friends are able to view your posts. Verify that all of the people that are on your social media account and have access to your posts are people that you actually know and that they will not provide access to anything that you post online to the insurance company of the at-fault party.

Keep a thorough record of all of your expenses resulting from your accident: In California, people who sustain personal injuries are able to utilize the legal system in order to recover compensation for all of the damages that they face. For this reason, it is important that you keep track of all of the expenses and damages that you have suffered as a result of your accident. This can include anything related to:

• The loss of enjoyment of life that you experience resulting from your accident
• The emotional distress that your accident has caused
• Any costs for child care that you have required to hire in order to help with your family while you recover
• Any modifications to your home or vehicle that you have had to make
• Any alternative transportation that you have required as a result of your accident
• Any home health care that you need as a result of your accident
• Any property damage that you have suffered
• Any lost earnings or lost earning capacity that you have experienced
• The costs for any emergency medical care
• All of your medical expenses
• Any domestic help that you require

In addition, your spouse may also be able to recover compensation for the loss of consortium that the accident has caused. In order to recover compensation for the damages that you face, you must be able to prove them. Some of the evidence that you should collect to prove your damages include:

• Any pharmacy receipts
• Invoices that you received for child care
• Any invoices that you have received for domestic help
• Any statements from medical experts
• Pay stubs or income statements
• Home repair or vehicle repair quotes or receipts
• Any medical care receipts

All of this evidence can go a long way when it comes to proving your case.

Make sure you keep all of your medical appointments: After being hurt in an accident, you must undergo medical treatment for the injuries that you have suffered. Even though medical care can be incredibly costly and extremely time-consuming, it is critically important that you follow through with all of the medical care that you require. This means that you should see specialists, go to therapy, follow up on appointments, and take other steps to make sure that your health is on the right track for recovery.

Do not talk to the insurance company without your attorney: Finally, you never want to reach out to the insurance company or make any statements to them without first consulting with your attorney, even if they call you and try to compel you to do so.

Taking the above steps immediately can help to increase your chances of recovering full and fair compensation from the person who caused you harm. It is important that you seek help from our Santa Ana personal injury lawyer at Beckerman Anderson right away to ensure you have the best chance of getting justice for your injury claim.

What Is the Statute of Limitations on Santa Ana Personal Injury Claims?

In California, accident victims have a period of up to two years from the date of their accident to pursue a personal injury lawsuit against the person who is responsible. However, there are some situations that can alter the time that a person has to file.

One of the most common factors that delay the time that it takes for a victim to file a personal injury claim is delayed discovery. The term delayed discovery is used to describe a situation where someone does not realize that they have been injured or that another person is responsible for the injuries that they have suffered. An example of this is when a person is injured by medical malpractice. The patient may not even realize that they had been injured until months or even years after they received medical care that was negligent. They may not find out about the injury or condition until they speak to a new doctor or specialist. In cases where delayed discovery applies, the statute of limitation will generally begin on the day that the injured person discovers their injuries or becomes aware of the other party’s negligent actions that caused them.

It is in your best interest to seek help from our personal injury law firm as soon as possible to protect your legal rights. Our lawyers at Beckerman Anderson, APC will be able to meet with you to discuss your case and determine the best course of action moving forward.

Recovering Compensation for Damages

If you have been injured as a result of an accident that took place in Santa Ana, you may be able to file a personal injury case against the negligent party in order to recover compensation for some of the damages that you face. Following your accident, you can recover compensation for:

• Lost wages: Dealing with lost wages can be a significant source of financial stress. If your injuries and the recovery process associated with them prevent you from returning to work, you can recover compensation to replace the income that you would have earned during this time.
• Lost earning capacity: If your injuries have forced you out of work indefinitely, you can recover compensation for lost earning capacity. The term “lost earning capacity” is used in reference to the potential earnings that an injury victim would have made had they not been involved in the accident. This can include a total loss of income due to being left permanently disabled as a result of the accident. It can also include the amount of compensation that you miss out on from having to switch to a different job that pays less.
• Medical expenses (both immediate and long-term medical bills): It is no secret that being involved in a personal injury accident can result in the need for medical care. The medical bills associated with this treatment can add up quickly. People involved in accidents often face tens of thousands of dollars for emergency room visits, medications, surgeries, and hospital stays. In addition to the initial treatment that they require, they may have to go through months of therapy or even rehabilitation. A personal injury claim can provide you with the money you need to cover both your immediate and long-term medical expenses.
• Property damages: You have the ability to recover compensation to repair or replace your property after an accident. In the context of personal injury cases, property damage is used in reference to any damage that is caused to your personal belongings as a result of the accident. For example, if you were in a car accident, you can get the money needed to repair or replace your vehicle. If you were injured at home as a result of a defective product, you could get the money you need to make repairs to your home that was damaged.
• Pain and suffering: The pain and suffering that a person experiences after an accident can be incredibly overwhelming. For this reason, compensation for pain and suffering damages is often one of the most significant types of non-economic damages that are awarded to plaintiffs in personal injury cases. Pain and suffering is used to reference the physical and emotional pain that an injured party experiences following an accident that was caused by another person’s negligence. Awards for pain and suffering are generally determined by the impact that a physical injury has on a victim’s life as well as the medical care that they require.
• Mental anguish: Suffering from life-altering injuries can be incredibly difficult to deal with. Many struggle emotionally and mentally moving forward. In these cases, personal injury victims are able to seek compensation for the mental anguish that they face as a result of their accidents. Without a doubt, mental anguish can have a profound impact on a person’s quality of life and their ability to function normally. It is only right that those who suffer are able to get compensation to alleviate the impact that their accident has had on their mental health.
• Loss of consortium: When a spouse suffers serious injuries in an accident, they may feel isolated and lonely. They may also experience challenges with their relationship with their spouse. This can be incredibly difficult to deal with and can have a lasting impact on the injured person’s familial relationships. For this reason, accident victims are able to seek compensation for the loss of consortium. This type of damage goes beyond physical injuries and focuses on the emotional harm suffered by the spouse who has lost their partner’s affection, comfort, and assistance. In some cases, it may also include the inability to carry out household duties or participate in activities previously enjoyed together.
• Permanent scarring and disfigurement: Permanent scarring and disfigurement resulting from a personal injury can have a significant impact on a person’s physical and emotional well-being. For this reason, if you experienced scarring or disfigurement, you are able to seek and recover compensation for the impact that permanent scarring in disfigurements has had on your life.

If you have been injured in an accident caused by another party’s negligence in Santa Ana or anywhere else in California, it is essential to consult with a knowledgeable personal injury lawyer who will fight tirelessly to help you recover fair compensation. By doing so, you may be able to bring closure to this difficult chapter of your life and move forward toward healing physically, financially, and emotionally.

Our Primary Focus is You, the Client

At Beckerman Anderson, APC, we understand the struggles and challenges individuals face after suffering from a personal injury due to negligence. We are passionate about defending our clients’ rights and providing them with trusted legal representation that is both cost-effective and relationship-building.