Jesse J. Bañuelos, a Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorney
FIGHTING FOR THE RIGHTS OF INJURED ACCIDENT VICTIMS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can someone without legal immigration status–“without papers”–who is injured in an accident file a claim for compensation?
Yes. If are injured in an accident, whether it is an auto accident, pedestrian accident, bicycle accident, motorcycle accident, etc., your immigration status in the US doesn’t matter because you have as much right to file a claim for compensation for your injuries and for your damages as any US citizen against the party who is responsible for the accident.
Can someone who is injured in an accident while driving a car file a claim for compensation even though that vehicle didn’t have insurance at the time of the accident?
Yes. Although California law requires all vehicles on the road to be insured by a policy of liability insurance, if you are injured in an accident while driving a car and that car doesn’t have liability insurance, you still have the right to file a claim for compensation against the party that is responsible for the accident.
Can someone who is injured in an accident and who retained an attorney to file a claim for compensation for him but is not happy or satisfied with that attorney change attorneys?
Yes. If you retain an attorney to handle an accident case for you, you can change attorneys at any time, for any reason, or for no reason at all.
If someone is injured in an accident and wants to hire an attorney to file a claim for damages on his/her behalf, will that person have to pay that attorney up front to take on the case?
Usually not. Most attorneys in California that handle accident cases take them on on a contingency basis which is like a commission. That means that they will be entitled to receive payment for their services only if they obtain compensation for their client. That’s exactly how we do business in our office. If you retain our office to handle your accident case, and if we don’t recover anything for you, you won’t owe us anything.
Do I need an attorney to handle an auto accident case for me if the driver has admitted fault and his insurance has promised me that it will take care of everything?
Yes. By law, the other driver’s insurance is required to protect only that driver’s interest. Therefore, it’s not going to give you all the compensation that you are entitled to receive under the law because it doesn’t have to. Moreover, since most people don’t have the knowledge or the experience necessary to deal with an insurance company, without an attorney, you are not going to get all the compensation that you are entitled to receive.