Bakersfield Personal Injury Lawyer
The attorneys at Blair & Ramirez LLP stand up for the rights of injury victims in Bakersfield and surrounding areas.
Representation you can trust from personal injury attorneys in Bakersfield, California
If another person’s negligence causes you to be injured, it puts you in a very difficult situation. You likely are facing medical expenses, and your earnings may be decreasing. For this reason, obtaining just compensation can be the deciding factor in your ability to recover fully. While you tend to the difficult process of regaining your health and well-being, turn to the experienced Bakersfield personal injury lawyers at Blair & Ramirez LLP for the professional legal guidance you need. We offer free case evaluations and will only collect legal fees if we win your case.
Awards
How a Personal Injury Attorney in Bakersfield Can Help You
While your personal injury claim will be unique in many respects, they all share similarities and are guided by the same legal principles. At Blair & Ramirez LLP, we offer all the following important services:
- Communicating and negotiating with the insurance company on your behalf
- Gathering all pertinent evidence, including eyewitness testimony, in the creation of your strongest claim
- Hiring expert witnesses in support of your claim
- Creating accident models that flesh out the specifics of your claim
- Helping you make informed decisions throughout the claims process
- Representing you in settlement negotiations
- If necessary, filing a lawsuit and representing you in court
How to Choose a Personal Injury Lawyer
Someone else's negligence has caused you or someone you care about to be injured, and moving forward can be challenging. You may recognize that you need legal guidance, but you may not know how to begin or how to choose the right personal injury lawyer for you. There are, however, several basic considerations that can help you move forward with confidence, knowing that you’ve made a well-considered choice.
Do Your Research
Before calling the first number that pops up on your screen, do some research that helps set the stage for hiring the right personal injury lawyer for you and your claim. To begin, word of mouth can be a great resource. If you know someone who has been through a similar situation, who was highly satisfied with his or her Bakersfield personal injury attorney, and whose claim was resolved favorably, calling the lawyer that represented them is a good place to start.
Additionally, the information you find online can prove invaluable. For example, customer reviews and recommendations can provide you with a feel for how the firm operates and whether it might be a good fit for you. It’s also important to pay attention to the firm’s website and whether that firm’s practice aligns with what you are looking for. Ultimately, personal injury claims are complicated legal matters, and you want to be comfortable working with the personal injury attorney you hire.
Ask the Important Questions
Once you’ve found an attorney you are interested in consulting with, it’s important to know which questions to ask. Consider asking any lawyer you meet with the following questions:
- How much experience do you have handling personal injury claims?
- Have you successfully handled claims that are similar to mine before?
- What will your availability be throughout the claims process?
- Will I be kept updated on my claim’s progress?
- Do you have customer testimonials or references to share?
- Do you have time to take on my claim and do it justice?
- What are my claim’s challenges and strengths?
- What is the preliminary estimated value of my claim?
- How likely is it that my claim will go to trial, and if it does, will you handle the case?
- How much do you charge, and what if my claim doesn’t settle or receive a court award?
It is important to note here that most reputable Bakersfield personal injury lawyers work on a contingency basis, which means that you won’t be charged unless your claim settles or you obtain a court award – at which time your lawyer will receive a prearranged percentage of your financial recovery. The answers to the series of questions above should give you a pretty good feel for whether or not the attorney and firm you are considering is right for you.
Trust Your Instincts
Once you’ve done your research and asked the right questions, it’s time to trust your instincts. If you feel comfortable sitting down with the attorney in question and tackling all the issues involved – from the mundane to the personal and from the basic to the challenging – you’ve found a good match and should proceed accordingly. If your gut is telling you that something is off, however, you should listen.
How to File a Personal Injury Claim
You will turn to your dedicated personal injury attorney in Bakersfield to file your personal injury claim with the at-fault party’s insurance provider. The crux of your claim is identifying the other person’s fault (or negligence) in the matter and outlining the extent of the losses (or legal damages) you’ve suffered as a result.
Your Medical Expenses
our medical costs are one of the most obvious losses you’ll face. Even if your injuries are relatively minor, these expenses can be steep, and if you’re facing more serious injuries, these costs are likely to be ongoing. Certain kinds of injuries are closely associated with complications and secondary medical concerns, which can hike up your medical costs even further. It’s critical that your personal injury claim clearly delineates the full extent of these costs (both current and ongoing) in support of your optimal health outcome.
Your Lost Wages
You’ve been injured and need to focus on your recovery. In the meantime, you’re very likely to be off the job and to experience a decrease in earnings as a result. The fact that this economic downturn is coupled with mounting medical bills makes it that much more financially devastating. If the injuries you’ve suffered get in the way of your ability to do your job or to reach your career goals, the situation is considerably more challenging. Because our careers are so tied up with how we experience ourselves in the world, setbacks like these can also have profound emotional consequences.
Your Pain and Suffering
The physical pain and suffering you endure as a result of someone else's negligence are very difficult to bear, but it is not difficult to recognize. Coping with the emotional pain and suffering you’re forced to endure can be even more challenging, but it’s also more difficult to identify and catalog. Ensuring that your pain and suffering are accurately represented in your personal injury claim is critical to your ability to be fairly compensated for the actual losses you’ve endured as a result of the other party’s carelessness.
How Long Does It Take to Settle a Personal Injury Claim?
Every personal injury claim has its own unique set of characteristics and circumstances, which makes it very difficult to predict with any kind of accuracy how long yours will take to settle. The most important point to keep in mind is that you should allow the amount of time necessary to obtain a settlement that fairly compensates you for your full range of legal damages – without having to wait longer than is necessary to get the job done. The insurance company is held to legal standards regarding forward motion and personal injury claims, and your personal injury attorney will hold them to these standards. There are several factors that generally guide the length of the settlement process.
Complexity
The complexity of your claim will play a primary role in how long it will take to settle. For example, if a texting driver fails to notice the stop sign that you’ve already stopped for, his or her fault in the ensuing rear-end accident is likely to be easily established. If the injuries you suffer as a result are also easily identifiable and quantifiable, it can help to move your claim along. If one or more of the following applies, however, it complicates your claim and is very likely to increase the amount of time necessary to reach a favorable settlement:
- Fault is contested
- Your injuries are extensive and additional time is necessary to obtain a clearer understanding of their reach
- The accident led to considerable emotional pain and suffering
- The insurance company employs stalling tactics
Negotiability
The negotiability of your claim will also play a role in how much time it takes to resolve. Your Bakersfield personal injury lawyer will negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf, and the distance between your position as described in your claim and the insurance company’s position represents what needs to be negotiated. The closer both sides are regarding each category of your loss and the more willing the insurance company is to address your losses fairly, the greater your claim’s negotiability and the more likely it is to be settled effectively and efficiently.
Motivation
How motivated the insurance company is to settle your claim is very likely to play a role in how long it takes to settle, but your motivation can also factor in. For example, if you are motivated to get your personal injury lawyer the information and documentation necessary to keep your claim moving forward, it can help to expedite the process. Sometimes, however, the involved insurance company is motivated to settle a claim quickly, but this is unlikely to support your best interests. Generally, an early settlement offer signals an attempt to finalize a claim before the claimant recognizes the magnitude of his or her complete losses. Barring this, however, insurance companies are typically financially motivated to drag the settlement process out as long as possible.
The Insurance Company
Many personal injury claimants are confused by the insurance company's position – after all, it is paid specifically to compensate you for your covered losses. It's important to keep in mind, however, that the insurance company is driven by profits and, as such, will do what it can to maximize those profits. The following techniques are commonly employed by insurance companies to not only drag out the settlement process but also to keep settlements as low as possible:
- Making those woefully inadequate early settlement offers (as mentioned above)
- Artificially prolonging and protracting the claims process
- Casting doubt on the severity of your claim or on their policyholder’s fault in the matter (or on both)
- Denying claims from the start (prompting claimants to give up)
The insurance company can play a very significant role in how long your claim will take to settle, but your experienced personal injury lawyer in Bakersfield will have the skill and legal insight to cut to the heart of the matter and to continue guiding your claim forward toward an advantageous resolution.
How to File a Personal Injury Claim
You will turn to your dedicated personal injury attorney in Bakersfield to file your personal injury claim with the at-fault party’s insurance provider. The crux of your claim is identifying the other person’s fault (or negligence) in the matter and outlining the extent of the losses (or legal damages) you’ve suffered as a result.
Your Medical Expenses
our medical costs are one of the most obvious losses you’ll face. Even if your injuries are relatively minor, these expenses can be steep, and if you’re facing more serious injuries, these costs are likely to be ongoing. Certain kinds of injuries are closely associated with complications and secondary medical concerns, which can hike up your medical costs even further. It’s critical that your personal injury claim clearly delineates the full extent of these costs (both current and ongoing) in support of your optimal health outcome.
Your Lost Wages
You’ve been injured and need to focus on your recovery. In the meantime, you’re very likely to be off the job and to experience a decrease in earnings as a result. The fact that this economic downturn is coupled with mounting medical bills makes it that much more financially devastating. If the injuries you’ve suffered get in the way of your ability to do your job or to reach your career goals, the situation is considerably more challenging. Because our careers are so tied up with how we experience ourselves in the world, setbacks like these can also have profound emotional consequences.
Your Pain and Suffering
The physical pain and suffering you endure as a result of someone else's negligence are very difficult to bear, but it is not difficult to recognize. Coping with the emotional pain and suffering you’re forced to endure can be even more challenging, but it’s also more difficult to identify and catalog. Ensuring that your pain and suffering are accurately represented in your personal injury claim is critical to your ability to be fairly compensated for the actual losses you’ve endured as a result of the other party’s carelessness.
The Do’s and Don’ts of Dealing with the Insurance Company
As mentioned, the insurance company is paid to cover your claim – within the parameters of the law – but it is motivated to keep your settlement as low as possible. Within this context, there are several things you can do to help protect your settlement, including:
- Don’t provide a recorded statement to the insurance company. This is something you should leave to your personal injury lawyer.
- Do follow your doctor’s orders carefully. This is obviously the right thing to do for your health, but it also sends the message to the insurance company that your injuries are as serious as you claim they are.
- Do be careful using social media while your claim is pending. The insurance company is looking for any excuse to discredit your claim, and it is very good at twisting words – and social media posts.
We Also Provide Legal Representation for Personal Injury in These Areas
At Blair & Ramirez LLP, we offer a comprehensive array of personal injury services and can help you in all the following situations:
- Car accidents and other kinds of traffic accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Truck accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Bus accidents
- Wrongful death claims
- Construction site accidents
- Premises liability claims, including slip and fall accidents and dog bites
- Specific kinds of injuries, including brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, neck and whiplash injuries, burn and explosion injuries, and injuries that require amputation
This list is not exhaustive. If you’ve been injured as a result of someone else’s negligence, reach out to us at Blair & Ramirez LLP in Bakersfield – we’re well prepared to help.
Call Us Today to Schedule a Free Case Evaluation with an Experienced Bakersfield Personal Injury Attorney
If you’ve been injured by someone else’s negligence, seeking just compensation that covers your losses in their entirety is key. The savvy Bakersfield personal injury lawyers at Blair & Ramirez LLP have reserves of experience effectively and efficiently guiding claims like yours through the claims process and toward beneficial outcomes. We are here to help, so please don’t wait to contact or call us at (213) 568-4000 for a free case evaluation today.