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Author: Kohan & Bablove Injury Attorneys

Kohan & Bablove Injury Attorneys was founded by three former defense attorneys who were tired of helping insurance companies and big corporations save money by paying the least amount possible to resolve claims. We wanted to open a law firm where we could use our years of experience handling the toughest and largest claims to benefit the individual. Each of us were tired of being cogs in the wheel that focused on paying the least amount possible to injured persons regardless of injuries or the validity of their claims.

As a passenger in a car accident, you have as much a right to fight for compensation as the driver of the car you were traveling in. In fact, depending on where you were sitting in the vehicle, you could have endured far worse injuries than the driver did. But when you’re dealing with debilitating injuries, the last thing you’ll want to do is take on more than you can handle. What if we told you that you could seek the compensation you are entitled to without being overwhelmed by a greedy insurance company or a pile of personal injury paperwork? All you have to do is call an attorney at our firm. Working with a lawyer can be the best choice when you need a legal professional on your side. Continue reading to learn more about recovering compensation as an injured passenger in an auto accident.

Who Should Cover Your Damages?

You may be thinking that the driver of the car that struck you should be responsible for compensating you. While this could certainly be the case, there are many instances in which the other driver could also be a victim. First, let’s take a look at circumstances under which the driver who struck you would be at fault. If a person chose to drink or use drugs and drive, if they were distracted at the wheel, if they were being aggressive in their driving, or if they were too tired to safely operate their vehicle, then they should be expected to repay you for the damage they’ve caused. Other times, a large pothole or another road hazard can cause an accident. Roadway dangers that cause a crash can sometimes be blamed on a government road safety authority. Here’s another possible scenario: The driver of the car you were in could be at fault for the crash that injured you. If that’s the case, you may be able to sue that person. To find out who will be financially liable for your damages, you may need to allow an attorney to investigate the cause of the wreck. Once this investigation is complete, we’ll know who should be brought to justice for their negligent actions.

How Much Compensation You Can Expect as an Injured Passenger

Car accident claim awards aren’t cookie-cutter, as each person who is affected by a crash will suffer different injuries and have their lives impacted in different ways. However, injury victims do tend to endure similar losses in car accidents, even as passengers. Some of those common car accident damages include the following:

You could be entitled to recover compensation for several other types of damages. You will need to be prepared to go into great detail with your lawyer as you discuss the ways your life has been influenced by your injuries. That way, each hardship can be factored into our calculations of how much we will seek as we pursue your claim.

Consult a Car Accident Attorney at Our Firm

Securing the compensation you deserve shouldn’t be an uphill battle, and working with a car accident lawyer in Riverside or Orange County can ensure that your case is settled as soon as possible. Schedule your free consultation with Kohan & Bablove Injury Attorneys today by picking up the phone and calling our office at 949.535.1341 or completing the brief contact form below.

Find a Car Accident Lawyer Office below:

 

Kohan & Bablove Injury Attorneys Address: 20371 Irvine Ave Suite 110, Newport Beach, CA 92660 Phone: +1 949.535.1341

 

Whether you want to head out for a night on the town or don’t have transportation of your own, rideshare services like Lyft and Uber can be a convenient solution. But with the increasing popularity of these services, the number of accidents involving them has spiked. Unfortunately, filing a claim for compensation against Uber or Lyft can be quite complicated, and when you’re still recovering from your injuries, the last thing you need to be dealing with is the difficulty of such lawsuits. Fortunately, with the help of an experienced car accident lawyer in Orange County, you can obtain the compensation that is rightfully yours. Read on to learn more about how to bring a civil lawsuit against a rideshare company and how much you can expect to recover when you win.

Bringing a Claim Against a Rideshare Company

When you’ve been injured in an Uber or Lyft accident, it can be difficult to figure out who should be responsible for your damages. Both rideshare companies are insured, but the circumstances of your collision will determine how we proceed with your claim. If your Lyft or Uber driver was negligent in some way, we may be able to file a claim with the rideshare company that employed them and bring a claim against the driver or their own insurance policy. This is true whether you were a passenger in the rideshare car or were hit by someone transporting passengers through Uber or Lyft. Exactly how we proceed with your case will depend on the details of your unique situation and the insurance policies of the driver and company in question. Filing a civil lawsuit against a national corporation can be intimidating, which is why having a seasoned attorney on your side can be so helpful.

You’re Entitled to Full Repayment of Your Damages

No matter who is responsible for covering the costs of your losses, you are entitled to maximum compensation for your suffering. Some of the various damages we will consider when determining how much your rideshare accident claim is worth include the following:

  • Medical expenses, healthcare equipment, and installation fees
  • Lost wages and reduced earning capacity
  • Pain and suffering
  • The impact of disfigurement or scarring
  • Mental anguish
  • Loss of enjoyment of life
  • Loss of household services
  • Property damage

There is no reason you should be compelled to cover the costs you’ve incurred when you weren’t responsible for the accident you were involved in. An Orange County car accident attorney can make sure you don’t have to. We’re here to help you get the most out of your injury claim.

Reach Out to an Orange County Car Accident Lawyer for Help

When you’re ready to go up against a large rideshare company like Lyft or Uber, get in touch with an experienced Orange County car accident lawyer at Kohan & Bablove, Injury Attorneys. Our team of highly trained attorneys will do what it takes to recover full compensation for your damages. We are proud to offer car accident survivors a free consultation. During your claim assessment, we can further discuss the details of your crash. You can claim your free consultation by filling out the convenient contact form below or giving our office a call at 949.535.1341.

Find a Car Accident Lawyer Office below:

Kohan & Bablove Injury Attorneys Address: 20371 Irvine Ave Suite 110, Newport Beach, CA 92660 Phone: +1 949.535.1341

No one ever said dealing with the insurance company was going to be easy—except for the insurance company. Insurers often masquerade as being on your side and make promises of looking out for your best interests. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case.

When it’s time to settle a claim, whether it’s their own policyholder or a claimant, insurance providers will often do everything they can to decrease or even eliminate the amount they should pay on a claim. Below, we discuss the different strategies insurance companies use to minimize the amount they’ll be required to settle for, and what you can do about it.

Insurance Tactics to Reduce Your Settlement

It happens more often than you might think: After you file a car crash claim, the insurance company is giving you the runaround or even completely ignoring you. This unscrupulous tactic can be quite effective, especially when claimants get tired of reaching out and hearing nothing back. The insurance provider does this  to get out of compensating you for the damages you have endured.

But, this isn’t the only strategy insurance companies use. They’ve been known to make insultingly low offers when they see how much your damages are actually worth. The insurance adjuster knows you’re desperate for your money, and they think by making you a quick offer, they’ll avoid paying out the true value of your claim.

Insurance adjusters have even been known to twist your well-intended statement to make it appear as though you’ve assumed liability for the cause of the accident. This can significantly decrease your settlement amount.

Each of these tactics make it a little easier for the insurer to pay you as little as possible. So, what can you do?

Let Your Attorney Handle Them

Fortunately, your California lawyer has little tolerance for this, and they are prepared to take legal action against them by bringing your auto accident claim to court. In most cases, even the threat of going to court is enough to convince the insurance adjuster to see reason. This process typically involves several negotiations before your lawyer can secure the settlement you deserve.

If the insurer refuses to continue negotiations, we are ready to bring them to court for the compensation that is rightfully yours. The insurance company thinks they can manipulate claimants and minimize the amount they’re obligated to pay, but when your attorney steps in, they will be forced to deal with someone who knows how to circumvent these underhanded tactics.

Schedule Your Free Claim Review Today

Insurance companies have a reputation for ignoring and manipulating claimants and policyholders alike. Your car accident lawyer at Kohan & Bablove Injury Attorneys will be ready to take them on so you can receive your fair settlement and move forward with your life.

Our firm proudly offers California auto injury victims a free claim review so we can further discuss your accident. You can give our office a call at 949.535.1341, or you can fill out the online contact form located at the bottom of this page to take advantage of this opportunity.

As a cyclist, you are at an increased risk of injury than someone who is traveling in a motor vehicle. A bicycle is simply no match for an automobile weighing thousands of pounds. When you’re involved in a wreck caused by a negligent driver, you should be able to recover a portion of your losses from the at-fault party.

However, you can be sure that the defense is going to do everything they can to minimize the total amount they’ll be required to pay you. If you weren’t wearing a helmet, for example, your claim could be impacted dramatically, per California’s negligence laws. Continuing reading to learn more about how your claim can be affected by your lack of helmet use.

California Negligence Laws

The state of California practices comparative negligence in regards to personal injury claims. This essentially enables injury victims to file claims even when they are partially responsible for the cause of the accident. Now, you might be wondering how you contributed to the cause of the accident by not wearing a helmet.

The answer is: You didn’t. But, you did contribute to your injuries by making the decision to not put on a helmet. The defense will argue that this shows a disregard for your safety. You will still be able to file a claim, but your final award will be reduced based on the percentage of liability you are found to carry.

For example, if you were considered to be 10 percent culpable for your injuries and were awarded $250,000, your award will be deducted by 10 percent, or $25,000, and you’ll come away with a total sum of $225,000.

When you’re already at an increased risk when sharing the road with vehicles capable of causing catastrophic injuries, choosing not to wear a helmet simply isn’t worth the risk. If not for your personal safety, than for the risk of diminishing the value of your claim and leaving you with out-of-pocket expenses.

Obtain Full Compensation for Your Damages

The goal in pursuing a civil lawsuit is to obtain repayment for the damages you endured. Some of the different types of losses that could be considered when calculating the value of your bicycle injury claim include the following:

  • Property damages
  • Loss of enjoyment of life
  • Medical expenses
  • Pain and suffering
  • Lost wages
  • Damage to your earning potential
  • Loss of companionship and love
  • Inconvenience
  • Loss of household services

The amount that you’ll be awarded will largely depend on how significant your injuries were on your life. It stands to reasons that the more impactful your condition has been on your life, the more you can expect to be awarded. Your attorney will be responsible for quantifying your damages accordingly so that you can get the most out of your claim.

Contact an Orange County Personal Injury Lawyer

Are you ready to regain control of your life? If so, reach out to a qualified Orange County personal injury lawyer at Kohan & Bablove Injury Attorneys today. Our firm will work diligently to secure maximum compensation for your suffering.

We are pleased to offer prospective clients a complimentary case assessment where we can examine the details of your bike crash in greater depth. To take advantage of this opportunity, simply complete the quick contact form we’ve provided below or call our office at 949.535.1341.

Some stretches of road in Riverside County see crashes so consistently that local drivers already know to be careful there, and the data backs up that instinct. Whether the cause is confusing lane configurations, missing traffic controls, or a rural intersection that never got the safety upgrades busier roads receive, knowing which locations carry the highest risk can help you drive more defensively, and understanding why they’re dangerous can matter a great deal if you’re ever hurt at one of them.

Quick answer: Riverside County’s highest-risk locations include Ynez Road at Winchester in Temecula, Gilman Springs Road at Bridge Street in Moreno Valley, Magnolia Avenue at Tyler Street and Arlington Avenue at Van Buren Boulevard in Riverside, and several freeway corridors including the I-215/91/60 interchange and the SR-60 “Badlands” grade.

In California, it is not uncommon for individuals and businesses to be impacted by devastating wildfires. More than 7,000 wildfires were reported in 2017, with over 500,000 acres of land destroyed.

More recently, the Mendocino Complex Fire has destroyed more than 360,000 acres and countless homes as of the time of this writing. A firefighter tragically lost his life while fighting the fire, and there’s no doubt that many other injuries have occurred. This fire is now considered to be the largest in California’s recorded history.

For victims, wildfires may bring up concerns about recovering financial compensation for injuries related to the fires. Can injury claims be filed for wildfires? Below, we discuss what you should do if you suffer a wildfire injury and how you can obtain the compensation you’ll need to move forward.

Going Through Your Insurance Company

When you are injured during or because of a wildfire, you should first seek medical attention for your injuries. Once you are out of harm’s way and stable, reach out to a personal injury lawyer who can review the details of your case and determine who is liable for your damages. You’ll more than likely need to begin by going through your own insurance company.

Homeowners insurance will often cover injuries that occur due to accidental house fires, but wildfires are often excluded from policies—particularly in fire-prone areas like California. This is why it’s important to check your policy even if a wildfire isn’t currently threatening your home. Find out whether you’ll be covered now to save hassle and stress later.

Even if wildfires are covered in your insurance policy, the insurer may still try to deny your claim. When that happens, it may be time to contact a qualified attorney. An experienced lawyer can help you negotiate or file a claim against your insurer.

Filing a Civil Suit Against the At-Fault Party

California wildfires are often caused by a combination of dry vegetation and extreme heat, lightning, and human action (such as flicking a burning cigarette, kids playing with matches, downed power lines, and arson).

In cases where human negligence is responsible for causing the injuries you sustained, you may have the opportunity to recover your damages when you file a civil claim against the person who is responsible for starting the fire.

Your attorney will help you determine the financial value of your medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages, disfigurement or scarring, damage to your earning capacity, loss of enjoyment of life, property damage, and other frequently sought losses. This will help ensure that you receive maximum compensation for all you’ve been through.

Speak with an Experienced Orange County Personal Injury Lawyer

Being exposed to a wildfire can be traumatizing. It can be even more difficult to overcome when you endure a severe injury that could have been prevented if it weren’t for the negligent actions of another person. When you’re ready to pursue the compensation you’re entitled to, speak with a qualified Orange County personal injury lawyer at Kohan & Bablove Injury Attorneys.

Our firm is passionate about helping injury survivors pick up the pieces of their lives. You can schedule your free case review today by calling our office at 949.535.1341 or by filling out the quick contact form we’ve provided below.

If you were asked to name the types of crashes that cause the most deaths, you might say head-on collisions. Or, if you know something about traffic statistics, you might expect intersection crashes or left turns to be high on the list, or even single-vehicle crashes off the road.

You might not expect that rollover crashes are still one of the crash configurations with a high number of fatalities each year, but they continue to rank near the top.

Increased Concern

The popularity of SUVs, beginning in the mid-1980s, led to both an increase in rollover crashes and concern about the design of these vehicles. The problem was real: When the US Department of Transportation took a hard look at the data in 2002, they found that rollover deaths had risen 9 percent across the 1990s, despite a decrease in passenger car rollovers. The reason? A more than one-third increase in incidents involving light trucks and SUVs.

Other interesting information was revealed, including that victims in rollovers were noticeably less likely to be wearing seat belts than the average driver. And yes, the data showed that SUVs had a higher chance of rolling when their drivers tried to maneuver before a crash, but that more than half of all drivers in multi-vehicle crashes that included a rollover fatality made no attempt to avoid the crash at all.

Improved but Not Removed

In 2005, more than 10,800 people died in rollovers, about 27 percent of all crash fatalities, and around four in ten of those rollover deaths were in passenger cars (not SUVs). Those numbers have been on a mostly steady (but slow) decline for some time.

By 2014, rollovers accounted for under 19 percent of crash deaths (nearly 7,600), and in 2016, the estimate was below 7,500 total, with tens of thousands more injured. But that was nearly one-third of fatalities that year, while rollovers only made up a few percent of all crashes.

Single- and Multi-Vehicle

It’s true that the majority of rollovers are single-vehicle crashes. But they still happen in crashes with other vehicles. In February, a pickup in Lakewood was left on its roof after causing a crash at an intersection. A day rarely goes by without news of a crash of this type, like the one earlier this month in El Cajon, where a two-vehicle collision left one on its roof.

Orange County Car Accident Lawyer

It doesn’t matter what type of crash you’ve been in, when you’re the victim of someone else’s careless driving, it’s critical that you take all the steps necessary to ensure that you are compensated for all damage and injury caused. Your medical expenses and lost wages need to be recovered—and without the right legal assistance that can be difficult.

Contact the experienced automobile accident attorneys at Kohan & Bablove Injury Attorneys today at 949.535.1341 or contact us online through the form below to schedule a free consultation to discuss your case. We’ve helped hundreds of clients settle their cases successfully, and we’re ready to help you.

Not every injury from an accident is treated the same way under the law. A catastrophic injury is one severe enough to permanently change how someone lives, works, and cares for themselves  and that severity is exactly why these cases involve far more than a typical injury claim, both in the medical evidence required and in the value of what’s ultimately at stake. Here’s what qualifies, what it costs, and what you can recover.

Quick answer: A catastrophic injury is a severe, often permanent injury  like a spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, or amputation  that prevents someone from working or living independently. Victims can typically recover both economic damages (medical costs, lost income) and non-economic damages (pain and suffering).

rear-endSelf-driving cars may not have hit the roads for everyday use yet, but they’re no longer the stuff of science fiction stories. Vehicles in Google’s Waymo project have racked up more than 4 million miles on actual roads, while many other companies (including Audi, GM, Mercedes, Uber, and even Apple) have some kind of autonomous vehicle research initiative underway.

Car manufacturers continue to slip new technology that comes out of these programs, such as autonomous emergency braking, into their latest models while others continue to work toward the release of a fully autonomous vehicle.

Every safety improvement and advance is welcome, but every once in a while something happens that should make us all stop and ask what’s going to happen—and who’s going to be responsible—when something goes wrong with one of these vehicles.

Crash Raises Questions

The dramatic rear-end crash of a Tesla Model S into a parked fire truck in California earlier this year raises these kind of alarm bells. Fortunately, there were no injuries. The driver of the Tesla said he was using the car’s Autopilot feature (although this has not yet been confirmed), which should have prevented such a crash. An incident in Florida in 2016 led to a driver’s death when Autopilot failed to detect a tractor-trailer truck crossing the highway.

Tesla touts Autopilot as if it is already a fully self-driving system, but the fine print notes that not all features are available or allowed for use because of regulatory considerations. It’s not yet clear if the California crash can be blamed on the system having weaknesses, the features being used improperly by the driver, or some other issue.

Currently all these self-driving and driver assist features are meant to be used only as instructed. Tesla, for example, tells drivers to only use the system on limited access highways and to stay alert, and the system warns drivers when their hands are off the wheel for more than a few seconds.

Responsibility a Work in Progress

Who has legal responsibility when one of these systems fails still needs to be worked out. Existing law would hold the operator or driver responsible, but it seems more likely that liability could be parceled out to owners, manufacturers, and even programmers.

Personal injury and product liability law could both come into play. In a bold step, Volvo has already declared that it will accept full liability for its self-driving vehicles when they hit the streets (which might be as early as 2019). Not all manufacturers have taken this step, and few laws have yet addressed the issue.

Orange County Car Accident Lawyer

The ongoing debate over the liability issues surrounding autonomous vehicles is something that most people don’t spend much time thinking about, and when you’ve been hurt in a car crash, that kind of thing is not what you want to focus on.

That’s the kind of detail you leave to the attorneys at Kohan & Bablove, Injury Attorneys, who put all their time and energy into understanding all the issues of automobile accident law—so you don’t have to.

When you need help with your car accident case, call our experienced team at 949.535.1341 or contact us online to schedule a no-cost, no-obligation consultation to discuss your case. We’ve helped hundreds of clients reach successful settlements, and we can help you.

Find a Motor Vehicle Lawyer Office below:

Kohan & Bablove Injury Attorneys
Address: 20371 Irvine Ave Suite 110, Newport Beach, CA 92660
Phone: +1 949.535.1341

Demand letter California guidelines explain what to include when drafting a demand letter to support your personal injury claim and improve your chances of full compensation. transportationAn important part of any lawsuit is specifying the remedy being sought. In a personal injury claim, two of the important factors in every claim are the harm or injury that has been caused and the damages or reparations that are being requested. These two factors go into creating another important part of most personal injury lawsuits: the demand letter.

Important in All Cases

A demand letter (or demand package—in this post the terms are interchangeable) can be important in almost any kind of personal injury case. Whether the claim is centered on a slip-and-fall accident, a dog bite, or a car crash, the demand letter will serve a number of useful functions. For one thing, simply writing the letter will serve to collect all the details of your claim. It forces you, as the potential plaintiff, to specify exactly what wrong you’re seeking to right. The damage done, as well as the circumstances that caused it, will be outlined in your letter. It will also include the amount being sought to correct the harm that was done. This is an excellent opportunity for you and your attorney to make sure that all your details are correct. Not only do you want to make sure that you can accurately describe what happened, but when you tally up the costs you seek to recover, you may discover that you’ve forgotten something. Depending on who the letter is intended for, you may also need to include other information. When seeking compensation for an injury, for example, you might need copies of medical reports and receipts from treatment, in addition to those for related expenses such as transportation or a home health aide. This can begin to pile up (which is why calling it a “demand package” can be appropriate).

Why the Demand Letter Matters

A demand letter might seem like a formality, but it shows the other party that you’re serious about your claim. If the other party hasn’t been giving your claim the attention it deserves, the demand letter can be an effective wakeup call: Most cases settle before trial, but legal experts believe that about one-third of all civil disputes move to a settlement simply because of a demand letter.

Don’t Overstep

You’re legally entitled to make a demand for harm done to you, and it’s important to do so. However, California courts have ruled on more than one occasion that a demand letter has overstepped acceptable bounds and become an attempt at extortion. This happens not when a demand threatens legal action (which is often part of the demand process), but when a demand makes other threats that can be viewed as harassment, such as the filing of false criminal charges or the public release of potentially embarrassing materials unrelated to the case. A knowledgeable attorney will make sure that this kind of mistake doesn’t happen with your demand letter.

Orange County Personal Injury Lawyer

The experienced attorneys at Kohan & Bablove Injury Attorneys have helped hundreds of clients navigate the sometimes complicated waters of personal injury claim filing. If you find yourself in a situation where pursuing a civil suit is a necessary step to correct a harm done to you, give us a call at 949.535.1341 or contact us online through the form below. We offer every client a free, no-obligation consultation to go over the specifics of his or her case and suggest how to move forward.

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