San Mateo Car Accident Lawyer

Car accidents are a common occurrence on California roads and everywhere else in the United States. If you are in the unfortunate position of being a victim of one of these accidents, then you know all too well the devastation that comes along if the accident injured you or a loved one.

Car accidents happen every day, in fact with increasing regularity because of the traffic congestion not only in San Mateo, but through out the entire San Francisco Bay Area. When it happens to you, there is nothing ordinary about it. It is essential that you contact a San Mateo car accident attorney that will fight for your rights and get you the settlement you deserve. Call (650) 770-2967 or contact us online.

Assistance With Your Car Accident Case

If you suffered serious or lasting injury or a family member was killed in a car crash, the San Mateo law firm of Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos offers the strong advocacy you need. We act fast and work diligently to maximize the compensation you receive through an insurance claim or lawsuit.

Contact our car accident attorneys in San Mateo immediately for a free initial consultation. Our car crash lawyers have recovered millions of dollars for clients in every type of car crash — intersection collisions, freeway pileups, rollovers and accidents caused by negligent drivers. Our attorneys not only help victims that have been in regular street and roadway accidents, but we also help victims that were in a car accident on any major highway, freeway, or bridge such as:

• 101 – North & South (Bay Shore Freeway)
• 280 – North & South (Junipero Serra Freeway)
• 82 – El Camino Real North & South
• 80 – East & West
  • Including the Bay Bridge
• 92 – East & West
  • Including San Mateo Bridge Car Accidents
• 84 – East & West
  • Including Dumbarton Bridge Car Accidents
• 880 – North & South (Nimitz Freeway)
• 24 – East & West (Grove Shafter Freeway)
  • Including the Caldecott Tunnel
• The MacArthur Maze
• 580, 85, 237 and more

Why You Need a San Mateo Car Accident Lawyer

Indeed, according to research by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Authority (NHTSA), about 1.9 million were in injury-related car accidents in one recent year.

An accident can result in serious injuries that affect how you live for the rest of your life, and some crashes even result in life-threatening or fatal injuries. When any of this happens, you need an experienced car accident lawyer to analyze your circumstances and offer legal advice on how best to proceed to obtain the fullest compensation you can obtain from your injuries.

An experienced attorney can collect evidence, negotiate with insurance companies, and get you ready for trial if necessary. Even before all that, an experienced lawyer can help you determine whether you have a case for which you may recover damages.

To file a case to pursue compensation for injuries and losses in California, you must establish:

1. The accident happened because of someone else who was negligent. California follows the legal doctrine of pure comparative negligence, which means that if you suffer injuries in an accident, you can get compensation up to the percentage level the person you are suing was at fault.
2. The accident resulted in you suffering physical injuries, as well as financial damages stemming from your injuries.

This is a factual and legal determination best made by a lawyer who can also help you present those findings to the insurance company to settle your case or at trial if you do not settle.

How Much Compensation Can I Get for My Car Accident Injury?

This is a common question and often the first one that many accident victims ask a lawyer. We, however, cannot easily answer without knowing more about the facts and circumstances of your case. However, regardless of how serious your injuries were from an accident, a good auto accident attorney will be able to obtain the compensation you deserve for both economic and non-economic damages.

To determine how much your case is worth, you must fully consider

• The facts and circumstances surrounding the accident, including whether speeding was a factor, whether liable parties violated any laws, and what the police noted in their reports, if they created one at the accident scene.
• Whether liability is obvious or not. If the person you are suing was clearly at fault (for example, they sped through a red traffic signal), then establishing liability and determining your compensation is usually easy.
• The extent and severity of your injuries and any damage to your vehicle. For this, you will need a diagnosis from a medical professional. We can use the records of your injury and treatment to show the seriousness of your injuries.
• How much you have spent on treatment, car repairs, and lost income.

All these are factors that will impact the value of your case. Once you have all this information and documents, a good lawyer can use it to negotiate a higher settlement than you could get on your own.

What You Should Expect in the Legal Process after a San Mateo Car Accident

How long a car accident case takes to settle directly with an insurer or resolve at trial in civil court depends on many factors, such as the circumstances surrounding the accident, the totality of evidence readily available, and whether the at-fault party is admitting liability. It is difficult to tell or even estimate how long a case will take unless we have those important facts.

When you call us for a free consultation, we will review the circumstances of your accident and tell you whether your case has merit. We can discuss whether your claim might settle very quickly or if it will take much longer because of the complexity of the legal and factual issues in the case.

In general, the biggest factors that will influence how long a case takes to reach a settlement or go to trial are:

• Factual or legal issues directly related to the case.
• If your attorney believes that your claim is worth a large amount of money and the insurance companies hesitate to settle and keep delaying to see if you accept a low offer, which may take a long time.
• If you are still undergoing treatment or you have not fully recovered or will never fully recover. You must know what treatments you might need as well as the long-term effects of the injuries.

Our experienced lawyers can work closely with you to thoroughly assess these factors, ensure that we fully prepare to address all issues that may arise during the negotiations or trial, and obtain the most compensation for you.

Car Accident Settlements

The insurance companies do not have your best interests in mind. The adjusters will seek statements that pin the blame on you or press for a quick settlement that may not cover your needs. In fact, the higher your damages, the more an insurer will resist a fair settlement.

You need an attorney who will fight for full compensation for your medical expenses, lost income and personal losses. The San Mateo personal injury attorneys at Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos have over 75 years of combined experience in settlement negotiations and personal injury trials. Our car crash lawyers have handled cases of major injuries requiring lifelong care and we deal with complex insurance issues such as an uninsured or underinsured driver who hit you.

Our car crash lawyers get our investigators quickly to the crash site, including car accident reconstruction specialists in severe collisions. Prompt action to preserve evidence is a major factor in our record of success. It also helps our auto accident attorneys determine if there are other liable parties — manufacturers of defective auto parts or those responsible for dangerous road conditions.

San Mateo Car Accident FAQs

What are some risks of car crashes in San Mateo?

In San Mateo, the weather and the roads are both common factors in car accidents, but the most common cause of car crashes in San Mateo is other drivers. Whether other drivers are engaging in distracted driving, drunk driving, speeding, or other traffic violations, they are a risk to everyone else in the area.

If you were in a car accident in San Mateo, you might have the right to seek compensation from the responsible drivers. The damages that you can collect will depend on the cause of the accident and the impact the injuries have upon your ability to work and return to your regular life. A car accident attorney can explain your options and answer your questions. The following are some frequently asked questions our attorneys hear from crash victims.

What if I hit my head in a car accident?

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) means the brain sustains damage from head trauma or a penetrating wound, and one of the most common causes of brain injuries is motor vehicle accidents. When you experience a traumatic brain injury, it can affect your ability to function in both the short and long term significantly.

The symptoms of a TBI, which can also be a concussion, can be sleepiness, restlessness, changes in behavior or mood, headache, and other unusual effects. Brain injuries can impact your ability to work and live your normal life, and the symptoms may be permanent in some cases, noting the importance of effectively calculating the full long-term effects of your injury. Even a brain injury that doctors diagnose as “mild” can have serious and lasting effects and costs.

When is the right time to call a San Mateo car accident lawyer?

The right time to call a San Mateo car accident lawyer is as soon as possible following your accident—after you receive the necessary medical care. You must pursue immediate emergency medical care first to ensure that you do not have any injuries that you might not recognize right away.

After you receive treatment for your emergency issues, contacting a car accident lawyer right away will help begin the process of collecting the fullest possible compensation for the damages associated with your injuries. The sooner you call, the sooner your car accident attorney can begin investigating the cause of your crash and collecting evidence to support your claim. If you wait, evidence can dissipate, and witnesses can disappear or have their memories fade. Never delay in discussing a possible case with a car accident law firm in San Mateo.

Can I afford a car accident attorney?

While you might think that your car accident attorney is going to be too expensive – potentially so expensive that you cannot afford to hire one – this is usually not the case. In most cases, your car accident attorney will take your case on a contingency basis, which means that your attorney only receives payment if they win a financial recovery for you. Then, their payment involves a portion of the amount that you receive in your settlement or award, so you never have to pay anything from your own bank account.

This makes your car accident attorney a member of your team, as your success is their success. It also means that anyone can afford to hire a car accident lawyer.

Reach out to a local car accident attorney to discuss options in your case, and be sure to ask about payment arrangements. You should always feel comfortable with how your lawyer expects to receive their fees and how much they will be charging you. Before you sign with your attorney, you’ll have a chance to review the terms of your engagement and to ask any questions that you might have. The process of hiring an attorney should not be intimidating and is, in fact, really very easy. Just reach out, communicate what happened with your accident and injury, and ask about what your options are.

How much can I get for my car accident settlement?

The amount that people can recover for your car accident settlement will vary widely and depends on the unique facts and circumstances of your accident. First, there must be a party responsible for the accident that led to your injury from which you can collect damages. This means that were it not for the actions or condition created by another party, the accident would not have happened, and you would not have suffered injuries.

Once you can prove liability for the accident, your attorney can begin filing the insurance claims against each liable party. These can include other drivers, the employers of negligent drivers, and more. This also requires that your attorney proves the damages that you are seeking, which first involves complex calculations.

There are damages for a wide range of losses, and some or all might apply in your case.

Common losses include:

• Your medical bills – These include emergency transportation, hospitalization, emergency room care, surgery, physical therapy, specialist appointments, medical equipment, medication, rehabilitative care, and more. If your medical treatment will continue, your lawyer will need to determine how much to request for future medical bills.
• Lost earnings – When you have to miss work because of your injuries, you can lose a significant amount of income in a relatively short time. You deserve to recover all the wages you lost from being out of work. If you cannot return to your previous job because of the lasting effects of your injuries, or perhaps you can no longer work at all, you can seek damages for future lost income. This often requires help from experts, and your lawyer will know who to contact for assistance.
• Intangible losses – These subjective losses are particularly difficult to calculate. These can include permanent disabilities or disfigurement, physical pain and suffering, and more.

Proper financial recovery begins with accurate calculations by your lawyer. Then, your San Mateo car accident attorney will need to ensure the insurance company covers all the losses you demand. Reach out for more information today.