Confused about California car accident claims? Learn critical steps: evidence preservation, insurance traps, damage calculations & deadlines. Discover how OPO Law maximizes your recovery. Free case review.
Overwhelmed by medical bills after a crash? Worried the insurance adjuster’s “quick offer” won’t cover your future needs? Stressed about lost wages while your car sits totaled? What if you knew exactly how to protect your rights and avoid the traps that slash settlement values? At OPO Law, we’ve recovered over $100M for Californians – here’s what you truly need to know about personal injury claims after a car accident.
Critical Step 1: What To Do Before You Even File a Claim
Your actions in the first 72 hours make or break your case. If you’re planning on filing a personal injury claim after a car accident, it helps to know how to prioritize your first steps.
Your own safety is of the highest priority. Seek medical care immediately (even if you feel “fine”). Delayed treatment won’t just affect your physical wellbeing, but it also lets insurers argue your injuries weren’t accident-related.
Speaking of compensation, a strong claim needs strong evidence. So, preserve evidence aggressively: Take photos of vehicle damage, skid marks, road conditions, and visible injuries. Obtain contact information from witnesses before they disappear. Collect other relevant information, from phone numbers to willing statements.
A crucial rule in the initial stages of a personal injury claim is to never apologize or admit fault: A casual “I didn’t see you!” becomes ammunition for insurers to argue negligence or fault. Minimize what you’re discussing with the other party. Report the accident, but decline recorded statements until we prepare you.
How Insurance Companies Undervalue Claims (And How We Stop Them)
Insurers deploy tactics to minimize payouts. At the end of the day, an insurance company’s main goal is to maximize its margins, and that means minimizing its costs (such as your claim). We counter these devious tactics through several proven and tested means:
- Tactic: Demanding recorded statements early.
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- Our Move: We handle all communications.
- Tactic: Delaying until desperation sets in.
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- Our Move: We file lawsuits before California’s 2-year deadline ([CCP 335.1]) to force action.
- Tactic: Blaming pre-existing conditions.
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- Our Move: We remind insurance companies that they “take each plaintiff as they find them” when an accident occurs. This is the “eggshell plaintiff” concept: if an injured party has medical issues that make them more susceptible to injury, the insurance company must nevertheless fairly compensate them.
- Tactic: Lowballing “pain and suffering”.
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- Our Move: We use day-in-the-life videos and pain journals to humanize your struggle.
Calculating Your TRUE Damages: More Than Just Medical Bills
Under California’s pure comparative negligence law (CCP 1714), you recover damages even if partially at fault. We fight for you, and your economic, non-economic, and punitive damages.
What are Economic Damages?
Economic damages, also called “special damages,” refer to the measurable financial losses you suffer due to another party’s negligence or wrongful actions. These damages are quantifiable and supported by documentation, including bills, receipts, and expert testimony.
Common examples include medical expenses (such as emergency care, surgeries, rehabilitation, and future treatment costs), lost wages from missed work, future lost earnings, property damage (such as vehicle repairs after a car accident), and out-of-pocket costs (like prescription medications or home modifications for accessibility).
Courts award economic damages to reimburse victims for actual monetary losses, ensuring they are not left financially burdened by someone else’s misconduct.
What are Non-Economic Damages?
Non-economic damages compensate for intangible losses that don’t have a fixed dollar value but significantly impact your quality of life. These damages address the emotional and psychological toll of an injury or wrongdoing, including pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life (inability to engage in hobbies or activities), and loss of consortium (damage to familial or marital relationships).
Unlike economic damages, non-economic damages are subjective and vary case by case. Juries often consider factors like the severity of suffering, duration of recovery, and long-term emotional trauma when determining fair compensation. While harder to quantify, these damages acknowledge that money can’t fully restore wellbeing, but can provide some measure of justice.
What are Punitive Damages?
Punitive damages, also known as “exemplary damages,” are not tied to your losses but instead punish the defendant for egregious misconduct and deter similar behavior in the future. Courts award punitive damages in cases involving intentional harm, fraud, malice, or extreme recklessness, such as drunk driving accidents, corporate cover-ups, or medical malpractice with blatant disregard for patient safety.
Unlike economic and non-economic damages, which compensate the plaintiff, punitive damages serve a public purpose by holding wrongdoers accountable and sending a societal message. These awards are less common and typically require clear evidence of reprehensible conduct. Some states impose caps on punitive damages to prevent excessive verdicts; however, in severe cases, they can still significantly exceed compensatory amounts.
The California-Specific Deadlines That Could Sink Your Case
Different claims have different deadlines, where you might lose your right to sue, your right to recover repair costs, or even lose the right to file a claim to begin with. Knowing which deadlines are relevant to your case is crucial.
For example, a personal injury case can only be filed within two years of the accident (CCP 335.1). Still, if the vehicle involved was a government vehicle or was in use on behalf of a government entity, agency, or employee, you might be barred from filing a claim after just six months (Govt. Code 911.2). Furthermore, evidence like security footage often auto-deletes in 30 days.
We send spoliation letters to preserve crucial information and work diligently to ensure your claim is acknowledged promptly.
Why “Handling It Yourself” Risks Thousands
Without a lawyer, accident victims are much more likely to accept early settlements that exclude future surgeries (e.g., a $15K offer when spinal fusion costs $200K), misstate facts in insurer conversations that undermine liability, fail to calculate total damages (like lost retirement contributions during recovery), and miss deadlines due to recovery stress.
OPO’s contingency fee model ensures you pay $0 unless we win – and we always recover far more than unrepresented claimants. Don’t try to go through it all alone – get in touch with us today and secure your compensation.
Contact our Personal Injury Lawyers at OPO Law in Santa Clarita, CA, Today
What you need to know about personal injury claims after a car accident boils down to this: Insurance companies have teams of adjusters and attorneys. You deserve the same firepower. At OPO Law, we investigate, manage your legal deadlines, reduce your paperwork burden, and fight for your maximum value, not just quick closings.
Don’t gamble with your recovery. Contact us at OPO Law today for a free, no-pressure case review. Discover what your claim is really worth – before deadlines pass or evidence vanishes.
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