FAQ
Do check to see if anyone is injured, and if so, call for medical help.
Do call the police. They will make a police report of the facts of the accident, which may be critical to having a strong insurance claim and lawsuit.
Do take a picture of the scene if you have a camera.
Do exchange names, addresses, telephone numbers, license plate numbers and insurance information with other drivers and police.
Do write down the make and model of each vehicle involved in the accident.
Do get the names, addresses and telephone of any witnesses to the accident.
Do, as soon as possible after the accident, write down the facts surrounding the accident, such as the time, date, location, weather conditions and how the accident occurred.
Do call your insurance agent and report the accident. Don’t get into a detailed discussion of how the accident occurred or who is at fault until you have spoken with a lawyer to receive initial legal advice. At Beck Law Offices, such initial legal advice, based upon our our almost 40 years of representing accident victims, is always at no charge to you. Beck Law Offices can explain the law to you and advise you of your legal rights and obligations. We can also help determine who was at fault and may help you get compensation for your property damage and personal injuries.
Don’t discuss how the accident happened with other drivers or witnesses.
Don’t get involved with any arguments with other drivers or witnesses.
Don’t leave the accident scene unless medical personnel need to transport you, or until the responding officer tells you that you can leave.
Accident victims need three things to be present in order to have a good case. First, the other party must have been “negligent”. Obvious examples of negligence for accident cases include auto accidents where a driver runs a stop sign or red light and injures someone else. Second, there must be some type of compensable harm. This means more than just hurt feelings. However, it may also include more than just physical injuries and financial harm. Other types of losses can be compensated as well. The third requirement is causation. If established, the link between the negligent act and the harm caused allows the court to impose legal liability on the defendant. It is important to remember that in an at work injury case, no one has to be at fault, there simply needs to be an accident or development of an occupational disease that arose from the job or working conditions.
Whether accident victims are seeking to obtain fair compensation under their own insurance policy or are dealing with the at-fault driver’s insurance company, they should not assume that the insurance company has their best interests in mind. Insurance companies are businesses and, like all business concerns, their main priority is to turn a profit. Often, they will send representatives to the scene of an accident within hours and try to make contact with victims and witnesses shortly after the accident. In some instances, they may appear to be very friendly and concerned for the accident victim’s situation. They often offer a quick settlement and tell the victim that they don’t need a lawyer to resolve their claim. Sometimes, they may try to intimidate accident victims by offering a very small settlement and then tell the victims that this is fair because the victim doesn’t have a good case, and that if they get a lawyer they will lose and receive nothing.
What they don’t tell the victim is that the insurance industry’s own studies show that accident victims with lawyers receive on average 3x more compensation than victims who are not represented by a lawyer!
Please, before you speak with an insurance company representative, talk with our lawyers and receive legal advice based on our almost 40 years of successfully representing accident victims! That one call may very well save you from losing your right to receive full and fair value for your case!
It is important to talk to an attorney who has experience with personal injury lawsuits. Beck Law Offices offers a free initial consultation. This gives you a chance to get some of your questions answered and a clearer idea of what your rights and options may be. This, in turn, may help you avoid costly mistakes as well as insurance company traps that people often fall into when they do not have an attorney looking out for their best interests.
We would be happy to talk to you about your case. There is never an obligation to hire us, and if you do, there are no legal fees to pay for personal injury and work related accident claims unless and until we collect a settlement or verdict for you! Put our almost 40 years of representing accident victims to work for you today!
When we handle personal injury and worker's compensation cases, we almost always work on a contingency fee basis. This means that we don’t get compensated unless we settle your case or obtain a jury verdict or award. This applies for all personal injury cases whether it be a medical malpractice, dog bite, premises liability,car accident claim or work accident claim.
We will discuss the facts of your case to determine what legal rights you may have. If we determine that you have a valid personal injury claim that we both decide to pursue, then we will enter into a fee agreement which will set out in writing the full terms and conditions of how costs and attorney’s fees will be handled. We will also lay out a road map of what legal steps need to be taken to ensure that your case receives the best possible result!
To lose a loved one in an accident is the most tragic event possible. It is even more dreadful when the loss is due to the reckless, negligent, or malicious actions of another person. Wrongful death cases include any unnatural death caused by the wrongful actions of another. Wrongful deaths can occur from car accidents, work accidents, medical malpractice or other accidents. If you have recently lost a loved one because of the wrongful actions of another, please contact our office for a compassionate and free discussion of the matter. We always handle such cases with the utmost confidentiality and compassion.
Property owners have a duty to keep their property in a safe condition and warn visitors of any hazards that may exist. If someone is injured on another’s property because of unsafe conditions or inadequate warnings, the owner may be responsible for any damages that result. This duty is not limited to private home owners. Apartment landlords, hotel owners, and commercial building owners all have a responsibility to keep their property safe.
Medical bills from a work injury are paid by the employer or their insurance company. Medical bills from an automobile accident are usually paid in one of three ways. If you have your own health insurance, often your health insurance company will pay the bills from an accident. In addition, the at-fault driver is responsible for paying your medical bills, but they usually won’t make any payments until your case is completely resolved. Further, you may have a benefit through your own automobile insurance company that will pay your medical bills as they are incurred. Sometimes, our office is able to find other sources for payment of your medical bills as well.
Lost earning capacity is when a person is injured, and because of their injuries, they are no longer able to earn the same wage they made prior to the accident. For example, say a construction worker made $25 per hour before the accident. Now, because of injuries from the accident, he can no longer do that kind of work. If he can now only work lower paying jobs, he has suffered a loss of earning capacity. At Beck Law Offices, we carefully analyze the different ways in which our clients have suffered a loss of earning capacity and aggressively demand those damages in settlement or jury awards.
Loss of quality of life is the measure of damages to compensate an injured person for the things they can no longer do as a result of the accident and injury. An example of this would be an avid hunter who, because of his injuries, can no longer hunt or enjoy the beautiful outdoors in Idaho. Another example would be an avid sports enthusiast, such as a runner, who can no longer run as a result of injuries sustained in an accident.