FAQs

Our firm offers free, no-obligation consultations where we will review your case and outline the legal options available to you. You can contact us to schedule your free case evaluation by calling (888) 888-9285.

When you hire our firm, an experienced attorney will guide you through every step of the legal process. We pride ourselves on being attentive to the needs of our clients and are here for you 24/7/365.

Our law firm handles cases of all sizes, from simple to complex. We are experienced trial lawyers with the knowledge and resources to represent injury victims in all types of accident cases. Our attorneys are dedicated to obtaining justice for clients from all walks of life regardless of how large or small the matter.

At West Coast Trial Lawyers, personal injury and accident cases are handled on a contingency fee basis. This means that you will not be charged any fees unless we recover compensation for you.

Yes. Because your communications with us are privileged, it is important that you make full disclosure of all pertinent facts of your personal injury claim (such as prior injuries), so that we can fully evaluate your case. The information you share with us is protected by the attorney-client privilege and will remain confidential. This protection applies even when our legal representation ends or if you do not retain our firm.

Typically, it is the parents of the child, though a court can appoint another guardian to protect the legal interest of the child. The lawyers at West Coast Trial Lawyers have extensive experience with injury and wrongful death cases involving children and understand the complexities of negotiating these types of claims.

We receive payment for our services only after we recover money for you. Under this kind of agreement, we receive compensation for our work based on a percentage of the total recovery.

You should bring all documents in your possession that are related to your injury. For example, for car accidents, you should bring a copy of the police or incident report, a copy of your automobile insurance declaration page, photographs of your automobile, photographs of your injuries, copies of medical records for treatment related to the accident, correspondence from the insurance companies, estimates and repair records for your car, receipts for towing and car rental, and any wage loss information. We will make photocopies of all your documents and return the originals to you.

No! West Coast Trial Lawyers never charges for client consultations. If you feel you have a potential claim, please call our office at (888) 888-9285 to set up for FREE consultation and case evaluation at your home, work, or one of our six office locations.

A lien is a simple and effective way to ensure that doctors, therapists, hospitals, and any other healthcare providers who provide medical treatment get paid for their services. When people don’t have health insurance, or their insurance does not cover the necessary treatment, medical facilities and doctors will sometimes accept a “lien,” which is a document allowing the patient to continue treatment without having to pay for it until a later date.

This is also referred to as wrongful death. Spouses, domestic partners, children, parents, siblings, and grandparents can have a claim for wrongful death against the responsible parties. The types of damages that can be recovered depending on the relationship are: value of household services that would be provided by the decedent; financial support that the survivor(s) would have received; loss of companionship, affection, love, care, comfort, and society; loss of consortium (sexual relations) for the surviving spouse; and funeral and burial expenses. We have handled wrongful cases with great success and compensation for our clients. Because the loss of a loved one can completely alter the lives of the surviving family members, it is important to retain an experienced personal injury lawyer to recover the compensation you deserve.

In most cases, the funds are received within a week or two after the release has been signed. Cases involving the government, large settlements, private individuals, and/or out-of-area- insurance companies can take much longer.

At West Coast Trial Lawyers, we will never settle your claim without your consent. We make recommendations of whether to settle or not, but the ultimate decision to settle lies with you.

Before you sign anything, be sure to contact West Coast Trial Lawyers to ensure your rights are protected. If you sign a release, you may not be able to recover future damages. Often, insurance adjusters offer an early settlement which may not fully compensate you, hoping that you are still unaware of the full extent and cost of your injuries.

The following questions may be asked during a deposition: The lawyers at West Coast Trial Lawyers will fully prepare you for your deposition by meeting with you beforehand and reviewing documents related to your personal injury claim, such as your police report, medical records, and other evidence. How did the accident happen? Were there any witnesses to the accident? Were you injured? Describe your medical treatment? What types of other injuries have you previously suffered? Have you been involved in any other lawsuits or insurance claims? What is your job history? How has your injury affected your life?

Each case is unique, and it is difficult to determine how long it will take to resolve a personal injury case. A personal injury case may settle in a few months without the need to file a lawsuit, while others can take years for the trial and appeals process to complete. Because we only get paid when our clients get paid, we do everything we can to resolve our clients’ cases as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Yes. It is possible to sue a government entity, city, or county for negligence, as well as the negligent actions of its employees. The claims process is very different and involves different statutes of limitations. The lawyers at West Coast Trial Lawyers deal with these claims on a regular basis and can help you recover compensation for any injuries caused by governmental negligence.

Injured victims only have a short timeframe to file a lawsuit. Due to the time-sensitive nature of personal injury claims, you should IMMEDIATELY contact a lawyer regarding your injury. Failure to file within this timeframe, also known as the statute of limitations, can bar you from ever recovering compensation for your injuries. For many personal injury actions in California, such as automobile accidents, you have two years from the date of your injury to file a lawsuit against the responsible parties. However, for certain claims, such as claims against government entities or medical malpractice, the statute of limitations is much shorter.

Most certainly. Many of our clients are busy and want to avoid going to court. Though the attorneys at West Coast Trial Lawyers have successfully tried many cases, most of our cases are settled well before trial. We do our very best to come to a reasonable settlement before filling a lawsuit, and we never file suit without our client agreeing to do so.

Seek medical attention immediately! Even if you do not feel as if you are seriously injured, it is in your best interest to see a physician as soon as possible. Go to an emergency room, urgent care, medical doctor, chiropractor, or physical therapist. Medical providers can determine injury to your body whether it is initially visible or felt. By seeking immediate medical attention, you protect your health, document your injuries, and prevent the insurance company from arguing that you were not really injured. If you wait to seek treatment, it will allow the insurance companies to argue that you weren’t hurt in the accident, and you later decided to go to the doctor because of your pending claim. Also, it may allow the insurance company to argue that you may have been hurt in the interim time between the accident and your late visit to the doctor.

Yes. You may be entitled to compensation for the full value of your medical treatment (the actual cost of the treatment) and not just the co-pay or deductible. Often times, insurance carriers attempt to reduce an injured victim’s damages by offering to just pay their “out of pocket” expenses, leaving the injured person less than whole. Also, in addition to your past medical bills, you are entitled to compensation for all your other damages, including future medical treatment, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

This depends on the type of case and the damages that have been sustained. If you have suffered injury and require medical treatment, past and future medical bills are recoverable, as are all past and future lost wages. You can also recover “general damages,” which include pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress, and inconvenience associated with the injury. In automobile collision cases, our clients are also entitled to recover the damage to their vehicle, as well as the “loss of use” of that vehicle for the time our client was without the use because it was damaged.

In California and most other jurisdictions, victims can still receive compensation if they were partially at fault for their injuries. In a few areas, individuals cannot recover compensation if their negligence partially contributed to their injuries.

Negligence occurs when an individual or a company fails to exercise a reasonable standard of care to prevent harm to others. To have a possible personal injury claim, the victim must have been injured from the negligence of another individual or entity. We have represented thousands of individuals, who have been injured by the negligence of others in automobile accidents, slip and fall accidents, dog bites, and accidents that occur on someone’s property. If you have been injured by another’s negligence, contact our office for a FREE, no-hassle consultation.

At West Coast Trial Lawyers, we handle small, medium, large, and very large damage cases. Our cases range from soft tissue injury car accident cases to catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases. We are happy to review any case free of charge. We have the staff and resources to handle all types of personal injury cases.

Depending on the cause(s) of injury or death, the liability may rest on a car driver, truck driver, government entity, employer, manufacturer, hospital, and/or doctor. It is very important that you contact a personal injury lawyer to discuss the facts of your case.

Determining the value of a case is one of the harder questions for a plaintiff lawyer to answer. There are many factors that are considered, including evidence of liability, witness statements and whether there are discrepancies in testimony, the severity of your injuries, insurance limits, and identity of the defendant. Compensation may include payment of medical bills, pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of ability to enjoy life, lost wages, and diminished earning capacity. Over the past fifteen years, the lawyers at West Coast Trial Lawyers have helped clients recover more than $1 BILLION in settlements and judgments at trial. We have successfully negotiated thousands of claims and use our knowledge and experience to obtain the maximum recovery for our clients.

Many drivers believe that they have “full coverage,” only to find out that they have coverage for damage to their vehicle, but not medical expenses. Medical payments coverage, or underinsured or uninsured motorist coverage can help cover you in the event of an accident where the other party cannot pay. We will contact your insurance company and review what coverages you have, when the coverage is applicable, and, if necessary, challenge your insurance company if we believe your insurance is trying to avoid paying a valid claim. If other automobile or health insurance companies are involved, there may be disagreements over who is responsible for payment. An attorney can help resolve these issues and avoid serious delays in compensation.

West Coast Trial Lawyers is committed to providing clients with a no-stress, no-hassle intake process. We work on a contingency fee basis, which means that if we do not win, we do not get paid. There are no up-front fees or costs. The amount you would pay as a client is equal to a percentage of your total recovery.

Insurance companies are in the business of minimizing payouts to victims of accidents to maximize their own profits. Remember that your interest and the interest of the insurance company are not the same. An insurance adjuster may try to provide legal advice, which is illegal for a non-lawyer to do. No matter how nice the insurance adjuster seems or how many details they give you regarding your compensation, the adjuster’s goal is to pay you as little as possible. Often, adjusters offer to make a payment immediately. There is no reason to make a rash decision about a settlement offer from an insurance company. Do not deal with the insurance company alone. West Coast Trial Lawyers can ensure that the insurance company actually pays the full value of the claim, taking all of your past and future losses into account. Call us at (888) 888-9285 for a FREE, no-risk case evaluation.

Insurance adjusters are trained to discretely influence you into saying something that will insulate their company from liability. Any statements you make to an insurance adjuster may be used against you to undermine your claim. We recommend that you do not discuss your injury, or the way in which it happened, with anyone until you have consulted with a lawyer. If you sign any documents or agree to any settlement before speaking with an attorney, this could prevent you from ever recovering full compensation for your injuries.

Insurance is a business, and like all businesses, the insurance company’s chief concern is to maximize its profits. Their adjusters are trained to settle your injury claim for the lowest amount possible. Injury victims often have no idea of the value of their case, and so they may agree to a low settlement amount offered by the insurance company. If you have a skilled and aggressive personal injury lawyer working for you, you can maximize your chance of getting the compensation you deserve.

Beware of “bandit” tow trucks that arrive unsolicited to the scene of the accident. It is unlawful for tow truck drivers to solicit business unless they are called or flagged down. These tow truck drivers may falsely tell you that they were alerted by your insurance company and that the towing charges will be covered by your or the other driver’s insurance. They will ask you to sign paperwork that gives them control over your vehicle, and they will then tow your car to a body shop where it may be held for ransom while you are charged expensive towing and daily storage fees. You should speak with a lawyer before signing any documents related to your case, including documents provided by a tow company. When it doubt, you should initiate the call to roadside assistance or a tow company, and make sure that the driver that arrives was dispatched from the same company you called. Also, make sure to get a written estimate of towing and storage fees before your car is taken away.

At West Coast Trial Lawyers, we have represented many babies who have suffered birth injuries due to defective drugs, medical malpractice, or hospital negligence. While no amount of money can make up for an injury to your baby, the pain and financial burden of a birth injury can be eased by an award that compensates your child for the full consequences of the injury and its long-term effect. The first step when dealing with a tragedy like this is to talk with an attorney at West Coast Trial Lawyers. We have the experience necessary to get your child the compensation needed to live a comfortable life.

If you are still at the scene of the accident, you should call the police (911) immediately. If someone is badly injured, you should request an ambulance. Your first concern should be to get medical attention right away. You can also call us at (888) 888-9285 day or night and we will walk you through all the necessary steps for free. You need to call the police because they are an independent third party that will investigate the cause of the accident. Insurance companies rely on police reports to make decisions about who was at fault. You should also obtain witness information. If anyone is nearby who observed the accident, get his or her name, address, and phone number. Remember, people want to leave the scene of the accident, so try to get their information as soon as possible. Get the other driver’s information, including name, address, phone number, insurance information, vehicle information and license plate number, and take a photo of the registration or write down the name and address of the registered owner. You should preserve evidence of the accident. Take photos of the vehicles involved in the accident and photos of your injuries. Shortly after the accident, it is wise to speak with a lawyer about your options. Your lawyer needs to take immediate action and follow specific procedures to protect your legal rights. At West Coast Trial Lawyers, we provide FREE, no-risk consultations to injured people and their families. Depending on your case, you may be able to recover compensation for your injuries, past medical bills, future medical care, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, and pain and suffering. If the other driver’s insurance company calls (and they will) asking for a statement, do not give them one. You are not obligated to.