Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

As a rule, if you have a serious injury, you should not try to "go it alone." The same as if you had a complex problem with your car's engine, you should take it to a professional.

It sounds like your case is serious, because risk management for a transit authority does not usually go to a claimant's house for an interview. They only have one thing in mind: to hurt your case. They will try to find a way to blame you for your fall, or to make your injuries seem less than they are. Do not go forward alone unless you are VERY confident in your own abilities. But if you were that confident, you wouldn't have posted this question, would you?

If you need more detailed involvement, feel free to contact me directly at (877) LION-FOR-LAW (546-6367)

Hello.

There are a lot of creatives ways for the risk management consultant to ask you questions and elicit answers not favorable to your claim. Therefore it's better to postpone that meeting until you have representation. There is no downside to that and you are not legally obligated to meet with their representative - at least not at this point.

Thanks,

Arkady Itkin

San Francisco & Sacramento Injury Lawyer

http://www.arkadylaw.com

What you are really asking is whether you think an attorney will be worth his or her percentage fee in terms of an increased settlement. Or, perhaps, you are asking whether you can try to settle this case yourself and then, if you aren't happy with the offer, hire an attorney, or whether by that time you will have messed up the case.

You should be aware of the following:

1) The fact that the Risk Management Consultant wants to take your statement is not an admission of liability. It is unlikely that the bus driver slammed on the brakes just for the fun of seeing his passengers fall down. He and the bus company probably have a defense such as some driver or pedestrian cut in front of the bus and the only prudent thing for the bus driver to do was to hit the brakes hard.

2) The person who will interview you is likely a skilled "people person." This person will display great empathy for your injury and give you impression that the bus company wants to compensate you. But really what this person will want to do is to pin you down on symptoms and injuries and limitations to your claim. Let me give you an example of an insurance adjuster who once bragged to me about he investigated a claim. A man died and his widow put in a claim for death benefits under his life insurance policy. The adjuster flew to her town and went to her apartment. After some chit chat and condolences, the adjuster, a big friendly bear of a man, smiled and said, "I'm sorry, my stomach is a bit upset from the plane ride. May I use your bathroom?" Of course, the widow sympathetically agreed. Once inside the bathroom the adjuster took out a camera and photographed every medication in the medicine cabinet. Later his insurance company denied the claim on the basis that the dead husband was taking medicine for an undisclosed medical condition and had lied on his insurance application.

There are many issues that need to be addressed before advising you on what to do; however, as a general rule, you should not allow an interview with the transit representative, whose job it is to minimize the value of your case. A few of the questions I have follow:

When did the incident happen?

What are your injuries and your symptoms? Many times symptoms grow worse over time and what initially seems like a strain or ache can end up with increasing symptoms demonstrative of a major injury. If you tell the transit representative that your injuries only seem slight, this can hurt your case tremendously, if your symptoms last and /or progress.

Why did the driver slam on the brakes? Was the driver not paying attention to the traffic light and traffic ahead of the bus or did someone run into the intersection, etc?

Where were you seated on the bus and what parts of your body struck what parts of the bus? If you have or develop bruising or scrapes, be sure to take photographs of those injuries and take more if they grow in size or darken or change color or swell.

I am available to provide you free advice, if you would like to call me, without any obligation on your part. I am available 7 days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

You can call me at (925) 957-6732.