Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

Re: Rear-ended over a year ago, still in pain, now what?

I would take your case and handle it correctly. Settlment can occur within 3 months, but it depends. It might go to trial which could take about a year before judgment.

Re: Rear-ended over a year ago, still in pain, now what?

There is no clear answer to your questions. Obviously the driver of the other vehicle is liable for his negigence, and in theory the law will allow you to recover fair compensation for all of your monetary losses and for your pain and suffering, both past and in the future. I don't know the nature and extent of the insurance available covering the driver, your uninsured or underinsured motorist protection, whether the other driver was in someone else's employ when the accident occured and acting with the course and scope of his employment, whether the scene of the accident presented and unreasonably dangerous condition of which the governmental agency responsible for the road had notice, or whether the collision occured in part because of brake or other mechanical failure.

The job of the attorney is to be sure that his client collect all that is possible to collect from the circumstances of the case. Generally speaking, the client does not fare as well without an attorney. But, there are exceptions. Your prior attorney did not want to answer questions. You were right to fire that attorney. I would get an attorney who will be communicative.

I don't know if your injuries are soft tissue or otherwise. There are too many unanwered questions to give you much specific feedback.

Re: Rear-ended over a year ago, still in pain, now what?

You have some significant problems. You may have substantial difficulty proving all of your losses. You should go to an attorney's office and interview the attorney before deciding whether to hire the attorney. Both small and large firms have competent attorneys.

Take your police report, your insurance information and any information about your claimed losses to your appointment. Act promptly as delay may cause the case to be more difficult to prove. If a public entity contributed to your loss you may have already waited too long.

In this day, insurance companies have become more demanding and less willing to pay claims. This is in part due to their political agenda. They continue to try to blame lawyers for loss of jobs, for making products more expensive, and for rising medical costs, when claims have been declining, suits have been fewer and the insurance companies have been losing money on investments.

Lawyers are watchdogs of peoples rights and help make companies make products safer, and force the medical and drug companies to be careful. Lawyers care about people and their rights.