Poway Car Accident Attorney

A serious car accident is a devasting and traumatic experience. It’s even more distressing when it was a preventable accident that occurred due to someone else’s negligence. In California, it matters who causes an accident. The state’s comparative negligence insurance laws allow injury victims to recover compensation from an at-fault driver, lax road maintenance company, or manufacturer of a defective car part, depending on the cause of the accident. In most cases, the at-fault party’s insurance company pays out on an injury victim’s claim for damages.

However, the process of gaining full compensation for your damages plus an amount for pain and suffering is challenging. Insurance companies exist to make profits and prioritize this goal over paying out on claims. An experienced San Diego personal injury attorney from Haffner & Morgan, LLP, can aggressively defend your rights and best interests against powerful insurance companies who look for reasons to lowball or deny claims.

If you’ve been hurt in a car accident in Poway, you need an ally fighting for your claim while you fight to recover from your injuries.

Why Choose Our Poway Car Accident Attorneys

The San Diego car accident attorneys at Haffner & Morgan, LLP, have combined decades of experience navigating even the most challenging car accident claims with a track record of success. You can trust an effective and efficient legal team that delivers the following:

Case Results

At Haffner & Morgan, our 99% success rate gives us a position of strength when negotiating your injury claim with insurance companies who know how hard we fight for justice and compensation for our injured clients. We have recovered millions of dollars for our clients from car accident cases alone.

Expertise

Our experienced attorneys have years of experience investigating accidents, proving liability, and calculating the maximum in damages to draft a compelling case for your financial recovery

Professionalism

The legal team at Haffner & Morgan, LLP, understands how intimidating it is to take on the legal system while you’re recovering from injuries. We’ll handle your case with compassion and efficiency, keeping you in the loop through every stage of the process. We keep open lines of communication so you’re never left in the dark about the progress of your case.

Types of Car Accidents in Poway

When drivers fail to follow traffic laws or become distracted behind the wheel, the result can be a serious car accident with injuries to others. Common types of car accidents in Poway include the following:

T-bone accidents or angle collisions
Head-on collisions
Rear-end collisions
Sideswipe accidents
Rollover accidents
Roadway departures
Car vs. commercial truck accident
Multi-car pileups

Proving liability in any of the above types of car accidents requires an investigation to determine the cause of the accident and who is at fault. An experienced attorney also consults with accident reconstruction experts when necessary to determine how the accident occurred and to make a compelling argument in negotiations for a settlement or to a jury in court.

What Kinds of Injuries Occur in Car Accidents?

The crash force in a collision is powerful. According to the crash force calculator developed by the Montana Department of Transportation, a 120-pound person becomes a 6,600-pound force in a car accident at 55 miles per hour. This force propels the vehicle occupants against the seatbelt and then snaps them back against the seat, all while the structures of the vehicle collapse inward with potential impacts against motorists. Common injuries in car accidents include the following:

Traumatic brain injuries
Fractures
Back injuries
Neck injuries
Thoracic injuries
Internal organ damage
Soft tissue injuries to wrists, shoulders, knees, or ankles
Facial injury
Burns
Spinal cord injury

Injuries are painful, debilitating, and potentially life-altering depending on the severity and type of injury suffered. When the accident was preventable and only occurred due to someone else’s actions, the at-fault party is liable for damages. Sadly, insurance companies often protect their profits at the victim’s expense by disputing claims and using other tactics to limit payouts.

How Do Insurance Companies Dispute, Delay, or Deny Car Accident Claims in Poway?

A car accident results in economic damages as well as pain and suffering, but insurance companies are private businesses that exist to make profits, despite their compassionate ads. After an accident, insurance companies are not on your side. They may use any or all of the following tactics to protect their profits:

Present you with a settlement offer very quickly, before you know the full cost of your damages
Call on a recorded line and use your words against you later
Obtain medical authorization to look at your injury record and then access your medical history to find pre-existing conditions or previous injuries to claim are the true cause of your symptoms
Follow your social media to “catch” you looking fit and healthy, even if you are smiling through your pain
Claiming your doctor-recommended medical treatment isn’t necessary
Disputing the claim on the grounds that the minor damage to your car means you cannot be as injured as you claim

Instead of dealing with the insurance company assigned to your case, it’s best to seek representation through a Poway car accident lawyer and then direct all the insurance company representatives to your attorney.

What to Do After a Car Accident in Poway

When the dust settles after a serious car accident, it can be hard to keep a cool head while you’re hurt and frightened, but by taking specific steps using your phone as a tool, you can protect your physical and financial future. After an accident, do the following, or ask someone else to use your phone to take the following steps on your behalf:

First, call 911 to report the accident and request paramedics
Take photos of the accident scene
Photograph damaged vehicles and any visible injuries you have
Record a statement about how the accident happened while it’s fresh in your mind
Gather the contact information of other drivers and eyewitnesses
At the hospital, have a complete evaluation and tell the doctor about every symptom, even if it seems minor
Get a detailed medical report, a copy of the police report, and keep all medical bills and related receipts
Call the attorneys at Haffner & Morgan for a free consultation
Direct all contact with the insurance companies to your lawyer

What Compensation is Available For Auto Accidents?

Injuries from car accidents quickly become costly. A successful Poway car accident claim is your first step toward recovery. With Haffner & Morgan, LLP, behind you, you’ll gain compensation for the following damages:

Property damage to your vehicle
Medical costs and future medical expenses if your injury requires further treatment
Lost wages and future lost wages
Diminished earning capacity if your accident left you disabled
Pain and suffering
Other damages that might apply in your case like disfigurement compensation, limb loss, PTSD, or loss of pleasure in life

Car accidents in San Diego cause both economic damages and intangible, non-economic damages like pain and suffering. Your attorney from Haffner & Morgan, LLP, will carefully calculate your damages to bring you the maximum possible compensation.

Will I Need to Go to Court for a Car Accident Claim?

The vast majority of car accident claims in San Diego County settle out of court through skilled negotiations between a car accident attorney and the insurance company of the liable party. Only in the event that the insurance company denies your valid claim or seriously underestimates your compensation does the case become a lawsuit in court. If unable to secure an ample settlement, your Poway car accident attorney will file a lawsuit within the state’s statute of limitations.

What is the Statute of Limitations for Car Accidents in California?

If your case isn’t settled out of court, California allows up to two years from the date of the accident in which to file a lawsuit to seek compensation through a judge and jury. This time limit exists to protect defendants from the long-term threat of lawsuits and to ensure cases come before a jury while the evidence is still available.

Car Accident Recovery Tips

It isn’t easy to bounce back from the pain and trauma of a car accident and resume your normal life. In some cases, life-altering injuries may require an adjustment to a new normal. While no two accidents or injuries are the same, there are ways to maximize your physical recovery while your attorney works on your financial recovery:

Carefully follow all of your doctor’s orders and attend every appointment and followup
Get plenty of rest, fluids, and a healthy diet to maximize your body’s ability to heal
Don’t attempt to return to work before you’re physically and emotionally able
Keep a pain journal recording your pain level and the accident’s impact on your daily routine
Speak to a counselor if you have lingering anxiety, difficulty sleeping, flashbacks, or depression
Engage in physical activity to keep moving, but only what you’re doctor has expressly okayed for your condition

It’s important to place your healing and recovery at the top of your priority list, even if you’re accustomed to taking care of everyone else.

What If a Loved One Died in a Car Accident in Poway?

When a car accident causes fatal injury to a loved one, close family members can recover compensation for losses like the income the deceased loved one would have earned if they survived, and compensation for grief and anguish. A wrongful death claim after a car accident helps family members move forward from their grief with fewer financial concerns. If the circumstances of the car accident could have allowed the deceased family member to file a personal injury claim had they survived, then a close family member like a spouse, parent, or adult child can file a wrongful death claim after a Poway car accident. Contact our wrongful death lawyers in San Diego today.

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Contact The Poway Car Accident Lawyers at Haffner & Morgan Today

California allows injury victims to recover damages even if they were partly at fault for the accident. Reach out to the Poway car accident attorneys at Haffner & Morgan, LLP, today to arrange your free consultation. We only take a fee if you gain compensation for your damages so you pay nothing up front. Let us begin a strategy for your financial recovery so you can focus on your physical recovery.