Let Our Family Help Your Family
Contact Us for a Free Consultation
Citrus Heights Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyer
Getting into a motor vehicle accident can be stressful. When dealing with a property damage claim, missing time at work to recover after a collision, and figuring out how to pay medical expenses, the last thing that may be on your mind is taking legal action. However, insurance carriers, including your own, are not always on your side. Insurance companies are focused on their bottom line and often offer quick low-ball settlement offers to take advantage of an already vulnerable situation. You should never accept the first settlement offer from an insurance company until you have spoken with a top-rated Citrus Heights personal injury lawyer.Selecting the best attorney to handle your personal injury case is not always straightforward. There are thousands of car accident and personal injury lawyers in California, many of whom offer to accept personal injury claims in the city of Citrus Heights.What to Look for in a Personal Injury Lawyer
A few things you should consider when looking for a lawyer:
- Select a Citrus Heights auto accident attorney that cares about you, your family, and your needs.
- Choose a Citrus Heights personal injury lawyer that practices personal injury law exclusively
- Make sure the Citrus Heights car accident lawyer has a history of taking cases to trial if necessary.
- Pick an attorney with a proven history of high verdicts and settlements.
For suggestions on choosing the best Citrus Heights personal injury lawyer to represent you, read our tips on finding a great attorney, or watch the video below.
About the Law Offices of Edward A SmithAt AutoAccident.com, our Citrus Heights personal injury lawyers work for you and your case to get the financial compensation to which you are entitled. Our Citrus Heights law office is known as the "personal" personal injury law firm because we take the time to get to know you, your background, your hopes, and dreams. We take satisfaction in helping you and your family find positives in what could otherwise be a medical, emotional, and economic disaster. That said, here is a little more information about us.
- I have been handling only personal injury cases since 1982.
- I believe in a holistic approach to personal injury cases.
- Our staff is like a family here.
- I am a member of Consumer Attorney's of California, The Million Dollar Advocates, The Brain Injury Association of California as well as the Capital City Trial Lawyers Association.
- I've written several books on personal injury law including The Ultimate California Auto Injury Handbook and The California Motorcycle Accident Handbook.
- To see all of our testimonials, please see our testimonials page.
Here is a video I recently put together for you about the initial interview with a Citrus Heights personal injury lawyer:
Areas Where Car Accidents Happen the Most in Citrus Heights, CACar accidents occur in various areas of Citrus Heights just as they do in any other area of California. Collisions vary from big rig and truck accidents on Interstate 80 to wrecks at busy intersections along Greenback Lane. While accidents can occur at any intersection some of the busiest include Auburn Blvd, San Juan Ave, Mariposa Ave, and of course Sunrise Blvd at Greenback Lane.
Types of Personal Injury Cases Handled by a Law OfficeThe Citrus Heights personal injury lawyers at the Law Offices of Edward A. Smith cover a wide variety of injuries and assist clients with obtaining financial compensation for everything from bone fractures to wrongful death. We also handle personal injury cases that arise from car crashes, truck collisions, and motorcycle accidents resulting in back trauma, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, and more.
We also work with people who were injured on construction sites, bit by dogs, or need assistance obtaining workers’ compensation. A full list of our practice areas is available here.
Citrus Heights FAQ:I was accused of running a red light in Citrus Heights solely on the “word” of a red light camera. I never ran a red light and am really frustrated by this. Is it legal to do this? Might I have a good defense?
In the City of Citrus Heights, a traffic ticket for a red light camera violation will cost you $512. In my opinion, the Citrus Heights red light traffic city is scandalous and a blatant attempt to obtain money (taxes) from innocent motorists. The light monitoring stations in Citrus Heights are maintained by a private company that gets most of the revenue generated by the tickets. Only $100 of each ticket goes to the City. There is an inherent conflict of interest that does not serve the public well when a private company has a financial incentive to find one guilty of running a red light. The city benefits, the private company benefits, but often the citizen is left holding the bag.
Recently, the Sacramento County Grand Jury released a report stating that the City of Citrus Heights ignores its own policies in overseeing the ref light camera program. It found the city did not properly test, monitor or oversee the maintenance and record-keeping in this program. It also scolded the city for failure to adequately monitor the length of Yellow lights.
My advice is to fight a red light traffic ticket and have it dropped. Besides a $512 fine, your car insurance rates may increase as a result of a red light ticket.
I live in Citrus Heights and had a serious auto accident almost a year ago. I hired a lawyer, but I am unsure if he is handling my personal injury case the right way. My attorney is unresponsive to my questions. Is there a way I can change lawyers to handle my personal injury claim?
Absolutely. I understand how challenging it is to move forward with your life after a car accident and having the right Citrus Heights personal injury lawyer to handle your case is essential. You are welcome to meet with me anytime at my personal injury law firm for a second opinion on your situation. Should you decide to retain me as your attorney, I will handle your case on a contingency fee basis. This means I only get paid if I obtain full and fair compensation on your behalf.
I live in Citrus Heights and am wondering how is responsible if I go to Sunrise Mall or Birdcage Mall and am assaulted or shot. Am I out of luck or is there a way to hold to mall responsible?
Depending on circumstances, the owners of the mall may have full responsibility, partial responsibility or no responsibility. Here’s the law on this topic:
Any person or company that must act and fails to do so can be held responsible for an injury. If the mall owners had knowledge of criminal activity or a pattern of criminal activity and yet they did nothing, they may be accountable. Depending on the facts, perhaps they could have installed better lighting, hired or strengthened their security, put up warning signs or other actions. The focus needs to be on the criminal activity and what might have been done to abate it.
Some of the people who might be responsible are the shopping mall owners, the security company for the mall and the management company. All the potentially responsible parties need to be identified, and the contracts between them analyzed. These contracts often specify who is responsible for security duties and what specific duties they are responsible for. After the contracts are obtained, depositions of the key players need to be taken and the past criminal activity analyzed by experts to see if there is a viable case.
If you are injured by criminal activity in a shopping mall, and if a jury finds liability, then you will be awarded past medical expenses and wage loss as well as reasonably necessary future medical expenses and future loss of earning capacity. You will also be awarded pain and suffering damages for the physical pain and emotional trauma related to your injuries.
I was rear-ended by two cars at a high rate of speed near Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights? I have medical bills of over $30,000 and a wage loss of another $20,000. I don’t know which car caused my damages. Do I still have a case?
Yes, you do. In California, both of the cars that crashed into you are jointly and severally liable for your past and future medical treatment and expenses, lost wages for time missed at work, and loss of future earning potential due to permanent injury). In California, these are called economic damages. So if you had $50,000 in past economic damages, both of them are on the hook for that as well as for any future medical or employment losses you will suffer. This is so even if one of the drivers was only slightly at fault and the other driver was the primary cause of your injury.
For pain and suffering damages (called non-economic damages) each party is only responsible in proportion to his or her fault. So if your pain and suffering damages are found to be $100,000 by a jury and one party is 20 percent at fault, that party will only have to pay $20,000 of that sum.
As a practical matter, the above damages may only be collectible up to the insurance each defendant has unless you have an uninsured/Underinsured auto policy with higher limits.
Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyers in Citrus HeightsI’m Ed Smith, a Citrus Heights personal injury lawyer. If you have been injured after a car accident in the Citrus Heights area, please feel free to call me anytime at (916) 921-6400 or (800) 404-5400 to receive my free, friendly case advice.
We are proud members of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the National Association of Distinguished Counsel.
See our past verdicts/settlements and our client reviews on Yelp, Google, Avvo.
Photo by sandid on Pixabay.com
Editor's Note: This page has been updated for accuracy and relevancy. [cha 6.24.20]
Additional Resources:
