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Citrus Heights Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, an experienced and highly-rated attorney in the Sacramento and Citrus Heights area. I am personally involved with your case and work hard to get you the settlement which you deserve, and I have done so since 1982.
Choosing a Personal Injury AttorneySelecting a Citrus Heights personal injury attorney is not an easy task. There are thousands of personal injury attorneys and auto accident attorneys in California, many of whom offer to accept cases in Citrus Heights.
A few things for you to consider:
- 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 more tips on selecting an attorney to represent you read Tips to finding a great personal injury lawyer, or watch the video below.
About the Law Offices of Edward A SmithWe work for you and your case to get the best outcome for you possible. My firm is known as the "personal" personal injury law firm because we take the time to get to know you, your background, your hopes and your 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 personal injury lawyer:
Accidents and injuries in Citrus HeightsCar 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.
We cover a wide variety of injuries and assist clients with obtaining compensation for everything from ankle sprains to wrongful death.
Car, truck, SUV and motorcycle accidents involve fractured, shattered, and broken bones, brain injuries, whiplash and more and 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 FAQs:Q: 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?
A: In Citrus Heights, a conviction of running a red light 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 to anyone given a ticket relying on red light traffic tickets is to fight them. Besides a $512 fine, your insurance rates will likely rise for several years if you are convicted or plead guilty.
Q: I live in Citrus Heights and had a serious accident almost a year ago. I hired an attorney but am unsure if he is handling my case the right way. He seems very unresponsive to my questions. Is there a way I can meet with you informally just to see if you think my case is on track?
A: Absolutely. Be glad to meet with you anytime at my office for a second opinion. Also, after a hard week, I’ve been known to have a drink at the Elephant Bar Restaurant in Arden. Happy Hour is 3-6Pm Monday thru Friday. Be glad to discuss your Citrus Heights accident over a beer.
Q: 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?
A: 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 damages for pain and suffering.
Q: 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?
A: Yes, you do. In California, both of the cars that struck you are jointly and severally liable for your medical bills and wage loss (Past and future). 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.
Citrus Heights Car Accident and Personal Injury LawyerI’m Ed Smith, a Citrus Heights car accident and personal injury lawyer. If you have been involved in an auto accident or sustained a personal injury in Citrus Heights, call me at 916.921.6400 or 800.404.5400 for free, friendly 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 12.5.19]
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