Rancho Cordova Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyer

Incorporated in 2003 and named after Cordova Vinyard, Rancho Cordova is home to many healthcare and other employers. Over 50,000 people commute to the area just for work. Unfortunately, motorists involved in accidents often discover that the responsible party has their own best interests in mind. 

Car accidents of all types occur in Rancho Cordova. Highway 50  passes through here and is a heavily trafficked route for trucks and big rigs. Sometimes accidents take place on the on-ramps and off-ramps to Highway 50.  Highway 50 on-ramps include:

• Bradshaw Road
• Mather Field Road
• Zinfandel Drive
• Sunrise Blvd
• Aerojet Road

Some of the major roads in Rancho Cordova include:

• Folsom Blvd
• International Drive
• White Rock Road
• Coloma Road
• Mather Field Road

We cover a wide range of injuries and assist clients with obtaining compensation for everything from ankle sprains to wrongful death. 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. 

Selecting a 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 Rancho Cordova. A few things for you to consider:

• Select an attorney that cares about you, your family, and your needs.
• Choose a lawyer that practices personal injury law exclusively
• Make sure the 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 I made on YouTube.

We work for you and your family to get the best outcome. 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 Forum, The Brain Injury Association of California as well as the Capital City Trial Lawyers Association.
• You can see our ratings on Yelp and Avvo.
• I've written several books on personal injury law on Amazon.com including The Ultimate California Auto Injury Handbook and The California Motorcycle Accident Handbook.
• Here are some of our past verdicts and settlements.
• To see all of our testimonials please see our testimonials page.

Q. I live in Rancho Cordova, and there has been an abandoned vehicle in front of my house for months. How do I get it removed?

A. The easiest way to get an abandoned vehicle removed in Rancho Cordova is to go thru the Rancho Cordova Police site. You will find the form to report an abandoned vehicle at the Rancho Cordova Police Department traffic website. 

Q. If I'm in a serious accident in Rancho Cordova will the police always come and make a police report or accident report?

A. No, they will not. The Rancho Cordova police department is cutting costs and unfortunately, leaving individuals in accidents at risk.

The Rancho Cordova police will only make an accident report or police report where:

• You are the victim of a hit and run driver
• Alcohol or drugs are involved (But how do they know unless they show up?)
• City or County property is damaged
• There is an injury or complaint of pain

A few comments here. Notice that if the City's property is damaged, they make a report. How about the innocent driver whose brand new car is destroyed by a negligent driver? Sorry, even though that accident report would help you immensely in proving who is at fault, the Rancho Cordova police department doesn't care. It's one standard for City property and another for yours.

Even more damaging is the failure to show up unless someone is in pain. Really, this is very ill-thought-out. Most people in a severe accident are in shock. Complaints of pain, except in the most severe cases arise 24-48 hours after the crash when effusion and swelling result. Any doctor knows this.

Nonetheless, the Rancho Cordova police will not come to the scene unless you complain of injury or pain. This can seriously imperil your ability to provide for your family if your ability to work is impaired and the accident documentation is missing.

Note: This has nothing to do with Rancho Cordova officers. They are just following the dictates of the politico's who make the rules. This policy needs to be changed, and only citizens complaining to the Rancho Cordova representatives can change it.

Q. I was struck by a truck in Rancho Cordova and filed a lawsuit. Now I am finding out that the defendant’s attorney has issued a subpoena for all of my past medical records. Can they do that?

A. When someone files a lawsuit for personal injury, to a certain extent, they may waive the ability to keep private past medical records which would generally be protected from discovery by HIPPA. Usually, the defense is allowed to ask for previous medical records for a reasonable period (typically five years) for any medical condition that you are claiming injury for in the accident.

So, if you suffered a knee injury in an accident, they would usually be entitled to subpoena medical records for five years or so before the accident dealing with any knee conditions. This is fair because the defense does not feel it needs to compensate you if the medical records show you claimed knee problems for many years before the current accident. (Notwithstanding this, you may well have a claim for aggravation of a prior knee injury.

The defense is NOT allowed (over objection) to subpoena “any and all past medical records.” Actually, though, notice I said: “over objection.” Almost always the defense attorney will subpoena any and all past medical records and will not even specify whether the documents pertaining to the injury you are claiming. Insurance companies like to go on fishing expeditions to see if they can find anything detrimental or embarrassing in your past medical records and then try to use that against you.

An experienced attorney will immediately object to the production and seek to limit the subpoena to the areas you are claiming injury and going back only 5 years or so. If the defense does not agree to limit its subpoena, the attorney will seek a protective order from the court to limit the subpoena.

The California case of Britt v Superior Court holds that consumers have a reasonable expectation of privacy of their past medical records even if they file suit for injuries. If you have any questions about the privacy of your California medical records, call me anytime at 916.921.6400.

Q. At the conclusion of a personal injury lawsuit, what type of accounting is my personal injury attorney supposed to give?

A. At the end of the lawsuit and before the attorney has you sign the settlement check from the other party’s insurance, the attorney should give you a Settlement Statement that fully explains the settlement amount and any deductions from such amount. Amongst the deductions are the following:

• Attorney fees as specified in the contract with your attorney, These are typically deducted from the settlement first.
• Court Costs or, in other words, a listing of all expenses prepaid by your lawyer to move your case forward. Amongst such costs can be filing fees, fees for depositions, expert fees, and exhibit preparation fees. 
• Reimbursement amounts are deducted next. Frequently, also, the attorney will be reimbursed for the interest incurred on the expenses he advanced.
• Medical liens or government liens or reimbursement liens are to be itemized. Government agencies such as Medicare and Medi-Cal pay bills upfront for clients in an accident, but by statute must be repaid out of the settlement. Most of the time, your attorney should be able to reduce these liens somewhat. If there is a medical lien from a Doctor or chiropractor, that also must be paid.

After all of the above expenses, the remainder is paid to the client. If your attorney does not itemize the expenses above, you do not need to sign the check from the insurer until he does.

I’m Ed Smith, a Rancho Cordova Accident Lawyer. If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in an accident in or around Rancho Cordova, call me anytime at 916.921.6400 or 800.404.5400 for free, friendly advice.

We are members of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the National Association of Distinguished Counsel.

See a list of our past cases on our verdicts and settlements page and our client reviews on Avvo, Yelp, Google.

Photo by FilterGrade on Unsplash

Editor’s Note: This page has been updated for accuracy and relevancy [cha 12.26.19]

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