FAQs

Frequently Asked Question

Helping clients in Northern California win legal victories for over 25 years.
Do I need an attorney for a car accident?

Many accident cases are about damages. In order to recover from the other party or your own insurance company there must be liability. Once you have liability then it’s about the value of the case based on your harms and losses. An attorney knows what information is necessary to document your injuries so that you can be paid to fix, help and give you money to make it right. Cases have values which are based on the ICD 10’s and CPT codes, loss of earnings and disabilities. Accident injury attorneys with experience may guide you through the twists and turns. Contact an attorney as soon as possible and DO NOT TALK with the negligent parties insurance company. Let David Asch be your guide.

Will I make more money with an attorney?

This depends on your case. Damages in a minimal impact soft tissue case require attorney’s to reduce their fees in order to compensate you. David Asch will reduce his fees and guide his clients in order to be fixed and make it right for them regardless of the property damage. Many insurance companies have a belief of “no crash, no cash”. The Law Office of David Asch will assist many clients with going to Small Claims court where the court can award up to $10,000.00.
In catastrophic and serious injury cases attorneys can maximize the recovery because their knowledge of insurance policies and finding money is the goal. By analogy, the first thing to do when opening a board game is to read the rules. The rules in personal injury cases are complicated and require skill, experience and knowledge. David Asch has these qualifications.

Question: What is a demand letter?

Insurance companies require the injured party to make a demand for their losses. Calling an adjuster and asking them for what is fair will end up with a poor result. The concepts are demand, talk and take. Demand more than you think the case is worth. The insurance company will make their first offer. You come back with a counter demand and they will give you the drop dead number. There is nothing to be paid to you once you settle the case. An attorney knows the value of the case and how to work to get the value of the case with a demand letter. Duties under duress, loss of enjoyment of life, hedonistic damages, infliction of emotional distress as well as identifying the key words an insurance claims adjuster need to pay the most on the case.

I don't have medical insurance, how do I get treatment? 

The insurance company will only pay you for treatment you have already received. They do not give you money to see any doctor you want. Attorneys’ sign liens with health care providers so the client is able to get treatment now and pay later. David Asch has many contacts with health care providers from chiropractors, medical doctors, MRI’s, x-rays, in addition to pharmacies. Call David Asch to find out a doctor who will work on a lien near you.

How fast can I get my personal injury case money?

Insurance companies will offer minimal amounts of money as soon as they are contacted. This is before you have been seen by a medical provider and don’t know what your case is worth. Frequently an insurance company will pay you directly by placing the money in your account and consider the case settled even if you don’t sign an insurance release. DO NOT TAKE ANY MONEY until you know what your injuries include. Call an attorney to determine if your settlement makes sense and if this is in your best interest. Many clients’ belief that they can later go back to the insurance company and get more money for medical bills. This is FALSE. Do not accept any money until you speak with an attorney.

My sister got more money without an attorney with the same injuries, why do I need an attorney?

Cases are based on many factors. Some insurance companies evaluate claims with a strict standard based on the injuries especially for soft tissue injuries. These are called “subjective” complaint as the only person who knows you are injured is you. The doctor is told you are hurt. There are no objective findings i.e. MRI’s, x-rays showing broken bones, PET or CT scans which are objective and easy to conclude you are injured. Subjective claims need an attorney to guide you through the process. Other factors have to do with the loss of earnings, loss of consortium for a spouse who shares the fate of your partner all are additions to the value of a case.

Do I have to go to court?

Attorney fees typically increase because the attorney is spending a lot of time on your case. Costs can vary from $5,000.00 to $50,000.00 for all of the experts, depositions, discovery, court reporters, demonstrative evidence, forensic analysis, accountant in professional, vocational rehabilitation experts etc. 

Depends on the case and the offer to resolve the claim. The case must be filed with a court within the statute of limitations for a personal injury case. Some cases will have to be filed in the court in order to have a chance to have a new set of eye’s look at the case. Defense attorneys can in some cases provide an opportunity to get more money. Once a case is filed does not mean it will be resolved only by a jury of your peers. The courts have limited resources and their goal is to settle as many cases as possible without using a courtroom, judge, bailiff, court room attendant, clerk as well as court reporters. The court will set up many steps to get the case settled not limited to mandatory settlement conferences, mediations, arbitration, binding arbitration as well as the final determination a jury trial. Even if a jury is chosen the case may still be settled prior to the jury deliberating. 

How Do I calculate Pain & Suffering in a personal Injury case? 

The law provides for the injured party the cost to fix, help and give you money to make it right. The fixing are called “Special Damages” and they are your medical bills, out of pocket, mileage, copayments, and your past wage loss. The “make it right” are known as “General Damages” or the “pain and suffering”. There is NO MULTIPLIER number i.e. take your specials and multiple by three. Common sense would tell you that if you lost your right arm and the medical specials were $25,000.00 then the pain and suffering would be $75,000.00. Clearly your arm is worth more than this. The per diem way is to take the days you were hurt and put a number to this which obviously is purely subjective. Insurance companies evaluate pain and suffering statistically. 

There are value ranges for certain injuries and claims. A “First Party” claim is the best for the injured person i.e. you go through your own insurance company via uninsured or underinsured motorist provisions. Implied in every insurance contract are a duty of loyalty, putting your interest ahead of the insurance companies and a duty not to be adversarial. Pain and suffering from a “Third Party”, this is when you are the first party, your insurance company is the second party and the at fault driver is the third party. The insurance company will protect their insured and be adversarial with you so as to not put their insured at risk of paying the claim with their assets. The Law Office of David Asch has this experience to give you a better idea with a brief consultation. 

Truly, “pain and suffering” is like saying you have a car. If I asked you to find my car you would have no idea unless I told you it was a 1973 lime green Ford Pinto station wagon with a flat tire and broken windshield. No problem finding this in a parking lot. Notice the impression this gives about my car – a piece of junk. The fear, anxiety, loss of sleep, inability to sit or stand comfortably, the missed holidays, birthdays, sports in addition to the anger, resentment, sadness and despair that are haunting your life. The Law Office of David Asch will assist with identifying those losses which gave your life meaning and joy. 
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