Santa Maria has quickly grown from a small agriculture community to a thriving city. But with such rapid growth also comes increases in Santa Maria car accidents and other types of accidents as more cars congest the roadways and people populate the city. If you are injured in an accident, our Santa Maria personal injury lawyers are ready to help you get the compensation you deserve for your injury. At Harris Personal Injury Lawyers in Santa Maria, our attorneys work diligently with injured victims and provide aggressive legal representation. Our Santa Maria personal injury lawyers call Santa Maria home, and the team at Harris Personal Injury Lawyers can help you recover and help with the complex legal process of filing a personal injury claim. Most personal injury law firms in Santa Maria don't have the success record that Harris Personal Injury Lawyers has. If you or a loved one have been recently injured in an accident caused by another person’s careless actions, you may be entitled to financial compensation for the suffering you’ve incurred.

Our Santa Maria Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help You Too!

Our Santa Maria personal injury law firm was built on the foundation that innocent people deserve high-quality legal representation as large insurance companies have. Our personal injury attorneys primarily focus on accident cases, and Harris Personal Injury Lawyers have represented over 5,000 people and successfully recovered over $300,000,000 for injured victims and their families. Our Santa Maria injury lawyers solely practice personal injury litigation and they have handled all type of personal injury cases. From minor to severe and even fatal injuries. Our Santa Maria attorneys represent victims who have suffered injuries from:

• car accidents,
• motorcycle accidents,
• pedestrian accidents,
• bus accidents,
• train accidents,
• dog bites,
• wrongful death cases and more.

Do I Even Need a Personal Injury Attorney?

At Harris Personal Injury Lawyers, we work only on a contingency fee basis. This means, that if we do not win your case, we do not get paid. Our personal injury lawyers charge no upfront fees and do not have any hidden fees. Our Santa Maria injury attorneys understand the emotional, mental and physical stress an accident can cause in your life and even your family’s life. It is our job to help you seek financial compensation for suffering an injury. At Harris Personal Injury Lawyers, we have worked with many Santa Maria medical professionals, and doctors, and can help facilitate your treatment with them. Getting the necessary amount of treatment will help with the evaluation of your case. If you are worried about payment, we can help facilitate your treatment with doctors or medical professionals who work on a lien basis. This means the bills can be paid for any settlement. Dealing with insurance companies is no easy task, seeking representation prior to discussing any of your injuries is also critical. Harris Personal Injury Lawyers also has many Spanish speaking injury attorneys who can better help our Spanish-speaking clients find local doctors and medical professionals as well.

What Factors Could Influence a Personal Injury Settlement?

After an accident, one of the main questions on the mind of every victim is, “How much is my case worth?” Even for cases that seem fairly routine, this can be a difficult question to answer and will depend on several different factors such as: 

• Severity of Injuries: Generally speaking, the worse your injuries are, the more money you may stand to gain in the form of damages. For example, if you were involved a high-speed collision that left you with a totaled car and the need to complete extensive physical therapy, it will require much more compensation to make you “whole” again than a minor fender-bender in which you do not sustain any serious injuries. 
• Shared Fault: Just because you have sustained serious injuries in an accident doesn’t necessarily mean you will recover full compensation for them. If the accident was in part your fault, your financial award will be reduced by your own percentage of liability. For example, if you were hit by a drunk driver while you were running a red light, it is possible that both of you will share some degree of fault for the accident, so it is unlikely that you will be able to obtain compensation for 100 percent of your damages.  

• Subsequent Actions: Even if you sustained serious injuries in an accident that was entirely the fault of another party, there are certain mistakes after the fact that you must avoid in order to protect your claim. Common errors include deviating from your doctor’s orders, trying to file a lawsuit after the statute of limitations has passed, and posting about your case on social media. Our personal injury lawyers in Santa Maria can help you avoid these and other critical mistakes. 
• The Available Insurance Coverage: Was the liable party insured? What kinds of insurance policies do you carry? If there isn’t enough insurance coverage to pay for your damages, you might be stuck paying the difference out of pocket, because most people don’t have the finances or assets to pay for the damages they cause in accidents. Your attorney can review the available insurance policies, perform a thorough investigation, and explain your options for pursuing compensation.  

Will Expert Witnesses Play a Role in My Case?

Personal injury law is a vast and complicated legal area. This being the case, there are lots of things that that the average jury and even judge might have trouble understanding. There are also a number of complex disputes that can arise regarding medical care, lost wages, preexisting conditions, and other elements of a case. This is where expert witnesses can play a role.   Expert witnesses help to explain relevant concepts and aspects of cases that require specialized knowledge. Certain types of experts pop up in personal injury cases more often than others. Examples include: 

• Car Accident Reconstructionists: Accident reconstructionists conduct detailed investigations and analysis using math and physics principles to uncover more about what happened in an accident. Given certain details, like markings on the ground or damage to vehicles, they are able to provide a clearer picture of how an accident happened and what the most significant contributing factors were. 
• Healthcare Providers: Physicians and other medical professionals often give deposition and testimony in personal injury cases to provide insight into the injuries sustained by the plaintiff, the types of medical interventions needed, and the cost of care.  
• Maintenance Specialists: Maintenance specialists become especially important in cases involving 18-wheelers because trucking companies are held to strict standards regarding how their trucks are maintained. If a motor carrier failed to comply with a particular standard and this contributed to your accident, a maintenance specialist could help your attorney prove the violation and tie the accident to the violation.  
• Financial Experts: A financial expert can provide deposition regarding the future damages the plaintiff is reasonably certain to incur. They can factor in elements such as expected career trajectory and inflation. 
• Vocational Experts: If your injuries will prevent you from returning to the same profession, a vocational expert might provide deposition regarding how your new limitations will inhibit your ability to pursue the same career path.

Can I Use Social Media While My Claim is Pending?

Social media has become such a large part of so many people’s lives that to give it up completely while their claim is pending sounds like a very difficult task. The short answer to this question is that the safest course of action is to completely shut off all social media accounts while your claim is pending. However, if you would like to continue using social media, there are a few tips that you should follow to make sure you don’t jeopardize your claim: 

• Set Accounts to Private: If your accounts are open and viewable to the public, then it is important that you switch them to private. However, keep in mind that there may still be ways for the opposing party to access your posts.  
• Don’t Accept Friend Requests: According to the ethical rules that lawyers are required to follow in most states, lawyers and their staff are not allowed to contact people who have representation while their case is pending without the consent of their lawyer. “Contact” could mean sending a friend request or a request to follow. However, even though this conduct is arguably unethical, some attorneys may try to dig for information by sending a friend request or having someone who works for them send a request. The bottom line is you should not accept any new friend requests while your claim is pending. 
• Don’t Discuss Your Case Online: You might post something about your accident that appears entirely benign, but when looked at through a different lens, it becomes evidence against your case. As such, it is best to avoid posting anything whatsoever about your case, accident, or injury. This can be difficult given that a sudden accident is such a noteworthy event, but it is essential for protecting your case.

Compassionate Personal Injury Attorneys in Santa Maria

At Harris Personal Injury Lawyers in Santa Maria, we have the knowledge and skill to know how insurance adjusters work. Insurance companies are likely on your side until you request more medical treatment. That is where our Santa Maria personal injury lawyers come into play. Our lawyers know that insurance adjusters are forced to diminish the value of your personal injury claim. Our personal injury lawyers can take over all the communication between insurance companies and help get you treatment without feeling pressure from insurance companies. It is important to seek the necessary amount of treatment for your injuries to ensure you’re on the path to recovery. At Harris Personal Injury Lawyers, we understand that suffering an injury is a major life inconvenience and we will help fight for you by getting you maximum compensation for the suffering you’ve incurred.

Don’t Deal with Insurance Companies Alone - Contact our Santa Maria Law Firm for a Free Case Consultation

Our personal injury lawyers in Santa Maria take an aggressive approach when handling personal injury claims. However, our team at Harris Personal Injury Lawyers is known to be compassionate and forthright.  Harris Personal Injury Lawyers offers free consultations over the phone or in person. If you cannot make it into our office, we can come to you. Our Santa Maria team is available 24/7. Se habla espanol.