over three decades of legal experience
Over $100M Recovered for our clients
Extensive Jury Trial Experience
Seeking Justice & Fighting For Your Right To Compensation
If you are a car crash victim in search of uncompromising, expert legal representation, there’s no better firm to work with than Delfino, Green & Green. We are intimately familiar with the challenges facing most injury victims, including financial, physical and psychological obstacles. Call us at (415) 442-4646 to schedule your free consultation today.
Car accidents happen everyday. They’re so commonplace that most people barely bat an eye when they see a collision’s aftermath on the side of the road. However, it’s important to remember that not all car accidents are the same or carry the same consequences.
A light fender bender is an accident, but it’s not really a wreck. In most of these cases, all the parties involved walk away unscathed, although whiplash and similar injuries do at times occur. While it’s still smart to hire an experienced car accident attorney to negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf, the stakes are relatively low.
Serious collisions, on the other hand, are anything but low-stakes. Passengers and drivers may suffer tremendous physical injuries, financial setbacks and lifelong consequences—even when the accident wasn’t their fault. How is that fair?
At Delfino, Green & Green, we don’t believe it is. Although we can’t stop car accidents from affecting innocent people, we can help ensure they don’t suffer financially for someone else’s mistakes. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about car accident lawsuits, who is eligible to file them and how we can help you get your life back on track.
When you’re feeling compromised by a serious injury, knowing you have a compassionate, knowledgeable lawyer on your side can make all the difference. Contact us today to start working with a top San Francisco car accident attorney without paying a dime upfront.
Get In Touch To Seek Compensation
Injured? Get in touch with a skilled San Francisco car accident lawyer from our firm today to seek compensation.
Do You Need A Car Accident Lawyer? Here’s How To Tell
Some people like to tough-out a bad situation, even when it’s not in their best interest. However, most folks draw the line when a situation starts to negatively impact their family members and loved ones. Although starting a lawsuit is probably the last thing on your mind after a car accident, there are many practical, compelling reasons to do so.
Your Family Could Suffer Financially
In serious car accidents, it’s not just your vehicle that’s at risk of being totaled—it’s your physical body, well-being and finances, too. And when you’re part of a family, what affects you also affects them. Here are some of the ways a car accident can devastate you financially:
- Lost wages. Many people live paycheck-to-paycheck. If you’re hospitalized for weeks, you could lose essential income, or, in worst-case scenarios, you could lose your job altogether.
- Medical expenses. It goes without saying that healthcare in the U.S. is expensive. Depending on the severity of your injuries, you may be leaving the hospital with tremendous debt that you have no way to pay off.
- Permanent disability. Some injuries are so catastrophic that they leave you unable to work at all. Although disabled individuals can receive government benefits, it’s rarely more than enough to just scrape by.
- Property damage. If a negligent driver totaled your only car, you’ve lost your transportation. Without a car, you may be spending money you don’t have to spare just to get around.
These are far from the only ways a serious car accident can jeopardize your financial future. So think about it: If you didn’t cause the accident, should you really be paying the price?
You May Need Long-Term Care
The extent of every injury is not always immediately apparent. Even if you’re confident you can hold your finances together now without seeking compensation, you may not feel the same way in the future. Your injuries may never fully heal, require physical therapy and specialized care, or you might develop debilitating depression and anxiety as a result of your trauma. The point is, you just don’t know. Although we’re not in the business of predicting the future, we’ve handled many, many car accident cases and seen their latent effects. Even when car accident victims make a seemingly full recovery from severe injuries, there are almost always unforeseen ripple-effects that appear in the future. Securing compensation now can protect you from that scenario.
The Negligent Driver Should Be Held Accountable
Some negligent drivers are like children who keep touching the stove until they get burned: They repeat the same dangerous behaviors until they suffer the consequences. If your accident was caused by a driver’s reckless actions, letting them off the hook isn’t doing anyone any favors. In fact, it could enable them to harm others in the future. By filing a lawsuit against the at-fault party, you not only have a chance to receive the compensation you deserve, but also to teach them a valuable lesson. Drivers who are sued for their negligent behavior may be a little more careful when they hit the road in the future.
Contact Us
Call us today at 415-442-4646 or contact us online to schedule your free case evaluation with one of our knowledgeable auto accident lawyers in San Francisco.
California’s Car Accident Laws
California is a “fault” state when it comes to car accidents, meaning that the at-fault driver (or more accurately, their insurance company) will shoulder the financial cost of the crash and any resulting injuries. Injured parties may recover compensation for injuries and property damages up to the limits of the at-fault driver’s policy. However, if the injured party’s losses exceed those limits, or if the driver was uninsured or underinsured, they may sue the at-fault driver for additional damages. It’s important to understand that establishing fault is not always easy and multiple parties may be to blame for a collision. In these situations, each party will be partially financially responsible for their share of blame in causing the collision. Under California’s comparative fault laws, car accident victims may still recover compensation when they are found partially responsible for the crash. However, their eligible recovery will be reduced by a percentage equal to their level of fault. For example, say you were injured in a crash and suffered $100,000 worth of damages. At trial, a jury finds you to be 20% at fault for the crash. In this case, you would only be able to recover $80,000 total (or $100,000 less 20%). Insurance companies are well-versed in the rules of comparative negligence and will likely use this knowledge to pressure you into accepting a far lower settlement than you deserve. However, they also don’t want to risk litigation that results in them paying you even more. That’s why they are more likely to compensate you fairly when you’re working with an attorney.
Car Accident FAQ
At the end of the day, every car accident is different. A thousand tiny factors contribute to its exact circumstances, and dissecting it can be challenging. If you’re confused about the car accident lawsuit process, you can contact Delfino, Green & Green for answers. In the meantime, check our FAQ section for more information.
How Long Do I Have to File?
We know that when you’re recovering from serious injuries, the last thing you want to do is think about a complicated lawsuit. However, you should know that in California, you have two years from the date of the incident to file your claim. After that period has elapsed, you are no longer eligible to sue for compensation.
Can I File a Claim after Insurance Pays?
We know that when you’re recovering from serious injuries, the last thing you want to do is think about a complicated lawsuit. However, you should know that in California, you have two years from the date of the incident to file your claim. After that period has elapsed, you are no longer eligible to sue for compensation.
Do I Need to Hire a Car Accident Attorney?
Technically, you don’t need to hire an attorney to file a lawsuit, but that’s kind of like saying you don’t need a dentist to pull a wisdom tooth. With more than three decades of car accident experience, our firm has seen it all; we’ve overcome every possible roadblock. So although you can file on your own, working with an expert will likely make it much easier.
How Do I Determine the At-Fault Party?
If it isn’t immediately apparent who the at-fault party is in a car accident, there may be something going on behind the scenes. One of the benefits of working with a San Francisco car accident attorney is that they can conduct a thorough investigation to determine fault.
What Types of Compensation Can I Receive?
In some car accident cases, injury victims can include both economic and non-economic damages in their settlement figures. That means in addition to concrete amounts, such as medical expenses, the injured party may also be eligible to receive compensation for intangible damages, such as pain and suffering.
Our Promise to You
At Delfino, Green & Green, we realize that car accident victims in the Bay Area have numerous options when it comes to legal representation. What sets us apart from other firms is three-fold: our vast legal experience, relentless dedication to our clients and the compassionate approach we take to each and every case.
Schedule Your Free Car Accident Consultation
Ready to partner with a top San Francisco car accident attorney? Visit us online or give us a call at (415) 442-4646 to schedule your free consultation. You won’t encounter any surprise fees or upfront costs, and in fact, you won’t pay us anything until you receive compensation.
Words of Praise from Our Clients
“I had the pleasure of working with Sharon Delfino on my workmens comp case. She definitely had my best interest at hand. She was able to find me a great doctor and help me resolve my case. The staff there are always polite and friendly, never had an issue. It was a pleasure working with Delfino Green & Green !”
– Tabitha W“I’ve known the firm’s founder, Bill Green, for many years and I can say that he is one of the best attorneys I’ve had the pleasure of working with. He and his associates at Delfino Green & Green are hard-working, highly responsive, and very professional, and they get the job done, without excuses. Bill is a great communicator, both with clients, and in Court, and invests time and money to include visual storytelling in his trials and mediations. You won’t find an attorney who cares more about you, and getting you an outstanding result for your case. Bill is one of the “good guys” in the legal profession…a great person to have on your side when dealing with the craziness of litigation.”
– Tim M“A few years ago, I referred a friend of mine to the attorneys at Delfino Green & Green. He was extremely happy with the job they did on his case. He was severely injured when a car hit him when he was crossing a street and this event had the potential to ruin him in a number of ways – financially, physically, emotionally, etc. We kept in close contact during the lawsuit and he told me how great his lawyer and his assistant were throughout the process. Caring, compassionate and very knowledgeable. My friend ended up with a great result – fair financial compensation and great treatment for his injuries. Little did I know when I referred my friend that a few years later, I would need a lawyer for injuries I suffered, but I did. Based on my friend’s experience, I knew that Delfino Green & Green would be the right attorneys for me. So I hired Bill Green and his team to help and they jumped right into action. Now I can saw that I too have firsthand knowledge of just how great these guys are. They knew the law, they knew just how to handle my particular case, and they helped me get my life back after the horrible events that lead to my injury. I can’t imagine that you could do any better than hiring these folks. I’m so grateful for all they did for both me and my friend.”
– Evelyn A“The work Delfino Green & Green did on my case was beyond excellent. The final result was superb, but I also truly appreciated how Mr. Green and the team kept me up-to-date at every stage of the case. I was able to reach someone whenever I needed something or had something important to report and the firm always let me know what was going on in my case. That was very important to me because I hadn’t found that to be true with other attorneys. In short, really top flight work, great people and results that met all of my expectations above and beyond.”
– Byron HRequest Your Free Consultation Now
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