Car accidents are always stressful, but when they end in injuries, they can have life-altering effects. If you injured your neck or spinal cord in an accident caused by someone else, our San Bernardino whiplash lawyers can help.
Our California whiplash lawyers have been helping injury victims and their families for over 25 years. At Sweet James, we fight for the fair compensation our clients need for medical bills and other losses.
Reach out today to schedule a free consultation.
How Can Our Whiplash Lawyers Serving San Bernardino Help With Your Case?
Our whiplash injury lawyers are dedicated to helping our clients hold negligent parties financially accountable. We will handle the entirety of the legal process so that you can focus entirely on your recovery.
Our lawyers can:
- Investigate the accident, determining who is at fault for your injury.
- File all needed paperwork, ensuring your injury is well documented and everything is filed on time.
- Negotiate with insurance adjusters on your behalf.
- Represent you in court when necessary.
- Handle the appeals process if your claim is denied.
Our results include over $1 billion recovered for our clients. We’ve also earned more than 600 five-star reviews across Google and Yelp. Our client-centered services focus on empathy and building strategic claims to recover fair compensation.
What Does a San Bernardino Whiplash Injury Attorney Cost?
At Sweet James, our San Bernardino personal injury lawyers work on contingency. What that means for you is:
- No upfront costs.
- Your attorney’s fees are taken as an agreed-upon percentage of the final settlement or court award.
- If your attorney doesn’t recover compensation, you’ll owe them nothing.
What Compensation Is Recoverable After a Whiplash Injury in San Bernardino?
Whiplash can have serious long-term effects, ranging from chronic pain to neurological symptoms and spinal degeneration. Recovering fair compensation requires understanding the full scope of your losses, including the future expected medical care you may need.
Your San Bernardino whiplash accident lawyer can consult with medical professionals and advocate for the full compensation you need.
You may be able to recover compensation in the form of:
Economic Damages
This is compensation for financial losses you’ve had, or expect to have, due to your injury. These losses can include:
- Medical expenses like surgeries, doctor appointments, and physical therapy.
- Lost wages.
- Lost job benefits.
- Diminished earning capacity, if you’re unable to return to the same level of work.
- Home or vehicle modifications needed to accommodate your injuries.
- Housekeeping or child care costs while you are recovering from your injury.
Non-Economic Damages
This is compensation for the physical and psychological losses you’ve suffered due to your injury. These losses can include:
- Pain and suffering.
- Emotional distress.
- Permanent disability.
- Loss of enjoyment of life, if you’re unable to participate in activities you once enjoyed.
- Lowered quality of life.
What Is the Deadline for Recovering Compensation in San Bernardino?
Under California’s statutes of limitations (CCP § 335.1), you generally have two years to file a personal injury lawsuit. However, in specific circumstances, this deadline can be much shorter. It’s important to get started on your case as soon as possible.
In addition to meeting legal deadlines, contacting a San Bernardino whiplash accident attorney early can also be helpful for the preservation of evidence. For example, over time, surveillance footage may be erased, and physical evidence like skid marks could fade away.
Proving Fault After a Whiplash Injury
To recover compensation, you will need to prove that someone else’s negligence caused your whiplash injury. Your San Bernardino whiplash attorney will do this through a careful investigation of the accident that caused your injury. They will need to prove four elements of negligence. These are:
Duty of Care
Duty of care refers to the responsibility a driver has towards others on the road. For example, a licensed motorist needs to follow traffic laws, and commercial truck drivers must also follow Hours of Service regulations. These rules are designed to keep everyone safe.
Breach of Duty of Care
A party breached their duty of care through a careless or reckless act. For example, for other motorists, that could mean:
- Speeding.
- Failing to yield.
- Tailgating.
- Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
For a company, that could mean:
- Failing to vet job applicants properly.
- Failing to provide adequate training.
- Failing to maintain safe vehicles in a fleet.
- Overloading cargo.
- Pressuring drivers to cut corners or speed.
Your lawyer may be able to prove the breach through evidence like:
- Hiring records.
- A driver’s logs.
- Phone records.
- Blood alcohol concentration test results.
- Cargo logs.
- Maintenance records.
Causation
The breach led directly to an accident. For example:
- A speeding driver is unable to brake in time and rear-ends your vehicle.
- A distracted driver runs a red light and T-bones your vehicle.
- A truck driver falls asleep at the wheel and crashes into your vehicle.
Your San Bernardino whiplash car accident lawyer may prove causation through evidence like:
- Video footage.
- Black box data.
- Witness statements.
- Accident reconstruction.
Damages
You have losses, like injuries and medical bills, as a direct result of the accident. This can be proven through evidence like medical records and bills.
Contact a Whiplash Attorney Serving San Bernardino
If you or a loved one suffered whiplash during a motor vehicle accident, you’re likely struggling with medical expenses and other losses. If the accident was caused by someone else’s negligence, you may be entitled to fair compensation. The legal team at Sweet James is here to help you pursue it.
Reach out to our team today to schedule a free consultation with one of our San Bernardino whiplash car accident attorneys. We’re available 24/7 to take your call.
