Newport Beach Personal Injury Lawyer

Bentley & More LLP is here to help you recover financially from injuries someone else caused. Facts about our firm we believe sets us apart include:

• We have resources necessary to conduct complete investigations into all personal injury cases we take in Newport Beach.
• Our Newport Beach accident attorneystake the time to get to know every client personally so we can understand their goals and needs. We tailor our solutions around the individuals we serve.
• We take all Newport Beach personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning our clients pay no legal fees until we secure the compensation they need.

Our law firm has served people throughout Newport Beach and across Southern California for many years, and we have obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts for our clients. Our lawyers have earned consistent top honors and awards from members of the legal community, and we have gained a stellar reputation for providing personalized, effective legal counsel that gets results.

Call Bentley & More LLP at (949) 870-3800 or contact us online to schedule a free case review.

How Can a Newport Beach Injury Attorney Help Me with My Personal Injury Claim?

To increase your chances for obtaining a successful outcome and to reduce your level of stress, you should work with an experienced personal injury attorney to help you navigate your personal injury case. Most people do not have the legal experience or capabilities to fully investigate their case and prove the other party was at fault. However, a Newport Beach personal injury lawyer can:

• Obtain any evidence to establish the at-fault party’s liability, including statements from eyewitnesses, video or photo surveillance, accident reports, and more.
• Work with trusted medical and economic professionals to properly calculate your total expected losses.
• Handle all communications in negotiations with other parties to reach a fair settlement.

Although most personal injury claims settle outside of court, you may need to take the at-fault party to court and sue for the damages you deserve. It is vital you have an attorney from the start who can build a strong case for you and file your personal injury lawsuit in civil court. If you case does go to trial, you will certainly need a lawyer to advocate for you and present the most compelling case possible to increase your chances of getting a favorable outcome.

Common Causes of Personal Injury in Newport Beach

Newport Beach is always bustling with activity. Unfortunately, this means that there are numerous ways for both local residents and visitors to sustain injuries caused by someone else’s negligence. At Bentley & More, LLP, our team regularly helps clients who have sustained injuries due to the following:

• Traffic accidents, including car accidents, commercial truck accidents, pedestrian accidents, bicycle accidents, and motorcycle accidents.
• Workplace accidents and construction incidents.
• Premises liability cases, including dog bite injuries, slip and fall accidents, explosions, and other incidents of property owner negligence.
• Defective product cases, including exploding e-cigarettes.
• Nursing home abuse and neglect cases.

The above list certainly does not include all types of injuries that can occur in and around the Newport Beach area. Contact our personal injury lawyers to discuss the specifics of your particular case. 

What are Common Injuries in Personal Injury Cases?

Injuries in personal injury cases vary widely, ranging from relatively minor to severe. It is not uncommon for our team to help clients who have sustained:

• Broken bones or dislocated joints
• Neck injuries
• Head injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Spinal cord injuries with paralysis
• Amputation injuries
• Severe burns
• Internal injuries and organ damage

You can suffer a permanent disability that requires lifelong care and future medical expenses. Also, the negligent actions of someone else can kill a close family member, and you may not know where to turn for help with a wrongful death claim.

What Types of Compensation Can I Get in a Newport Beach Personal Injury Case?

If you or somebody you care about sustained a catastrophic injury caused by another person or entity in Newport Beach, you may obtain various types of financial compensation. The dedicated legal team at Bentley & More, LLP is here for you, and we can help you recover the full amount of damages you need. California allows personal injury victims to recover economic damages to cover things such as:

• All medical bills related to the case
• Physical therapy
• Lost income and benefits if you are unable to work
• General out-of-pocket costs that arise due to the injuries
• Property and vehicular damage

You may also obtain compensation for non-economic damages to cover the intangible losses and adverse effects your injury has caused and will continue to cause. Some common forms of non-economic damages include:

• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Mental anguish
• Disfigurement
• Loss of consortium
• Loss of enjoyment of life

Additionally, you may obtain punitive damages from the court if your case goes to trial. Punitive damages are meant to punish the at-fault party, and the court typically only awards punitive damages in cases of egregious negligence, unlawfulness, intentional harm, or wanton recklessness. An assertive personal injury attorney can advocate for you in court to help you get exemplary damages if your case qualifies.

What’s the Process of Getting Compensation After a Serious Accident in Newport Beach?

In most personal injury cases, insurance will cover a victim’s medical bills and other related expenses. Whether you sustained catastrophic injury in a motor vehicle accident, slip-and-fall accident, or some other preventable tragedy, you will first file an injury claim with the at-fault party’s insurance carrier.

You should have an attorney file an injury claim for you since insurance companies are notorious for trying to deny claims or reduce the amount they will pay on a claim. A lawyer will know how to deal with any defense tactics the insurance company tries to use and can deal with them to get them to honor your claim and cover all your injuries.

Also, insurers may ask you to provide a recorded statement and use what you say against you, or they may ask questions to lead you into accepting blame for your injuries. You should never talk to an insurance company without first consulting an attorney so as not to say or do anything that could jeopardize your chances for getting compensation.

Proving You Suffered Injuries and the Other Party was At Fault

When you attorney files your claim with the insurer, they will have to provide a lot of documentation and evidence that shows you sustained serious injuries and the other party was liable.

At the time of the accident, your top priority was to get immediate medical treatment. Even if your injuries did not appear serious at first, you should still get a prompt medical evaluation. For one, some injuries do not present symptoms right away, and you may not know the full extent of your injuries until sometime later. Second, you will need detailed medical records of the care you received along with a medical treatment plan to file your injury claim.

After establishing you suffered serious injuries, you will need to prove the other party is liable for you injuries. To establish liability, your attorney will have to show:

1. The other party owed you a duty of care
2. They breached that duty through their negligent or wrongful actions
3. The other party’s negligence caused the accident and your injuries
4. You suffered damages as a result

While the concept sounds simple, proving liability can be complex and challenging, especially if your case involves more than one possible negligent party. An attorney can conduct a thorough investigation into the matter and collect the police report, accident reconstruction report, eyewitness testimony, and other evidence to show the other party was responsible.

Calculating Compensation

Another complicated aspect of personal injury claims is calculating the full amount of compensation you will need. You want to include documented figures for medical care and treatment you have already received, but you also want a prognosis for how long your injuries will affect your life.

Having a complete view of the extent of your injuries and probable impacts on your life are important so you can calculate how much financial compensation you may need for future medical care, therapy, and accommodations.

Your attorney can sit with you and carefully assess both current and future medical expenses and other associated costs so you get everything you will need.

Filing Your Personal Injury Claim with the Insurance Company

After gathering the necessary evidence, you attorney will file your personal injury claim with all applicable insurance carriers. The insurer will schedule an insurance adjuster to investigate, but it may take them several days or a couple of weeks to get around to your case.

When your attorney files your personal injury claim with the insurer, they will include a demand letter than specifies the extent of your injuries and how the other party is responsible. The letter will also include a total dollar amount, or settlement figure, the insurer can pay to settle your claim and avoid going to court.

During their investigation, the insurer will have their own ideas about who was at fault for your injuries. Insurance companies are businesses, and paying on claims reduces their profits. The adjuster and the insurer’s legal team will look for any way to avoid paying. They may deny your claim outright or assert the policy doesn’t cover all your injuries and expenses.

The insurer may respond to your attorney with a settlement offer that’s much lower than what you expected. In fact, the offer may not come close to covering all your expenses and losses.

Settlement Negotiations

To get fair compensation for you, your attorney may have to negotiate with the insurer so they honor all aspects of your claim and agree to pay you more money. Settlement negotiations can take time, and you may be anxious to get the money you need. However, once you accept a settlement offer from the insurer, you cannot pursue additional compensation if you need it in the future.

You don’t necessarily want to accept the insurer’s initial settlement offer, and your attorney cannot legally accept a settlement without your approval. You should work with personal injury lawyer who will negotiate aggressively to help you get maximum compensation.

Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit in California

If settlement negotiations break down, or the insurer acts in bad faith regarding your claim and refuses to negotiate, you may have to sue them in court to get the money you need. You may also have to take your personal injury case to court if your injuries are not covered by insurance or policy limits won’t cover all your expenses.

Personal injury trials can take considerable time and cause a lot of stress. However, going to court may be the only avenue you have to get the compensation you deserve.

When they agreed to take your case, your attorney should have been preparing your case for trial right from the start. California only allows you two years from the date of your injury to file a personal injury lawsuit in court. If you miss the deadline, you will likely have no other legal option to get compensation.

Sometimes, just filing a lawsuit can spur the insurer into negotiating a fair settlement. Trials are costly and time-consuming, and insurance companies typically like to avoid going to court when they can. Additionally, California requires all parties in a civil lawsuit to attend a Mandatory Settlement Conference to try and mediate a settlement. Most of the time, personal injury cases don’t go past this stage.

If your case makes it to trial, an experienced personal injury lawyer at Bentley & More LLP can fight for you. We have secured multi-million-dollar verdicts for our clients, and we know how to present a compelling case to the judge or jury to sway their decision in your favor. 

Contact A Newport Beach Personal Injury Lawyer Today

Newport Beach Personal Injury Lawyer, Greg Bentley

To schedule a no-cost evaluation of your claim and to find out how we can help you get the full and fair compensation you need, contact our Newport Beach personal injury law firm by calling (949) 870-3800. You can also reach out to us online to request a free consultation.

Bentley & More, LLP – Newport Beach Office

4931 Birch Street
Newport Beach, CA 92660
P: (949) 870-3800