Jury selection is an opportunity to elicit important information from potential jurors. Your Thousand Oaks personal injury lawyer will ask questions of these individuals regarding their beliefs and biases so that he may eliminate those members who could negatively affect your case.
A qualified Fairfield County personal injury attorney can explain how age of the deceased 
and his or her marital status can affect the wrongful death lawsuit.
A Fairfield County Personal Injury Attorney Explains Why the Age of the Deceased Is Relevant
The decedent’s life expectancy is an important factor in determining the value of potential future earnings. If the decedent died at an early age, his or her remaining wage-earning period at death will be longer. The survivors and the insurers are often faced with the dilemma if the decedent died very young without having obtained much work skills and lacked earning level upon death. While older individuals have shorter life expectancy, their earning power his higher than the young. Not surprisingly, the carrier has a more conservative approach to this issue compared to plaintiffs.
A Fairfield County Personal Injury Lawyer Shows How Marital Status Impacts Wrongful Death Lawsuits
Under most circumstances, only a person legally married to the decedent can file a wrongful death claims. Exceptions allowed by certain jurisdictions include:
As a condition of settlement, the insurance company must ascertain whether the survivor was a legal spouse to the decedent. If their marriage status is uncertain, the carrier may compromise on the wrongful death case.
The insurance company will have challenge on their hands if multiple individuals claim to be surviving spouses, unless there is specific court ruling on the matter. In a case in which three women claimed to be the decedent’s widow, the carrier thought the evidence supported claimant #2’s position, but sought nominal settlement with the other claimants to avoid more legal actions. A court approved settlement was the other option.
If you require an experienced a Fairfield County personal injury attorney to handle your personal injury case, please call the law offices of Gary Mitchell today at 1-888-452-1846. The initial consultation is free.
Your credibility in front of the jury will be the lynchpin of your personal injury case. You must come across as honest and reliable. If the jury does not think you are telling the truth, your case is lost. Here are some tips from a personal injury lawyer on how you can prove you are being truthful.
When you and your Thousand Oaks personal injury attorney are gearing up to go trial in your personal injury case, you can expect that your attorney will be hard at work behind the scenes preparing things and reviewing documents to ensure you put on the strongest case possible. Here are some responsibilities your Thousand Oaks personal injury attorney will handle in the lead-up to your trial.
Preparing Motions
Final Preparations
As the court date nears, your Thousand Oaks personal injury attorney will be busy doing the following:
If you have questions about your personal injury claim, contact a Thousand Oaks personal injury lawyer. Call Gary Mitchell at 888-452-1846.
It is important for you to appreciate just how important of a role you play in your personal injury case. Your actions can have either a positive or a negative impact on your case. Below, our Thousand Oaks personal injury lawyer lists 7 positive steps that you can take to strengthen your personal injury claim.
If you gave a statement to the insurance company about your accident before you retained a Thousand Oaks personal injury attorney, you may have inadvertently said something that will be prejudicial to your case. Insurance companies are often less than honest about the purpose of these statements and what effect they will have. Here are some things your Thousand Oaks personal injury attorney can do if you have done this:
For more information on the best way to pursue a personal injury claim, call a Thousand Oaks personal injury attorney. Call Gary Mitchell at 888-452-1846.
It’s easy for anyone to believe that our legal system is stacked against ordinary citizens. But as any qualified Westlake Village personal injury lawyer can tell you, the very purpose America’s legal system is to protect the fundamental rights of its people. Expect your personal injury case to be broken down into three stages as shown below.
Many insurance claims are never recovered because the denied claim is uncontested by the policyholder. But a Thousand Oaks personal injury attorney wants you to know that many times claims are improperly denied. Here are some signs that could indicate your claim is being wrongfully denied.
No Specific Policy Cited
A specific provision in the policy is not referred to when a claim is denied. You should know exactly why your claim is being denied with a specific policy statement being used to support their decision. A Thousand Oaks personal injury lawyer will attest that sometimes insurance companies quote policy language that doesn’t actually exist as a basis for its denial.
Another way to wrongfully deny a claim, according to a Thousand Oaks personal injury attorney, is by failing or denying to provide the copies of the policy the insurance company says supports their decision.
No Specific Detailed Facts Stated
When no specific claim-related facts are cited in the denial, a Thousand Oaks personal injury attorney would suggest that this could indicate that an actual investigation may not have been done before denying the claim.
Other means of denying a claim inappropriately is to use reference to conditions or exclusions in a policy that have no relevance to your specific case. Along with this, is the insurance company claiming the right to cite other policy defenses after coverage is denied.
Poor Communication With the Policyholder
Additional ways insurance companies deny claims improperly is through poor communication with the claimant. A Thousand Oaks personal injury lawyer would suggest being suspicious when you are asked for more information even though they are denying the claim as sometimes this subsequent information is used against you, the policyholder, at a later date.
Merely sending forms and not ever meeting or talking to the policyholder to gather information before a claim is denied is also an improper way of insurance companies handling a case. The “form letter” documents may request irrelevant information that is unrelated to your specific situation.
Finally, a Thousand Oaks personal injury attorney will tell you that some insurance companies have attempted to cancel insurance and deny coverage. They claim the reason for canceling or denying coverage is a result of misrepresentations by the policyholder in the application for insurance.
Most reputable insurance companies do not play games like this when adjusting claims. If the claims adjuster feels a claim is questionable, you want an experienced legal representative to ensure your claim is being treated fairly.
For a consultation with a Thousand Oaks personal injury attorney, call the office of Gary Mitchell at 888-452-1846 today.
One of the most common questions that personal injury claimants ask of a Westlake Village injury lawyer is when their case will settle. Unfortunately, there is no clear rule that determines this. Even the most experienced legal professional cannot predict it from the beginning with total certainty. Some cases take months, while others take several years.
As general rule, your Westlake Village injury lawyer will not try serious settlement negotiations until you are close to recovering from your injuries. This is because the length and value of your case is largely determined by factors that will only become apparent after you have physically recovered.
For example, the total cost of all your medical bills will be an important factor, and obviously you or your Westlake Village injury attorney won’t know what that is until you are close to recovered. If any further treatment will be necessary or if any of your injuries are known to be permanent, that will also need to be taken into account when determining a settlement value.
Your total loss of income and any future expected lost earning capacity will also help determine your case value. As your case moves along, your Westlake Village injury lawyer will be able to develop a better sense of approximately how long it might take to come to a settlement.
You need effective, dedicated legal help fighting your personal injury claim to get the compensation you deserve. Contact Westlake Village injury lawyer Gary Mitchell at 888-452-1846 today.
One of the most difficult aspects of dealing with a divorce is figuring out how to share the kids between both parents. This is a complex situation often fraught with emotion and conflicting wants. A Thousand Oaks family lawyer can help you figure out the most appropriate plan that accommodates everyone involved to the best of your ability.
Here is some general advice from a Thousand Oaks family attorney as to how to best handle shared parenting post-divorce.
Be good to your kids: When you have the kids for the weekend, you might want to focus on having fun with them and taking them fun places. But you can also show your appreciation by buying needed things like shoes and school supplies. This not only helps them, but shows your former spouse that you want to contribute materially to raising them, which is just as important, as any Thousand Oaks family lawyer will tell you. Your spouse will be more inclined to trust you and help you out with the kids as well.
Don’t fight when switching: The most hurtful example of shared parenting any Thousand Oaks family lawyer has seen is when the parents bicker and fight every time they have to switch who gets the kids. While emotions run high, it does not help anyone to get angry at your former spouse when you have to give up the kids. They will see it and be hurt by it, regardless of who’s right or wrong.
If there’s something upsetting you absolutely have to say to your ex, write it in a note instead, or ask your Thousand Oaks family attorney how you should handle the situation.
Divorce is painful no matter how it happens. But with a dedicated Thousand Oaks family lawyer helping you, you can minimize the pain and stress involved. Call Gary Mitchell at 888-452-1846.
