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Yorba Linda Truck Accident Attorney’s Top Ten Dumbest Things You’ll Read on a Police Report After a Truck Accident

October 5th, 2011 No comments

1. Party one claimed he was only slightly drunk.

 

2. Party two blamed a beam of light that came from some unknown direction, but he didn’t think it was party one’s headlights.

 

3. Witness one said he’d seen everything, but when questioned further, admitted that he came upon the scene after the impact had already occurred.

 

4. Party three blamed party four. There is no party four.

 

5. According to parties one and two, a phantom vehicle flipped them both off and parties one and two hit each other by mistake in a road rage incident.

 

6. Vehicle one had no brakes, no lights and driver one had no license.

 

7. Party one claimed he could not be at fault but on questioning had no basis in fact for his claim.

 

8. Party two asked to be tasered.

 

9. Party one asked if he could borrow the taser to grant party two his wish.

 

10. Party three asked this officer to taser both parties one and two.

Here are ten useful tips of advice from a truck accident lawyer to follow if you have been in an accident. You can also learn more about how to handle a truck accident in Yorba Linda, or any city, by calling the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson at any of the numbers which can be found on our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com  and learning how we can assist you.

 

Obviously, if you have had an accident, and you are reading all of this advice, it’s probably been at least a few days since the accident. However, if it’s only been a few hours or if you ever have another accident, here’s what you should do the next time from the start.

 

First, take a look around and determine if you or anyone, are hurt. If so, taking steps like trying to prevent further injury or loss of blood are the most important thing you can do. Even if some other driver caused you to be injured, it’s just good manners to help the other driver if they are hurt. They may even be so thankful that they admit their fault to you. The worst thing you can do is get angry or start a fight.

 

Second, make sure everyone is safe from being injured further. If you are in the middle of traffic, and you are dizzy, sit down away from traffic. If your vehicle is a traffic hazard and you have accident warning devices like flares or triangles, put them out on the road to warn other drivers and get away from the car. Let the police an other emergency personnel investigate the scene with the vehicles in place and move them more safely at a later point.

 

Third, call the police. Accident reports are extremely helpful if the police will do such a report. Let the police know you are injured immediately. Answer the police questions honestly. But if you are dazed or confused, let them know you need medical treatment and answer only what you feel sure about. Remember, your statements can and will be used against you if you admit fault, and it will be too late and too fishy to later say you didn’t know what you were saying at the scene. Police know that your best recollection is immediately after an accident.

 

Fourth, get the other driver’s information including their names, addresses, driver’s license numbers, make and model of their vehicles, license plate numbers, and their insurance company name and policy number. If there are witnesses, get their names, addresses and telephone numbers as well. If the other driver makes any admissions of fault, write those down as well.

 

Fifth, if you have a camera on your cell phone or in the car and you aren’t too injured, take some photos of the vehicles and the scene. If you can’t do it right away, do it after you are released from the hospital.

Sixth, if you are hurt, obtain medical treatment. Don’t decline the ambulance or hospital examination to save your insurance company money or to be stoic. Take your valuables out of your car if you can and get checked out at the hospital. If you are not hurt, don’t get treatment you don’t need. However, remember, after an accident, you may feel a rush of adrenaline that causes you to only start feeling symptoms of pain a few hours later. If you have a health plan that requires you to obtain permission first, call them and find out where you are allowed to seek treatment.

 

Seventh, call a good truck accident lawyer as soon as you have had your initial treatment, so the attorney can gather other important evidence and prevent the insurance company from taking advantage of you and obtaining such things as recorded statements that you feel fine, when many of your symptoms have yet to manifest themselves. A good truck accident lawyer can save you from making a great deal of mistakes and can shoulder much of the hassle of knowing what to do about car repairs, car rentals, medical treatment, witness statements and the like. If you think you will save money by not having an attorney, think again. A good truck accident lawyer can almost always obtain much higher settlements, obtain reductions of medical bills and insurance liens and prevent you from making costly mistakes. Also, most truck accident attorneys advance costs of obtaining police reports, medical records and the like and are paid and reimbursed for these costs only out of any settlement.

 

Eight, you will need to report the accident to your insurance company, but since they will want to take a recorded statement from you, just like any other driver’s insurance company, it’s good advice to retain an attorney first. And if the other driver did not have insurance, remember that it is your own insurance company that will be your adversary. You will also need to report the accident to the Department of Motor Vehicles and your lawyer can give you the form for this.

 

Ninth, do not agree to settle your claim privately with the person at fault for the accident. This almost never works out to your advantage. Don’t agree not to call the police. Police reports that determine the fault for an accident are golden. Your agreement to not involve the police only affords an opportunity for the other driver to change his story and blame you when the police will no longer investigate the accident.

 

Tenth, don’t pay a traffic ticket without a fight if you weren’t at fault or agree to accept a small payment for your vehicle repairs without knowing that the amount will in fact cover the cost of all the repairs.

 

If you’ve had a truck accident in Yorba Linda, Chino Hills, Diamond Bar, Anaheim Fullerton, Orange County, Tustin, Lake Forest, Fountain Valley, Rancho Santa Margarita, Newport Beach, Irvine, Huntington Beach, Corona del Mar, Laguna Beach, Santa Ana, Orange, Costa Mesa, or anywhere in Southern California, we have the knowledge and resources to be your Yorba Linda Truck Accident Lawyer and your Orange County Truck Accident Attorney. Be sure to hire a California law firm with auto, motorcycle, truck, bicycle, pedestrian, car, bus, train, boat and airplane accident experience, wrongful death experience and insurance law expertise who can ensure you are properly represented and get the compensation you deserve.

 

If you have a personal injury legal matter, a dog bite or if you’ve lost a loved one in a wrongful death accident, call the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson, or visit our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com  and learn how we can assist you.

R. Sebastian Gibson

If someone has a "death record" on archives.com, does that necessarily mean they’re dead?

March 21st, 2011 1 comment

This morning, as I have many times before, I did a search for my old 7th grade history teacher from 14 years ago (96-97), only to be redirected to a page demanding my Credit Card Number which I shall not give! They promised a "free trial," but I didn’t even attempt to proceed because I’m afraid it might not be as "free" as they say it is. But still, I kept searching for records on Ron Kolodzy (as well as Ronald J. Kolodzy and other forms of his name), and it kept telling me the same thing — that he has 1 birth, 1 marriage, 1 divorce, and 1 death record that cannot be accessed without membership to archives.com. So is there any possibility that this is a mistake or something standard they use to try to hook you? I’ve tried doing similar searches with other names but didn’t find any records in that box. So could you please tell me if it is possible that 53-year-old Ron Kolodzy in Texas, born on April 29th of 1957, is still alive? Is there any hope that he isn’t really dead? And what can I do to find out more information about him if he really is? How do I find-out when he died, what from, and where he’s burried if it turns out to be true that he has passed away?

When u do searches that result in an immediate response for your credit card info, aren’t technically completing your request.. (so 9 out of 10, it’s just a default response)but maybe you should higher an investigator or try to locate family members to be certain… or look up the obituary in the news paper for that timeframe… wish u luck…

Should Texas Repeal/Review its Death Penalty because of the new wave of people freed due to DNA?

January 20th, 2010 4 comments

Texas killed 78 inmates last year, that is more than one a week. They refused to honor the Supreme Court suggestion on a moratorium on killing the mentally impaired. Most of the other states have either repealed or put a moratorium on the death penalty while they review all cases that hinged on DNA and a record number of people have been freed after being wrongfully convicted. Texas is not actively looking at reviewing cases where DNA or circumstantial evidence could free a inmate. Is this fair? I am not advocating freeing those who are guilty and believe that in most cases Life without the possibilityof parole is sufficient. BUT should we take the chance of killing innoncent people rather than admitting there maybe a mistake? The justice system is not set up to kill the innoncent, but instead protect them.

The death penalty is there for a reason and I support it. I do think that with new evidence-DNA-you should have a right to appeal your sentence. And I do believe that a lot of poor people don’t get the same treatment as those with $ for a good lawyer. On the other hand I have known people that are so evil they do not deserve to live among other humans and when they commit "that" crime they need to know that if they are caught and proven guilty, they are going to die. You don’t do a simple murder and get the death sentence, you have to do something heinous. Look at it from the victim’s viewpoint instead of the criminals. . .it will give you a whole new viewpoint about who really has the rights and who doesn’t.