Archive

At Nunes Law, our Fresno personal injury lawyers know that heading back to school is an exciting time for college students throughout California. Here, with nearly 25,000 students attending Fresno State, the uptick in pedestrian, bicycle, scooter, and vehicle traffic is palpable with each new semester.

Unfortunately, more traffic, walkers, joggers, and people in general on our roadways, streets, and sidewalks often leads to more accidents, injuries, and tragic fatalities when negligence is a factor.

When collisions, slip and fall incidents, or intentional harm befalls college students, it can impact their futures and overall success. They may be forced to withdraw from classes, forego their extracurricular activities, or miss the college experience altogether.

Here are just some of the common and preventable accidents that occur on our California campuses.

Increased Car and Pedestrian Accidents

According to the California Office of Traffic Safety, on average last year, a traffic crash with injury or death was reported every three minutes throughout the state.

When school is back in session, the risk of an accident increases with the additional traffic, but other factors also play a role.

New students or family members who are escorting them to school may not be familiar with the area, leading to a reliance on GPS or other distractions that can cause accidents without notice.

More pedestrians and bicyclists can add to the dangerous conditions as they cross streets and crowd common areas on and around campus.

No matter how you are getting around Fresno, or another California college town, it is important to give your full attention to your surroundings to help mitigate the risks associated with heavy foot and vehicle traffic.

However, our Fresno personal injury attorneys understand that it is impossible to control the actions of negligent drivers or property owners. If you have been injured because of another party’s negligence, we want to help you tell your story. Contact us today to learn more.

Premises Liability Claims, including Slips, Trips, and Fall Injuries

College campuses require a lot of upkeep to ensure the premises are safe for students, faculty, staff, and other third parties who visit or use the facilities throughout the school year.

When spilled drinks or food, broken stairs or elevators, or poorly lit areas lead to slips, trips, and falls, the property owner — whether it is the university, a restaurant, bar, or another facility — must be held liable for our client’s damages.

If you have been injured by an impaired or otherwise negligent driver, contact our experienced personal injury attorneys in Fresno at Nunes Law today by calling 559-436-0850 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation to discuss your legal rights and options to hold the liable party accountable for your complete financial recovery.

You may have heard someone mention “minor’s comp” or “petition to compromise a minor’s claim” in the course of your case.  Now you want to know exactly what that means, and what it means for your case going forward.

Petition to compromise a minor’s claim, or “minor’s comp” for short, is a process in which the court must approve the settlement negotiated by the attorneys or parties when an underage person’s interests are involved.  An underage person cannot make their own decisions, so the parties, their attorneys, and the court must go through this process to determine and confirm the decisions on the underage person’s behalf.

This process involves the presentation of a lengthy form to the court, which they review.  The judge will look at all of the documents, the harms and losses to the minor, the settlement, the available money, any future medical care and other bills, and the attorney’s fees.  This is done to ensure the decision is fair to the child.

While there are many additional points considered in the process, this encapsulates the meaning and general purpose of a minor’s compromise.  Watch the video to learn more.

If you have additional questions about your personal injury claim or one involving a minor, I want you to call me at (559) 436-0850.  I welcome your call.  Visit our educational website at www.NunesLaw.com for more videos and media content from our law firm.

A child has caused harm to you or your property, and you are seeking to remedy your situation.  You now wonder whether you could sue the parents of the child whose carelessness led to the incident.

Parents are not responsible for the misdoings of their own children.  You generally cannot sue the parents of a child for that child’s negligence.  This fact may come as a surprise to all parties involved.

The exception to this rule is when there were prior instances of bad behavior. This requires that the parents were aware of these instances and that they did nothing to correct their child’s actions.  If those requirements are met, you may have a case against the parents.  Watch the video to learn more.

If you have additional questions, I want you to call me at (559) 436-0850.  I welcome your call.  Visit our educational website at www.NunesLaw.com for more videos and media content from our law firm.

Perhaps you have been in a collision at an intersection when the green traffic signal indicated you had the right to proceed.  If you have been told by an insurance adjuster that you are at fault, you may be the target of deceptive practices or misinformation.

Under the law in California, you are obligated to follow the laws of the road in the intersection.  California also grants you the expectation that others will follow the law.  While you should generally drive defensively and remain on the lookout for reckless drivers on the road, you are not responsible for the unexpected law-breaking behavior of another driver that caused you injury.

If you have received misinformation indicating you are responsible for your injuries in a situation where you were following the laws of the road and another driver unexpectedly acted contrary to the law in a way that led to collision or injury, then you should contact a lawyer.  Watch the video to learn more.

If you have additional questions about fault in your accident case, I want you to call me at (559) 436-0850.  I welcome your call.  Visit our educational website at www.NunesLaw.com for more videos and media content from our law firm.

You may know to be careful about posting in social media when you are involved in a lawsuit for a personal injury case, but do you know not to delete posts?

You should have strong privacy settings and be very mindful of who you “friend” on social media when you are involved in a lawsuit, and avoiding social media altogether during such a time is often a wise decision, so it may seem counterintuitive that deleting social media posts can also hurt your case.  This includes the deletion of prior posts that were made before your injury.

Investigators and insurance companies have access to software that can pull up deleted posts.  Even if the posts you delete seem harmless, they still give the impression that you are not being completely honest.  In a personal injury case – especially when you have no visible injuries – you need to come across as transparent.

If you have been deleting posts, the other side can make you out to be someone who would hide information relevant to the case.  They can do that even if those posts did not pertain to your case.  Watch the video to learn more.

If you have additional questions about using social media during a personal injury case, I want you to call me at (559) 436-0850.  I welcome your call.  Visit our educational website at www.NunesLaw.com for more videos and media content from our law firm.

You may have heard of a “998 offer” in relation to your personal injury case.  The name is a reference to California Code of Civil Procedure Section 998.  They are also known as “statutory offers”.  There are several rules that pertain to 998 offers.

First, 998 offers are time-sensitive.  The person who receives the offer must respond in writing to the person who made the offer.  In California, anyone can make a 998 offer in state court up to 10 days before the trial for the case is scheduled to begin.

A 998 offer’s purpose is to encourage early settlement of your case.  The recipient of a 998 offer will need to consider whether the offer is better than the result they should expect to receive in a trial.

If a plaintiff does not accept a defendant’s 998 offer, then the defendant’s attorney can ask the judge for the cost of expert witness fees and other litigation costs that usually cannot be recovered.  On rare occasions, this may also include attorney’s fees.

Alternatively, a plaintiff can make a 998 demand that may result in the defendant paying for expert witness fees – and for attorney’s fees in rare cases.  Again, a 998 offer is meant to encourage early settlement of the case, which would lead to fewer expenses than moving forward with a trial involving expert witnesses.  Watch the video to learn more.

If you have additional questions about 998 offers, I want you to call me at (559) 436-0850.  I welcome your call.  Visit our educational website at www.NunesLaw.com for more videos and media content from our law firm.

Related Links:

• Why You Shouldn’t Delete Social Media Posts In A Personal Injury Case?
• How Can I Help Gather Evidence For My California Personal Injury Claim?
• Personal Injury Claim Process
• Making An Injury Claim While On Workers’ Comp.

Perhaps you have received a notice of intent to consumer, or perhaps you have been told one will be sent in the course of your lawsuit, and now you want to know exactly what that is and what it means for you or the recipient.

In California you have a right to privacy of your information.  If you are not a party to a lawsuit and someone who is asks for something involving your confidential information, then they are required to give you a notice of their intent to obtain it.  This is a chance for you to stop the subpoena and deny them access to your private information.  Look over the subpoena and determine whether you want those records to be provided.  You can then check a box to deny them access.

The document you may have received is called a notice to consumer because it often involves information from banks, financial accounts, hotel reservations, or prior transactions in which you were a consumer and not a party to the case.  Sometimes the notice to consumer will come directly from the photocopy company, but it has the same effect as if it came from the attorney.  Watch the video to learn more.

If you have additional questions about a notice to consumer or your personal injury case, I want you to call me at (559) 436-0850.  I welcome your call.  Visit our educational website at www.NunesLaw.com for more videos and media content from our law firm.

Sometimes the treatment you receive following an accident does not appear to be necessary, and sometimes a patient simply does not like the treatment or the people providing the treatment.  There can be important implications for your case and your ability to recover from the charges associated with that treatment.  If you find yourself in such a situation, then you need to think carefully about a few details when deciding how to react.

Follow your doctors’ advice, but do not undergo treatment that is painful or that you do not believe you need.  Let your attorney know if you do not believe the treatment is doing anything for you.  It is important to understand that the law does not allow you to recover costs for medical treatment that is not considered reasonable and necessary.  If the treatment is not effective, then you cannot recover from it.  You do not want to be left with a bill for treatment you did not want or did not need.

Document the treatment, document follow-through, and let the doctor know why you have stopped if you do not continue with the treatment.  Perhaps you may find that your pain is becoming worse from the physical therapy.  This documentation can help to avoid unexplained gaps in treatment, which can be perceived by insurance companies as signs of a weak case.  Watch the video to learn more.

If you have additional questions about how to stop painful or unnecessary medical treatment in relation to your personal injury case, I want you to call me at 559-234-0971.  I welcome your call. Visit our educational website at www.NunesLaw.com for more videos and media content from our law firm.

Related Link:

• Motorcycle Accidents Can Lead to Life-Changing Injuries in California
• How Are Semi-Truck Accidents and Injuries Different from Other California Collisions?
• Can I File a Claim Without an Accident Witness?
• Identifying the Signs of a Traumatic Brain Injury After a California Traffic Accident
• Delayed Symptoms After a Car Accident… What Should You Do?
• Pedestrian Accident Deaths Have Reached a Thirty-Year High in the U.S.
• the Legal Side of Injuries Caused by a Serious Car Accident