In this presentation, David Azizi will help you understand the answers to the most common question people ask if they’re hurt, their car is damaged and they’re not able to work: what happens now? Learn what steps are taken after a car accident, making sure you have the adequate insurance to prevent calamity. Original source: https://www.azizilawfirm.com/car-accident-lawyer/after-wreck-not-your-fault

1. Learn What to Do After a Car Accident
That Is Not Your Fault
Protect yourself with these legal steps

2. INTRODUCTION
• After the frenzy of activity surrounding a car accident, when your brain is in a
flight or fight mode to survive, you’re able to sit back and think. Without notice,
your life changed and not for the better. Another driver broke the rules, and you
are paying the price. You’re hurt, your car is damaged and you’re not able to
work. The most common question people ask is what happens now.
• David Azizi has heard that question many times in his 20 years of practice. He
understands your feelings of frustration, and after reviewing the specifics of your
case, he can help you initiate a plan of action to recoup your losses. There are
variables since each case is different, but the goal of recovering financial loss due
to the accident is the same.

3. LEGAL STEPS
There are 5 factors that can affect your compensation after an accident:
1. The injuries incurred in the accident
2. The insurance coverage you have
3. The insurance coverage the at-fault driver has
4. Medical care expenses
5. Loss of income

4. LEGAL STEPS
Required and Optional Insurance in California
• California requires liability coverage. This pays for damages and injuries you cause to others. It does not pay
for injuries and damages to you or members of your family.
• Minimum liability limits for property damage are $5,000. This covers the property belonging to other people
that you damaged.

5. LEGAL STEPS
Required and Optional Insurance in California
• Optional insurance includes that for uninsured or underinsured motorists.
• You can also purchase coverage for physical damage. This is called collision coverage. It covers you against
damage to your vehicle caused by another vehicle or object.

6. LEGAL STEPS
Reporting the Accident
• You must report your accident to the insurance company as soon as possible. If someone dies, is injured or
if there is property damage over $1,000, you must also report the accident to the DMV. Your insurance agent
or your attorney must complete the SR-21 form, which is the report of traffic accidents occurring in
California.
• Once you report your accident to the insurance company, a claims adjustor is assigned to your case. The
adjuster’s job is to review the accident. He or she will look at your medical records, if any, vehicle damage
and police and witness accounts. After acquiring all the necessary information, a settlement offer may be
made.

7. LEGAL STEPS
Reporting the Accident
• This settlement offer is generally low. It is usually better not to accept the first offer if it is not adequate. If you have
an attorney, he or she can advise you about this. Negotiations may end in a satisfactory offer. If not, if may be
necessary to go to court to have it resolved.

8. LEGAL STEPS
How Much Will You Collect
• This depends on the at-fault driver’s insurance policy. With so many drivers in California who are
either underinsured or uninsured, being compensated for your loss can be difficult. Purchasing
underinsured/uninsured coverage is one way to protect yourself.
• If your own insurance policy allows for better coverage, it is possible to submit the claim to your own
insurance company. The only downside is that you will be responsible for the deductible.

9. LEGAL STEPS
How Much Will You Collect
• However, your insurance company will most likely use a process called subrogation. This means your
insurance company will literally stand in your place, and make a claim against the other driver’s insurance
company. Such a claim is weightier than a claim you, as the injured party, could file. In addition, the
deductible you paid will most likely be refunded in part.

10. LEGAL STEPS
Medical Care Expenses and Lost Earnings After a Car Crash
• Using an injury severity score calculation, the medical care cost was divided into that required for low
severity injuries to cataclysmic ones. The average range is shown below in 2010 dollars:
• It stands to reason that the severity of injuries results in higher medical expenses and lost time from work.

11. LEGAL STEPS
Medical Care Expenses and Lost Earnings After a Car Crash
There are three ways to pay for medical care after a car accident before a case has been resolved. These are:
• Your own health insurance. If you choose this method and a lawsuit is filed against the at-fault driver or if
insurance covers the expenses, the money must be paid back to your health insurer when you win.
• A separate, optional car insurance policy addition commonly called Med-Pay.
• When you need medical care and are unable to pay for it, health care providers may accept a medical lien.

12. LEGAL STEPS
Medical Pay Benefits in California
• Since medical care is expensive, another way to cover reasonable and necessary care for you or
passengers in your vehicle is by having “Med Pay” added to your insurance policy. This is not mandatory,
and you must choose to have it. It will pay medical bills up to the coverage limit you have on your policy.
Generally, the bills must be incurred within one year of the accident.

13. LEGAL STEPS
Lost Wages
• As noted in the table on slide #12, lost wages can have an enormous impact on the financial loss you suffer
after a car accident. Lost wages incurred from an accident where you were not at fault and were injured can
be covered by insurance when your policy covers this. You must provide adequate documentation along with
your claim. This can include pay stubs or some other way of proving what you normally earn. Even contract
workers can recover lost wages. Ask your attorney how to calculate and document this.

14. LEGAL STEPS
Rental Car Coverage
• The insurance company will pay for a rental car. Since you can no longer rely on your vehicle, this loss of
use” is compensable. You are entitled to compensation for the rental of a similar car for a reasonable amount
of time.

15. LEGAL STEPS
What Happens When My Car Is Totaled?
• In such cases, you will be paid for the market value of your car. If you are still paying off your car loan, you
might owe more than the fair market value of your car. Gap insurance solves this problem.
• Gap insurance will pay the difference between the two, so you are not left trying to pay off the remainder of
the loan on your wrecked car while you are trying to get a new one.

16. EXTERNAL RESOURCES
• Emergency: Dial 911
• Non-Emergency:
1. Contact Your Insurance Company
2. Contact Your Primary Care Physician
3. Contact Your Personal Injury Lawyer
• Original Source: https://www.azizilawfirm.com/car-accident-lawyer/after-wreck-not-your-fault
• Further Reading
• http://www.ots.ca.gov/Media_and_Research/Data_and_Statistics.asp
• http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/general-statistics/fatalityfacts/state-by-state-overview
• https://www.nhtsa.gov/research-data
• https://www.dmv.org/ca-california/accident-guide/
• https://safetrec.berkeley.edu
• Direct questions related to an accident in the Greater Los Angeles Area: Call David Azizi at 800-991-5292