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The question whether you need a lawyer for a car insurance claim is a common one, and the answer depends on a number of factors. In this article, we will explore the reasons why you may or may not need a lawyer for a car insurance claim. Car accidents can be traumatic and stressful events as they relate to the injury factor, as well as the legal process that follows. A car accident insurance claim is an important part of the process, which helps individuals recover from the financial loss incurred as a result of the accident.    Need support with your personal injury claim? The Angeles Law Firm is here to fight for your rights and get you the best compensation! Contact us and let us know your case: click here   The insurance company is refusing to pay the claim One of the primary reasons to hire a lawyer is if the insurance company is refusing to pay the claim or offering a low ball offer, both of which are common when they see an unrepresented claimant. If the insurance company denies your claim, you may need to take legal action in order to get the compensation that you are entitled to. In such a scenario, a lawyer can help you understand the legal process and represent you throughout the claim, and if needed, in court. A lawyer can also negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf, helping to ensure that you receive the maximum amount of compensation possible.   The severity of your injuries Another reason to consider hiring a lawyer is if the accident has caused serious injury or death. In such cases, the compensation amount may be significant, and it is important to ensure that you receive the full amount that you are entitled to. A lawyer can help you navigate the complex legal process and ensure that you receive the maximum amount of compensation possible. We provide you the support you need in the legal process! Schedule your free consultation with The Angeles Law Firm here: click here   The insurance company is offering you a settlement that is inadequate   If the insurance company is offering you a settlement that you feel is inadequate, a lawyer can help you negotiate a better deal. A lawyer can provide you with the legal knowledge and expertise to help you understand the value of your claim and negotiate with the insurance company to get the compensation you deserve.   You always need a lawyer to handle a car accident claim. Even if the claim stays between you and the insurance company, you will 100% need a lawyer to help secure the compensation you deserve.    When to Hire a Lawyer for an Insurance Claim First and foremost, if you have any doubts about the claims process with your insurance company, you should contact a lawyer for advice.   To learn more about our services and how our team can help you, visit our website at: click here    Whether you need a lawyer for a car insurance claim depends on the specific circumstances of your case. Not being injured from an accident is the only reason you would not need a lawyer to represent you. However if you are injured, if the insurance company is denying your claim, if the accident has caused serious injury or death, or if the insurance company is offering you a settlement that you feel is inadequate, it is always in your best interest to hire a lawyer.   The decision of whether to hire a lawyer for a car insurance claim should be based on a careful consideration of your individual circumstances. Follow us on our social media to learn more about our experienced and supportive team: Instagram 

Californians working in every employment sector should be aware of the employment laws in place to protect their interests. Employers and employees have rights and responsibilities under federal and California state law, and disputes between employees and their employers can arise for many reasons. If you believe you have encountered any legal situation with your employer, it’s vital to find an experienced employment law attorney who can represent you and help you navigate the legal channels available for addressing your situation. Employment law is relatively broad. The Angeles Law Firm can assist you with any legal disputes that may arise between you and your employer and help you approach your case with confidence. Contact us at 310.773.5632 for a free consultation What Does Employment Law Include? The term “employment law” can apply to virtually any legal situation involving an employment-related dispute. Some of the most commonly filed cases in California employment law pertain to: Workplace discrimination The laws set forth by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) of the United States ensure that all Americans have the right to work free from any form of discrimination. Employers may not make hiring, firing, promotion, demotion, or other employment-related decisions based on an employee’s or an applicant’s race, national origin, age, sex, sexual preference, religion, or other protected personal traits. If you have encountered any employment-related discrimination in California, an employment law attorney can guide you through the EEOC discrimination claim process and help you hold the employer accountable. Workplace harassment Unfortunately, many California employees experience harassment of various kinds in their workplaces. Some employees experience harassment from their employers, while others endure it from coworkers. No harassment is acceptable under the EEOC’s regulations. If you have experienced sexual harassment, or if others in your workplace have created a hostile or unwelcome work environment due to your protected personal traits and have interfered with your ability to do your job, you have the right to pursue an EEOC workplace harassment claim. Background checks California’s employers have the right to conduct background checks on their employees with some restrictions. Typically, an employer can only conduct a background check to confirm the employee can handle their job duties and does not pose any risk to themselves, their coworkers, or customers, or clients of the business. A typical background check may include a criminal history check or a child abuse history check if the applicant will be working in any capacity that involves proximity to children. Employers may also conduct drug and alcohol screenings. They cannot, however, perform income history checks. This restriction ensures employees are paid fairly for their work and not offered lowball wages based on what they earned in previous jobs; however similar they may be to their new positions. Paid and unpaid leave rights The EEOC and other government agencies that operate at the federal and state levels provide all employees certain rights regarding paid and unpaid leave. Employers typically stipulate paid leave terms, and employees must agree to these terms to continue employment. However, various government programs exist to manage these situations when it comes to unpaid leave for specific situations, such as a medical emergency or the need to care for a sick or disabled family member. For example, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ensures that an employee can take unpaid leave to handle a family medical emergency and still have their job when they return. If you believe your employer has violated the terms of the FMLA or otherwise failed to uphold legal paid or unpaid leave standards, a California employment law is your best resource for determining a legal solution. Workplace safety standards Every California employer has a legal duty to ensure their workplaces are free from safety hazards and that all employees have the tools, materials, and safety equipment to perform their jobs as safely as possible. If you have been injured at work and believe your injury occurred because your employer failed to uphold workplace safety standards, you should consult an employment law attorney as soon as possible to determine your best options for legal recourse. Reasonable accommodations Employers in California have legal obligations to provide employees with reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, medical conditions, and disabilities. For example, employers must provide wheelchair access to employees who require the use of wheelchairs. If an employer fails to provide reasonable accommodations or fires an employee who requests such accommodations, an employment attorney can help the employee take appropriate legal action.  Whistleblower protection California’s employees have the right to file reports of employer misconduct or regulatory violations in good faith to the appropriate oversight agencies, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). An employer may not fire or otherwise punish any employee who makes a whistleblower report in good faith. If you find yourself in this situation, an employment law attorney can help you take legal action against your employer for their retaliation. These are only a few examples of the legal situations that might arise between an employee and their employer. Employers in all sectors of the California economy need to uphold their legal obligations and ensure safe workplaces for every employee. When employers fail to create effective workplace safety policies, address employee concerns reasonably, or otherwise fail to uphold their obligations under the EEOC and other government agencies, the employee has the right to pursue legal action against their employer. What to Expect From an Employment Law Attorney A good employment law attorney can help an employee navigate the complex legal statutes in place at the federal and state levels when they experience harassment, discrimination, or other mistreatment in their workplaces. Our attorneys have extensive experience helping our clients navigate these complicated legal situations and holding non-compliant and negligent employers accountable for the damage they cause. So, if you or a loved one has recently experienced any mistreatment in your workplace that you believe violates federal or state law, contact us today. 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If you have been laid off or fired recently, and you believe that you lost your job for an unlawful reason, you may be able to bring a claim for wrongful termination against your former employer. The term “wrongful termination” means that an employer has fired or laid off an employee for illegal reasons. Things like reduction in workforce, going out of business, poor performance, or an action that is the fault of the employee are all legal reasons to fire or lay off an employee. Legal Remedies If you think you may want to bring a legal claim for wrongful termination, a wrongful termination attorney can help to represent your rights. There are a variety of potential legal remedies available if your employer is found to have wrongfully terminated your employment. And sometimes there is more than one wrongdoer who may be held accountable for damages. An employer may have to pay damages based on the employee’s lost wages and emotional distress. The employer may also have to pay punitive damages to the terminated employee. If the employee has not yet been officially released, an attorney may be able to negotiate reinstatement or an appropriate severance package that includes adequate compensation and unemployment benefits while the employee hunts for a new job. Contact us at 310.773.5632 for a free consultation Tips That Can Help After Being Fired Although it may be a shock, you need a cool head to think through your next steps. There are a number of things you may want to do immediately to document what has occurred. You will need this information to bring a legal claim. If you have an employment contract, become familiar with the provisions of the agreement. Review promises made by your employer and gather evidence of those promises. Ask why you were terminated if you were not told. Find out who decided to fire you. Request to view your personnel file. Gather any and all documents ever provided to you by your employer. Save all e-mails and text messages between you and your employer. Request and negotiate a severance package. Confirm all agreements regarding your termination and severance in writing. Obtain witness statements from prior coworkers who might have witnessed wrongful conduct. Return all company property and follow standard post-employment procedures. Our Recommendation Talk to a lawyer before filing a wrongful termination claim. If you’ve been wrongly fired, you may have rights to severance pay, damages, and/or unemployment compensation. You should speak with an experienced Angeles Law Firm employment law attorney to understand your rights. If you like this post, please share it with someone whose interest about the subject. Also, we invite you to follow at Instagram and Facebook

The Civil Rights Department (CRD) is responsible for enforcing state laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or employee because of a protected characteristic. These characteristics include sex, race, color, national origin, and religion. Sometimes this treating at work is obvious. Other times it’s harder to spot. In some cases, a person may not even realize they’re behaving in discriminatory ways. But that doesn’t make their behavior okay.  Fighting it in the workplace starts with knowing how to identify it and understanding your rights. What Is Workplace Discrimination?  In general, this kind of behavior against someone means treating that person differently or less favorably than others for any reason.  In the context of the workplace, it means discriminating against or harassing someone because of their race, color, religion, sex, disability, pregnancy status, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, or genetic information.  Contact us at 310.773.5632 for a free consultation The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) applies to public and private employers, labor organizations and employment agencies. These state laws barring discrimination apply to all business practices, including the following: Advertisements Applications, screening, and interviews Hiring, transferring, promoting, terminating, or separating employees Working conditions, including compensation Participation in a training or apprenticeship program, employee organization or union What employment discrimination looks like It is illegal for employers of 5 or more employees to discriminate against job applicants and employees because of a protected category, or retaliate against them because they have asserted their rights under the law. The FEHA prohibits harassment based on a protected category against an employee, an applicant, an unpaid intern or volunteer, or a contractor. Harassment is prohibited in all workplaces, even those with fewer than five employees. The California Family Rights Act (CFRA) requires employers of 5 or more employees to provide an eligible employee with job-protected leave to care for a child, spouse, domestic partner, parent, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling with a serious health condition, and for the employee’s own serious health condition. An eligible employee may also take job-protected leave to bond with a new child by birth, adoption, or foster care placement, within one year of the child’s birth, adoption, or foster placement. “Child” means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of an employee or the employee’s domestic partner, or a person to whom the employee stands in loco parentis. “Parent” includes a biological, foster, or adoptive parent, a parent-in-law, a stepparent, a legal guardian, or other person who stood in loco parentis to the employee when the employee was a child. Employers of 5 or more employees must provide up to four months of disability leave for an employee who is disabled due to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition. Employers of 5 or more employees are required to provide sexual harassment training to supervisory and nonsupervisory employees, and CRD accepts complaints when a person believes that an employer has not complied with these training and education requirements. Steps You Can Take to Protect Yourself Review Your Employer Procedures: Make sure you look at your employee manual and get a copy. Consider contacting the person or office who may have been designated by your employer to receive such complaints, such as Human Resources. Make Sure You Document What is Happening: Write down dates and details of any instances of discrimination and your report of it. Also, note any witnesses, and save all of your own copies of any emails, texts, or any other evidence of misconduct in your personnel files, away from your worksite. During and after a report, it is also important to safeguard and document your productivity at work. Consult an Attorney: Beyond reporting this treat to your employer, there is not one right answer about how to proceed. It is wise to consult an attorney who can explain all the available options. Note that there are deadlines for filing a complaint under federal, state, and city laws prohibiting this behavior. If you like this post, please share it with someone whose interest about the subject. Also, we invite you to follow at Instagram and Facebook

No one plans to get injured in a car accident. You might think that having insurance is enough, but unfortunately that’s not the case. What you say and do following a crash could have a huge impact. Sometimes, it’s obvious why these things matter. Common sense. Sometimes, though, you need to be aware of how the law works to understand why taking a certain action – or avoiding one – is important. 10 Things You Should Do After The Accident 1. Stop & Analyze the situation and try to get out of the road if possible Stop and assess the situation immediately. Is anyone injured? How many other vehicles are involved in this accident, and are other people in those vehicles injured? Move quickly but stay calm & get clear of any potential danger. Never leave the scene and never admit fault. Use flares or keep your hazard lights on to warn other drivers to proceed with caution. Wait in your vehicle while you wait for law enforcement officers to arrive. 2. Call 911 for assistance and immediately report the accident. This is one of those common sense steps. If you’re injured, you want to summon help as soon as possible in any case. The tricky part is, you may not feel injured at all. Some car accident injuries can take hours or even days to manifest. So, even in a minor fender bender, you should call 911 to report the accident and request police and medical assistance. Never state that you are not injured as you may not feel the extent of your injuries immediately after the accident. Law enforcement can also help provide a record of the crash, documenting all the relevant details to assist with an insurance claim or a potential lawsuit. The best course of action after you’ve been in an accident is to call law enforcement officers to come out and document the incident. If medical attention is necessary, they can also call EMTs to the scene. When the officers arrive, try to describe the accident as accurately as possible for the official police report. This report will give a clear picture of what occurred and will need to be used in insurance claims and potentially court if needed. If you’re unsure of any details, be very clear that you’re not certain. When officers ask if you’re injured, it’s always best to say, “I’m not sure,” initially (unless you are evidently injured), since car accident injuries are often not apparent until a day or two after the accident. Sometimes adrenaline and the chaos of the situation can distract you from the pain and the injuries do not set in immediately, so it’s best to wait and reassess your condition a few days after the accident. 3. Document any damage at the scene immediately. Begin to record the scene and take pictures of all vehicle damages, license plates of the cars involved. Before or after officers have arrived and taken down the necessary information, it’s a good idea to take photos of the accident and document as much as possible. If you have any visible injuries, take photos of these as well. While photographs can be useful during an insurance claim or investigation down the line, do not interfere with police and only take photos if the situation allows for it. 4. Exchange contact and insurance information with the other driver(s) (if another vehicle is involved in the accident) and collect witness information. Begin to collect as much information as possible. Typically, if the police are called to the scene of the accident, they will collect each driver’s information. But, they may take some time to get to you or if the accident is minor, you need to ensure that you ask the other driver for his or her information and provide yours as well. You must collect all party’s driver’s licenses and insurance policy information, and vehicle registration. Get witness contact information such as names and phone numbers and record or write down any statements they wish to make. If the accident is reported to the police, the officer will provide all parties with a police report number, which will be used to access a copy of the police report. 5. Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer immediately No matter how minor the accident appears to be, it’s always a good idea to consult an experienced personal injury attorney before discussing the accident with an insurance company or accepting any settlement offers. Insurance companies will often make a quick settlement offer that is much lower than you deserve or are entitled to. If you accept this offer, the claim is over, and you will no longer be able to make any other claims for any other damages. An experienced attorney at The Angeles Law Firm can help you negotiate settlement offers and know when you are getting a fair amount. If negotiations are unsuccessful, we will aggressively defend your right to fair compensation in court. 6. Seek medical attention if necessary Even if you don’t have any blatantly obvious injuries after the accident, it’s important to check with a doctor. If you don’t want to use the ambulance service or visit the emergency room, you can visit an Urgent Care immediately, or your primary care doctor within a few days of the accident. Many people do not report even feeling the impact of car accident injuries until one to three days later, so it’s best to check for signs of a concussion, internal bleeding or other injuries. Keep any and all billing or discharge paperwork as you will need it for your claim/case. 7. Report the accident to your insurance company to file a claim. The sooner you report the accident, the more quickly your claim will be able to be resolved. Contact your insurance company in a timely manner to provide all the necessary information and paperwork. You will likely need to provide all the relevant information regarding the accident to your insurance provider… Continue reading What To Do When Injured in a Car Accident