You are here: Home / Archives for Auto

Attorney Bankruptcy Rancho Cucamonga

July 26, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

bankruptcy-rancho-cucamonga ...

Victorville Personal Injury Attorney’s Top Ten Reasons to Slow Down to Avoid a Personal Injury Auto Accident

Author: R. Sebastian Gibson

1) Old people don’t see very well.

 

2) Some people don’t think too well.

 

3) Cops are not easily amused.

 

4) You never know when you’ll come across a cute girl in a slower car.

 

5) Children don’t expect to see a car racing down their street at 100 mph.

 

6) There’s probably a police helicopter tracking your every movement.

 

7) You get much more attention if you drive slowly - remember OJ’s low speed chase in the white Ford Bronco.

 

8) Your car probably has a built in self-destruct mechanism if you hit 150 mph.

 

9) People still use cell phones.

 

10) Someone may call in your license plate to the authorities.

 

Here are ten useful tips of advice from a personal injury lawyer to follow if you have been in an accident. You can also learn more about how to handle a personal injury in Victorville, 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 may have been a few hours since the accident. However, if you ever have another accident, or if it’s only been a few hours since you were hurt, here’s what you should do 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 personal injury attorney as soon as you have had your initial treatment, so the lawyer 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 personal injury attorney 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 personal injury 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 personal injury 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 personal injury in Victorville, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Corona, Temecula, Murrieta, Riverside, San Bernardino, Moreno Valley, Fontana, Palmdale, Hesperia, or anywhere in Southern California, we have the knowledge and resources to be your Victorville Personal Injury Lawyer and your Palmdale Personal Injury 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.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/personal-injury-articles/victorville-personal-injury-attorneys-top-ten-reasons-to-slow-down-to-avoid-a-personal-injury-auto-accident-633345.html

About the Author

The Sebastian Gibson Law Firm serves auto accident victims in Victorville, motorcycle victims and truck accident clients in Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Corona, Temecula, Murrieta, Riverside, San Bernardino, Moreno Valley, Fontana, Palmdale, Victorville, and Hesperia. We also serve bicycle, pedestrian and car accident clients from San Diego to Orange County, Long Beach and Santa Monica, Palm Springs, Palm Desert and Indio, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Oxnard and San Luis Obispo, and all of Southern California.

Visit our website at http://www.sebastiangibsonlaw.com if you have a personal injury legal matter of any kind. We have the knowledge and resources to represent you as your Victorville Personal Injury Lawyer and Palmdale Personal Injury Attorney or your attorney in and around the cities of Corona del Mar, Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Carlsbad, Oceanside, La Jolla, Del Mar and Escondido. We also serve Orange, Fullerton, Costa Mesa, Corona, Westminster, Buena Park, Mission Viejo, Garden Grove, Chula Vista, El Cajon, Vista, San Marcos, Solana Beach, Encinitas, Laguna Niguel, Chino Hills, San Clemente, Pacific Beach, Coachella, Rancho Mirage, La Quinta, Joshua Tree and Apple Valley.



Filed Under: Bankruptcy information Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Post Bankruptcy Debtor Education Course

July 11, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment
Debtor Education for ...

Auto Repossessions and Bankruptcy

Author: David Siegel

What happens to an auto that is repossessed before, during or after a bankruptcy case? The answer will depend upon which type of bankruptcy or which chapter rather, that the debtor has filed. It also depends upon whether or not the debtor wants to recover the vehicle or simply let the vehicle go. The basic rule is as follows; the debtor remains the beneficial owner of the vehicle until such time that the vehicle is sold at auction. What this means is, the debtor has the ability to recover that vehicle and negotiate with the lender prior to the auto being sold at auction. This assumes of course that the debtor has filed a bankruptcy and that the automatic stay has gone into effect.

One typical case that I often see is a Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing where the vehicle is repossessed pre-filing. In that case, the auto finance company is often willing to negotiate for the return of the vehicle in exchange for certain documentation. That documentation usually includes proof of auto insurance and listing the finance company as the loss payee. In addition, the auto finance company will likely want to see a copy of the proposed chapter 13 plan indicating that the secured creditor is listed at the proper dollar amount at the proper interest rate. If all of those items could be shown, the auto lender is very likely to return the vehicle to the debtor without the debtor having to file an adversarial complaint in the bankruptcy court to recover the vehicle.

In a Chapter 7 case, whether not the debtor can recover the vehicle has to do with whether or not the debtor is current on the payments and/or can become current. If the debtor is behind on a vehicle in a Chapter 7 and the vehicle is repossessed pre-petition, the lender will simply bring a motion to modify the automatic stay, which will allow that lender to be able to keep the vehicle from the debtor. The debtor always has the ability to come up with the past due amount and become current to recover the vehicle, prior to the vehicle being sold at auction. The most important question that the Chapter 7 debtor needs to ask himself, is can I get current on that vehicle to the point where I can reaffirm the debt on that vehicle, continue to make monthly payments on time going forward, and maintain ownership of the vehicle. If the answer to any of those questions is, no, it really makes sense to surrender that vehicle back to the lender, because eventually the lender is going to move to modify the stay and repossess the vehicle down the road.

Additionally, if the debtor agrees to reaffirm the debt, and that it is subsequently repossessed post-petition, the debtor may in fact be on the hook for the rest of the balance or a deficiency on that vehicle unless the reaffirmation agreement can be rescinded in time.

Most people do not like to give up their autos. There is a pride factor, there is a love of the auto factor there is a transportation factor. The reality is this, if you cannot afford that vehicle, let it go. Do not reaffirm, do not stretch to fight to save the vehicle that you don't have the ability to pay going forward. Maybe your economic circumstances have not changed since the bankruptcy filing. Maybe you really didn't have the ability to afford that vehicle before the case was filed. These are all factors that a debtor must consider before agreeing to reaffirm a debt either under Chapter 7 or fighting to get the vehicle back and repaying it over time through a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/law-articles/auto-repossessions-and-bankruptcy-251657.html

About the Author

David M. Siegel is the author of Chapter 7 Success: The Complete Guide to Surviving Personal Bankruptcy. He is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and currently practices bankruptcy law in Chicago and its surrounding suburbs. Additional information is available at http://www.bankruptcy-lawyers-sanantonio.com .


Filed Under: Bankruptcy information Tagged With: , , , , ,

Commercial Auto Insurance 101: Avoiding A Sticky Situation

March 7, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment


Maybe you are a contractor, a plumber, an electrician, a painter, a locksmith or a gardiner. Maybe you are a one man (or woman) show and you hop into your truck or van each day and off you go. Or, maybe you own a large plumbing company with employees and multiple vehicles. Or, maybe your CPA, Tax Attorney, Brother-In-Law or other trusted advisor told you to register your personal vehicle in the name of your business for tax or other purposes.

Now, I won't ask you all to raise your hands, but answer this question to yourselves. "Is your vehicle that you use for business on your personal auto insurance policy?" I'm sure many of you are nodding or uncomfortably looking around the room. Now, those of you, and you know who you are, who answered in the affermative, I have an additional question for you. Suppose you are at a client's house, in the middle of a remodel and need to bring in those custom made cabinets from your truck. If you accidentally shatter your client's glass sliding door bringing the cabinets inside, who is going to pay for that? Well, your personal auto policy offers no coverage for that. But, your commercial auto policy would.

Let me give another example. Let's say you are Paul the Painter and you are a one man show and you use your pick-up truck for work. You have two other vehicles that you wouldn't dream of getting paint or paint supplies near that are simply your personal cars. You've got a personal auto insurance policy that covers all three vehicles. Now, let's see what could happen to you, Mr. Paul the Painter.

You get up in the morning, shower, have breakfast, hugs and kisses to the family and you are out the door to your first job of the day. You stop by the paint store to pick up the colors you need and various brushes and supplies that you are going to need for the day. On the way from the paint store to your first client's house, something catches your eye and you look away from the road for a moment. *POW* Doing the right thing, as you always try to do, you immediately pull over and see what you hit. Unfortunately, in that split second, little Johnny and his mother were crossing the street and you hit them. The ambulance arrives and carts them off to the hospital where you later find out that mom is ok, but sadly, Little Johnny is going to be wheelchair bound for the rest of his life.

Of course, you put the claim in under your auto insurance policy and prepare for a long claims process. Unfortunately, you have a false sense of security that while all of the events leading up to this point were horrific on Little Johnny, his mother and yourself, you feel confident that your personal auto insurance policy will pay the claim.

Well, during one of the interviews, your claims adjuster asks where you were going and where you were coming from when the accident happened. You honestly explain that you are a painter, were at the paint store and was subsequently off to your client's house. Guess what? Your personal auto policy specifically excludes losses that happen during the course of business. Why is that? Because that is what a commercial auto policy is for. We will go over the different coverages available on each policy and why it is imperative to have the proper policy for the proper vehicle/use in just a moment.

Needless to say, your claim is denied and now you have to go through the litigation expenses on your own. You may have to sell your home, your business, drain your own child's college fund or perhaps even declare bankruptcy in this case. Paul, we want you to avoid this catastrophe on top of a catastrophe.

So, that was the unfortunate tale of Paul the Painter, who did not have the right type of policy. Here at Goldhammer Insurance Services, we want to help the Pauls of California avoid his fate.

On a much lighter note, let's go over how your commercial auto insurance policy works and the major coverages provided therein.

The following coverages will be similar to those on a personal auto insurance policy:

1. Liability - In the case of Paul the Painter, if he had a commercial auto insurance policy for his truck, the liability portion of the policy would pay up to the policy limits for the associated medical bills, lawsuit settlements, etc. The liability coverage pays "the other guy".
Now, here is a major difference between a personal auto policy and a commercial auto policy. Included in the liability coverage on a commercial auto insurance policy is a coverage called "Loading & Unloading". On your personal car insurance, if you injure someone or damage property while loading up your truck or unloading it, there would generally be no coverage. However, on your commercial auto insurance policy, your liability coverage would extend further to offer coverage in this scenario.

2. Uninsured Motorist - If, for example, you are involved in an accident that is determined to be "the other guy's" fault, and he does not have insurance, your uninsured motorist coverage would pay you what you would have collected had the other guy had insurance.

3. Comprehensive and Collision coverage - These are the coverages that are available to fix any physical damage to your vehicle in the event of a covered loss. As on a personal auto policy, your collision coverage covers accidents involving actually colliding with something. Comprehensive coverage covers incidents that are other than collision. Fire, theft, vandalism hitting an animal, etc would all be covered under your comprehensive coverage.

Ok, everyone still with me? Good. There'll be punch and cookies at the end. Now, the following are the coverages offered on a commercial auto insurance policy that are not offered under a personal auto insurance policy.

1. Employer's non-ownership liability - Ok, let's say Paul the Painter has his commercial auto policy in force. Paul has a part-time employee who helps him with some jobs, but mostly runs errands such as dropping off the daily deposit at the bank. So, let's say Paul's employee, Franz, is going to the bank one day and hits Bobby Bicyclist in the parking lot. Bobby could sue Franz, and when it comes out that Franz was running an errand for his employer, Bobby could sue Paul as well. This employer's non-ownership liability coverage would protect Paul's interests. Otherwise, poor Paul could find himself in the same financial situation as he did when he accidentally hit Johnny and his mother and had the wrong type of policy for his truck!

2. Hired auto - Paul won a bidding war for a huge painting job and realizes he's going to need to rent a couple of more trucks and hire a few more employees for this job. Are those rented trucks covered under his policy? YES! The hired auto coverage can be set up in such a way that those rented trucks are insured the same as if they were owned by Paul.

3. Drive other car - Ok, let's give Paul a break for now. I have a good friend Greg the gardiner. Greg is a single guy and the only vehicle he owns is his work truck. He has it properly insured on a commercial auto policy. If Greg goes on a road trip with his buddies and they rent a car, Greg's commercial auto policy would cover him driving another car, as long as he had this coverage.

Hopefully, getting through all of that was relatively painless...well for everyone except Johnny and his mom. In any event, those are the major points to cover in our commercial auto policy and the reasons to properly insure vehicles commercially as opposed to on a personal policy if they are used for commercial use.

As always, if you have a question, would like a quote or simply have a comment, please do not hesitate to email us at allcaliforniainsurance@gmail.com, leave a comment in the space provided, give us a ring at 1 800 947 8887, or come on by the office at 21820 Burbank Blvd #226 Woodland Hills, CA 91367.

And remember, when you are sick and tired of the sledgehammer sales approach, come to Goldhammer Insurance where you are always in good hands with our white glove treatment.

Filed Under: Bankruptcy Attorney Tagged With: , , , , ,

Cheap California Auto Insurance

February 14, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment


New Yorkers tend to complain about the high cost of auto insurance, especially in New York City. But at least New York City has the subway system. It is extremely comprehensive and you can actually live without a car in the Big Apple. Spend some time tooling around Los Angeles however, and you've got a different situation entirely. Yes, there is a metro in the city of angels, but it is not nearly as comprehensive as the one in New York and worse, with the sprawl that is Los Angeles, you really cannot get around easily on public transportation.

Add in the obscenely high unemployment rate of 12.2% caused by the Great Recession and you have a serious problem. What you need is cheap California auto insurance. And you need it right now.

Now, before you decide to try illegal tricks to make your payments lower, you need to be aware that doing so will void your insurance should you get into an accident, thereby leading to potential bankruptcy and garnishing of your wages or even worse, possible jail for insurance fraud. So yes, your brother-in-law's friend's cousin's girlfriend might have gotten a better deal by registering her car in Wyoming and then driving around on Rodeo drive, where she lives and works (and why exactly someone who lives and works in that area needs to get cheaper insurance, we don't know, but that's another column entirely), but if the insurance company can prove she really was living in California, she is going to be in some seriously deep trouble.

That said, there are ways to get cheap California auto insurance. First, you need to know the minimum coverage requirements. The bare minimum that the law requires you to carry for liability coverage in California is 15/30/5. This is a pretty minimal number which basically means you need to be able to cover $15,000 of damages to anybody in the other car, $30,000 of damages over-all (i.e. two people could get $15,000 each, 3 could get $30,000, etc.) and just $5,000 for coverage of damage to the other car itself. With the cost of health care, not to mention the expensive cars out in California, this is next to nothing. So yes, you can get away with this. But make sure that you have no other assets if you do.

If you own a home, if you have savings, IRAs, retirement accounts, etc. they can be attached if your insurance is not enough to cover the damage you cause. This is likely not going to happen however if you happen to have nothing worth going after. But it is a concern. Please note that this advice is not to be construed as being of a legal advisory nature and the author does not purport to have any legal qualifications whatsoever. The advice should be taken at face value and checked with a qualified attorney if you intend to rely on it.

Once you've decided how much coverage you need, the best way to find cheap California auto insurance is to look online. The cost of coverage can vary by hundreds of dollars from one company to another and it pays to shop around. Either that or actually move to Wyoming. I hear Cheyenne is a lovely little town.

Find cheap california auto insurance on http://www.autoinsurancequoteranger.com;. Discover the latest update on this topic

Filed Under: Bankruptcy Attorney Tagged With: , , ,

U.S. Auto Manufacturers Are They Ready To Declare Bankruptcy?

February 8, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

U.S. auto manufacturers are facing more pressure from import manufacturers every year. They have already been feeling the heat from Nissan, Toyota and Honda, but now with Hyundai taking a larger chunk of the middle and lower range cars, SUV's and trucks this may be the start of the end of the likes of Ford and G.M.

Ford has already announced a restructuring and a projected cut of 30,000+ jobs. G.M. has recently retired an old name brand Oldsmobile and is posting losses on a regular basis. Delphi Corp., the largest auto parts supplier for U.S. manufacturers has already declared bankruptcy which makes buyers leary of future parts availability. Most of the other parts suppliers are very close to or are currently declaring bankruptcy.

In the 80's when Chrysler was having severe finacial woes the government stepped in with million dollar loans and other aid. The government is currently reeling from Katrina, New Orleans, and the war in Iraq. It can't afford to bail out Ford or G.M. The public opinion is against a government bailout as the economy is not its best. George Bush has too many other problems to deal with like high gas prices, natural gas, Iraq, etc...

So, without a government bailout and no proposed new laws to halt the outsourcing and outflowing of jobs and such to overseas giants like China and Japan, it is only a matter of time before Ford and G.M. go bankrupt. Toyota and Honda have been gunning for the number 1 spot and now that they have it are not going to give it up. The only hope left is with the trucks. Both Ford and G.M. have a bustling truck business and it is their only profitable business. The imports have tried to break into this market and after quite a few years they have not had much success. The majority of trucks are bought by die hard Ford or Chevy people. But, that may also change. Toyota has found that the key may be in Nascar. This could and will lead to other imports getting involved and taking the American out of Nascar. That would eventually happen as they have more money and lower costs.

Basically, with the laws the way they are right now, the U.S. auto manufacturers do not stand a chance. So the question is do we restrain trade with countries like China and Japan, possibly hurt foreign relations, Make it more expensive to buy better built and higher quality imports, etc... Or let democracy, free trade, and a capitalist society have its way giving Americans the best, safest vehicles, for the lowest price? Regardless of how we make our laws, Walmarts or their equivalents will always prevail - the basic premise of Walmart's founder Sam Walton was to sell the best products to consumers at the lowest price possible. Look at what he did. In a period of 40 years he went from one store to being the largest retailer in the world. Walmart has plans for 2500 stores in China. Maybe the U.S. auto manufacturers could learn something here. Take the imports on at their own game, stop paying multi-million dollar compensation packages to executives that aren't fixing the company. Maybe they need to pay more attention to what brings the best results in advertising at the least expense. Why is it that some companies must spend millions on advertising and others in the same niche get more results for much less?

Ford and G.M. need to rethink and come out with an attack plan. Go after the imports at their own level. Maybe make a marketing ploy of America and what we may lose. The kids of today aren't growing up dreaming of Shelby Mustangs and Corvettes. They are driving Honda and Toyotas that they fix up like in the Movie The Fast and the Furious. Maybe its too late.

David Maillie is a chemist, an alumni of Cornell University and holds numerous patents including his recently awarded patent for headlight repair, cleaner and restorer. He can be reached at M.D. Wholesale: http://www.mdwholesale.com

Filed Under: Bankruptcy information Tagged With: , , , , , ,