Top 8 Automobile Accident Tips: What To Do When You Get Into a Automobile Accident

KAASS Tips: Automobile Accidents 

Whether we like it or not we all will get into an accident throughout our lives. Even the most careful cannot avoid the actions of another driver. 

Here are some tips to guide your way. What you should do immediately after a car, truck, or motorcycle accident. 

1. STAY AT THE SCENE. Even if it is not your fault, fleeing the scene might result in criminal charges. You should pull to the side of the road if possible to avoid leaving the car in traffic lanes. 

2. CALL AN AMBULANCE. Check if anyone is hurt. If anyone is hurt, you should not move them unless it’s absolutely necessary. Call or have someone call an ambulance. 

3. CALL THE POLICE. Even if it is a minor accident you should call the police to preserve the evidence. They will not always show up, especially if there are no bodily injuries. However, try to get them out to the scene for a police report.

4. GATHER INFORMATION AND EVIDENCE.

• i. Driver’s license. Get driver’s license number, driver’s license name, driver’s license address, driver’s license expiration date and any restrictions on the driver’s license.
• ii. Registration Card. Get all the information from the vehicle registration card.
• iii. Insurance Card. Get all the information from the vehicle insurance card.
• iv. Description of the driver or passenger(s). Write down the description of the driver or passenger(s) in order to restrict them from claiming that it was someone else.
• v. License Plate. Write down and take a photo of the vehicle’s license plate number if possible. 
• vi. Photographs. The more the merrier. Take as many pictures as you can. Include pictures of: the car, the scene, the damage, skid marks, the road condition, traffic signs, the passengers and most importantly the other driver. 
• vii. Witnesses. Look for witnesses in the area. If their statements can help your case, get down their information immediately. Be nice and ask them if they are willing to be your witness. Try to keep them there until the police arrive so as their statement may be recording in the police report. 

5. MOST IMPORTANTLY do not make any unnecessary statements at the scene, such as admitting liability. Contact an attorney to properly assess the liability question. 

6. DO NOT SPEAK TO ANYONE REGARDING THE FACTS OF THE ACCIDENT. This includes adjusters or claimsman from either your insurance or the opposing insurance company who have contacted you asking for information. 

7. DO NOT GIVE ANY STATEMENTS. No statements to anyone, recorded or not. Anything you say can and will be used against you. 

8. STAY CALM AND CONTACT AN ATTORNEY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE in order to preserve your claim. A proper assessment of your rights will be conducted. 

Now you know the initial steps you need to take when involved in an auto accident. 

Be Safe, Be Just, Be Smart. 

This content provides only general information which may or may not reflect the most current legal developments. KAASS LAW represents clients who have sustained injuries as a result of a automobile/car collision/accident  in: Los Angeles, Burbank, Hollywood, Glendale, Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Studio City, Eagle Rock, Sunland, Tujunga, Sylmar, La Crecenta, La Canada, Beverly Hills, Westwood, Santa Monica, Brentwood.

KAASS LAW is authorized to practice law in California.   The above content is intended for California residents only.  This content provides only general information which may or may not reflect the most current legal developments. KAASS LAW expressly disclaims all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any of the contents of this website.

The California Estate Planning and Probate Process: Who is going to get all your properties after you are gone? A better question is how to make it as painless as possible for your successor to go through the process?

The best way to secure an easy path for your successor to undergo this process is to create a trust. There are many advantages to creating a trust. For instance, your family can save money on probate and taxes; moreover, you can put a more detailed plan in place to manage your property after you are gone.  However, one of the least known but greatest advantages of a trust is protecting your assets from creditors.  How?  Ask and you shall find out, maybe in a later blog. 

One of the biggest advantages to creating a trust is that the property that is owned by your trust avoids the probate process after you are gone. Initially you are going to be the main trustee when creating a trust. When you serve as a trustee while you are alive, the only fact that changes is that your property is not owned by you as an individual; however, it is owned by you as trustee for your own benefit. You are in control of 100 percent of your property.

Next step is to name a successor trustee in your trust document. That individual will automatically own your property after you are gone. It is a huge advantage for your family to avoid probate fees and taxes; moreover, it saves you time.

Another advantage is that you as a trustee can include instructions for your successor when he/she becomes the trustee of your property after you are gone. For example, you can instruct the successor trustee to distribute the property between your spouse and the children. This also saves your family the cost and the delay associated with probate process.

Lastly, you need to find out whether your estate is subject to federal estate taxes which can be pretty expensive. However, they can be reduced if carefully planned. If you are married and you and your spouse own property in excess of the unified credit amount that can be transferred free of federal estate taxes, you can use trusts that include special tax-savings provisions to save your family federal estate taxes on that excess.

KAASS LAW is authorized to practice law in California.   The above content is intended for California residents only.  This content provides only general information which may or may not reflect the most current legal developments. KAASS LAW expressly disclaims all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any of the contents of this website.

Who Is Sniffing Under Your Bedroom Window? The United States Supreme Court Soon To Decide Whether Police Dog Sniffing Violates The Forth Amendment

It seems as if the United States Supreme Court is dog friendly. The Court will hear two cases from Florida and decide whether “dog sniffing” violates our privacy rights

 under the Fourth Amendment of the Unites States Constitution. 

The Fourth Amendment protects our rights to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. Without a probable cause or a warrant, police does not have the right to search your vehicle or your property. A dog’s scent can establish probable cause for the law enforcement to search your vehicle or your house. 

The Court is asked to clarify how accurate a dog must be in terms of its past identification of contraband. An incident which occurred at the Supreme Court garage where a dog sniffed out a visitor’s car proved that the dog cannot always be accurate. The reason the dog made a mistake is because the owners of the vehicle left their dog’s tennis ball in the trunk. We understand that your Yorkie can sniff out a hot dog even if you’re hiding it in your palm, but how accurate can dog sniffing be? 

The Court is also asked to clarify whether the police have the right to “dog sniff” someone’s front porch or not. In 2001, the Court ruled, in an opinion written by Justice Antonin Scalia, that police officers violated a homeowner’s rights for privacy by thermal scanning the house from across the street. If the police cannot thermal scan your house from across the street, why should they be allowed to “dog sniff” the front of your porch? 

As a dog friendly culture, I know that most of you don’t mind a good sniff; however, what if instead of your Yorkie, it’s the SWAT team with their German Shepard nosing under your bedroom window.  As the Court hinted during oral arguments, maybe we ought to invest in a "no dogs allowed" sign on our property.

KAASS LAW

KAASS LAW is authorized to practice law in California. The above content is intended for California residents only. This content provides only general information which may or may not reflect the most current legal developments. KAASS LAW expressly disclaims all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any of the contents of this website.