I live in Rancho Cordova, and an abandoned vehicle has been in front of my house for months. How do I get it removed?

The easiest way to remove an abandoned vehicle in Rancho Cordova is to go through the Rancho Cordova Police site. You will find the form to report an abandoned vehicle at the Rancho Cordova Police Department traffic website. 

If I’m in a serious accident in Rancho Cordova, do the police always come and make an accident report?

No, they will not. Rancho Cordova PD will only make an accident report or police report if:

Nonetheless, the Rancho Cordova police will not come to the scene unless you complain of injury or pain. This can seriously imperil your ability to provide for your family if your ability to work is impaired and the accident documentation is missing.

Note: This has nothing to do with Rancho Cordova officers. They are just following the dictates of the politico who make the rules. This policy needs to be changed, and only citizens complaining to the city representatives can change it.

I was struck by a truck in Rancho Cordova and filed a lawsuit. The defendant’s attorney has issued a subpoena for all my past medical records. Can they do that?

When someone files a lawsuit for personal injury, to a certain extent, they may waive the ability to keep private past medical records which would generally be protected from discovery by HIPPA. Usually, the defense is allowed to ask for previous medical records for a reasonable period (typically five years) for any medical condition for which you are claiming injury in the accident.

So, if you suffered a knee injury in an accident, they would usually be entitled to subpoena medical records for five years or so before the accident dealing with any knee conditions. This is fair because the defense does not feel it needs to compensate you if the medical records show you claimed knee problems for many years before the recent accident. (Notwithstanding this, you may have a claim for aggravation of a prior knee injury.

The defense is NOT allowed (over objection) to subpoena “any and all past medical records.” Actually, though, notice I said: “over objection.” The defense attorney will always subpoena any past medical records and will not even specify whether the documents about the injury you are claiming. Insurance companies like to go on fishing expeditions to see if they can find anything detrimental or embarrassing in your past medical records and then try to use that against you.

An experienced attorney will immediately object to the production and seek to limit the subpoena to the areas you are claiming injury and going back only five years or so. If the defense does not agree to limit its subpoena, the attorney will seek a protective order from the court to limit the subpoena.

The California case of Britt v Superior Court holds that consumers have a reasonable expectation of privacy of their past medical records even if they file suit for injuries. If you have any questions about the privacy of your California medical records, contact our skilled personal injury attorneys from Rancho Cordova, CA, anytime.

After a personal injury lawsuit, what type of accounting is my attorney supposed to give?

At the end of the lawsuit and before the attorney has you sign the settlement check from the other party’s insurance, the attorney should give you a Settlement Statement that thoroughly explains the settlement amount and any deductions from such amount. Amongst the deductions are the following:

• As specified in the contract with your lawyer, attorney fees are typically deducted from the settlement first.
• Court Costs or, in other words, a listing of all expenses prepaid by your lawyer to move your case forward. Such costs include filing fees, depositions, expert fees, and exhibit preparation fees. 
• Reimbursement amounts are deducted next. The attorney will frequently be reimbursed for the interest incurred on his advanced expenses.
• Medical, government, or reimbursement liens are to be itemized. Government agencies such as Medicare and Medi-Cal pay bills upfront for clients in an accident but must be repaid out of the settlement by statute. Most of the time, your attorney should be able to reduce these liens somewhat. If there is a medical lien from a doctor or chiropractor, that also must be paid.

After all of the above expenses, the client pays the remainder. If your Rancho Cordova accident injury lawyer does not itemize the fees above, you do not need to sign the check from the insurance company until they do.

You might be entitled to financial compensation if you suffered traumatic injuries in a car accident that was not your fault. Contact our law firm today to receive free, friendly advice from one of our experienced personal injury lawyers serving Rancho Cordova residents. Dial (916) 921-6400 or (800) 404-5400.

We are members of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the National Association of Distinguished Counsel.

See a list of our past cases on our verdicts and settlements page and our client reviews on Avvo, Yelp, and Google.

^{Editor’s Note: updated 12.6.23 Photo by FilterGrade on Unsplash [cs 1512]}

Additional Resources: