Clients from Laskin Balma Attorneys at Law in Sacramento California run in to this a lot. An insurance company does not pay for bills as they come. There are typically two settlements with an adverse insurance company: property damage and bodily injury. Now, you may not have an injury and the only thing you need to worry about is property damage, but if you do have an injury, you’ve got medical bills coming in and nobody paying them. The insurance company will only give one lump sum bodily injury settlement. With the property damage they might pay out the rental car and pay out the vehicle repair. Sometimes they’ll even replace damaged equipment. But bodily injury is just one number that […]

You might think this case study is a no-brainer, but, as always, the correct answer is “it depends.” In California pedestrians have a lot of leeway, but they don’t have an unequivocal right-of-way. California Vehicle Code section 21954(a) states that a pedestrian that is not in a crosswalk shall yield the right of way to any vehicle that is near enough that it constitutes a hazard. This law makes it seem like it is not illegal to jaywalk at all as long as crossing is safe, but that is not the case. California Vehicle Code section 21955 says that no pedestrian may cross the roadway at any place other than the crosswalk between adjacent intersections controlled by traffic control signal […]

Amazing story in the case spotlight this month at Laskin Balma Attorneys at Law in Sacramento CA. A few years ago, attorney Nathan J. Kabanuck went to trial in an interesting case that shows how the Law Offices of Laskin Balma will go to bat for a client over as small an amount as a few hundred dollars if it means protecting the client’s interests. This case is a rear-end collision that ended up in trial despite having straight-forward facts. Our client had minimal treatment, only two visits to Methodist Hospital immediately following the collision. Without medical insurance and the adverse insurance company not covering such bills, our client, Joseph, sought an attorney so they would be paid. Joseph also […]

The seventh largest wildfire in California history. Over 70,000 acres and 450 homes destroyed. Wild fires have always been a threat in California and the drought makes it so much worse. However, it is not expected that a mistake by a utility company could cause so much damage. A new lawsuit claims that PG&E and their maintenance contractor are to blame for the Butte fire that started on August 9, 2015. The Governor declared a state of emergency and the Butte fire was deemed a national disaster by the federal government.  FEMA and aid was sent into Amador and Calaveras County. Many people lost everything they own and two people lost their lives. This first lawsuit involves two plaintiffs who […]