I've involved in a car accident happened at a gas station. The damages
to the cars are minor. However, a pregnant woman in the other car
claimed she had felt the back pain (I don't believe it's due to the
car accident). The other car backed to hit my car's right front bumper
with its right rear bumper while I was fully stopped, I honked it
before it hit me. But the other car still claimed that I hit him.
The police came and couldn't decide who was at fault.

Three questions:
1. Could I check other people's DMV driving records? could I check
mine? How can I do that?

2. I want to find an attorney to represent me to deal with this issue
as I can not use an insurance company now. Could you recommend some
good car accident attorneies (English-speaking or Chinese-speaking) at
SF Bay Area?

3. What do you think I can do to protect myself from possible fraud (I
don't know what's going on with that pregnant woman)?

Hi sfbay,

Sorry to hear about the accident. It's unfortunate that you apparently
don't have insurance (not least because California requires valid
liability insurance whether you're a CA resident or not). If if I've
misinterperted your statement, "I can not use an insurance company
now." and you do have insurance, you should by all means contact them
*immediately* and report the accident. While I can understand possible
reasons to be reluctant to involve your insurer, they will handle
every item on your list, including checking DMV records, protecting
you against fraud, and so on. It's what you pay premiums for, after
all.  The chances are also good that the other party *will* contact
your insurer about the accident in any case if they do intend to sue.

To your specific questions...

1) No, as a private indvidual, you can't access another person's DMV
records, according to the California DMV site.  However, an insurer or
attorney can get that information.  See...

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d02/vc1808_22.htm

2) Google Researchers can't recommend specific businesses, vendors, or
professional services.  Your best bet is a certified lawyer refrral
service.  According to the State Bar of California Web site,

"...a certified lawyer referral service can put you in touch with a
lawyer who can handle your problem. If your particular problem can be
resolved without a lawyer, the referral service will tell you how to
get the help you need.

Be sure that the service is certified by the State Bar. Lawyer
referral services which are certified follow certain rules which will
protect you.

A certified lawyer referral service may direct you to lawyers with
experience in certain areas of the law such as bankruptcy, criminal,
probate, landlord-tenant, family law and other areas. Certification
Rules also encourage lawyer referral services to offer free and low
cost legal help as well as lawyers who speak languages in addition to
English.

In order to find an attorney referral service, look in the Yellow
Pages of the telephone book at the beginning of the listing of
Attorneys for the name and number of a State Bar certified lawyer
referral service..."

On the Web, a list for San Francisco county attorney referral
services, with phone numbers can be found at...

http://www.calbar.ca.gov/state/calbar/calbar_generic.jsp?sCategoryPath=/Home/Public%20Services/Lawyer%20Referral%20Services&sHeading=County%20Programs&sCounty=San%20Francisco%20County&sCatHtmlPath=calbar_lawyer_referral.jsp

3). Again, to protect yourself against a fradulent claim, if you are
insured, contact your insurer immediately. If you are not, follow your
plan to contact an attorney and solicit his/her professional advice.

Best of luck,

rico

---

Request for Answer Clarification by sfbay-ga on 03 Sep 2002 15:46 PDT

a certified lawyer referral service sounds good.
There are some websites that enable people to contact an attorney and
ask questions, e.g., www.lawexpress.com. What do you think about this
kind of service? Thanks!

---

Clarification of Answer by rico-ga on 03 Sep 2002 16:45 PDT

Personal opinion only, not having used such a service, I'd start with
the certified lawyer referral service, personally. A cursory search
didn't reveal any information on lawexpress.com specifically. Having
said that, I'd recommend that you review the ABA's "Consumer's Guide
to Legal Help on the Internet" at...

http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/publichirenj.html

Please note their caveats, including...

"Caution: this is one of the newest services offered on the web.
Lawyers and clients are experimenting with this, so realize that it
may still have some problems to be worked out. One serious concern is
about client confidentiality. Normally, when you hire a lawyer and
tell him/her your story, the lawyer is bound by rules of ethics and
the courts to keep that information absolutely confidential. But you
waive that confidentiality if you share the information with many
others or post it where many others can view it on the internet! So if
you use these services, be careful to describe your problem in only
general terms."

and...

"Caution:Remember that lawyers are licensed to practice on a
state-by-state basis. If you are hiring a lawyer, make sure that
he/she is licensed in your state (or the state where the case will be
filed). And check the credentials of anyone you hire over the web --
if you wish to hire a lawyer make sure the person really is a lawyer
by contacting the state agency that licenses lawyers. Some examples of
services offering lawyers' services over the web are shown below (we
offer these for information only, and do not endorse or recommend any
service)."

It's sometimes easy to miss comments on a question.  You may want to
consider my Researcher colleague expertlaw's comments, especially...

The Bar Association of San Francisco's referral service is online, as
part of their website, at:
http://www.sfbar.org/lrs/general.html 
 
Additionally, although they do not offer a referral service, if
finding a Chinese-speaking attorney is of import, you may wish to
contact the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association:
http://www.sccla.org/ 

regards,

rico

---

Request for Answer Clarification by sfbay-ga on 03 Sep 2002 17:15 PDT

I don't know much about those associations. From your words, ABA
sounds like an authority, right? Thanks!

---

Clarification of Answer by rico-ga on 04 Sep 2002 04:19 PDT

Sorry, I get so used to acronyms that it's easy to forget that others
might not be familiar with them.  "ABA" stands for American Bar
Association.  From their FAQ...

"Welcome to the American Bar Association, the largest voluntary
professional association in the world. With more than 400,000 members,
the ABA provides law school accreditation, continuing legal education,
information about the law, programs to assist lawyers and judges in
their work, and initiatives to improve the legal system for the
public."

http://www.abanet.org/about/home.html

I appreciate your kind words, as well as your 5-star rating, sfbay,
which, as you note, is also due to my researcher colleague,
expertlaw's, insightful and helpful comments.  Again, best of luck
with this situationm, and I hope all works out for you.

regards,

rico

the answers and comments from rico and experlaw are very helpful.

Dear sfbay-ga,

I agree with the answer, that if you do have any source of insurance
it would be appropriate to try to get your insurance company to
provide you with any needed legal representation. Hiring a defense
attorney can be an expensive proposition.

You may find the following supplemental information helpful:

I. The form for obtaining your own driving record is online at the
California Department of Motor Vehicles website. There is a $5 fee.
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/inf/inf1125.htm


II. Most significant defense firms in the United States are listed in
the Martindale-Hubbell directory, which can be searched in one of two
locations:

Martindale.com
http://www.martindale.com/

Lawyers.com
http://www.lawyers.com/

You may also be able to find a defense firm through West Group's
directory, a part of FindLaw.com, the leading competitor of
Martindale-Hubbell:
http://directory.findlaw.com/

The Bar Association of San Francisco's referral service is online, as
part of their website, at:
http://www.sfbar.org/lrs/general.html

Additionally, although they do not offer a referral service, if
finding a Chinese-speaking attorney is of import, you may wish to
contact the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association:
http://www.sccla.org/


III. There are steps you can take to help document what happened in
the accident, and thus to better be able to defend yourself if a claim
is made against you, even before you hire a lawyer. Such steps
include:

* Photographing the damage to the cars, and the location where the
accident occurred (under ideal circumstances, pictures are taken at
the time of the accident before the cars are removed);

* Obtaining written statements from people who witnessed the accident;

* If available, obtaining video surveillance tapes from the gas
station. Not all gas stations have surveillance tapes, and those that
do may reuse them if they aren't deemed important, so making an early
inquiry with the gas station can be very important to preserve this
type of evidence.


Good luck,

- expertlaw

LawExpress appears to offer two things: referrals to lawyers for fixed
price phone consultations, and prepaid legal services plans. I am wary
of phone consultation services that do not guarantee that you will
speak to a specialist who can deal with your issue, but instead only
offer to connect you with an attorney who is licensed to practice in
your state. (Granted, some don't even offer that much.)

The "ABA" is the American Bar Association, which is the largest
voluntary bar association in the United States. It offers considerable
information and resources for the public through its website,
including information on prepaid legal services,
http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/prepaid/home.html

as well as general information on finding legal help:
http://www.abanet.org/pubresource/home.html

It is unlikely that you will find a prepaid legal service that offers
defense services for tort claims arising out of automobile accidents.
Further, even if you found one, it is likely that it would exclude
claims arising from accidents which occurred before the start of your
policy. Also, many prepaid legal services plans offer only a discount
on hourly legal services such as defense work, and even the discounted
fee can be substantial. In other words, if you try to find a prepaid
legal service to assist you, be sure to read all of the "fine print"
before signing up.

- expertlaw