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TestimonialsI woke up in the ambulance with the paramedic looking down at me. I couldn’t get up, but I saw my jogging clothes. Was I hit by a car? It was all a blur until my wife arrived in the ER, and confirmed that I had been hit by a car. The pain was intense, but I managed to say, “Call Don Sjaarda.” My wife said that she already had done so. I suffered from a concussion with bleeding in the brain, six broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a broken right thumb. While I was in ICU, Don got to work the same day. He went to the accident site and took pictures. He asked for a copy of the police report. I didn’t have to worry about my insurance, because Don helped my wife sort through all of the red tape. Don knew Ron, our insurance man, through our business networking group. Because of the concussion, I don’t remember all of that terrible week, but I do remember that it was a very great comfort to know that my case was being handled by a highly competent professional. It was at least six weeks before I could go back to dentistry and do a little in the office. My income was greatly curtailed. I needed weeks of hand physical therapy to get full use of my right hand. Luckily, I am left-handed. At this time, there was a mountain of insurance papers that my wife had to handle. In his neat and organized way, Don helped my wife wade through all papers. We needed money to pay all the bills. The insurance companies make it so difficult to collect. With his expertise, Don made sure that we received enough to get through it all with very little stress. Almost a year later, Don was still helping us to deal with the insurance companies. The best part is that he knew how make them pay what was promised in the policies. There are so many details that we didn’t know that affected the payments. Don secured more funds than we ever could have on our own. He also helped to manage the insurance payments so that all the hospital bills were paid on time. He recommended a neurologist for my residual dizziness. Don is a wealth of knowledge. He is detail oriented and very honest. We were lucky to have him representing me. If you are unfortunate enough to be in an accident, you can count on Don Sjaarda to give you the very best advice and representation. I highly recommend him without reservation. Mark Z. Yamamoto, D.D.S., M.A.G.D., Dentist Huntington Beach While driving on the freeway one evening with my wife and 1 year old son, we were rear-ended by a pickup truck so forcefully that my car flipped over and spun around upside down on the road. The truck went on to hit 4 other cars ahead of us. Fortunately, no one was killed, but my wife was knocked unconscious and taken to the hospital in an ambulance. For the following several weeks I negotiated with the truck driver's insurance company, as did the other 4 drivers who were hit, and they basically denied all our claims. It became clear that on my own I was going to get nothing or very little, even though we had nearly been killed and our car was totaled. I asked a lawyer friend of mine for a referral and was given Donald Sjaarda's number. Over the telephone Donald asked me the basics of my case, and agreed to represent me. We met several times, and he always impressed me with his clear-headedness, his efficiency, and his integrity. Two other lawyers I spoke with had advised me to lie or misrepresent the facts in various ways, but Donald never suggested anything like that. Instead, he confidently worked to present the facts and to seek a fair resolution that was as much in my favor as possible. My case was complicated by many factors, including the lost contents of my car, serious errors on the police report, inconsistencies with witness statements, the lapse of my own insurance at the time, my wife not being on title of my car, our failure to seek medical treatment until several weeks had passed, and my son's age, which brought up special rules and considerations I had never heard of. Mr Sjaarda has experience with all these situations, and dealt with the complexity of my case with a skill and proficiency that amazed me. Even when I made things more difficult by being slow to respond, and at times reluctant to provide requested documents, Donald never got upset with me or allowed my case to suffer. He gracefully helped me get through a distressing experience, with minimal disruption to my life. Less than nine months after he started on the case, we were awarded an amount which more than covered all of our expenses and the hardships we endured. I am certain that this would not have been possible without Mr Sjaarda's aggressive negotiation and diligent handling of the case. He earned every penny of his compensation, and then some. I am very grateful to have had his expert help when I needed it, and I highly recommend him to anyone who has been injured. David Frayne Long Beach, CA Mr. Sjaarda was referred to us by a friend who recommended his services highly. After my husband's motorcycle accident, I must agree with that recommendation. We were told to initiate the first contact, to make sure that we did really want to work with him, rather than him calling us. In response, Don came to the hospital at a time that was convenient for us. He spent over an hour outlining what options were open to us. After that interview, our family was impressed enough to hire him to represent us. During the time that we worked together, Mr. Sjaarda was always available to provide answers to our questions. If he personally didn't answer the phone, our calls were returned promptly. We were impressed with his knowledge and experience, in the suggestions that he made as to how we should proceed. At one point, we got a threatening letter from an insurance company. It was such a relief to be able to turn it over to a professional, who was working for us. Several sticky phone calls were deflected, telling the caller to speak to our attorney. My husband's hospitalization and subsequent rehab was a stressful time for me. It was wonderful to have a lot of the pressure removed by just handing it over to Don to deal with. Bills, communications, phone calls etc were all passed along. I believe that we got the very best available settlement for our case. All legal avenues were pursued to possibly increase the settlement. In the case that we, or family and friends needed representation in a personal injury case, I would definitely hire, or recommend Don Sjaarda again. While stopped at a red light I was rear ended by an SUV that was estimated to be traveling at a speed in excess of 50mph. The impact caused me to sideswipe one vehicle, drove me into a second vehicle which drove them into a third vehicle. I was knocked unconscious with my foot still on the accelerator ending up approximately 200 yards from the initial impact. The extent of my injuries were musculoskeletal bruises and pains, a concussion and a constant headache for about 3 weeks. I was taken by ambulance to UCI Medical Center where I was kept overnight for extensive tests and diagnostics, the hospital bill was in excess of $31,000. My late model truck was totaled as well. For the first 7 months after the accident I made every attempt at settling directly with the responsible party's insurance company outside of court seeking equitable compensation for my pain and suffering, but to no avail. Through the California Bar Association website I searched for an attorney close to where I live with the expertise I needed and found Mr. Sjaarda (Don). My initial impression of Don during my first appointment where we discussed the details of my case was his professionalism and thoroughness in obtaining the facts and the relaxed way he went about it. He left me with the feeling that my case would be handled in a fair and efficient manner which in the final analysis, was the case. During the entire litigation, Don was timely in keeping me abreast of the on-going events delineating the pros and cons of every decision I would have to make and guiding me through the process with his advice. I agreed to an out-of-court settlement which in my opinion was more than fair, recouping my losses and compensating me more than satisfactorily for the pain and trauma I experienced. My lasting impression of Don was his high moral ethics, his consistency at maintaining a balance of seeking what was absolutely fair for his client yet not attempting to take advantage of the culpable party or "the system" which is consistent to my way of thinking. Should the need arise for a personal injury attorney, I won't hesitate to contact Don Sjaarda in hopes that he would represent me. Likewise, I would recommend Don Sjaarda to anyone seeking a personal injury attorney. Thanks again Don for your diligence, efficiency and objectivity. Joe F. Newton Senior Principal Engineer/Scientist Huntington Beach, CA In 2007 I was in a car accident that completed totaled my car and left me hurt. I was referred to Don S. Sjaarda by a personal friend, he was kind enough to visit me at home since I had no transportation and wanted to get the process started as quickly as possible. Everything that followed after that day was very clear, there wasn't anything about the process that left me guessing. He was and is a great attorney and I have recommended him to anyone who may need assistance in his field of expertise. Thank you Don for being patient, kind and helping me get back on my feet. To whom it may concern, I used the Law Offices of Don Sjaarda twice in the last 12 years and recommend Don highly to anyone who is looking for good representation, quality of service and results. Don was available whenever I needed him and always helpful and informative. He handled all negotiations, phone calls, letters and research needed to make a painful ordeal easier for me. Thank you Don Sjaarda. Judy Bartel Huntington Beach, CA Don Sjaarda handled my accident with great efficiency and with the Ron Budd Fountain Valley, CA Don Sjaarda was very professional in handling my claim. He was "These testimonials or endorsements do not constitute a guarantee, warranty, or prediction regarding the outcome of your legal matter" |
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