scarlettlawgroup.com

What is Scarlett Law Group?

Scarlett Law Group is a San Francisco personal injury trial firm that represents people with serious injuries and families in wrongful-death cases. Its stated focus is catastrophic harm rather than a high-volume caseload: brain and spinal injuries, medical malpractice, truck and auto collisions, aviation and transit accidents, and related negligence claims. The site positions the practice around trial preparation, with the message that "every case prepared for trial."

The firm lists two attorneys, Randall H. Scarlett and Randall A. Scarlett, along with staff, and offices in San Francisco and Larkspur. Its published results include a $49 million brain injury award, a $26 million medical malpractice verdict, and an $18.6 million wrongful death result, and it states more than $1 billion in verdicts and settlements overall. It also highlights courtroom presentation tools such as animations, imaging, visibility studies and video.

If you are deciding whether to call, the practical question is fit: these attorneys are set up for severe, disputed cases where liability or damages may need to be proven at trial. For a straightforward fender-bender with minor injuries, a smaller or more local practice may resolve it faster and at lower cost. For a traumatic brain injury, a commercial truck crash or a death claim, the trial record and resources described here are the relevant credentials to ask about in a consultation. Contact details are listed at 536 Pacific Avenue, San Francisco, and by phone at 415-352-6264. You can read more at Scarlett Law Group.

How do I know if I have a personal injury case?

Whether you have a personal injury case usually comes down to three things: someone else was at fault, you were actually harmed, and the harm is significant enough to justify a claim. If all three are present, it is worth getting a legal opinion — most personal injury firms, including Scarlett Law Group, offer a free consultation to assess exactly this.

The basic test

• Fault: Another person or company acted negligently — drove carelessly, maintained unsafe property, or failed to follow a safety rule.
• Injury: You suffered a physical injury, or in wrongful death situations, a family member died as a result.
• Damages: You have real losses — medical bills, lost wages, pain, or ongoing care needs.

Common fact patterns

Car, motorcycle, truck, bus, bicycle and pedestrian collisions; brain and spinal injuries; medical malpractice; dog bites; and wrongful death claims. Scarlett Law Group's practice areas and intake questions cover these categories directly, which tells you the kind of cases they screen for.

When it is probably not a case

• The accident was entirely your own fault.
• You were not injured, only shaken up.
• The injury is minor and resolved with no treatment or lost time.
• Too much time has passed — California has filing deadlines, so delay can end a valid claim.

A quick self-check

Ask yourself: Was someone else clearly at fault? Did I get medical attention? Do I have bills, missed work, or lasting symptoms? If you answer yes to all three, call a lawyer. If you are unsure about fault, that is precisely the question an attorney can answer in one conversation.

What to do next

Write down the date, location, who was involved, and any witnesses. Keep every medical record and bill. Then contact a firm that handles serious injury cases and ask directly: "Based on these facts, do I have a claim, and what is my deadline?" A short call costs nothing and tells you whether you have a case worth pursuing.

What should I do immediately after a car accident in San Francisco?

After a car accident in San Francisco, your first priorities are safety, medical care, and preserving evidence — not sorting out fault or talking to insurers. The steps below apply to any collision, whether you were in a car, on a motorcycle, biking, walking, or riding in a rideshare.

Immediate steps

1. Move to safety if you can. Get out of traffic lanes, turn on hazard lights, and set flares or triangles if you have them. On busy roads like the Central Freeway or Van Ness, secondary collisions are a real risk.
2. Call 911. San Francisco police can file a traffic report, and an ambulance can check you on scene. Call even if the damage looks minor.
3. Get medical attention the same day. Adrenaline masks injury, and symptoms of traumatic brain injury or spinal injury can appear hours later. A same-day exam creates a medical record tying your condition to the crash.
4. Document the scene. Photograph vehicle positions, damage, skid marks, street signs, signals, and the other driver's plate. Note the time, weather, and lighting.
5. Exchange information. Names, phone numbers, insurance carriers and policy numbers, driver's license numbers, and vehicle details. Ask witnesses for their contact information too.
6. Say little about fault. Be factual with police. Avoid apologizing or speculating about speed or cause with the other driver or their insurer.
7. Notify your own insurer promptly. Most policies require timely notice. Report the facts, but do not give a recorded statement to the other side's adjuster without advice.
8. Keep everything. Bills, receipts, repair estimates, missed-work records, and a daily symptom log.

Where a specialized firm fits

Serious crashes — brain injury, spinal injury, truck or big-rig collisions, pedestrian and bicycle strikes, wrongful death — involve reconstruction, medical experts, and litigation against insurers or public entities. Scarlett Law Group describes itself as a trial practice rather than a volume practice, focused on traumatic brain injury, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death, with offices in San Francisco and Larkspur. Its site lists results including a $49 million brain injury award, a $26 million medical malpractice verdict, and an $18.6 million wrongful death verdict, and states more than $1 billion in verdicts and settlements. Those figures reflect past outcomes and do not predict your case. You can review the firm at Scarlett Law Group.

Deadlines that catch people out

California generally gives two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit, and six months to file a government claim when a public entity — a city bus, a municipal vehicle, Caltrans — may be at fault. Evidence like surveillance video is often overwritten within days or weeks. If a government vehicle or dangerous road condition is involved, treat the claim deadline as urgent.

Practical decision criteria for choosing a lawyer

Ask any attorney: Who handles my case day to day? What do you charge, and is it contingent? What is your trial record in this type of case?

Next step

Write a one-page timeline tonight: time, location, vehicles, witnesses, police report number, treating providers, and symptoms. Bring it to your first consultation, and photograph your injuries and vehicle damage before repairs begin.

What makes a traumatic brain injury case different from other personal injury claims?

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) case differs from most personal injury claims because the central injury is often invisible, contested, and expensive to prove. In a typical soft-tissue or fracture claim, the dispute is usually about fault and a relatively predictable recovery timeline. In a TBI claim, the defense frequently argues the brain injury is mild, pre-existing, or exaggerated, so the case turns on medical evidence, neuropsychological testing, and long-term care costs.

Why TBI cases are harder to resolve

• Diagnosis is disputed. Imaging and exams may look normal even when cognition, mood, sleep, and executive function are impaired. Defense experts often attribute symptoms to pain, stress, or prior conditions.
• Damages are front-loaded and lifelong. Cognitive rehabilitation, lost earning capacity, attendant care, and future medical monitoring can dwarf the initial hospital bill.
• Witnesses and records matter more. Family observations, school and employment records, and before-and-after testing help show changes that a scan cannot.
• Credibility is fragile. Gaps in treatment, social media posts, or inconsistent reports get used to argue the symptoms are not real.

How this plays out in practice

Scarlett Law Group's page evidence shows a practice focused on brain injury, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death, with listed results including a $49 million brain injury matter and a $26 million medical malpractice verdict. That emphasis fits the TBI pattern: these cases reward firms that can retain neurologists, neuropsychologists, life-care planners, and economists. The page also stresses "Every case prepared for trial," which matters because TBI claims are often fought hardest on causation and future damages.

What to do next

If you are evaluating a TBI claim, gather the earliest possible records: emergency room notes, imaging, neuropsychological testing, and statements from people who knew you before the injury. Ask a lawyer how they would prove causation and future care, not just who was at fault. For broader context on how these cases are handled, you can compare approaches at Scarlett Law Group.

How does Scarlett Law Group's contingency fee work?

Scarlett Law Group's own page does not explain its contingency fee terms. It presents itself as a trial practice handling brain injury, spinal injury, catastrophic injury, wrongful death, car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian, bus, aviation and medical malpractice cases, and it highlights verdicts and settlements including a $49 million brain injury result, a $26 million medical malpractice verdict, an $18.6 million wrongful death result and a $5 million car accident case. Contingency-fee details such as the percentage, cost advances and what happens if the case loses are not stated there, so they have to be confirmed directly: call 415-352-6264 or email [email protected] and ask for the written fee agreement before signing. See Scarlett Law Group.

What a contingency fee normally means

In a personal injury contingency arrangement, the attorney is paid out of the recovery rather than by the hour, and the client generally owes no attorney fee if there is no recovery. That structure matters most when the injury has stopped income while medical bills continue, because it removes the need to fund litigation month by month. It also means the lawyer carries the financial risk of preparing the case, which tends to favor firms that actually intend to try cases rather than settle quickly.

Questions to ask before signing

• What percentage applies, and does it change if the case goes to trial or on appeal?
• Are case costs — filing fees, records, expert witnesses, depositions, imaging — deducted before or after the fee percentage is calculated?
• Who advances those costs, and is the client responsible for repaying them if the case loses?
• Are there any separate charges, such as for medical record retrieval or lien resolution?
• How are liens from health insurers, Medicare or Medi-Cal handled out of the settlement?
• What triggers the end of the representation, and how is a fee calculated if the client changes lawyers?

A concrete scenario

Suppose a client is hit by a truck and cannot work while treating for a brain injury. Under a contingency arrangement, the firm funds the investigation, obtains the police and trucking records, and retains medical experts. The client's share is whatever remains after the attorney fee and case costs are taken from the settlement or verdict. The practical difference between firms often lies less in the headline percentage than in how costs are handled and whether the case is genuinely prepared for trial — which is the posture this firm describes for itself.

Decision criterion

Ask each firm you interview for its written fee agreement and a sample cost ledger from a comparable case, then compare the net figure you would receive under each. If a firm will not put the terms in writing before you sign, that is the signal to keep looking.

What types of compensation can I recover in a wrongful death lawsuit?

A wrongful death lawsuit generally allows a surviving family member to recover two broad categories of compensation: economic losses (money already spent or income lost) and non-economic losses (the human impact). In California, where Scarlett Law Group practices, these are typically defined by statute and can overlap with a survival action brought on behalf of the estate.

Common categories of recovery

• Economic damages: funeral and burial costs, medical bills from the final injury or illness, lost wages and lost future earning capacity the deceased would have provided, and sometimes loss of household services or benefits.
• Non-economic damages: loss of love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, and moral support; also the grief or mental suffering of the survivors in some jurisdictions.
• Loss of inheritance or financial support: the value of what the deceased would likely have left to heirs had they lived.
• Punitive damages: in limited cases where the defendant's conduct was especially reckless or malicious, a court may allow an additional award meant to punish and deter.

Who can recover and what limits apply

Eligibility depends on state law and family relationship. In California, a surviving spouse, domestic partner, children, and sometimes parents or other heirs may bring a claim; other states may limit recovery to a narrower group or require estate representation. Some states cap non-economic damages in medical malpractice or other specific contexts, and a few exclude punitive damages. A survival action, by contrast, belongs to the estate and covers the deceased's own losses before death, such as pain and suffering.

What to do next

If you are considering a claim, gather records that document both the financial loss and the relationship: death certificate, medical and funeral bills, pay stubs or tax returns, and any evidence of the deceased's role in the family. Then ask a local wrongful death attorney which damages your state allows and who has standing to sue, because the answer changes the value and strategy of the case.