Originally from Brooklyn, New York, I came to Sacramento after 4 years in the U.S. Air Force, including combat service in Southeast Asia.
My time in the military and especially my youth in the streets of New York has taught me much about dealing with difficult situations. I am grateful for that education and I employ it to help my clients.
I wasn't born with a silver spoon and relate well to others who worked their way up.
My practice is devoted solely to Personal Injury and Wrongful Death cases on behalf of injured persons. I have never nor will I ever represent insurance companies.
I've experienced several near death experiences myself and believes an injury or an illness can enable someone to focus on the deeper meaning in their lives.
My passion is to help my client's achieve the maximum fair settlement from the at fault party and to explore
the physical, emotional and psychological effects of their injuries. Those injuries rarely affect just the injured person.
Their spouses, significant others and children are also adversely impacted.
For years I appeared on the Award Winning TV show, ASK A LAWYER.
I'm the author of several legal articles, including "Top 20 Internet Sites for Attorneys" as well as the Amazon Kindle Books below.
-The Ultimate California Auto Accident Handbook.
-The California Motorcycle accident handbook.
I'm a frequent lecturer at legal seminars on the impact of the Internet and On-Line Services on the practice of Personal Injury Law
When I'm not in court, I enjoy reading, traveling, scuba diving, art, music and gardening.
I like to spend time with my son and daughter in law, Brant and Sheila Smith as well as with my grandson, Mason.
I am active in the Aspire Foundation in Sacramento, an organization devoted to helping people live their lives with passion.
I am also a sponsor for the Sacramento Blues Society. I love the blues and put on 4 concerts a year. All clients and friends are invited.
- University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law
- J.D. (1982) | Law
-
- University of California - Davis
- B.A. | Political Science
- Honors: Magna Cum Laude
-
- Founder
- Edward A Smith Law Offices
- - Current
- 20 Web Sites All Injury Attorney's Should Know
- Law Office Computing
- A Consumers Guide to California Accident Law
- California AutoAccident Guide
- How to Determine Whether You Need to Pay a Medical Lien or Reimbursement on Your Accident
- Self
- Hiring and Training Paralegals, Sacramento, ca
- St. Mary's College
- Workshop training personal injury paralegals in the intricacies of day to day practice.
- Best practices in Managing Chronic Disease and Trauma
- INstitute for Brain Potential
- The Brain injury case: What the trial lawyer needs to know
- Brain Injury Association
- Certificate of Accomplishment 2016
- Capital City Trial Lawyers
- 10.0 Rating
- Avvo
- Member
- Million Dollar Forum
- Lawyers in the US who have Multiple Million Dollar Awards or Settlements
- National Association of Distinguished Counsel
- Top 1%
- Attorney's in the top 1% of personal injury lawyers nationally in terms of verdicts, settlements and reputation.
- Sacramento Top Lawyers
- Sacramento Magazine
- Litigator Award
- Trial Lawyers Board of Regents
- California State Bar # 105263
- Member
- Current
-
- Sacramento County Bar Association
- Member
- Current
-
- Consumer Attorney's of California
- Member
- Current
-
- Capital City Trial Lawyers Association
- Member
- Current
-
- American Trial Lawyers Association
- Member
- Current
-
- San Francisco Trial Lawyer's Association
- Member
- -
-
- Los Angeles Trial Lawyer's Association
- Member
- -
-
- California
-
-
Free Consultation
See us in our office, or, if you cannot travel, we'll either come to you or Uber you here. Never a charge for initial consultation. -
Contingent Fees
29% Attorney fees for cases settled without litigation. -
Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
If you have have very high medical bills and the other insurance has a relatively minimal policy, we will work with you.
- Personal Injury
- Animal & Dog Bites, Brain Injury, Car Accidents, Construction Accidents, Motorcycle Accidents, Premises Liability, Truck Accidents, Wrongful Death
- Products Liability
- Drugs & Medical Devices, Motor Vehicle Defects, Toxic Torts
- Workers' Compensation
- Medical Malpractice
- Birth Injury, Medical Misdiagnosis, Pharmacy Errors, Surgical Errors
- Car Accidents
- Auto Accidents
- Chinese: Spoken
- English: Spoken, Written
- Greek: Spoken, Written
- Hmong: Spoken
- Russian: Spoken
- Serbian: Spoken, Written
- Serbo-Croatian: Spoken, Written
- Spanish: Spoken, Written
- Ukrainian: Spoken, Written
- Q. I was involved in an accident where a man j-walked right in front of my vehicle, I was unable to avoid hitting him
- A: Most of the time, depending on your assets and insurance, they will not go after you personally. Your insurance will likely offer up your policy limits and if the attorney for the decedent's estate does not accept that offer of limits, then they will take you to court and will need to prove their case. Your insurance will defend you all the way. It is possible the pedestrian also had a car where there was a higher limit insurance than you have. In that case, the other lawyer will collect your policy first and then go after the pedestrian's underinsured motorist coverage.
- Q. Why would my accident attorney request my insurance provider information if the accident was caused by the other driver?
- A: Your attorney will first sue the other driver, but in most cases, the recovery will be limited by the amount of the other driver's liability limits. If the other driver has a 15/30K policy for example, and if your injury is worth more than 15K, you can collect 15K from that third party and the remainder up to policy limits from your own underinsured motorist insurance if you have it. So if you have a 100/300 Underinsured Motorist policy you can collect another 85K (100K your UIM insurance less the 15K you already collected from other drivers insurance).
- Q. Got into a car accident, need advice.
- A: There is an excellent chance you may recover because the car you hit did not have lights of flashers on. In those circumstances, there is at least partial negligence on that driver.
How To Really Choose a Personal Injury Lawyer