Maria Pappas-Rajotte, East County’s personal injury law specialist

She said insurance companies tend to make injured parties the “bad guy,” even though the injured person did nothing wrong.  

“Their goal is to pay injured parties as little as possible for even the most legitimate claim,” she said. “I make sure that the insurance companies do not take advantage of the injured person.”

Most injured people do not have the experience and information to evaluate their own claim to negotiate a good and fair settlement. Many are unaware of the various types of damages to which they’re entitled (or for which they should be reimbursed) and are not equipped to deal with Medicare, Medi-Cal, Kaiser and other medical insurance liens that adversely affect their settlement. 

“Insurance adjusters know this and take advantage of the injured person’s inexperience,” said Pappas-Rajotte. “Many insurance companies attempt to settle claims with injured people for low sums of money, because they know they are in need of money and are not necessarily in their normal frame of mind because they are in pain, stressed out and they just want the whole traumatic experience to be over.”

Once you sign on the dotted line, the claim is completed, and if something comes up in the future, there’s nothing you can do about it. 

Pappas-Rajotte is known to take tough cases many lawyers won’t represent, because there’s greater risk involved and they often take longer to resolve.

“I am a very zealous advocate for my clients and am willing to take difficult claims as far as they need to go,” she said. “I have been very successful in negotiating these types of cases and obtaining favorable settlements for my clients.” 

For her clients who were previously unable to find a lawyer to represent them, this is a huge relief.

“I had three lawyers turn me down and Maria not only took my case, but from the beginning to the end, she took our case head on, was always there for us and was truly genuine and showed she cared,” said Brentwood resident Tensie King. “She doesn’t just take the extra step for her clients; she takes an extra mile.”

While Maria Pappas-Rajotte specializes in personal injury cases, Pappas & Pappas-Rajotte provides legal representation for civil litigation — including personal injury, real estate and contract disputes; bankruptcy; criminal defense, including misdemeanors, felonies and DUI; wills; trusts; probate administration and prenuptial agreements.

Peter C. Pappas, Maria’s father, is also part of the law firm and has represented clients in almost every area of the law for the past 40 years.  

“He is a great lawyer and overall just a good, honest man who has helped a lot of people in this community since 1987,” said Pappas-Rajotte. 

Pappas & Pappas-Rajotte LLP is located at 3105 Lone Tree Way, Suite A, in Antioch. For more information, call 925-754-0772, or visit www.pappasandpappas.com.