Car Accident Lawyer » Car Collision

Failure to Wear Seatbelts Prevents Car Accident Recoveries

admin — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 10:28:10 +0000

The Vehicle Code in the State of California requires all the drivers including their passengers to wear their respective seatbelts every time they travel. No one is exempted from such rule that aims to prevent or at least lessen the occurrence of serious and fatal injuries in case a car collision happens. All of those who will be caught violating this law will be subjected to an offense.

The California government believes that seatbelts indeed, save lives. This is the main reason why sufficient signs and billboards have been situated on our roads and highways, allowing the motorists to understand the value of seatbelts. Their slogan “Click it or Ticket” makes a lot of sense and creates a slight decrease in the number of injuries and fatalities caused by vehicular accidents.

In spite of this, traffic accident occurrences seem to be unstoppable. Thousands of people are still involved in various car mishaps everyday. Due to this, the victims in order to seek justice and recover suitable damages for their injuries or loss of a loved one are filing numerous car accident claims in courts.

Under the law, the failure to wear seatbelts in traveling may jeopardize or limit a victim’s right to recover damages from the liable party after a road collision. This is because the law believes that the victims might not have incurred much damage if only they were able to buckle-up.

The law maintains that whosoever individual who has been neglectful in exercising due prudence, which can brought about risks to other people, should be accountable for the harm that resulted. A person’s failure to wear seatbelt constitutes negligence on his part. Thus, this carelessness may be considered as a ground that forbids him to recover damages from the other party, no matter the degree of his fault in the accident.

Many defense lawyers utilize the same rationale especially if their clients accepted their fault in the accident. They thoroughly determine whether the plaintiff has committed any violation in order to nullify the case. If they were able to prove the comparative fault of the victims, the courts would most likely repeal the case filed against their clients.

Nonetheless, any personal injury action will have better probability of gaining a positive result if the plaintiff are assured that he has not been neglectful in exercising due care in his dealings – that he has not committed any offense.

By: Rainier Policarpio

When Should You File a Lawsuit After a Car Accident?

admin — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:52:25 +0000

An experienced lawyer knows the importance of timing when it comes to settling car accident injury claims. But before getting into the details of when to file and the tactics used by some insurance companies, a quick look at car accident statistics in Compton, California may help.

Car Accidents in Compton Cause Daily Tragedies

Statistics compiled by the California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) showed that in 2006, nine people lost their lives and 359 people were injured in Compton car crashes. Three pedestrians were killed and 27 were injured in motor vehicle mishaps. And bicycle accidents injured 18. In addition, motorcycle accidents killed one and injured 20 people. Those who insisted on drinking and driving caused four deaths and 38 injuries. During 2007, eight car accidents resulted in as many fatalities. The following year, nine car collisions caused nine deaths.

Timing is Key when Settling Car Accident Injury Claims

Successful Compton car collision lawyers know that timing can mean the difference between a fair compensation settlement, an unfair one, or none at all. While you certainly want to make sure that your injuries are thoroughly diagnosed and treated, you don’t want to let the statute of limitations – two years in California – expire. Do that and you lose your rights and an insurance adjuster will tell you that the insurance company won’t have to pay you for your injuries or your losses.

Waiting too long for filing your lawsuit leaves you open for another tactic employed by insurance companies–the insurance adjuster becomes hard nosed and/or hard to reach during the last 90 days before the statute of limitations runs out. What they’re counting on is your eagerness to settle at this point, and that you’ll accept a much lower settlement sum. As the filing deadline nears, they hope that you’ll lose the patience and personal fortitude to even file a lawsuit.

This tactic is most often used when dealing with clients who are not represented by a car accident lawyer or with law firms that rarely go to trial. Adjusters are fully aware of law firms that simply settle out of court and they suddenly become hard to reach and even tougher to bargain with.

By: J. Bisnar

Noteworthy Pieces of Evidence in Car Collision Accidents

admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 16:30:12 +0000

Every morning before going to work, while taking out your car, you hope not to become involved in a very inconvenient traffic problem or worse, an accident with other cars or vehicles.

Unfortunately, once you are out on the road, you only have control of your car and not anything else happening in the highway, especially not the other drivers. Thus, accidents, even if you pray hard not to happen, are quite unpredictable.

With this in mind, it also pays that you should know what to do when you indeed become involved in an accident.

If you happen to become involved in a car accident like car collisions or crashes with other vehicles, the details of which somehow found its way into newspaper and television reports, you have to take advantage of this opportunity of having qualified evidence taken by professionals.

Unless you have a degree of liability or fault in the accident, you have all the right to file for car accident claims and recover for the damages you suffer. Thus, you can use these live pieces of evidence to show the damages you have sustained. As we all know, you have to gather as much information as you can regarding the accident. Having this featured on print media and TV is a decided advantage in your favor in order that you gain more information about your accident.

Here is what you can do:

• Scour local and national newspapers and check out if their articles gave a detailed and accurate account of the car collision / crash.

Clip the articles that have details of the incident.

Locate other articles that feature events related to the day you had your car collision accident. You might get some articles that mentioned something about the weather on that day. Check out those articles that came out specifically on the day of your accident. You can also clip some information related to what you think had caused the accident, like road works or construction.

Once you cut out any articles from newspapers, make sure that you do not forget cutting, pasting it together with the date, page, and name of the newspaper. You can also note such information at the top article of the newspaper.

• Pictures are very good evidence. If you failed to take pictures of the scene where the accident occurred, it is a good idea that you find photos of it along with scouring for articles. Furthermore, look out for pictures about the crash.

It is possible that there are accompanying pictures in the articles about the accident. If you do not find anything at all, you might also try contacting the newspaper offices for pictures they have taken but was unable to use.

If it turns out that they do have unpublished photographs, make it a point to request permission to visit their office and pick up some copies.

• Look out for TV coverage of your car accident. Some accidents are quite spectacular for the media that the incident could have major television news or TV traffic report coverage.

If your car collision accident happens to get TV coverage, exert some effort to have it taped. You might be given a new perspective on what happened due to the angle on how the video shot was taken.

These are but some of the valuable and valid information that could immensely help in building up your car collision accident case. Make sure to give copies to your car collision lawyer too.

By: Carla C. Ballatan

Tips on Negotiating a Car Accident Settlement

admin — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 11:56:55 +0000

An experienced Cypress car accident lawyer will tell you that if you’ve been injured in a car accident and want to recover fair compensation for your losses, you must be very shrewd when dealing with insurance companies, particularly the insurance adjuster. But before getting into details, a brief overview of car accidents in Cypress, California may help.

Car Accidents in Cypress Are Alarmingly Tragic

In 2006, the California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) showed that four people died and 172 were injured in Cypress car crashes. DUI crashes caused one death and 16 injuries. A total of 20 bicyclists and 12 pedestrians were injured in traffic accidents. Motorcycle collisions killed one and injured nine. In 2007, four car accidents resulted in four fatalities. In 2008, one car crash ended in one death.

Be Detailed and Thorough When Dealing with Insurance Adjusters

Experienced Cypress car accident lawyers will advise you to present the insurance adjuster with documents that detail the full extent of your damages and losses. You’ll then want to ask the adjuster how much the insurance company will pay to repair or replace your vehicle. And how much they will offer to compensate you for your lost wages, as well as the doctor, hospital and other medical bills related to your accident. If your injuries require extended long-term care or rehabilitation, you’ll want to know about compensation for those costs. Finally, you’ll want to know how much they will pay for your pain and suffering.

Why You Should Let the Adjuster Make the Initial Offer

The thing to keep in mind is that insurance adjusters are knowledgeable and very savvy negotiators. They’ll want you to make the initial settlement demand first–in other words, a specific dollar sum. That way, they’re in control. They know that you may very well ask for less than what the adjuster was willing to offer. Cypress car collision lawyers say this is where you play hardball and insist that the adjuster come up with the first offer–one that’s realistic. If he resists, tell him you’re thinking of retaining a lawyer. Once the adjuster commits to an offer, you can counter with your offer. But before doing so, tell the adjuster you’ll need some time to think it over, to consult with a lawyer and other family members. Make him sweat. And always act disappointed (never rude or belligerent) with anything he offers.

By: J. Bisnar

A Lake Forest Car Accident Lawyer Can Provide Sound Advice

admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:37:45 +0000

A good Lake Forest car accident lawyer knows that information can be a powerful tool when negotiating a car accident injury claim. Information that can be particularly valuable would include how similar claims have been resolved–and for how big (or small) a settlement. But let’s first take a brief look at the numbers and types of accidents that occur in Lake Forest, California.

Alarming Rise in Fatal Lake Forest Car Accidents

In 2006, accident statistics by the California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) revealed that one person was killed and 211 people were injured in Lake Forest. Alcohol-related collisions accounted for one fatality and 30 injuries. One pedestrian was killed and seven were injured. And 15 bicyclists and 18 motorcyclists were injured. In 2006/2007, there were 1.8 fatal accidents per 100,000 people in Lake Forest. Moreover, there were five fatalities in 2008 compared to only one death in 2007.

Learn What Similar Claims Generally Resolved For

The most skilled Lake Forest car accident lawyers realize that when you negotiate a car collision settlement with an insurance company, it’s smart to know how similar car accident claims were resolved in the past. For those who have chosen to go it alone, getting this information can be difficult, but not impossible. You’ll need to do some homework to find out how these cases were treated and how much the plaintiffs were awarded. A good law library will probably have these cases for your review. You’ll also want learn what juries awarded accident victims in the area of pain and suffering damages.

There are a number of publications that follow verdicts and settlements. Do some digging and you’ll run into cases that resemble your claim. Make copies of these cases and refer to them when you negotiate with the insurance claims adjuster. If you have questions, run them by an experienced Lake Forest car crash lawyer and get his feedback.

When Selecting a Car Accident Lawyer

In the event you are involved in a car accident, do some research before retaining a car collision lawyer. Take advantage of the free initial consultations many car accident lawyers offer. Ask questions, and see if they have the expertise, experience and negotiating skills to help you. You should never feel pressured to hire them during this initial interview.

By: J. Bisnar