Car Accident
Los Angeles, California Car Accident Lawyer
San Fernando Valley Auto Collision Attorney Helping Those Injured throughout the Greater Los Angeles Area in Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank, North Hollywood, Woodland Hills, Calabasas, and Encino.
Have you or someone you care about been involved in a car accident in Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley or elsewhere in California?
There were more than six (6) million car and motor vehicle accidents reported to the police in the United States in 2007. About 30 percent of those collisions (over 1.7 million) involved injuries, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
In 2009, there were 30,797 fatal car accident and other motor vehicle accident crashes, down from 34,172 in 2008, according to the NHTSA. In 2007, 32% of the collisions involving fatalities involved drunk drivers. More information.
In 2007, half of the fatal crashes occurred on roads and highways with speed limits of 55 mph or faster. The same roads only involved 23 percent of the injury and property damage only collisions, clearly showing the connection between faster speeds and fatalities. More information.
Throughout California, whether on freeways, roads or private property, there are thousands of car accidents every year. Most car accidents are caused by a negligent party who was inattentive, distracted, careless or reckless on the road. Some, as mentioned, involve intoxicated derivers. It is a criminal offense to operate a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher in all 50 states, the District of Columbia (DC) and Puerto Rico. More information.
All types of car accidents, ranging from rear end accidents with minor property damage, to intersection collisions totaling the vehicles involved, can cause serious injury to the occupants of the vehicles involved in the collision, requiring the need for a California Personal Injury Attorney.
If you are involved in any traffic accident, here are some helpful tips:
First, be prepared – have a cell telephone, paper and pen to write down information, and a camera to photograph the scene, all vehicles and people involved. Know your insurance coverage and be sure you have appropriate coverage. Have a card with any special medical conditions you may have; a flashlight, first aid kit and other emergency gear.
Be safe – if anyone needs medical care, call 911. When appropriate, move vehicles to a safe position and do not place yourself in danger. Turn on the vehicle’s hazard flashers and use other warning devices, such as cones, if available and can safely be displayed.
Exchange information, including names and all contact information for the driver and owner of each vehicle, all witnesses and passengers, and their drivers’ license numbers. Read and copy the other person’s driver’s license information; do not rely on them to give you the information as it may be wrong. For each vehicle, get the license plate number, description including make, model, color and location of all property damage (both from this collision and any other damage that looks unrelated), and all owner information. Be courteous and polite, but do not admit fault or liability as, among other reasons, there may be other factors that occurred that you may not yet know about, including the other party may have been speeding or under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Use your camera (many cell telephones include cameras) to photograph the scene, all vehicles and people involved. Prepare a detailed summary of what occurred.
File all required reports with the police, your insurance company and the DMV. Some insurers require such reports right away or may deny coverage and if it is a hit and run or uninsured motorist claim be sure to make a traffic collision report (i.e., police report) immediately and then submit the required DMV forms known as SR-1 and SR-19 when required. Be sure to timely comply and, if you have any questions, call us for a FREE consultation.
Contact an experienced California Personal Injury attorney for help with car repairs or negotiating a total loss payout, arranging a free loan car or reimbursement of all rental expenses, obtaining medical care, including doctors, physical therapy, specialists (such as orthopedic surgeons, neurologists and psychologists), scans and X-Rays (e.g., MRI and CT Scans), surgery and hospital care (often on a lien basis which means you do not need pay any deductible or even any co-payments until your claim is resolved), and sometimes cash advances. Contact us for a FREE consultation.
To protect the public, California law requires anyone driving a car, truck or other motor vehicle to have liability insurance coverage. The minimum coverage for operating a vehicle in California is generally $15,000.00/$30,000.00, with some exceptions that we can explain to you. This minimum coverage is only intended to help protect victims of car crashes caused by the at-fault insured person. It does not cover bills incurred by the person who has this coverage. There is separate coverage for such losses, including collision damage, rental reimbursement, medical expenses, and uninsured motorist (UM) and underinsured motorist (UM) coverages, and you should discuss it with your insurance agent and you also may contact us for a FREE consultation about your own insurance coverages. We recommend you carefully review your auto insurance coverage at least once every year and also whenever you buy or sell a vehicle or other event occurs that relates to the type of insurance you have or should have.
Unfortunately, although most drivers and owners of vehicles pay their premiums to insurance companies with an expectation of receiving fair treatment, some insurance companies unfairly try to deny or delay legitimate car accident injury claims or try to pay less than what the claims are worth, thereby violating the California Insurance Code, which, at Section 790.03, states:
“The following are hereby defined as unfair methods of competition and unfair and deceptive acts or practices in the business of insurance.
(h) Knowingly committing or performing with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice any of the following unfair claims settlement practices:
(2) Failing to acknowledge and act reasonably promptly upon communications with respect to claims arising under insurance policies.
(3) Failing to adopt and implement reasonable standards for the prompt investigation and processing of claims arising under insurance policies.
(4) Failing to affirm or deny coverage of claims within a reasonable time after proof of loss requirements have been completed and submitted by the insured.
(5) Not attempting in good faith to effectuate prompt, fair, and equitable settlements of claims in which liability has become reasonably clear.
(13) Failing to provide promptly a reasonable explanation of the basis relied on in the insurance policy, in relation to the facts or applicable law, for the denial of a claim or for the offer of a compromise settlement.
(14) Directly advising a claimant not to obtain the services of an attorney.
It is for these reasons that if you or a loved one is injured in a car accident in California, an experienced personal injury attorney is needed so that the insurance company cannot take advantage of innocent victims. Car accidents can be very stressful and traumatic experiences. Injured victims often cannot afford proper medical care and need help getting their car fixed or compensated for their vehicle if it is a total loss. Do not let the big insurance companies take advantage of you when you are most vulnerable.
Our firm strives to recover the full compensation our clients deserve for their injuries resulting from car accidents, including all damages allowed under California law for all injuries suffered, such as the following:
All past and future medical, hospital, physical therapy, psychological and dental charges;
All past and future loss of earnings and also all time lost at work, even if paid for it under sick leave, vacation time or other benefits as the responsible party should not benefit by the benefits you earned and may have used up;
Loss of enjoyment of life and activities you lost and missed out on;
All past and future pain, suffering, emotional distress and inconvenience;
All property damage including for totaled vehicles, rental charges and all loss of use of property (as sometimes one cannot afford to rent a replacement vehicle but still suffers from the loss of use of that property and, therefore, is entitled to compensation);
All diminution (reduction) in value of your property, that is the difference in value after it was repaired compared to its pre-collision value, which is usually more and you are usually entitled to that extra compensation;
And any and all other appropriate damages permitted under California law.
If you or a loved one has been involved in a car accident, call our office as we have been handling car accident injury cases for over 30 years. Read what others say about us.
Call our offices now for a FREE consultation with an experienced injury attorney or any member of our legal team.
There are many easy ways to reach us:
Call 818.222.3400 (after hours extension no. 1) or toll free at 866.Injury 2 or 866.465.8792 (again after hours extension no. 1) or click here on our easy contact intake or send us an email at Info@Walchlaw.com.
We look forward to speaking with you and helping you resolve your problems.
Remember with our firm: There is NO fee on injury claims until you WIN!