• Should I contact a Los Angeles County or Southern California accident lawyer?

• Why Should I Retain the services of a Los Angeles County or Southern California Accident Lawyer?

• Car Accidents Overview – Lawyers and Law

• How Frequent Are Automobile Accidents?

• How an Auto Accident Attorney Can Help

• Car Accidents – Who is at Fault?

• What is Comparative or Contributory Negligence?

• Pure Comparative Fault

• Proportional Comparative Fault at 51%

• Proportional Comparative Fault at 50%

• How is Percentage of Fault Determined?

• Fault and Car Insurance

 

Should I contact a Los Angeles County or Southern California accident lawyer?  

If you or a loved one was in an crash, one of the primary issues you will need to establish is who was at fault for the crash. The degree of fault regarding every individual or group involved in the accident is THE most essential component in any car accident lawsuit. This determination will fluctuate based on the condition you are in and that state’s laws on negligence. The degree of disregard of each element in an crash will determine who was at fault and who will be accountable for any accident injuries or wrongful death claims. Normally, a state will pay attention to one of the following carelessness theories, which an accident attorney can explain further: comparative disregard, genuine comparative wrong doing, or proportional comparative fault.

Why Should I Retain the services of a Los Angeles County or Southern California Accident Lawyer? 

An accident attorney is able to help you out of your challenging period, supplying assistance by dealing with insurance companies and other incident parties or companies, so you can take the time to totally focus on healing. After an accident you will likely have several questions and issues. Occasionally the incident laws of your state can be confusing. An accident attorney will help explain the incident laws and accident reports to you so you know and understand your legal rights. An accident lawyer will be an element of an accident law firm that is able to offer you beneficial viewpoints about your circumstance and information on how to manage your injuries. The accident law firm will gather details concerning your incident essential to develop a productive case and obtain compensation for your injuries. Additionally, a big part of accident instances will involve interaction with insurance companies, other lawyers, as well as other individuals. Often, when an accident attorney is the one interacting with the company or other attorney, they will acquire more significant and complete answers compared to if you were getting in touch with them. Working with a Los Angeles County or Southern California Accident attorney can help resolve your incident case faster, with much less stress and fear.

If you have been injured in a Los Angeles County or Southern California Accident, please call us today at (310)789-2007 or (213)255-5897 for your no cost, private assessment with an experienced Los Angeles County or Southern California Accident Injury lawyer.

Car Accidents Overview – Lawyers and Law 

Nearly every person will be involved with a car automobile accident at some point in their lives. While hopefully your car accident won’t result in significant car wreck injuries, automobile accidents can lead to potentially critical and even fatal consequences. An car crashes can also give rise to liability – you may be able to sue the driver who brought on the incident. As such, it is useful to learn more about automobile incidents, truck incident lawsuits and how an incident lawyer can assist.

If you have been injured in a Los Angeles County or Southern California Accident, please give us a call today at (310)789-2007 or (213)255-5897 for a free, confidential consultation with a skilled Los Angeles County or Southern California Accident attorney.

How Frequent Are Automobile Accidents?

The statistics governing automotive incidents are fairly worrying:

· More than 6 million car or truck accidents take place in the U.S. every year.
· Motor vehicle collisions kill one human being every 12 minutes, and hurt somebody every 14 seconds in the U.S. – many of these situations produce accident claims either for wrongful death or wreck injuries
· Motor vehicle incidents kill over 40,000 people every year in U.S., and they are the major cause of death for persons from ages 2 to 34
· About 2,000 young children die as an effect of motor vehicle collisions every year, and more than 250,000 are damaged in accidents
· Kinds of Car Accident Injuries
· There are many unique causes for car accidents, each of which are likely to lead to a range of injuries. Some of the most typical car accidents that take place include:
· Rear Impact: In the event that you hit another person from behind, or are hit from behind, you have been involved in a rear impact incident. Most frequently this occurs because an individual has could not brake in time, producing in either a tap or a far more substantial rear impact accident. Nearly 30 percent of all car accidents in the U.S. are rear-impact accidents. When a rear impact collision happens, the motorist in the back is commonly accountable because laws mandate that an individual drive a safe distance away from the motor vehicle in front of you.
· Side Impact: If you are hit on the side of your motor vehicle, you have suffered a side impact crash. Side impact accidents can happen when you “T-bone” another car, meaning the front of your motor vehicle hits the side of another. You can also sideswipe a different automotive by bumping into its side while changing lanes. Nearly 29 percent of all U.S. incidents are side-impact accidents. Indicating fault frequently becomes an issue here- it can be challenging to know which motorist was in the wrong. A good car crash attorney can help you obtain photographic evidence of the scene or will seek the services of a specialist in incident reconstruction to act as your witness and to help you establish the fault of the other party.
· Head-on Collision: If you hit another vehicle front first, or if you hit a non-moving object with the front of your car, you have been involved in a head-on crash. Head-on collisions happen generally when a driver falls asleep and slides directly into oncoming traffic. Different ways head-on accidents occur are where the motorist is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, gets on to a highway or a one-way street in the wrong way, or loses control of their vehicle and skids into an oncoming lane. These incidents account for 2 % of all U.S. accidents. The vehicle driver who was going the wrong way or who had been inebriated or asleep is usually at fault.
· Rollover: If your vehicle flips over in any way, or lands on its side, you were involved in a rollover. Taller autos, like SUV’s and trucks, are more likely to experience rollovers than smaller sized cars. Nearly 2 % of all incidents in the U.S. are rollovers. In a few rollover incidents, you may be able to hold the company of the vehicle responsible for an unsatisfactory design or disorders.
· Runoff: These accidents usually involve just one car running off the road. This could take place when a person is not really paying attention, or swerves to steer clear of another motor vehicle or animal in the road. Runoffs account for 16 percent of all U.S. accidents. If you run off the road, you generally have nobody to blame but yourself – unless another vehicle unlawfully got in your way or there was a problem with the road itself.

How an Auto Accident Attorney Can Help

If you have been injured in a Los Angeles County or Southern California Accident, please give us a call today at (310)789-2007 or (213)255-5897 for a complimentary, private consultation with a skilled Los Angeles County or Southern California Accident lawyer.

No matter the specific cause of your motor vehicle accident injuries, a car incident lawyer can make it easier to show fault and collect the damages you deserve.

Lawyers can be particularly beneficial when injuries like whiplash or injuries regarding hospitalization are involved. Car insurance companies will attempt to shell out as little as possible, and an lawyer can assist you to obtain facts and safeguard your rights by interacting directly with your insurance provider or by helping you to file a motor vehicle accident lawsuit.

Car Accidents – Who is at Fault?

Fault is one of the biggest, if not THE most essential element, in any car crash claim. The individual at fault is the person whose negligence brought on the crash, and that is the individual who generally must pay for the harm caused by his or her neglect. If the conditions surrounding your incident make it clear that one individual was clearly at fault, then read no more! One of the related articles detailed below should be your subsequent stop. If, however, liability is not entirely clear or if there is shared fault, then fault is apportioned between the people determined by the specifics of the law in your state (see below) on comparative or contributory neglect. When liability is communal in an car accident, it is the insurer’s turn to decide the comparable percentages of fault of the parties included.

What is Comparative or Contributory Negligence?

Historically, if two people were associated in an automobile accident and the harmed individual was even the slightest bit at fault, the individual would not be entitled to get back anything for his/her injuries or deficits. This way of figuring out damages is identified in legal sectors as pure contributory negligence. For example, say Luke and Martin had been involved in an crash. Luke hit Martin’s automobile while making a left turn onto a 2-lane street at night. Luke didn’t notice Martin’s vehicle because (blank) it was night time (and a dark one at that), Martin was not driving with his front lights on. Under a pure contributory negligence theory, Martin cannot get back damages for his injuries because he was partly at fault for the accident. Sound pretty harsh? Actually, some states still adhere to this particular rule (Alabama, District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia).

But the majority of states now use some proportional type of comparative negligence that will allow a wounded party to regain some damages for his or her injuries, even if he or she was partially at fault. There are presently three variations: Pure comparative fault; proportional comparative fault at 51%; proportional comparative fault at 50%.

Pure Comparative Fault

In states that have adopted pure comparative fault as a measure of damages, if an injured person is somewhat at fault for producing his individual injuries, his damages are lessened by the percentage of his fault. For example, say Michelle was injured in a car wreck for which she was 80% at fault. Damages for her injury amount to $10,000. Michelle will be entitled to recover $2,000 for her injuries, that is, $10,000 less 80% or $8,000 for her percentage of fault. States: Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Washington.

Proportional Comparative Fault at 51%

The states that have adopted proportional comparative fault bar recovery if you are more than 51% at fault for the car accident. Put simply, you cannot file a liability claim and lawsuit against the other driver’s carelessness if you were more than 51% at fault. For example, Dennis hit Teri’s car while traveling in excess of 25 miles per hour over the speed limit while Teri was making an attempt to cross the road. Even though Teri was partly at fault for not looking until the road was completely clear before crossing, the insurance company allotted fault to Dennis at 60% due to his increased speed. Even though Dennis suffered a broken arm from the accident, he is not entitled to recover for his injury due to the fact that he was more than 51% at fault for the accident. States: Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Proportional Comparative Fault at 50%

In states that have implemented the 50% bar standard in dealing with car crash claims, a hurt person that is less than 50% at fault for the incident is entitled to compensation. If the injured party is 50% or more at fault, he or she is not entitled to recovery for the injury. For example, Richard and Susan accidentally hit each others’ cars while backing out of their parking spaces at exactly the same time. Both were not looking cautiously enough when they backed up, and so both were deemed equally at fault for the accident. Neither one will be eligible to damages since both were 50% at fault for the accident. States: Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia.

How is Percentage of Fault Determined?

Right after an accident, it is the job of the insurance company claims adjuster to determine the relative degrees of fault primarily based on the circumstances encompassing the accident. There is no top secret mathematical formula for figuring out percentages of fault in accident injuries. You and the claims adjuster will negotiate and come to some agreement as to what, if any, your allocated fault is. Here is where an expert personal injury lawyer can be convenient. He or she will know how to evaluate the accident and advocate for the lowest percentage of wrong doing on your behalf. If you and the insurance adjuster reach an impasse, a court of law is ultimately your next step to take care of the issue of fault.

Fault and Car Insurance

Insurance firms often offer you extra coverage/protection (for extra money) to help you pay for property damage and/or personal injury and medical bills regardless of fault. So if you are seriously injured in an accident that was mostly your mistake and you are not entitled by law to compensation from the other person’s insurance, but you have extra coverage under your own policy, your insurance company will pay for your injuries. This extra insurance policy coverage is called PIP (personal injury protection) or No Fault coverage. Under this situation, you would file a liability claim with your own insurance company for medical charges and lost revenue, up to a given maximum, without any discussion or difference about the circumstances of the accident and who was at fault. Whether you can file for additional expenses against the other individual who was at fault in the crash is dependent on your state’s laws. In many states, Uninsured/Underinsured coverage is required. This offers insurance coverage for damages ensuing from an accident with somebody who either has no insurance or does not currently have enough insurance to cover your expenses. It also helps to protect you if the other individual flees the scene after the accident or is a driver of a stolen van.

Beyond the damages suffered, the degree of fault is probably the most important factor in figuring out how much you may finally get back for your accident injury. In most instances, both you and the insurance company will know (by the instances around the accident) the degree of fault for both parties. Was the other party entirely at fault? Largely at fault? Or only a little bit at fault? If you are in a comparative fault state, an adjuster will reduce your recovery amount by your percentage of comparative fault. If you were only 10% at fault, your damages total will be lowered by 10%. Your recovery will not be reduced by any amount if the accident was clearly someone else’s fault.

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