Experiencing a serious car accident is a frightening experience that often leaves lasting physical and emotional scars as well as property damage. If someone else caused the crash, you don’t have to be left responsible for the damages or navigate the legal process alone. Instead, call the Glendale personal injury lawyers at Onyx Law Firm for a free evaluation of your case.
Why Select Onyx Law Firm as Your Glendale Car Accident Attorneys?
The legal team at Onyx Law Firm has a dedication to legal advocacy for injury victims, including those who’ve suffered harm in a car accident caused by someone else’s negligence behind the wheel. With Onyx Law Firm, your case has the following benefits:
- An experienced legal team and staff working on all aspects of your case
- Access to car accident reconstruction specialists and medical experts to support your claim, to get to know you, and witness the real-life impacts of the accident
- A policy of compassion and open communication
Onyx Law Firm never charges upfront fees to injury victims. Instead, you can expect a free initial consultation and an attorney who works at no cost to you until after you have compensation in hand.
Understanding the Severity of Car Accident Injuries In Glendale
During an accident, the collision propels a motorist forward at the speed the car was traveling before the seatbelt snaps them back, placing enormous stress on the spine and sometimes causing internal injuries. The car may also collapse inward at collision points, causing motorists to suffer blunt force trauma. Common car accident injuries include the following:
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), ranging from concussions to diffuse axonal injury
- Fractured bones
- Neck injuries
- Back injuries
- Lacerations, abrasions, contusions
- Soft-tissue injuries to knees, shoulders, wrists, and ankles
- Internal organ injuries/internal bleeding
- Spinal cord injuries
- Burns
- Facial and dental trauma
- Traumatic amputations
Some car accidents cause unconsciousness or incapacitation, leaving the victim unable to take any actions. However, some accident victims can safely use a cell phone to call for help. California requires police to respond to the scene of any car accident involving injuries, fatalities, or significant property damage.
What to Do at the Scene of a Car Accident In Glendale, California
An incapacitated car accident victim depends primarily on the police report as crucial evidence to prove another driver’s liability for the accident. By using a cell phone at the scene or asking an injured person to use one for you, you can preserve evidence by taking the following steps to help your claim:
- After calling 911, use the phone’s camera to snap photos of the damaged cars and the accident scene, capturing images of anything relevant
- Add the driver’s contact information to your phone
- Add the contact information of eyewitnesses
- Take photos of any injuries that are immediately visible
- Avoid saying anything that could be construed as admitting fault
- Go directly to the hospital from the accident scene in an ambulance or by arranging transportation
Going straight to the hospital reduces the likelihood that an insurance company will deny a claim because the injury could have occurred elsewhere.
At the hospital, ask for a complete medical report with a list of injuries, the treatment recommended for each injury, and your prognosis for recovery.
Proving Liability In a California Car Accident Claim
Although a handful of states have no-fault car accident laws, California is not one of them. In California, the state’s pure comparative negligence laws carefully consider fault and liability in car accident claims. The injury victim becomes the plaintiff in the case, with the burden of evidence resting with them. The evidence must prove the at-fault party’s liability by demonstrating the following:
- They owed a duty of reasonable care to the injury victim and others on the road
- They breached their duty of care through negligence
- The breach of duty is what caused the accident and injury
- The injury victim suffered damages from the injury
A negligent driver is the most common liable party in Glendale car accident cases. Still, sometimes an investigation reveals that a negligent third party, such as a road construction contractor, city road maintenance or planning agency, or the manufacturer of a defective auto part or tire, caused or contributed to the accident. All parties who contribute to a car accident in California are liable for their portion of the injury victim’s damages.
What Damages Can I Recover In a Car Accident Case In Glendale, CA?
Car accidents have serious consequences that often extend far beyond a dented vehicle. These consequences are the “damages” in a car accident claim. Common damages recovered by car accident injury victims in Glendale include the following:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Out-of-pocket costs
- Past and future income loss
- Reduced earning ability (in cases of disability)
- Compensation for pain and suffering
- Catastrophic injury damages for loss of limb, permanent scars, organ loss, vision loss, hearing loss, or loss of enjoyment of life/diminished quality of life
If a car accident victim dies from their injuries, their family can recover compensation through a wrongful death claim.
What If the Insurance Company Says That I’m Partially at Fault for the Accident?
In California, pure comparative negligence laws allow a car accident victim to recover compensation even if they were partly responsible for the accident. In these cases, the insurance company subtracts the injury victim’s assigned percentage of fault from the payout or settlement of the claim. While this is beneficial for accident victims who contributed to the accident or the severity of their injuries, it also incentivizes the insurance company to assign undue fault to save money.
For example, if a driver passes you on a double line and sideswipes your vehicle, they would appear to be 100% at fault. But what if the insurance company claimed that you were speeding, which meant the other driver had difficulty passing you? The insurance adjuster could assign you 30% of the fault for the accident and the other driver 70%. If your damages amount to $100,000, the insurance company only has to pay $70,000. They will likely offer an even lower settlement unless you have firm legal representation advocating for you.
Contact Our Glendale Car Accident Lawyers Today
A car accident lawyer protects your best interests, including against insurance company tactics, such as assigning undue fault. Contact Onyx Law Firm for a free evaluation of your case by a compassionate, driven attorney who is ready to help you through every step of the process at (844) 669-9529. We serve clients throughout Glendale, including Crescenta Highlands.