CAR ACCIDENT INJURY CASES WE SPECIALIZE IN

NEED A SAN DIEGO CAR ACCIDENT LAWYER?

Have you or a loved one been injured in a car accident? The costs of healthcare should not become a burden to you or your family, especially if the crash was due to the negligence of another party. Every person injured in an accident due to someone else’s negligence has the right to monetary compensation for the harm caused to that person’s health, ability to work and earn wages, and well-being.

If you have been involved in a car accident contact our experienced attorneys today, we will help you fight for just compensation. Schedule your free consultation call us (619) 752-2217 we're available 24/7.

Here's Why You Need A Car Accident Attorney

Whether you have been involved in a car accident, a vehicle rollover accident we also help victims of bicycle accidents, semi-truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, uber accidents, or pedestrian accidents, we have the experience and legal understanding to help you. Each type of case has specific laws and issues involving liability, claims, and settlements.

We will guarantee you peace of mind while helping you navigate the treacherous waters of insurance claims and personal injury lawsuits. Waiting could cause you to forever lose the legal right to pursue a claim should the statutes of limitations pass.

Over 30yrs experience and $100+ Million recovered for car accident victims

Call us (619) 752-2217 for a FREE CASE EVALUATION by San Diego's leading car accident attorneys

Leading Personal Injury Attorneys in San Diego
Member American Bar Association
Consumer Attorneys Of California

Don’t hesitate! The sooner you call us (619) 752-2217 the sooner you will be represented by one of our attorneys, which combined have more than 30 years of experience in handling claims and lawsuits that have secured its clients hundreds of thousands of dollars in settlements.

The days and months after a traumatizing vehicle accident are the most crucial as they decide how much the crash will affect your life financially for years to come.

Our experienced attorneys help car accident victim in the all North San Diego County: Del Mar, Carlsbad, Chula vista, Coronado, El Cajon, Encinitas, Escondido, Imperial Beach, La Jolla, Lemon Grove, National City, Oceanside, Oceanside, Poway, Rancho Bernardo, San Marcos, Solana Beach, and Vista.

The Most Common Causes of Car Accidents and Injuries

Car accidents are the number one cause of personal injury claims in the United States. A disaster that is not your fault can deal a significant blow to your finances, your savings, and your income. You may lose earnings if you are too injured or disabled to work. You may encounter property damage or suffer from long-term psychological or physical pain. You will also face the prospect of costly hospital stays, drugs, procedures, and other medical expenses.

A car accident can happen at any point that a driver is distracted from safely operating his or her vehicle. Adverse weather conditions, poor visibility, speeding, cell phone distraction, drugs, and driving while intoxicated can all contribute to a driver losing control of their vehicle. 

California Safety Quick Stats show that 42% percent of the drivers killed in motor vehicle crashes, tested positive for legal and/or illegal drugs which can also be considered driving under the influence. In addition, hit and run and rear-end car accidents are also very common and can have personal injury cases built against those at fault. More recently, due to the rising popularity of rideshare apps, there has been an increase in rideshare accidents. The combination of any of these factors increases the likelihood that a car accident with serious injuries to drivers and passengers will result.

SAN DIEGO CAR ACCIDENT STATISTICS

San Diego is the second-most-populous county in the state of California, San Diego County is home to more than 3 million Americans. Its county seat and largest city, San Diego, is the eighth-largest city in the United States. Due to their large populations and crowded roads, the city and county of San Diego are a hotbed for traffic collisions involving cars and other vehicles. Federal traffic data found that approximately 40 percent of all accidents occur at an intersection. In San Diego, intersection-related accidents are particularly dangerous.

According to the 2019 California Highway Patrol’s Annual Report of Fatal Injury Motor Vehicle Traffic Collisions (car accidents): 
  • 3,563 fatal traffic accidents
  • 1,069 were alcohol-related, accounting for 30 percent of California’s 3,563 fatalities
  • 42% of fatal crashes, drivers who were tested, tested positive for legal and/or illegal drugs
  • 21.4% were teen driver motor vehicle fatalities
  • In the city of San Diego collision stats alone accounted for:
  • 7.63% Total fatalities
  • 2.03% alcohol related fatalities
  • 2.78% bicycle (or other cyclist) fatalities
While the drivers and passengers of cars are most likely to be injured in a collision, injuries to pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists are also prevalent. 

Here are Traffic Safety Quick Stats that can be used along with ways to avoid risky driving behaviors.

What to Do After You're Involved in a Car Accident

Under California law, you are required to stop if you are involved in an accident; this is true whether the accident involves a parked car, two or more moving cars or a pedestrian. It is important to remember that you can be charged with a criminal hit-and-run offense for leaving the scene of an accident even if you were not at fault.

If there are any injuries as a result of the accident, you must call the San Diego Police Department right away. You should not leave the scene until you have spoken with a police officer, filed a police report and have taken down the officer’s contact information. California Vehicle Codes require that you report all accidents with injuries or fatalities to the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles)

Before you leave the scene of the accident, there are important pieces of information that you should collect, including:

  • Names and driver’s license numbers of all persons involved
  • Contact information of those involved in the accident, including addresses and phone numbers
  • Names and contact information of any witnesses
  • License plate numbers of all cars
  • Insurance information, including the insurance company name and policy number, of all persons involved
  • Pictures of the accident

It is understandable to be upset and rattled after an accident has occurred – be sure to take a moment to regain composure before speaking with the other person involved in the accident, an insurance company or even a car accident lawyer. It is in your best interest to seek help from an experienced San Diego personal injury attorney as soon as possible.

Having an attorney represent you early in the process is important because the other party may try to place blame on you or purposely confuse your account of what truly happened. With the guidance of a trusted San Diego car accident lawyer, you will be less likely to put any damaging information in the record or damage your chance of recovering the damages that are rightfully yours.

Visit Your Doctor to Properly Document All Injuries

If you are injured in an accident, it is vital that you pay close attention to the instructions of your doctor. You should retain copies of all documents and expenses related to your injuries so that you can be compensated for the amounts that you are forced to pay out of pocket.

What are the Rights of a Car Accident Victim?

As the victim of a car accident, you are entitled to be made whole again after your injuries. Auto liability coverage is mandatory in California – every driver on the road must be insured up to a certain amount. However, some drivers do not carry insurance, which means that you would have to attempt to recover your losses by suing an uninsured driver directly.

If the driver responsible for the accident is insured, the settlement of all auto accident claims will be processed by the other party’s insurance provider. The car insurance provider must first accept the responsibility on behalf of the insured, which does not always happen right away in some cases. If there is a question as to which driver was at fault for the accident, this issue may end up being litigated in court.

Once the responsible driver’s auto insurance company admits fault, the next step is to send a demand letter to the insurance company that includes the amount you are requesting for compensation for your injuries. The advantage of having an attorney communicate on your behalf is that it tends to expedite the process of agreeing on a settlement amount and issuing payment.

Understanding California’s Comparative Fault

Many car accidents are not clear-cut in terms of who is at fault and who is not. Understanding that California is a comparative fault state, may help. Comparative fault means responsibility for a crash can be divided among any and all parties at fault in the collision.

California law explicitly accounts for this type of a situation by way of a legal doctrine known as comparative negligence, or comparative fault. California is a “pure” comparative negligence jurisdiction. What this means is that a plaintiff that files a California personal injury lawsuit against a driver can recover damages even if he or she was more than 50 percent at fault.  

For example, if three parties are involved in a crash, the courts may determine that one party shoulders 40 percent of the responsibility, another 50 percent, and the last party the remaining 10 percent. If you were that last party, 10 percent of the damages awarded to you would be withheld.

This is not a reason to not protect your legal rights. You need to contact our experienced car accident lawyer team to help you determine who may be at fault for the crash and if it’s you and the other driver, how much fault is yours and how much is the other driver’s.

Types of Damages and Compensation for Car Accident Victims

An accident can be debilitating and no amount of money could possibly reverse the pain and suffering you or a loved one have encountered. But financial compensation can lessen the weight of healthcare costs and lost wages. Our car accident lawyers can assure you that your attention and your thoughts are fully with your loved one and not with banks, insurance companies, and debt collectors.

Don’t try to go it alone without a car accident lawyer when seeking financial compensation and dealing with insurance companies. Insurance companies are motivated by profits and are interested in doling out settlements and payments that are usually low and unfavorable to you. 

As the #1 San Diego car accident attorney, we will help you better fight for your rights and maximize the amount of money you gain from your settlements and claims. In doing so, our lawyers ensure that your family does not spiral into bankruptcy as a result of the tragedy.

In many cases, even when you or your family member is not the party at fault, the insurance company will not pay all the costs of the disaster. You will need a lawyer to help you hold the insurance company and the other party in the car accident accountable. We will help you file claims for the costs of property damage, medical costs, lost wages, and psychological pain to the full extent of the law. On your behalf, a lawyer from our office will deal with insurance companies that stall or delay claims and settlements. We will help you fight insurance companies should they deny a claim or argue that the other party was not at fault or that you were partially negligent. We will also represent you when the negligent party does not have insurance.

The amount of settlement that you may receive will depend on the severity of your injuries and the relative fault of the parties involved in the accident. California follows the pure comparative fault rule for recovering damages, which means that if you have a portion of the blame for the accident, another party who is also at fault may recover against you, but this recovery would be discounted by that party’s percentage of fault for the accident.

The categories of damages for which an accident victim may recover include:

  • Reimbursement for medical bills
  • Loss of wages and future earnings
  • Pain and suffering
  • Emotional distress
  • Wrongful death damages

The driver seeking to recover damages in an accident must prove the liability of the driver at fault and provide evidence to support the damages demanded. This is why it is so important that you retain all documents related to any injuries that you sustain from a car accident.

If you are offered a settlement amount from another driver’s auto insurance company, you must consider the offer carefully before accepting. Payment of the settlement amount will require you to sign a release, which means that you cannot seek any additional recovery from the party involved down the line. Your attorney should review all documents before you sign anything because you could give up your right to recover the full amount entitled to if you sign a release too soon.

Hire a San Diego Car Accident Lawyer Today

Our experienced car accident attorneys at San Diego Personal Injury Attorneys will get you the compensation you deserve. By hiring us, we will be sure to communicate appropriately with your insurance company, the other party's insurance company, and even the other attorney if the other party has one. We will aggressively fight for you! For a free consultation call us (619) 752-2217

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