With auto accidents a rising concern throughout the state, especially in urban areas, drivers should understand what steps to take if caught in a car accident. This includes reaching out to Kuzyk Law, your Antelope Valley car accident lawyer.
Between 2014 and 2018, the number of auto accident deaths in California rose by nearly 20 percent. Drivers in the Los Angeles area alone travel, on average, 23 miles per day, ranking 21st among cities.
When influxes of millions of tourists from outside the region add their vehicles to the mix, driving conditions grow even less safe. Stop-and-go driving, racing speeders, and difficult-to-control tractor-trailers can all contribute to rising accident rates.
Avoid These Common Causes of Car Accidents In Antelope Valley
The first step in avoiding auto accidents lies in paying more attention, especially in typical problem areas. Although you cannot always avoid accidents, understanding which situations place you most at risk will help make your rides safer for all.
According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, accidents occur more often in the following conditions:
- Distracted driving
- Driving at unsafe speeds relative to posted limits or conditions
- Taking a vehicle down the wrong side of a road or opposing direction on a one-way street
- Violating rules governing rights of way
- Not obeying signs, signals, and other traffic directions
This by no means serves as a complete list of auto accident cases, many of which are mostly or entirely the fault of only one driver. A free consultation with an auto accident lawyer in Antelope Valley can help you better understand your rights if involved in one.
Our Antelope Valley auto accident attorneys handle auto accident cases throughout California. Thousands of cars, motorcycles, truck and automobile accidents happen every day. We have handled tens of thousands of cases including car accidents (such as rollovers, rear-end collisions, head-on collisions, broadside collisions), motorcycle accidents, truck accidents, semi-truck collisions, tractor-trailer accidents, MTA accidents, Bus related accidents, and wrongful death arising from accidents.
People who are victims in a car accident, motorcycle accident or hit and run need a Los Angeles Car Accident Lawyer that understands all aspects of injury law, insurance companies, and local courts so we can make sure you get financial compensation for your injuries, medical bills, pain and suffering, and property damage.
What To Do When In A Car Accident In California
We understand. An auto accident can be one of the worst days of your life. Your injuries, or those to loved ones, will be your biggest priority.
Regardless of whether or not you think you were at fault, however, keep your head and focus on your interests.
First, report the accident to the authorities, regardless of apparent severity. Even slight fender benders can leave victims with back or head trauma that may not show right away. For safety, have a first responder check you out. Also, make sure to get a police report on the scene.
If you can, and if no one was injured or killed, move your vehicle to a safe location. Present needed information, such as drivers’ license, insurance paperwork, and anything else requested by those responding on the scene. You or your insurance agent have the legal responsibility to report the accident to authorities.
If the accident killed or injured another, report to the California Highway Patrol within 24 hours. You or your agent must also submit a written report to the DMV in ten or fewer days.
It is of vital importance to not admit fault at the scene to anyone. Sometimes victims are the worst judges of what actually happened. Objective evidence from eyewitnesses, cameras, and other sources could prove your innocence and the negligence of another. Admitting fault undercuts your case from the beginning, even if the facts contradict it.
Either you or an individual representing your interests need to gather evidence at the scene, if at all possible. Photographs, eyewitness testimony, and other documentation can bolster any future suit. It can also serve as your defense in case you get sued.
Finally, do not make any kind of agreement, verbal or written, with an insurance company. They have the incentive to shut down lawsuits before they even start.
Gather These Documents For Your Initial Consultation
Your attorney will need to gather the best possible picture of both you and the event itself when considering if and how to pursue your case. Make sure to get as much of this information together as you can quickly, including.
- Medical bills, including emergency room
- Medical records, including ER
- Contact information on other driver or drivers
- Insurance information for all parties involved
- Photographs of the accident scene, your injuries, and vehicles involved
- Witness contact information
- Police and other reports from the scene, if possible
- Information on additional related costs, such as lost salary, etc.
Assemble these and any other information that you or your attorney think are relevant. He or she can use years or even decades of knowledge and experience to build a case that provides the best chance of getting the justice you deserve.
Auto Accident Law In California
In over four decades of specializing in personal injury law, auto accidents are by far the most common. We’ve dealt with every kind of auto accident and every size of the insurance company.
Drunk driving accidents are especially tough on victims because in every single case, the accident could have been avoided altogether. And time and time again, we see insurance companies try to pay out the very minimum they can get away with to cover damages to the victim’s vehicle, medical bills, therapy – not to mention the debilitating mental stress brought on by being hit by someone who should not have been driving in the first place.
Don’t settle for the bare minimum from insurance companies.
Let Kuzyk Law’s Antelope Valley auto accident lawyers help you get the maximum payout you are owed. We will fight for you, as we have fought for hundreds of drunk driving accident victims just like you. We will make sure the responsible parties pay you what they owe.
Understand Comparative Negligence and Statute of Limitations
One key reason why we urge accident victims not to discuss fault is California’s comparative negligence laws.
Comparative negligence refers to the ability of the court or lawyers at settlement to establishing percentages of fault. For example, if the court finds that evidence shows that you had 35 percent of the fault, you will receive 65 percent of the expected award. Admitting fault, even when not accurate, can push the comparative fault needle against your interests.
Also, be aware of the statute of limitations laws. You should reach out to a car accident lawyer immediately after the accident for these reasons:
- A case can begin while evidence, including eyewitness accounts, are still fresh
- An auto accident lawyer can get to work immediately to secure justice for those affected
- Provides as much time as possible for the car accident lawyer to beat the statute of limitations issues
Although you have two years to file, consider that each case brings to the fore complex issues of fact and law. Your attorney needs time to prepare the case for filing. While you can file on the last possible day, your lawyer may be limited in what he or she can do after so much time has passed.