Car Accident Injury Lawyer Santa Barbara CA

How does the insurance process work for a car crash claim?

Once you contact the insurance company and inform them of your incident, a representative of the company should respond within a few days. The rep, also known as a claims adjuster, will get in touch with you so he or she can obtain more details about the accident.

The adjuster may come to your home and take photos of your car and examine it for damages, then ask you to take it to one of the company's accepted auto shops for an assessment. To get information about your medical bills, the insurance representative will probably ask who your doctor is. Be ready to give them this type of information.

You can also anticipate the adjuster to get a copy of the official police report, and talk to the other driver and other witnesses in their review. All of these components will help the representative get an understanding of how much you are entitled to and if your policy covers all the damages.

The claims adjuster should then make a settlement offering, which will specify how much the insurance company will pay. If the claim is not enough to pay your damages then you and your attorney can pursue the case further. You do not need to agree to a settlement offer from the insurance company on the first try because you have other options.

You could notify the adjuster's manager, who may then look into your claim and send a better settlement. If this doesn't work, then you can also take your case to the courtroom. An attorney at our firm is more than qualified to file a claim against an insurance company. Our legal team is dedicated to making sure that you are treated fairly.

Benefits of Hiring the Best Car Accident Lawyer in Los Angeles

If you were wounded in a car accident, then you must obtain legal counsel for a attorney. You need the best personal injury attorney for your case in Los Angeles if you want the optimum chance of success. Insurance companies are well known for trying to settle for far less than their clients deserve.

Our legal team can not only assist you in making a solid claim but can defend you against insurance companies that don't want to give you the settlement you deserve. We take care of all negotiations, so you don't have to be weighed down by any legal matters.

For over a decade, the Ghozland Law Firm has been helping clients get the compensation they deserve for their accidents! If you've been hurt by another person in any way, it is only just that the individual reimburses you. Our legal team has been able to generate tens of thousands of dollars for clients who were in car collisions caused by another.

Even if you believe you may have been partially at fault, contact our firm. We are dedicated to returning client calls within 24 hours, so call us or fill out a free case evaluation to get started!

Types of Car Accidents

Auto accidents are a common fact of life, especially when you live in Southern California where everything is so spread out that you virtually have to own a vehicle to survive. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that in 2011, there were an estimated 2.22 million people hurt in motor vehicle crashes and 32,367 fatalities in that same year.

In general, types of car accidents fall into one of the following four categories:

• Lane Departure Accidents
• Collisions That Take Place at Junctions
• Collisions Where a Pedestrian or Bicyclist is hit
• Collisions With Animals Such as Dogs, Cats, and Deer

Although other types of collisions can and do happen, the above four examples are the most prevalent. A motor vehicle can be struck from the back as in a rear-end collision, or from the side in a side-impact collision, otherwise known as a T-bone accident, or the front ends of two vehicles can collide in perhaps the most damaging collision of all, the head-on collision.

Affected individuals of these types of car accidents should obtain legal services from a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer at the Ghozland Law Firm. Our legal team has a decade of experience in dealing with car collisions.

Examining types of collisions

Head-on Collision

Much more likely to have a undesirable outcome because of the speeds involved when the accident occurs. Often the typical head-on collision will occur when one vehicle strays into the course of an oncoming vehicle. This can happen when someone swerves to stay away from an object on the road when the motorist is engaged in distracted driving behaviors such as sending texts while driving when the driver falls asleep at the wheel or driving under the effect of alcohol or another substance which triggers the driver impairment. With head-on collisions, the danger of property damage and significant injuries and death are relative, the higher the speeds, the greater the risks of catastrophic injury and death.

Side-impact Collision

Otherwise known as a T-bone accident typically occurs at intersections (road junctions), and these are a very typical type of accident. A side-impact crash or intersection collision occurs at lights and on roads with two or more stop signs.

An intersection collision could occur when the at-fault driver neglects to stop at a red light when the at-fault driver fails to stop at a stop sign and yield the right of way to oncoming traffic, or it can occur when someone turns left in front of oncoming traffic. Side-impact crashes have a higher incidence in urban areas because there is a higher density of junctions in the city.

Unfortunately, side-impact crashes can be especially dangerous and sometimes lethal because the passengers are sitting so close to the door, which has practically zero shelter as compared to when another vehicle strikes the rear of the vehicle as in a rear-end collision. At least with rear-end collisions, passengers in the rear of the vehicle are separated by the vehicle's trunk.

Rear-end Collision

A traffic collision where the front of a car or truck collides with the rear of the automobile in the front. Rear-end collisions regularly occur because the individual in the rear vehicle wasn't maintaining a safe following distance. After all, they were tailgating, or because of panic stops, or because of driver inattention or distraction.

In the majority of rear-end collisions, the driver in the rear vehicle is considered to be at fault in the crash, but not a hundred percent of the time. An exemption to the rule is when the driver in the front vehicle goes into reverse gear and strikes the rear of their vehicle into the front end of the vehicle in the rear, but this is a uncommon occurrence.

A typical medical consequence of a rear-end collision is whiplash injury, in more extreme cases herniation may even occur. Perhaps the most dangerous type of rear-end collisions involve minivans, which benefit little from the short rear crumple zone. This is horrifying because those sitting in the rear of the minivan are the most likely to be significantly injured or killed in a rear-end collision and these passengers are often child passengers.

Determining Accountability in a Car Accident

In dangerous car collisions, one or several of the parties could be in the wrong. Reasons could include driver distraction, negligence, reckless driving, aggressive driving, and vehicle or safety system breakdowns. It is not always just one person who is at fault. What may seem like a simple accident, such as one driver running a red light and colliding with a different vehicle, may have other factors involved.

If you have been hurt in a car accident and feel that the other driver was at fault, contact a car accident attorney in Los Angeles. A knowledgeable attorney from our firm is experienced and knows how to take action to analyze an accident to determine liability in a car accident. This is the first essential step in being able to get the compensation you deserve.

Investigating who is at fault

Determining liability in a car crash is based on the facts, not opinion. This requires an investigation, and in some cases, this can be quite complicated.

Surveying the crash site, examining the automobiles, and finding and questioning witnesses are just some of the actions that may be appropriate. In some cases, an accident reconstruction consultant may need to be called in. The documented facts will show who and what caused the accident.

Since California is a no-fault state, litigation occurs to figure out who and to what degree each driver was liable. A driver might be 100%, 50%, 10%, etc. at fault. That percentage is the proportionate amount he or his insurance carrier must pay the other injured party.

Need a Lawyer for Your Car Accident Case in Los Angeles?

Do not depend on only your word, witness reports, or even a police report in your favor. You may not be at fault, but it could require additional action to fully establish this fact. You need a lawyer to determine liability in a Los Angeles car collision.

At our firm, we are well-connected with respected specialists that can investigate the accident reports and other data when this is required. At Ghozland Law Firm in Los Angeles, we have the skills you want on your side if you were seriously injured in a car accident. You can be assured your case is in skilled hands. Contact us today to learn how we can help you.

Causes of Car Accidents

As of 2011, the California Department of Motor Vehicles stated that there was a total of 31,802,483 registered vehicles in the state, thereby making the potential of being involved in a collision a very real one for Californians. Those who live in Southern California are used to a fast pace, we are a class of busy people who are trying to balance our work and our families and in the interest of finding balance, we often employ risky multitasking techniques.

Between sending emails, paying bills online, sending text messages, and making a massive change towards more efficient and effective communication, we want everything done fast. However, when it comes to driving safely, especially in a huge town such as Los Angeles, it's important to slow down and for the sake of health and safety, to make the right choices when getting behind the wheel.

Top 3 Causes of Car Accidents

Automobile accidents are a dangerous epidemic in the United States, and sadly, the easier cars get to drive, the easier it is for drivers to take part in unsafe driving practices.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2011 alone there was an estimated 5,338,000 police-reported motor vehicle crashes in which 2,217,000 people were hurt. According to the Centers for Disease Control, motor vehicle crashes are one of the leading causes of death in the United States with an economic impact costing $70 billion in 2005.

Distracted Driving

Distracted driving involves any task that can divert a person's concentration away from the primary task of driving. While all distractions can threaten the driver, passenger, or pedestrians, the most alarming form of driver distraction is texting while driving. In 2011, 3,331 people were killed by a distracted driver and in 2010, 387,000 people were harmed in distracted driving crashes.

Drunk Driving

Drivers are known to be alcohol-impaired when their blood alcohol concentration (BAC) registers at .08% or higher. In 2011, there were 9,878 alcohol-impaired driving deaths representing an average of one alcohol-related fatality every 53 minutes and accounting for 31% of the total traffic deaths.

Speeding

The NHTSA considers a crash to be speed-related whenever a driver is charged with a speed-related criminal offense or when an officer indicates that racing, driving too fast for conditions, or exceeding the publicized speed limit was a contributing factor to an accident. Speeding remains one of the common factors in traffic accidents. In 2011, speeding was a contributing factor in 30% of all fatal crashes and 9,944 (31% lives were lost in speeding-related collisions.

Contact a Los Angeles Car Accident Lawyer Today

Are you looking for a lawyer for personal injury in Los Angeles? If you or someone you love was injured in a car accident, you are urged to contact a Los Angeles car accident attorney from the Ghozland Law Firm without delay.

To better assist our clients, our firm offers free case assessments and we take cases on a contingency fee basis. This means there is no fee unless we win your case! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by contacting our firm, so give us a call!