Car Accident Injury Lawyer South San Francisco CA

How does the insurance process work for a car accident 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 representative, 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 scrutinize it for damages, then ask you to take it to one of the company's accepted auto shops for an evaluation. To get information about your medical bills, the insurance representative will probably ask who your physician is. Be prepared 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 estimate of how much you are entitled to and if your policy covers all the damages.

The claims adjuster should then make a settlement proposal, which will establish 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 even more. You do not need to accept a settlement offer from the insurance firm 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 lawsuit 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 hurt in a car accident, then you must obtain legal counsel for a legal representative. You need the best personal injury attorney for your case in Los Angeles if you want the best chance of achieving success. Insurance companies are infamous 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 protect you against insurance companies that don't want to give you the reimbursement 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 traumas! 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 obtain tens of thousands of dollars for clients who were in car crashes caused by another.

Even if you believe you may have been partly at fault, contact our firm. We are committed 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 collisions 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 injured in motor vehicle crashes and 32,367 deaths in that same year.

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

• Lane Departure Accidents
• Crashes 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 take place, the above four examples are the most typical. A motor vehicle can be struck from the rear 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 dangerous collision of all, the head-on collision.

Sufferers of these types of car accidents should obtain legal counsel 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 negative outcome because of the speeds involved when the crash occurs. Often the typical head-on collision will occur when one vehicle strays into the path of an oncoming vehicle. This can happen when someone swerves to avoid an object on the road when the driver is engaged in distracted driving behaviors such as text messaging while driving when the driver falls asleep at the wheel or driving under the effect of alcohol or another substance which leads to the driver impairment. With head-on collisions, the danger of property damage and extreme injuries and death are relative, the higher the speeds, the greater the risks of devastating injury and death.

Side-impact Collision

Otherwise known as a T-bone accident typically takes place at intersections (road junctions), and these are a very common type of accident. A side-impact crash or intersection collision occurs at lights and on streets 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 commuter traffic, or it can occur when an individual turns left in front of oncoming traffic. Side-impact crashes have a elevated incidence in metropolitan areas because there is a higher concentration of junctions in the city.

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

Rear-end Collision

A traffic accident where the front of a car or truck collides with the rear of the vehicle in the front. Rear-end collisions typically 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 vast 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 hits the rear of their vehicle into the front end of the vehicle in the rear, but this is a uncommon occurrence.

A typical health consequence of a rear-end collision is whiplash injuries, in more serious cases herniation may even happen. Perhaps the most harmful 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 severely injured or killed in a rear-end collision and these passengers are frequently child passengers.

Determining Accountability in a Car Accident

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

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

Investigating who is at fault

Determining liability in a car accident 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 cars, and finding and interviewing witnesses are just some of the actions that may be required. 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 responsible. 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 wounded party.

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

Do not rely on only your word, witness statements, or even a police report in your favor. You may not be at fault, but it could require further 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 experts that can investigate the accident reports and other data when this is necessary. 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 professional 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 acquainted to a fast pace, we are a class of busy people who are trying to balance our jobs and our families and in the interest of finding balance, we often employ dangerous 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. But the truth is, when it comes to driving safely, especially in a big 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 life-threatening epidemic in the United States, and regrettably, the easier cars get to drive, the easier it is for drivers to engage 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 harmed. According to the Centers for Disease Control, motor vehicle crashes are one of the top 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 attention 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 injured 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 fatalities representing an average of one alcohol-related fatality every 53 minutes and accounting for 31% of the total traffic fatalities.

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 suggests that racing, driving too fast for conditions, or exceeding the publicized speed limit was a contributive 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 browsing 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 lawyer from the Ghozland Law Firm right away.

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