Articles Posted in Car Accidents

When you’re hurt in an auto accident, there are many things you’ll need. For one thing, you’ll need time to heal, emotionally and physically. After that, though, it’s quite likely you’ll need to file an action in civil court to get compensation for the harm you suffered. To get everything you should from that lawsuit, you’ll need representation from the right San Mateo injury attorney. The right attorney can offer you and your case the right knowledge, the right experience and the right resources to ensure your case will achieve what it should.

One of the big things that the right attorney can provide is the right resources to do all the necessary investigatory work. Don’t overlook how important this is winning your case and getting the full recovery you deserve.

Some cases may be clear-cut in all the essential areas (such as an obviously distracted driver who admittedly ran a stop sign and T-boned your car.) Many though, are not. They are complex and require careful investigation to know what the true nature of the case really is. A tragically fatal accident from outside Vacaville, which was reported by KRON, is an example.

Continue reading ›

Getting hurt in an auto accident is a very stressful experience for a variety of different reasons. Unfortunately, for lots of folks, one of those reasons is dealing with insurance companies and struggling to get them to do what they should. Insurance companies, of course, often fight aggressively to avoid paying you, and are very experienced at doing so. That’s why, if you’ve been hurt in a vehicle accident, you shouldn’t go it alone. Give yourself the advantage of a diligent, professional advocate by retaining the services of an experienced San Mateo car accident attorney.

H.S. was a Southern California woman who faced this kind of challenge in her case. She was injured in an accident where the other driver hit her and was at fault. The other driver’s auto insurer made a payment equal to the policy limit.

Most all of us have seen those “state minimum coverage” auto insurance ads on the internet or TV, right? Those may be great for a driver who has no insurance, but they’re not so great if you’re hurt by someone with minimal or low-amount coverage. Fortunately, there is something called “uninsured or underinsured motorist” coverage you can add to your insurance. If the at-fault driver’s insurance pays the policy limit but that amount is less than your total damages, you can file a claim with your insurer and get a payment from them in addition to the payment from the other driver’s insurance company.

Continue reading ›

Knowing what your case is “worth” is just as essential a piece of knowledge as knowing what legal claims are viable and what factual evidence you need. A knowledgeable assessment of the value of a case is one of the very important pieces of advice you can get by working with a skilled San Mateo car accident attorney. Having that accurate information can help you avoid pitfalls like accepting a “lowball” settlement offer.

There’s also another benefit of having an accurate assessment of your case: it may entitle you to recover an award of costs and fees. That is no small matter because, sometimes, the value of those costs and fees may be more than the value of the total damages you suffered!

A court case from Southern California is a good example. A Bakersfield man, who was driving drunk, improperly failed to yield and turned in front of a vehicle containing a Bakersfield woman and her sister. The woman couldn’t stop in time and crashed into the man’s vehicle.

Continue reading ›

A rear-end crash can be a surprisingly serious event. Many people associate rear-end accidents with the phrase “minor fender-bender,” but just because a crash does not cause major vehicle damage doesn’t mean that the occupants of the vehicles involved can’t suffer serious harm. The harsh reality is that rear-end accidents can be (and often are) quite serious, and sometimes even fatal. If you’ve been hurt in a rear-end crash, don’t go it alone. Instead, get the legal representation you need from an experienced San Mateo car accident attorney.

An accident near Monterey late last month was, tragically, an example of a rear-end crash with massive harm to human life. The crash occurred along northbound Highway 1 after a Volkswagen SUV slowed “for unknown reasons,” according to The Mercury News. The vehicle trailing the SUV, a Ford pickup truck, failed to stop in time and slammed into the Volkswagen.

The driver of the truck escaped without injury, but the driver of the SUV died at a nearby medical center. CHP told reporters that alcohol and drugs “do not appear to be factors in the crash,” The Mercury News reported.

Continue reading ›

Sometimes, after reading a news headline about an accident injury victim who recovers a damages award in the tens of millions of dollars, you may wonder if awards like that are really legitimate or just an instance of an out-of-control jury. The reality is that, very often, these massive awards are entirely justifiable and appropriate! There are many ways that a vehicle accident can inflict a huge amount of damage on those hurt. One scenario where that is definitely a realistic possibility occurs when the injury victim is a young income earner whose injuries have left him permanently and totally disabled and requiring a lifetime of 24/7/365 care. If that happens to you or your loved one, it is essential to your family’s short-term and long-term well-being and financial security that your civil lawsuit gets you the full recovery you deserve. To aid in that goal, be sure you have an experienced San Mateo car accident attorney on your side.

J.M. was one of those people who suffered a catastrophic injury through no fault of his own. J.M., a farm worker in the Fresno area, was headed home from work one day when the van in which he was riding stopped at a railroad crossing. The driver of a Dodge pickup truck, C.B., slammed into the back of the stopped van going roughly 55 mph, according to a Fresno Bee report.

The massive injuries he suffered left J.M. paralyzed, according to the report. The only offer of settlement the injured man received was a sum of $25,000, which represented the policy limit of C.B.’s auto insurance coverage.

Continue reading ›

When you’re injured in an auto accident, you may worry that this crash will cause you to miss a lot of time at work. You may worry that your injuries will impair your ability to care for your children or meet your financial obligations. Any accident caused by someone else is frustrating, but it may be especially irritating if the driver who hit you was texting while driving. While exceptionally frustrating, clear evidence that the driver who hit you was texting at the time of the crash may be a huge help to you when it comes time to go to court and seek much-needed compensation for the harm you’ve suffered. Be sure you have an experienced San Mateo car accident attorney on your side to help you discover all the facts and then use them to your maximum benefit in court.

In Los Angeles, despite efforts by the city government, “the number of people killed in car crashes stayed stubbornly high,” according to the Los Angeles Times. One of the key contributors to that is drivers texting while driving. Drivers traveling “30, 40, 50 mph … put their head down to pick up a text or handle a call, and they move 100 yards, and they drive over someone,” LAPD Chief Michel Moore said in the Times report.

Regrettably, distracted driving isn’t just a problem in Los Angeles. In mid-March, a 20-year-old woman who was “driving northbound… and using her cellular phone” in Redding collided with another driver. According to actionnewsnow.com, the 20-year-old woman did not notice that her traffic light was red, she ran the red light and crashed into another car. The driver of that second vehicle was injured and was transported to a local hospital, according to the report.

Continue reading ›