An accident in Van Nuys can happen anytime, anyplace, resulting in serious and sometimes deadly injuries. If an accident has happened to you or a loved one, an accident attorney can clarify your rights and any potential liability for those involved. Numerous questions may be working through your mind, such as: Who is at fault? What if it was a loved one in the crash? What about accident insurance?
If you have been injured in a Van Nuys Accident, please call us today at 1-888-658-5614 for your no fee, private consultation with a skilled Van Nuys Accident Injury attorney.
Should I contact a Van Nuys accident lawyer?
If you or a loved one was in an incident, one of the main points one will need to set up is who was at fault for the automobile accident. The level of fault for every person / persons involved in the crash is THE most vital element in any crash claim. This determination will fluctuate depending upon the condition you are in and that state’s legal guidelines on carelessness. The amount of disregard of each component in an accident will determine who was responsible and who’ll be responsible for any accident injuries or wrongful death claims.
Commonly, a state will keep an eye on one of the subsequent carelessness theories, which an accident attorney can explain further: comparative disregard, pure comparative wrong doing, or proportional comparative fault.
Why Should I Hire a Van Nuys Accident Attorney?
An accident attorney is able to help you during your challenging time, providing assistance by doing business with insurance companies and other incident groups or individuals or companies, so you can take the time to concentrate on healing. After an automobile accident you will most likely have numerous questions and concerns. Occasionally the crash laws of your state can be perplexing. An accident lawyer will help explain the incident laws and incident reports to you so you know and comprehend your legal rights.
An accident attorney will be an element of an incident law firm that can offer you important views regarding your circumstance and information on how to cope with your injury. The accident law firm will gather details about your incident essential to build a successful case and acquire payment for your injuries. In addition, a big aspect of accident instances will involve interaction with insurance companies, other lawyers, and additional parties.
Often, when an accident lawyer is the one communicating with the company or other attorney, they will obtain more critical and detailed answers than if you were communicating with them. Working with a Van Nuys Accident attorney can help solve your accident case quicker, with much less pressure and panic.
If you have been injured in a Van Nuys Accident, please call us now at 1-888-658-5614 for a no fee, private consultation with a knowledgeable Van Nuys Accident attorney.
Car Accidents Overview – Lawyers and Law
Almost everyone will be part of a truck accident at some point in their lives. While hopefully your car accident won’t bring about serious motor vehicle accident injuries, motor vehicle collisions can lead to potentially serious and even fatal outcomes. An car accident can also cause liability – you may be able to prosecute the driver who brought about the accident. As such, it is beneficial to learn more about automobile incidents, motor vehicle accident lawsuits and how an accident lawyer can help.
If you have been injured in a Van Nuys Accident, please call us now at 1-888-658-5614 for a no fee, confidential assessment with a skilled Van Nuys Accident Injury attorney.
How Common Are Vehicle Accidents?
The statistics regulating car accidents are fairly mind boggling:
- More than 6 million motorized vehicle accidents take place in the U.S. each and every year.
- Auto accidents kill one individual every 12 minutes, and hurt or injure an individual every 14 seconds in the U.S. – many of these cases cause car crash claims either for wrongful death or vehicle accident injuries
- Vehicle accidents kill over 40,000 people every year in U.S., and they are the major cause of death for persons from ages 2 to 34
- About 2,000 kids die as a consequence of motor vehicle collisions each and every year, and more than 250,000 are seriously injured in accidents
Types of Car Accident Injuries
There are many unique causes for car accidents, each of which are likely to lead to a number of injuries. Some of the most typical motor vehicle collisions that take place include:
- Rear Impact: In case you hit somebody from behind, or are hit from behind, you have been involved in a rear impact accident. Most often this occurs because an individual has neglected to brake in time, causing in either a tap or a far more substantial rear impact accident.
Nearly 30% of all automobile accidents in the U.S. are rear-impact accidents. When a rear impact accident happens, the motorist in the back is typically accountable simply because laws require that an individual drive a safe distance from the automotive in front of you.
- Side Impact: If you are hit on the side of your motor vehicle, you have experienced a side impact crash. Side impact accidents can transpire when you “T-bone” a different car, which means the front of your automotive hits the side of another. You can also sideswipe another motor vehicle by bumping into its side while changing lanes. Nearly 29 percent of all U.S. accidents are side-impact accidents. Indicating fault frequently becomes a problem here- it can be tough to know which motorist was in the wrong.
An excellent motor vehicle accident attorney can help you collect photographic evidence of the scene or will hire an expert in car accident reconstruction to act as your witness and to help you show the fault of the other individual.
- Head-on Wreck: If you strike another car front first, or if you hit a non-moving object with the front of your car, you have been part of a head-on impact. Head-on collisions occur frequently when a motorist falls asleep and slips into oncoming traffic.
Other ways head-on collisions occur are where the individual is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, gets on to a road or a one-way street in the wrong direction, or loses control of their car and skids into an oncoming lane. These incidents account for 2% of all U.S. accidents. The person who was going the wrong way or who was intoxicated or asleep is generally at fault.
- Rollover: If your car flips over in any way, or lands on its side, you have been involved in a rollover. Higher autos, like SUV’s and trucks, are more likely to experience rollovers than smaller cars. Nearly 2% of all accidents in the U.S. are rollovers. In a few rollover accidents, you could possibly hold the maker of the automobile accountable for a poor design or disorders.
- Runoff: These incidents normally include just one automobile running off the road. This can take place any time a person is not focusing, or swerves to stay away from another motor vehicle or animal in the road. Runoffs account for 16 % of all U.S. accidents. If you run off the road, you usually have no one to pin the consequence on but yourself – unless another truck illegally got in your way or there was an issue with the road itself.
How an Auto Accident Attorney Can Help
If you have been injured in a Van Nuys Accident, please call us today at 1-888-658-5614 for your free, confidential consultation with a skilled Van Nuys Accident attorney.
No matter the particular cause of your vehicle accident injuries, a truck incident lawyer can enable you to show wrong doing and attain the damages you deserve.
Lawyers can be especially helpful when injuries like whiplash or injuries involving a hospital stay are involved.
Car insurance companies will try to shell out as little as possible, and an attorney can enable you to collect proof and protect your rights by working directly with your insurance provider or by helping you to file a car crash lawsuit.
Car Accidents – Who is at Fault?
Fault is one of the largest, if not THE most essential element, in any vehicle accident claim. The individual at fault is the person whose carelessness brought on the incident, and that is the person who generally must pay for the injury brought on by his or her negligence.
If the conditions around your car accident make it obvious that one individual was obviously at fault, then read no further! One of the related articles listed below should be your up coming stop. If, however, liability is not totally clear or if there is shared fault, then fault is apportioned among the individuals identified by the specifics of the law in your state (see below) on relative or contributory disregard.
When liability is shared in an automobile accident, it is the insurer’s turn to figure out the comparative rates of fault of the parties included.
What is Comparative or Contributory Negligence?
Historically, if two people were affected in an accident and the hurt person/persons was even the slightest bit at fault, he or she would not be entitled to get back anything for his/her injuries or losses. This approach of figuring out damages is known in legal circles as pure contributory negligence.
For example, say Luke and Martin were involved in an automobile accident. Luke hit Martin’s vehicle while making a left turn onto a 2-lane street at night. Luke didn’t notice Martin’s automobile because (blank) it was night time (and a dark one at that), Martin was not driving with his headlights on. Under a pure contributory negligence theory, Martin couldn’t get back damages for his injuries because he was partially at fault for the accident. Sound pretty harsh?
Actually, some states still follow this rule (Alabama, District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia).
But most states now use some proportional type of comparative negligence that makes it possible for an injured person / persons to reclaim some damages for his or her injuries, even if he or she was partially at fault. There are presently three variations: Pure comparative fault; proportional comparative fault at 51%; proportional comparative fault at 50%.
Pure Comparative Fault
In states that have adopted pure comparative fault as a measure of damages, if an harmed human being is partly at fault for creating his own injuries, his damages are lowered by the percentage of his fault.
For example, say Michelle was injured in a crash for which she was 80% at fault. Damages for her injuries amount to $10,000. Michelle will be eligible to recover $2,000 for her injuries, that is, $10,000 less 80% or $8,000 for her percentage of fault.
States: Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Washington.
Proportional Comparative Fault at 51%
The states that have adopted proportional comparative fault bar recovery if you are more than 51% at fault for the automobile accident. Basically, you cannot file a liability claim and lawsuit in opposition to the other driver’s negligence if you were more than 51% at fault.
For example, Dennis hit Teri’s car while traveling in excess of 25 miles per hour over the speed limit while Teri was trying to cross the road. Even though Teri was partly at fault for not waiting until the road was entirely clear before crossing, the insurance company allotted fault to Dennis at 60% due to his excessive speed. Even though Dennis suffered a broken arm from the accident, he is not entitled to recover for his injury due to the fact that he was more than 51% at fault for the accident.
States: Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Proportional Comparative Fault at 50%
In states that have adopted the 50% bar standard in attending to car accident claims, a hurt person that is less than 50% at fault for the incident is allowed compensation. If the injured party is 50% or more at fault, he or she is not entitled to recovery for the injury.
For example, Richard and Susan accidentally hit each other’s cars while backing out of their parking spots at exactly the same time. Both were not looking very carefully enough when they backed up, and so both were considered just as at fault for the accident. Neither one will be eligible to damages since both were 50% at fault for the accident.
States: Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia.
How is Percentage of Fault Determined?
Following an accident, it is the job of the insurance company claims adjuster to assign the relative degrees of fault primarily based on the circumstances surrounding the accident. There is no magic formula mathematical formula for deciding percentages of fault in accident injuries. You and the claims adjuster will negotiate and come to some arrangement as to what, if any, your allocated fault is.
Here is where a highly skilled personal injury attorney can come in handy. He or she will know how to evaluate the accident and recommend for the lowest percentage of fault on your account. If you and the insurance adjuster reach an impasse, a court of law is ultimately your next step to take care of the issue of fault.
Fault and Car Insurance
Insurance firms often offer extra coverage/protection (for extra money) to aid pay for property damage and/or personal injury and medical costs no matter of fault. So if you are hurt in an accident that was mainly your mistake and you are not entitled by law to compensation from the other person’s insurance, but you have extra coverage under your own coverage, your own insurance company will pay for your injuries.
This extra insurance coverage is called PIP (personal injury protection) or No Fault coverage. Under this situation, you would file a liability claim with your own insurance provider for medical charges and lost income, up to a specified maximum, without any debate or disagreement about the conditions of the accident and who was at fault.
Whether you can file for further expenses against the other individual who was at fault in the accident relies upon on your state’s laws. In many states, Uninsured/Underinsured coverage is required. This gives coverage for damages ensuing from an accident with someone who either has no insurance or does not currently have enough insurance to cover your expenses. It also helps to protect you if the other person flees the scene immediately after the accident or is a driver of a stolen car.
Beyond the damages suffered, the degree of fault is probably the most crucial aspect in determining exactly how much you may finally recover for your accident injury. In most instances, both you and the insurance company will know (by the circumstances surrounding the accident) the degree of fault for both people. Was the other party completely at fault? Largely at fault? Or only somewhat at fault?
If you are in a comparative fault state, an adjuster will decrease your recovery amount by your percentage of comparative fault. If you were only 10% at fault, your damages total will be reduced by 10%. Your recovery will not be reduced by any amount if the accident was clearly someone else’s fault.
If you have been seriously injured in a Van Nuys Accident, please give us a call today at 1-888-658-5614 for your no cost, confidential assessment with a skilled Van Nuys Accident Injury attorney.