Car accidents are one of the most common causes of severe injuries in San Bernardino and throughout the country. These incidents are also the subject of many civil lawsuits. When you sustain harm in a motor vehicle collision caused by another driver’s negligence or recklessness, it is crucial to explore your legal options and enlist the help of our experienced personal injury lawyers.
You could be entitled to recover a monetary award from the negligent or reckless party that caused your accident. Let a San Bernardino car accident lawyer evaluate your case and help you pursue financial compensation for your physical and emotional injuries and other accident-related losses. You could be eligible to collect money that would allow you to pay for the treatments and care you need to heal from your injuries.
Types of Car Accidents
Not all car collisions are the same. For example, car crashes can involve anything from a single vehicle to a multi-car pileup. While some people are fortunate enough to be able to walk away from a motor vehicle collision, not everyone is as lucky. Likewise, not all accidents will result in a viable case for compensation. Instead, to succeed in a personal injury claim, an accident must result from negligence, recklessness, or even intentional wrongdoing. There are many common types of motor vehicle accidents that routinely result in civil suits.
Head-On Collisions
One of the most dangerous types of car accidents is a head-on collision. These incidents usually occur when two drivers collide while traveling in opposite directions. Because these wrecks often happen at high speeds, they frequently cause life-altering, catastrophic injuries and make up a large percentage of traffic fatalities.
Rear-End Collisions
Arguably the most common type of vehicle collisions are rear-end crashes. Some rear-end collisions are little more than fender benders and the people involved are able to walk away with no injuries and only minor damage to the vehicles. However, at other times, these crashes can result in serious injuries, especially when they occur at high speeds.
Side-Impact Accidents
A side-impact crash can happen in several ways. For instance, some side-impact crashes occur when the front of a vehicle strikes the side of another. These are known as T-bone accidents. Because the side of a vehicle offers less protection, people on the struck side of a T-bone collision are at increased risk of suffering severe harm or even dying. Side-impact collisions can also involve sideswipes, which happen when the sides of two vehicles hit each other. Sideswipes are most common when vehicles are traveling in the same direction, such as when one motorist sideswipes another while trying to change lanes or pass another vehicle.
Rollover Accidents
Rollover accidents are less common than other crashes, but the consequences can be more severe. Some vehicles, such as box trucks and SUVs are inherently more likely to overturn. These incidents often involve only one vehicle, but can also have devastating consequences to people in other vehicles, on bikes, or on foot, who are in the path of an overturning vehicle. Rollover crashes frequently occur when faulty car parts cause a driver to lose control of the car or when a motorist drives recklessly and makes an overly sharp turn.
A hardworking attorney in San Bernardino can evaluate the facts of a motor vehicle crash to determine how the collision occurred and who is at fault.
Damages in a Car Accident Case
When a car accident case is successful, the plaintiff is entitled to a monetary award. This award comprises payments known as economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages return injured victims to the financial position they were in before their accident. These damages pay for medical bills and cover vehicle repair costs. If an injury prevents a car wreck survivor from working to earn a living, economic damages can also cover their lost wages, benefits, and future lost earning expenses during the period of their recuperation or even permanently in the cases of catastrophic injuries. Economic damages can also include modifications to a crash victim’s home or vehicle to make it more accessible. The goal of recovering economic losses is to cover any out-of-pocket expense an injured party would otherwise have to pay themselves.
Non-economic damages are for subjective harm that occurs in a car accident. While challenging to put a dollar value on, non-economic damages are often a major part of an injury settlement. Common examples of non-monetary damages include pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of consortium, or disfigurement.
In limited circumstances, injured parties are also able to recover punitive damages as a way to punish responsible parties who have acted particularly egregiously.
An energetic lawyer in San Bernardino can pursue all types of compensation and fight to get a car crash victim the maximum compensation possible. If the other side is unwilling to negotiate and offer a fair settlement, the attorneys will take the case to court and fight for a full recovery at trial.
Critical Timing Concerns in an Automobile Crash Case
There is no time to delay when it comes to talking to an attorney after a car crash. The sooner a crash victim seeks help from our dedicated and experienced attorneys, the better their chances of recovering damages for your injuries. If someone waits too long, it could be harder to track down evidence that they need to build their claim. Witnesses might get confused about the facts and find it harder to remember critical details about the crash or they might even move away and be impossible to locate. Evidence could disappear, either unintentionally, such as if something gets lost in a police file room, or on purpose, such as if someone tries to hide that they struck someone in a hit and run by getting their car painted and detailed. In addition, California law does not give injured parties unlimited time to file a lawsuit after a motor vehicle collision. In almost all cases, injured parties only have two years from the date of the wreck to bring a claim. If someone tries to file suit after two years have passed, a local court would likely bar their suit, even if the case had merit.
Dealing with Insurance Companies
After an automobile collision, an injured party might get a phone call or email from the at-fault driver’s insurance company offering them money in exchange for settling immediately. The injured person should not accept this money without consulting with an experienced San Bernardino car accident attorney. Initial settlements after car crashes are often unreasonably low because insurance companies are not working to better the lives of injured people. Instead, their goal is to maximize company profits. By working closely with a trusted attorney, the injured party might be able to obtain significantly more compensation in a settlement because the experienced attorneys know how to skillfully and carefully negotiate. If the insurance company refuses to be reasonable with their negotiations, our dedicated legal team could take the case to court.
Wrongful Deaths
Sadly, some serious car collisions result in fatalities. If someone loses their loved one due to the actions of a reckless driver, they might still be able to pursue a compensation claim. A wrongful death lawsuit allows the surviving heirs and family members of a deceased car crash victim to seek justice, accountability, and compensation for their losses. Depending on the particular situation, a decedent’s heirs might be able to pursue funeral expenses as well as lost wages and financial support that the deceased person would have contributed to them. Additionally, family members can seek damages for intangible losses, such as loss of care, guidance, companionship, consortium, and moral support.
The aftermath of an untimely death in an automobile wreck can be tragic, which is why working with a San Bernardino attorney who knows how to compassionately and delicately handle the resulting legal case is critical.
Reach Out to a Knowledgeable Car Accident Attorney in San Bernadino Immediately
Automobile collisions can have life-altering consequences. If you experienced harm in a car crash, you should not try to handle the search for monetary compensation alone.
Call a San Bernardino car accident lawyer as soon as possible for your private consultation. Let our attorneys help you through this challenging time. We care about getting you the help you need.
Valero Law Group
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