California Car Accident Attorney
Traffic Accidents in Los Angeles and Orange County are the most common types of personal injury cases. Cases involving personal injury resulting from accidents are litigated under the principles of negligence, (link to negligence) unless the state has determined to do away with fault as an issue. The injured plaintiff is required to prove that someone was negligent, that the negligence caused the accident, and that the accident caused the plaintiff’s injuries. In some cases your gut feeling may tell you that the other driver, cyclist, or pedestrian acted carelessly, but not what rules they violated.
Negligence is one of the primary causes of automobile accidents. Negligent acts occur when a driver causing an accident does not exercise reasonable care. For example, he was driving too fast or too slowly for the conditions. Perhaps he allowed himself to be distracted. Perhaps he carelessly ignored traffic signals or conditions. There are many areas in which negligence can occur but negligence is a failure to be careful rather than an act intended to cause harm. A person who is distracted and rear-ends another vehicle at a red light is negligent.
Intentional misconduct, on the other hand, is an action committed when the person knew that his actions could cause harm and did not care, or actively desired to harm others. A driver who drives at a high rate of speed, cutting in and out of traffic, may be intentionally putting himself and others at risk.
The law of strict liability could apply in some circumstances and neither negligence nor intent would need to be shown. Another cause of auto accidents is product failure.
If you have suffered personal injuries or property damage in automobile, motorcycle, truck, or bus accidents you should imediatelly contanct a car accident attorney. Your immediate goals after going through such trauma are to get your medical bills paid and covered, make sure you do not suffer financially through any lost wages, and make sure your insurance company will pay for future treatment relating to your injury.
Car Accident Insurance
In case you were the victim in a california car accident, you should know that :
- Your insurance company is only required to pay for the coverage that you paid for.However, that doesn’t absolve the offending driver/insurance company from ponying up the difference ; try calling the other driver’s company’s insurance.
- The state of California does not recognize diminished value of the vehicle.
- Remember, that lawyers are usually only helpful in personal injury claims. There is no “room” for a lawyer in a property damage claim.