We can help you get maximum compensation for your automotive accident.
Car accidents, are extremely hazardous and often lead to serious injuries or fatalities. In Los Angeles, if you or someone close to you has been affected by an automotive accident, Blair & Ramirez LLP is here to support you in securing the fullest compensation possible. For a complimentary consultation, contact us at
(213) 568-4000.
$600,000 Settlement:
Our client's life was irrevocably altered due to an accident resulting from a reckless driver's actions. We intervened, advocating relentlessly to secure the justice they deserved.
$100,000 Settlement:
Our client's life was changed forever by his accident. We made sure he received fair compensation from the insurance company.
Why consulting a lawyer first matters.
Before talking to an insurance company, it's important to speak with a lawyer first. Insurance companies often try to pay you much less, but a lawyer will work to get you a fair amount that helps you get back on track.
- Legal Expertise: Attorneys possess extensive knowledge of traffic laws and legal processes, guaranteeing proficient handling of your case.
- Negotiating with Insurers: They adeptly handle intricate negotiations with insurance firms, striving for equitable compensation on your behalf.
- Optimal Compensation: Lawyers can precisely evaluate your claim's worth, encompassing medical costs, lost income, and emotional distress, to optimize your compensation.
- Managing Legal Challenges: They oversee all legal facets of your case, from initiating claims to courtroom representation, enabling you to concentrate on recuperation.
We're here to help.
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5 Key Actions to Take After a Car Accident in California
Call 9-1-1
First and foremost, you need to call the police and medical personnel. Even if you seem uninjured, you may not know the condition of your passengers or those in other vehicles. If you find yourself injured, have yourself or another passenger call emergency services and remain calm. Even if those involved in the accident appear to be uninjured, call the police. Ask them if a police report on the accident can be filed. An official police report is a critical step in getting fairly compensated for any injuries or damage.
Get Medical Assistance
In the event of a serious car accident, always request and seek out medical treatment or an evaluation by on-site medical personnel. If you have any injuries, make sure that the on-scene emergency personnel—including the police officer making the accident report—know about them and their severity. Too often, the rush of post-crash adrenaline leads accident victims to underreport or overlook their injuries. Many people who can walk away from a crash seemingly fine later find themselves in incredible pain. Until examined by medical personnel, do not make any statements about being uninjured.
Collect Information
Once you and your passengers have been treated medically, you will want to collect information and documentation from all the parties involved. Using your phone or a pen, take notes on the names, addresses, phone numbers, and driver’s license numbers of all those involved. Use your smartphone to snap pictures of the license plates of other vehicles. Additionally, if you are able, take pictures of the scene. This includes the vehicles involved and their current condition, as well as images that will help you place the scene of the accident later, such as landmarks, road signage, or—if on a highway—mile markers.
Consult A Car Accident Lawyer
Call Blair & Ramirez LLP before you talk to any insurance representatives. We can advise you on what to tell insurance adjusters and conduct our own investigation on the accident and what happened. California’s Comparative Negligence Law means that your compensation for your injuries could be limited by an adjuster finding you partially at fault for the accident.
Contact Insurance Providers
After consulting with your lawyer, they'll inform your insurance provider about the accident. Your lawyer can speak directly with the provider to protect your interests.
Car Accident Insurance Claim Process
Notice of Intent:
Your attorney will inform the other driver's insurance company about your plan to pursue a claim for injuries. The insurer will then issue a claim number and assign an adjuster to handle the case.
Statement Recording:
The adjuster may ask for a recorded statement from you. Exercise caution, as these professionals are trained to extract responses that could undermine your case. Always seek legal advice before giving any statements.
Vehicle Repairs:
In Los Angeles, if the other driver is at fault, their insurance should cover your car repairs or provide a total loss settlement, including rental car expenses. If you have collision coverage, you also have the option to let your own insurance handle the property damage claim.
Initial Settlement Offer:
You might receive an early offer to settle from the adjuster, who aims to close the case swiftly for a low amount. It's wise to postpone any settlement discussions until you have fully completed your medical treatments.
Commencing Negotiations:
After completing your medical treatment, begin the negotiation process by submitting a demand letter along with pertinent documents to the at-fault driver's insurance company.
Achieving Final Settlement:
After negotiations, a settlement is often agreed upon. Once the settlement agreement is signed, the payment should be issued to you within a few weeks.
Alternative to Failed Negotiations:
Should negotiations fail, you have options like arbitration or filing a lawsuit against the at-fault driver for personal injury.
Calculating Compensation for a Car Accident
Here's a simplified guide to calculate your compensation from a car accident:
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Compile Costs: Begin by adding up all your expenses from the car accident in California, including medical bills, lost earnings, and other accident-related costs.
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Calculate Pain and Suffering: For pain and suffering caused by the car accident, multiply your total expenses by 1 to 5 times, depending on the severity of your injuries.
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Determine Total Compensation: Add together your expenses and the calculated amount for pain and suffering to estimate the total compensation you might expect from the accident.
Key Factors Affecting Compensation in a Car Accident
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Fault and Responsibility: Your compensation for a car accident in California may decrease if you're partially at fault. In some jurisdictions, being more at fault than the other driver can disqualify you from compensation.
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Documented Expenses: The more evidence you present of your expenses from the car accident, like medical bills, the higher the potential compensation.
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Injury Impact: Lesser injuries typically result in lower compensation, particularly for pain and suffering. Severe injuries require detailed assessment, often with legal expertise.
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Insurance Coverage: Compensation may be affected if the at-fault party's insurance is insufficient. Your own insurance policy might offer some relief in these scenarios.
Negligence-Based Accidents
In car accident cases rooted in negligence, crashes frequently occur due to another driver's carelessness or reckless actions, such as texting while driving, speeding, disregarding traffic signals, or DUI. These negligent behaviors endanger everyone on the road, with car occupants facing significant risks from such irresponsible actions.
Legal Focus: Our strategy includes carefully demonstrating the fault of the other party by collecting crucial evidence such as video from traffic cameras, statements from eyewitnesses, and police reports. This process helps us establish liability and ensures we obtain the rightful compensation for our clients.
Negligence is any failure to exercise reasonable care while driving, such as texting while driving, speeding, or driving under the influence, which leads to an accident.
To establish the other driver's negligence, it's essential to compile evidence such as photographs from the accident scene, testimonies from witnesses, and analyses from experts.
In California, you can still seek compensation under the comparative negligence law even if you're partly at fault for a car accident, but your compensation might be reduced by your fault percentage. This law allows for compensation adjustment based on your fault level, emphasizing the importance of consulting with a Los Angeles car accident attorney like Blair & Ramirez LLP before speaking to insurance agents, as they may adjust your compensation based on factors like speeding at the accident time.
Hit and run incidents in car accidents add complexities, with the at-fault party escaping and leaving the victim without essential claim information. Prompt action and detailed investigation are crucial to track down the responsible party. This ensures victims gather needed details to assert their rights and secure just compensation for their injuries and losses, even when initial information is scarce.
Legal Focus: Our efforts focus on identifying the fleeing driver through investigations and dealing with uninsured motorist coverage if they remain unidentified, ensuring our clients are not left without options.
Report the incident to the police immediately, get medical help, and consult a lawyer to discuss your legal options.
Compensation can be pursued through your own insurance if you have uninsured motorist coverage.
Yes, uninsured motorist coverage typically applies in hit-and-run cases and can provide compensation for injuries and damages.
Accidents involving drivers impaired by alcohol or drugs are alarmingly common and extremely dangerous. Such drivers have decreased reaction times, impaired judgment, and poor vehicle control, significantly increasing the risk of severe injuries or fatalities for others involved in these hazardous situations.
Legal Focus: We highlight the drunk driver's legal responsibility while seeking full compensation for our clients, including seeking punitive damages when justified.
You may file a personal injury lawsuit against the intoxicated driver for damages, and in certain situations, you might also be eligible to seek punitive damages.
Having a drunk driver involved may boost your chances of securing a higher settlement due to their reckless behavior.
Yes, in cases involving intoxicated drivers, punitive damages are frequently sought to penalize the driver for their dangerous actions.
Automotive Accidents Due to Road Conditions
When poor road conditions like potholes, insufficient signage, or neglected roadways contribute to car accidents, these factors significantly impact safety. Such conditions are especially dangerous for drivers, leading to accidents without adequate warning to safely maneuver, potentially resulting in severe outcomes.
Legal Focus: We confront governmental bodies in charge of road upkeep, tackling the legal intricacies of filing claims against such entities to achieve justice for our clients.
Often, the duty to maintain safe road conditions falls on the government agency or entity responsible for the road where the accident took place.
To file a claim against a government entity for a road-related accident, you typically need to submit a formal notice of claim within a specific timeframe, detailing the accident, injuries, and damages. It's important to gather evidence, such as photos of the hazardous road condition and accident reports. Consulting with a lawyer experienced in claims against government bodies is advisable to navigate the legal requirements and deadlines effectively.
Evidence comprises photographs of the crash location, the road's maintenance history, and specialist assessments linking the accident directly to the road's condition.
Defective Automotive Parts
Car accidents often occur due to malfunctions or failures in the vehicle or its parts, such as brake failures, tire blowouts, or engine issues. These defects can suddenly affect the vehicle’s performance and safety, leading to accidents that may cause serious injuries or deaths. Identifying and proving the specific defect responsible for the crash is crucial in these cases.
Legal Focus: We hold manufacturers and retailers accountable by filing product liability claims for selling defective products, aiming to secure compensation for our clients.
Determining if a vehicle's defect or its components were to blame for an accident typically requires an expert-led investigation.
Manufacturers, distributors, or retailers of the vehicle or its parts may be liable if a product defect contributed to the accident.
Compensation can include medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and punitive damages, depending on the severity of the defect and its impact.
Serious Injury and Wrongful Death Cases
Car accidents resulting in severe injuries or fatalities are some of the most devastating cases. They can lead to life-altering consequences, such as traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, or loss of life. The toll on victims and their families, both physically and emotionally, as well as financially, can be immense. Specialized legal support is often necessary to navigate the aftermath and pursue adequate compensation for their significant losses and suffering.
Legal Focus: We aim for thorough compensation to address extensive damages, encompassing ongoing medical care, rehabilitation, lost earnings, and, in instances of fatality, wrongful death claims and the loss of companionship.
Severe injuries encompass traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, significant fractures, or any injury resulting in long-term or permanent disability.
Compensation is determined by the severity of injuries, their effect on quality of life, lost earnings, and emotional suffering. In wrongful death lawsuits, it also accounts for funeral costs and the loss of companionship.
Indeed, close relatives such as spouses, children, or parents have the right to initiate a wrongful death lawsuit to pursue compensation for their bereavement.
Impact Types Of Automotive Accidents Here In Los Angeles
In Los Angeles, car accidents vary from multi-vehicle collisions, which can result in intricate injury scenarios, to abrupt rear-end crashes in congested traffic. Head-on collisions typically lead to severe trauma, while side impacts occurring at intersections or during lane changes are frequent and hazardous.
Here are a few types of impacts:
Any accident that involves more than two vehicles can be called a “multi-car” accident. Most types of collisions can lead to multiple cars getting involved. For example, a rear-end collision may push the forward car into the car in front of them. Multi-car collisions can be complex.
One of the most-common types of car accidents. Another car hits your vehicle from behind. Many rear-end collisions are caused by the forward vehicle having to stop short and the following vehicle not having enough space to brake.
This is an accident where two cars hit the front of one another. Since this situation is unlikely on divided highways, this happens most often on surface streets or two-lane freeways. Intersections are also a common place for head-on collisions to occur.
These accidents occur most often in intersections or freeways where one car is either changing lanes or making a turn. Left-hand turns at a light are a common place for the turning vehicle to be hit by another vehicle moving through the intersection.
Such accidents occur when one car moves into another moving in the same direction as it. Side-swipe accidents are most common on freeways, where one car attempts to change lanes and runs into another vehicle in the lane next to them.
A hit-and-run accident is any accident where one of the parties inappropriately leaves the scene before exchanging information or speaking to police. California state law requires drivers involved in a collision that damages either vehicle to stop at a close location.
What are the financial consequences of car accidents?
An automotive accident that results in serious injuries for the occupants can lead to substantial medical expenses, including treatment costs and lost income during recovery. In cases of fatalities, the family may face funeral and burial expenses, as well as the loss of the deceased's income and support.
In California, the comparative negligence law allows insurers to reduce compensation for accident victims based on their degree of fault in the incident. This, combined with prevalent biases against car occupants, often results in inadequate compensation for their injuries.
As your legal representatives in car accidents in Los Angeles, the team at Blair & Ramirez LLP is prepared to advocate for you and strive to secure maximum compensation for your injuries. Contact us for a complimentary consultation at (213) 568-4000.
Any collision involving vehicles poses serious risks and can have potentially fatal consequences for the occupants. Below are some common types of car accidents frequently observed in the Los Angeles area.
Choose Us To Represent Your Car Accident Case
Selecting Blair & Ramirez LLP to represent you in your car accident case ensures access to expertise, dedication, and personalized service. Recognized for our comprehensive knowledge of California's traffic regulations, we boast a successful history of obtaining significant settlements and verdicts. Our strategy blends assertive representation with empathetic client support, guaranteeing robust defense of your rights.
