Maggie Evans 
When you get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle in California, you are not thinking about being involved in an accident while on the road. However, statistics have shown that almost 40% of all drivers on California roads are at some point involved in an auto accident. While you may be among the 60% or so who avoid this fate, it is important to know what you need to do should a situation such as this develop. If you are caught unprepared in these situations, you are sure to make critical mistakes that could leave you gaining little or no compensation to pay for your medical bills, lost wages from you job, and other damages you suffered. Instead of letting this happen, contact a personal injury law firm immediately following your accident.
What Causes California Car Accidents?
Since there are thousands if not millions of drivers in California who are on the road at any given moment, it is not surprising there are almost as many reasons why these accidents occur. As for the most common reasons behind auto accidents, driving distracted and/or talking on a cellphone are generally the most common. From drivers attempting to send text messages, carry on a conversation with friends or family members, or get distracted while trying to change a radio station, apply makeup in rush-hour traffic, or eat breakfast on their way to the office, these and other reasons lead to serious crashes If you are dealing with injuries, lost income, and other damages due to a distracted driver, hold them accountable for their actions by hiring a personal injury lawyer to help you file a lawsuit.
and devastating injuries. If you are dealing with injuries, lost income, and other damages due to a distracted driver, hold them accountable for their actions by hiring a personal injury lawyer to help you file a lawsuit.
What Injuries Occur in these Accidents?
For drivers and passengers who are involved in auto accidents, walking away unscathed or with only minor cuts or bruises is the exception to the rule. In most accidents, victims suffer serious injuries that can be life-threatening or life-altering to them and their family. Since many of these crashes happen at high rates of speed, victims often suffer major head injuries such as severe concussions or traumatic brain injuries. Should this happen, medical treatment is prolonged, medical bills begin to accumulate, and victims often never return to the life they knew before the crash. Because of this, it is more important than ever to do what is needed to receive substantial financial compensation and hold those responsible for the accident accountable for their actions. To do so, contact an auto accident attorney to discuss your case in more detail.
Gaining Compensation after the Accident
Once things begin to settle down in the days and weeks following the accident, it will be of the utmost importance for you to meet with a knowledgeable Los Angeles accident lawyer to discuss the possibility of filing a personal injury lawsuit against the driver responsible for your accident. During these discussions, you should focus heavily on areas for which you can be compensated. With most accidents, these areas include medical bills and future medical treatment, lost wages and wages that may be lost in the future, vehicle damage, property damage, and compensation for the pain and suffering you have endured since the accident. By working with a personal injury law firm that specializes in auto accidents, you will have the best chance of receiving an amount of compensation that will cover your current as well as long-term expenses.]
Using Discretion after the Accident
While you are at the accident scene and later on when you are speaking to police, insurance company personnel, or others who are involved in examining how the accident took place, always use your common sense and good judgment before making any statements. If you do not and instead let your temper guide your thinking, you will say one wrong thing after another. For example, if police are questioning you after the accident and you say something as simple as " I am sorry" or "I feel okay," officers may interpret this to mean you are admitting fault for the accident and that you are not seriously injured. Should this happen and be included in a police report detailing the accident, insurance companies and lawyers for the other driver will pounce on this and do all they can to deny you compensation. Should this happen, you and your family may be facing financial ruin. To make sure this does not happen, say as little as you possibly can to police and others until you have hired a personal injury lawyer to handle your case.
Make Sure You Get Medical Treatment
Even if you do feel better than expected after the accident, do not take this to mean you are not seriously injured. In many accidents, victims who think they walked away injury-free find themselves in a hospital ER days later suffering from traumatic brain injuries, back injuries, whiplash, and internal bleeding. In numerous cases, the injuries turn into life-threatening situations that forever change the victim's life and that of their family. Unfortunately for those victims who do put off medical treatment following their auto accident, they provide insurance companies an easy opening to say the injuries did not result from the car crash. Instead of making it easy for an insurance company to deny you much-needed compensation, always get immediate medical treatment after your accident. By letting emergency medical technicians treat you at the accident scene to allowing them to transport you to an ER via ambulance, these will be critical steps to not only getting your injuries treated but also having them documented in your medical records. Once you have done this and are able to do so, contact an auto accident attorney to discuss how to move forward with your lawsuit.
Don't Negotiate with Insurance Companies
Since an insurance company will not want to give you the compensation you need and deserve after your car crash, expect them to do all they can to confuse you, create one delay after another, and even try to intimidate you into giving up your efforts to collect compensation for your damages. Instead of trying to handle these negotiations alone and ultimately come out on the losing end, contact West Coast Trial Lawyers for additional information on how a Los Angeles accident lawyer can handle these negotiations on your behalf. By letting an experienced lawyer take charge of the situation, the insurance company will know you are serious about gaining the compensation that allows you to pay medical bills, replace your lost income, and secure the financial future for you and your family.
The Police Accident Report
While you should always be careful when speaking to police following an auto accident, that does not mean you should not call them to the accident scene. By doing so, you ensure the accident gets reported and investigated. Should police determine the other driver was responsible for the accident, this will be included in the report and can make your case much easier. If necessary, you can find your crash report within the California accident reports online, helping you connect with local service providers such as medical, insurance, and collision repair professionals.
While an auto accident case can be complex, hiring the right lawyer to represent you can make all the difference. To discuss your accident and a possible lawsuit in greater detail, schedule an immediate consultation with attorneys at West Coast Trial Lawyers.
