Automobile Accident

Car accidents are the most common cause of personal injuries. Every year, millions of people are injured, or killed in car accidents. A car accident is a traumatic experience that can have a crippling and devastating effect on someone's life. There are different kinds of car accidents. Some accidents are minor but injuries such as whiplash result in requiring medical attention and treatment. You can suffer from those injuries for some time. You may, also, lose time from work resulting in lost wages. Other major car crashes can, unfortunately, cause serious and severe injuries, disabilities, and even death to those involved. The emotional grief alone can be unbearable. 

As a car accident law firm, we understand how lives can change from one minute to the next when you are involved and injured in a car accident. If you or a loved one have been injured in a car crash that was not your fault or lost a loved one in a car accident due to the fault of another, it is important to immediately discuss your case with an experienced car accident attorney. We will assist you with the property damage to your vehicle such as getting your vehicle inspected, repaired, and get you into a rental car, so long as there is applicable insurance coverage for property damage. We will also assist you to get the medical attention and care you need to help in your recovery process. 

Sometimes, you may be partially at fault for a car accident. In California, you may be entitled to collect damages and compensation based on the degree/percentage of fault. For example, if it is determined that you are 25% at fault, you can collect 75% of your damages. In such cases, it is our job to refute claims that you were responsible or at least limit and minimize the amount/percentage of your fault and the amount of reduction of your damages. 

Dealing with the insurance company yourself or settling your case on your own may have adverse effects for you including but not limited to giving up or signing away certain benefits and rights you deserve and just compensation which you are entitled to such as adequate payment for vehicle repairs, rental car expenses, medical expenses, loss of earnings/wages, and compensation for your pain and suffering, among other things. 

At Lena Law, we answer your questions, advise you of your rights, help ease your concerns and make a stressful situation as easy and comfortable as possible for you. We represent and advocate for you to get the justice and fair compensation you deserve. We are on your side. Don't try to handle accident claims on your own - let us deal with the insurance companies for you while you concentrate on your recovery and feeling better.

 1. Call for medical help if someone is injured at the accident scene, whether the injured person is in your vehicle, the other vehicle or in the street. Seek immediate medical attention to help your condition and substantiate your injuries following the accident even if you don't feel like you are in severe pain after the crash. Symptoms such as whiplash, concussions or minor fractures may not immediately present themselves, or may be subtle at first. Delay and gaps of medical care cause problems in personal injury cases. Receiving proper and immediate medical care not only helps in your recovery but validates your injury claim. 

2. Never leave the accident scene without providing your contact information to the other party (or you may be considered a hit and run driver.) Exchange your name, contact information and insurance information with the other driver(s) involved in the accident. Get the other driver's contact and insurance information. If possible, take pictures of their driver's license and insurance card. Also, take pictures of the damage to the vehicles involved in the accident, and the license plates of the other vehicles. Taking a video of the vehicles and scene of the accident is also a good idea.

3. Do not admit fault for the accident, even if you believe you were at fault. Do not argue with the other driver of the other vehicle(s), or anyone else. The less you say, the better.

4. Call the police to document the accident. Sometimes, the police will not come to the scene for minor accidents/fender-benders; or if they come to the scene they may not make an actual police report. In such a case, get as much information as possible from all the parties involved in the accident, take lots of photographs of the vehicles, and accident scene. Write down all the details such as the date, time, place, lane, direction traveled, speed, weather, and where you were headed, along with the other party's contact and insurance information.

-If you are involved in a hit and run accident, do not chase the other vehicle. Try to get the other vehicle’s license plate without chasing/following the car. Immediately call 911 and file a police report - even if you have to go personally to the police station to fill out a hit and run report.

5. Look for any eye-witnesses to the accident, while you are at the scene of the accident. Get witness names and contact information. Sometimes witnesses may be in another car driving by who saw the accident, or a pedestrian or sitting at a bus stop. The witness should have seen the actual accident impact as well as the aftermath. For traffic light disputes, ask the witness if they saw the color of the traffic light immediately at the moment of impact/crash.

Witnesses are important and can help in your case.  

6. Look for video cameras (or Ring type devices) placed in the streets or at any nearby businesses/homes. Respectfully ask the business or home owner for a copy of the video footage or if they permit, use your cellular phone to take a video of their video while it is playing. Video/film footage is important and can help in your case. 

Many times the responsible party may admit to you that the accident was their fault while at the accident scene, but later may tell a different story to their insurance company and deny they caused the accident. That is why independent eye-witnesses and videos are important to help prove your case. 

7. Do not post events regarding your accident or injuries on Social Media. Be very selective in what you post on social media during the pendency of your case regarding what activities you do. Insurance companies may find your posts and use the information against you to invalidate your case.

8. Do not speak to any insurance company, including your own insurance and particularly the opposing insurance company, before speaking to your attorney. Do not file claims on-line or on an APP. Call our office first to open the necessary insurance claims for you.

If you are involved in a hit and run accident, file a police report within 24 hours, and/or make a claim to your own insurance company with a brief description of the accident, but do not give any recorded statement. Do not tell an insurance company that you are not injured because you may not feel your injuries or symptoms immediately or at the time you are opening your claim. Sometimes, symptoms/injuries develop days or weeks after the accident. It is good practice to allow your attorney to open the insurance claim for you. 

Do not give a recorded statement to anyone without your attorney. Insurance companies tend to call in the days following the accident (or on weekends before you have retained an attorney) in order to speak with you and get your statement before you have an attorney. 

Sometimes, insurance companies may even offer a small settlement to get you to sign a release of all claims. The adjuster speaking with you may seem to genuinely care. Do not put your faith in believing that the insurance companies will do what is best for you even if you are not at fault for the accident, and have become injured. 

Insurance companies are not looking out for your best interest because they are a business interested in keeping money in their own pockets and paying you as little as possible, if anything at all. Your attorney, on the other hand, looks out for your best interest and works for you to get you the best possible compensation for your case.

Call Lena Law first if you are involved in an accident. Let us make the first call to the insurance companies for you and handle your case to its conclusion. We work for you to ensure you receive the best possible and just compensation and relief, while you concentrate on recovering from your injuries.

A variety of reasons and factors can cause a car crash. Some common causes are...