A car accident or traffic collision can cause minor or major injuries depending on the accident’s severity. Serious injuries like impairments, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and more can negatively affect the quality of life. In many cases, a fatal auto accident victim never returns to their normal life following an accident, resulting in lost wages and high medical expenses. If you got injured in an accident that was not your fault, contact Ehline Law and one of our personal injury lawyers or wrongful death experts will tell you if you are eligible for compensation.
Car Accidents in California
An interstate highway in the Los Angeles Metropolitan region, the I-110 is a 31.8-mile stretch of road that serves the inner city, linking travelers from San Pedro to Downtown Los Angeles. Part of the National Highway System and the California Freeway and Expressway System, the I-110 is an important part of a system of roads responsible for promoting economic activity in the area.
Trucks, motorcycles, motor vehicles, SUVs, and other types of vehicles all use the I-110 to either deliver goods and services or transport travelers and residents. With so many vehicles on the road heading from San Pedro to the Port of Los Angeles, California runs an increased risk of car accidents. In 2010, there were around 3,084 motor vehicle deaths. However, that figure went up to 3,723 motor vehicle deaths in 2019. These accidents are not only attributed to the fact that there is an increased risk of car accidents due to the many vehicles on the road at the same time but also to reckless, distracted driving.
Due to the economic shutdown during the pandemic, the traffic on the roads saw a decline. However, motor vehicle accidents rose even more. The pandemic not only forced residents to stay at home but also gave reckless drivers a reason to drive recklessly, resulting in more car accidents than before. Getting into an accident can lead to serious financial repercussions that can impact the car accident victim’s life. It is important that the victim file a car accident claim against the negligent party to recover monetary compensation to pay for the damages as a result of the accident.
What Should You Do After Getting into a Car Accident on the I-110?
The decisions you make following an accident play an important role in the outcome of the case.
Car accident victims must follow the steps below to ensure their health and financial safety after an accident:
- Move your vehicle to a safe spot to avoid collisions with other incoming cars.
- Contact the California Highway Patrol to reach the accident site immediately. A police report is an important piece of evidence required when submitting a claim form.
- Approach nearby witnesses and note down their contact details.
- Takedown the vehicle number of the negligent party and exchange insurance and contact details for auto accident claims.
- Head to a hospital for a quick medical examination.
- Contact a lawyer to provide you with legal representation for the car crash.
Should You File a Personal Injury Claim Against the Negligent Party?
Many car accident injury victims simply walk away from the accident scene with minor scratches to avoid any interaction with the insurance company. However, they do not realize that they have internal injuries requiring immediate medical examination and treatment. This can lead to excessive medical bills, and further complications or delays can increase the payments.
Filing claims against negligent parties helps recover financial compensation for the victims to pay for their damages. It is unfair that you have to shoulder the monetary burden of a car accident when it was not even your fault. When filing car accident claims, it is important to have an experienced personal injury attorney to help you with the claims and negotiate with the insurers on your behalf.
Do You Need a Car Accident Lawyer?
You can file personal injury claims against the negligent party. However, in the majority of cases, when a victim files a claim without the support of a lawyer, their claims get rejected. Insurance companies are profit-making entities, and delaying or rejecting claims looks great on their balance sheet or income statement.
Having qualified personal injury lawyers on your side reduces the chances of rejection on the first submission. This is because a lawyer will help compile the claims form with all the necessary documents to ensure there are no grounds for unfair claims dismissal.
Insurers also like to delay claims, so if you feel that they’re simply wasting your time asking you for unnecessary documentation, you need a personal injury lawyer to deal with the claims process. In California, the statute of limitations allows motor vehicle accident victims to file claims within two years following the accident if it is with a private party. The 2-year period falls to just six months if the claim is against the local government.
After the window period, according to the law, the victim loses their right to file personal injury claims. Insurers take advantage of this by using various delay tactics to waste time and avoid paying out settlements.
Our qualified car accident attorneys understand such strategies and can put much-needed pressure on the insurers to expedite the claims process. However, if there is no mutual agreement, our lawyers have the right experience to take insurers to trial.
What Kinds of Motor Accident Cases Do We Take?
Any car accident is a case for personal injury, and our personal injury attorneys have decades of relevant experience in this field. We have helped individuals file personal injury and wrongful death claims and won cases for many different motor vehicle collisions involving cars, trucks, motorcycles, SUVs, limousines, and more.
Here are some of our wins over the past few years:
- Motorcycle accident: $10.5 million (Lanham v. Doe, Texas-Based Oil Company)
- Motorcycle accident: $8.7 million (Doe v. Doe)
- Truck accident: $4.2 million (Widow v. Insurance Company)
- Car accident: $2.2 million (Gilbert v. Quinones)
- Wrongful death: $2 million (Hier v. State of California.)
If you got into a car accident due to someone else’s negligence, contact us at (213) 596-9642 and get a free consultation today. Our car accident lawyers have the resources to investigate how the accident happened, gather the relevant evidence, file claims against the negligent party, and deal with the insurers to get you the financial compensation you deserve.
You can either call us or visit any of our law branches servicing areas like Los Angeles County, Orange County, and many more across California. At times like these, our professional attorney-client relationship is what you’re looking for to stay on top of your personal injury case while you recover.
Other California Freeway and Interstate Accidents
