Irvine Car Accident Lawyer

If you have been injured in a car accident in Irvine or in Orange County, you are probably hurting in many different ways. Recovering from injuries can impede your ability to work, pursue your passions, or otherwise lead a normal life. In addition to the difficulties associated with an injury, it can also be catastrophically expensive.

You should contact an Irvine car accident lawyer attorney as soon as possible if you are looking for a legal advocate who can work with you to achieve the compensation that you deserve in the wake of your accident. Experienced Irvine personal injury lawyers understand what it takes to effectively undertake negotiations with insurance companies and to represent clients in civil court.

• Steps To Take Following an Irvine Car Accident
• Filing An Irvine Car Accident Claim
• Damages in Irvine Car Accident Cases
• Front End Collisions

Common Causes of Accidents

In California, car accidents can happen for a host of reasons including driver error or impairment, highway traffic patterns or road conditions.

One of the most common types of car accidents is known as a rear-end accident, which is when an adverse driver is negligent and does not stop at a red light, a stop sign or for traffic, and they rear-end the vehicle in front of them. This can happen because the at-fault driver is distracted by their cell phone or because they are speeding and do not slow down quickly enough. Unfortunately, accidents can also occur when an individual gets behind the wheel under the influence of drugs or alcohol, which makes driving extremely dangerous even in ideal conditions.

However, even though many car accidents, and other types of motor vehicle accidents, including truck accidents, share common factors or inflict similar damage on vehicles and the human body, it is important to approach each car accident as its own unique set of facts and circumstances. In addition to knowing the local roads and traffic laws, an experienced car accident attorney in Irvine will understand that each accident is different others they have dealt with in the past. Thus, each case necessitates a full investigation and requires that each client be treated not as a category, but rather as an individual with unique injuries and circumstances.

Other Types of Cases

• Failure to Yield
• Hit and Run Accidents
• Head-On Collisions
• Side Impact
• T-Bone Accidents

First Steps After a Car Accident

If someone is in a car accident, the most important things for someone to do are:

• Get their car to the side of the road immediately
• Attempt to obtain the license plate number of the vehicle that caused the accident
• Call the police and/or an ambulance
• If possible, also obtain the driver’s license information from the other driver

Following these steps can drastically improve someone’s car accident attorney’s ability to conduct a thorough investigation immediately following the accident because this evidence may be crucial to the case.

Common Vehicle Crash Injuries

Some people are fortunate enough to walk away from a car crash with relatively minor injuries. Others are not so lucky. Motor vehicles accidents injure more than four million people in the United States every year. Significant injuries associated with vehicle accidents include:

• Cuts and abrasions
• Hyperextension of the neck and shoulder
• Fractures
• Back injuries
• Facial injuries, including injuries causing blindness
• Internal organ damage
• Traumatic brain injury
• Spinal cord injury

Many of these severe injuries could have a permanent impact on a victim’s life. Some might prevent an individual from ever working again or render them unable to live on their own without round-the-clock assistance. An Irvine car accident attorney could pursue sufficient compensation for a crash victim to allow them the best quality of life possible under the circumstances.

At-Fault Driver Liability

Some states have no-fault vehicle insurance schemes that require each driver’s insurance to pay for their medical expenses resulting from a crash. California follows the more traditional fault system, in which the insurance company of the driver who caused the accident pays the losses of anyone who was injured.

All California drivers must have minimum insurance coverage of $15,000 for bodily injury to one person, $30,000 for bodily injury to multiple people, and $5,000 in property damage. If a person suffers severe injuries and the at-fault driver has only minimum coverage, insurance will be insufficient to cover them.

At-fault drivers are personally liable for losses that their insurance is inadequate to cover. However, if the at-fault driver does not have substantial assets, the injured person might not be able to collect a full judgment for damages. That could leave them with no opportunity to receive adequate compensation for their losses.

Identifying All Responsible Parties Could Lead to More Adequate Settlement

An automobile accident attorney in Irvine could investigate a wreck to determine whether other parties contributed to the crash besides the at-fault driver. Identifying alternate and supplemental sources of insurance coverage could help a severely injured individual get a settlement that offers reasonable compensation.

If the at-fault driver was working when the accident occurred, their employer might be liable. If the at-fault driver was operating a borrowed vehicle, the owner could have liability in some circumstances. If a mechanical failure contributed to the accident, a vehicle manufacturer might bear some responsibility.

Sometimes the design or condition of a road is a factor in an accident. In those cases, the engineering firm that designed the road or the local government responsible for road maintenance could be liable to an injured person.

In addition, according to the California Code of Civil Procedure §335.1, the statute of limitations for lawsuits seeking damages for personal injuries is two years from the date of the accident. An injured person who fails to bring a lawsuit within this time loses their right to bring their case before a court. If a local government is a potential defendant, a plaintiff has only six months to put the government on notice of a possible claim.

Contact an Irvine Car Accident Attorney

After a car accident, it is important for the injured party to contact a lawyer expeditiously. This is because the first thing that an experienced Irvine car accident lawyer will do is review the facts of the case and take all appropriate steps to obtain the necessary evidence and witness statements as well as to preserve the evidence for the purpose of having the claim or ultimate case proceed on behalf of the injured client.

After an accident, most people do not consider the fact that witnesses can move or become unavailable. They can also forget certain details of the accident that may be important when it comes to establishing liability (meaning who is at fault for the accident). With all these factors, it is absolutely important to get in touch with a car accident attorney as soon as possible so that they can ensure that the relevant evidence is gathered quickly and correctly.

If you are suffering from injuries from an accident, your primary focus should be on healing, not dealing with insurance companies and filing a ton of paperwork. This is when an Irvine car accident lawyer can make a huge difference. The sooner you call and explain the details of your accident, the sooner Irvine attorneys can begin preparations on your case.