Seven Secrets to Avoid Intersection Accidents in California

Road intersections have always been considered dangerous for motorists regardless of the type of vehicle they are driving. According to statistics, one-third of the total number of car accidents in the country occurs at dangerous intersections. In California, the intersection of Wilshire Blvd. and Santa Monica Blvd. is considered a dangerous road crossing due to the significant number of vehicle accidents occurring there annually. If you want to avoid getting into an intersection accident, here are seven tips for you to follow:


1. Put reflectors on the side of your vehicle – This is important at night so that other drivers would recognize the length of your vehicle in an intersection.

2. Anticipate traffic violators – Even though the traffic light is red, do not assume that all drivers will follow it. Look at both directions and check if all vehicles are in a complete stop. That is when you can cross the intersection.

3. If the traffic light is red, make a complete stop – By doing this, your vehicle would avoid being hit by crossing vehicles. You can also avoid receiving traffic tickets.

4. Use turning signals if necessary – If you are going to make a turn, do not forget to stay on the turning lane. Switch on your turning signal to alert drivers behind you.

5. Be aware not only of vehicles, but also of pedestrians and cyclists – Sometimes it is not the vehicles that make intersections dangerous, but the people and bicycles crossing them.

6. If the intersection is uncontrolled, be sure other vehicles have already stopped before you cross – Uncontrolled intersections are often seen in smaller towns and rural areas. While there may be fewer vehicles passing through these areas, you still need to make sure that other vehicles in the intersection are stopped before you start crossing it.

7. Follow the traffic light – Following traffic rules would help you avoid getting into any kind of vehicle accident.

No matter how dangerous a certain intersection is, you can still be safe if you follow the guidelines given above. The state government of California is already taking actions to make dangerous intersections safer for all types of motorists.

Aside from taking note of the reminders provided above, drivers should still consider general driving guidelines such as: driving safely, avoiding tailgating, checking road and weather conditions, etc. If you consider your passengers’ safety as your utmost priority, observing these reminders would definitely be easy.

Los Angeles Freeway Accident List

Los Angeles major freeways connect the city to other areas within the state. These freeways link the commercial and industrial sites of Los Angeles to other places to make it accessible to many people, thereby making it one of the busiest cities in the US.

However, with the increase in the volume of traffic these days, Los Angeles freeways have become known as accident prone areas. This shows in daily news reports on vehicular crash on one of the following Los Angeles freeway:

1. Ventura Freeway (SR-134 northeast of downtown LA)
2. Antelope Valley Freeway (SR-14)
3. Ventura Freeway (US-101 northwest of downtown LA)
4. Artesia Freeway (SR-91 between I-710 and I-5)
5. Pacific Coast Highway - PCH (SR-1)
6. Long Beach Freeway (I-710)
7. Pomona Freeway (SR-60)
8. Santa Monica Freeway (I-10 west of downtown LA)
9. Pasadena Freeway (SR-110 north of downtown LA)
10. Hollywood Freeway (US-101 south of downtown LA)
11. San Diego Freeway (I-5 South of I-5/I-405 junction)
12. Orange Freeway (SR-57)

Major causes of accident in Los Angeles freeway are:

1. Overspeeding
2. Hitting on red light
3. Failure to give signal when making a left or right turn
4. Failure to heed to traffic signals
5. Failure to follow warning
6. Failure to give way to other motorists
7. Not wearing seat belt
8. No provision of seat belt for infants
9. Worn out tires
10. Defective auto parts
11. Driving under influence (DUI)
12. distracted driving
13. Texting while driving

These violations are also referred to as carelessness or negligent acts. California
law has stiff penalties on traffic violations, especially drunk driving. Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) test is used to measure the percentage of alcohol in the driver's body.
California law imposes limitation of 0.08 percent of alcohol tolerance in the body.

Impaired driving also covers drunk driving as well as drugged driving, distracted driving, texting while driving, driving under fatigue or lingering illness. If the above negligent acts cause injuries to the victim, the impaired driver may face penalties or suspension of license depending on the gravity of the offense.

The injured victim may file a Personal Injury lawsuit and assert compensation rights for medical expenses as well as other losses.

The coverage of compensation is:

1. Hospital bills
2. Therapy
3. Pain and suffering or emotional loss
4. Loss income

The victim needs to provide evidence for the fault, and that it caused the injuries. The victim may present photos, medical records, laboratory tests, documents, objects or debris in the accident scene to substantiate his or her case.

If you are injured in a Los Angeles freeway accident, you may consult with a professional personal Injury attorney in Los Angeles and assert other sources of recovery. It is best to file the lawsuit immediately after the accident or within two months form the date of the accident. You have a maximum of one year to file the lawsuit.

Product Liability involving Motor Bike Accident Lawsuits

Motorcycle riders and bicyclists are often the victim of bigger vehicles on the road. Collision may easily happen during extreme weather condition or in a hazardous road condition.

Motorcycle riders and bicyclists often lack protective gear. Helmet is the common equipment that supports head. Some riders and cyclists use protective jacket to prevent bruises and lessen the impact during collision. Sadly, these gears are insufficient to fully protect the human body from vehicular accident.

Common causes of Motorcycle and Bicycle Accident are:

9. Sudden left turn of the vehicle without giving proper signal or warning
10. Other impaired driving condition
11. Hitting the red light
12. Other impaired driving condition
13. Failure to abide with other traffic signals and rules
14. Other impaired driving condition
15. The driver of the vehicle failed to notice the bicycle
16. Other impaired driving condition
17. The driver of the vehicle is over speeding
18. Drunk driving
19. The bicyclist is not wearing helmet

Common injuries that can be sustained in a Motorcycle and Bicycle Accident are:

1. Head and brain injury
2. Spinal cord injury
3. Fractured/ broken bone
4. Paralysis
5. Bruises
6. Internal organ damage

If you are injured in a Motorcycle and Bicycle Accident you can seek compensation for you injuries. If the cause of the accident is primarily caused by defective equipment, you may file a Product liability claim.

Product Liability is the responsibility of the manufacturer on the injuries sustained by the customer or person caused by defective equipment.

Product liability has three types involving Defective auto equipment:

1. Design liability- It is the responsibility of the owner to ensure that all plans (blueprint) for the vehicle or its parts is free from harm and it would not cause injury to other person.

2. Manufacturing liability- It is the responsibility of the owner to ensure that the production or processing stage of the vehicle or its auto parts abide with quality standard and California safety regulations

3. Marketing liability- It the responsibility of the owner/ seller/ distributor to ensure that safety warning is properly posted on visible areas of the vehicle. The warning stickers must be visible. The owner also needs to ensure that shipping, handling and storing of the vehicle and auto parts are free from potential damaging hazards.

You need to establish any of the above faults committed by the other party that has caused your injuries. Consult a Personal Injury lawyer to help you file a lawsuit.

Winning Your Slip and Fall Case with Help from Los Angeles Lawyer

In Los Angeles, a slip and fall case is filed if a person was injured after he slipped or fell while on another’s property. However, winning the case may be difficult due to all the complex issues that are involved in it. Fortunately, there are skilled Los Angeles lawyers who can help the victim fight for his rights and recover monetary damages from the negligent property owner.

Slip and fall accidents

Many people are injured each year after slipping or falling due to the dangerous condition of another’s proper. According to National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, over 8 million people sustained injuries due to falls in 2004 alone.

Older individuals are more susceptible to this accident compared to younger ones. In fact, statistics from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) show that in 2005, around 15,800 people who are 65-years-old and above were killed due to fall related accidents.

Liability of Property Owners

Slip and fall accident cases fall under the premise liability law. It holds property owners and occupiers liable for the injuries sustained by others due to accidents that occurred on their property.

Property owners will be seen guilty if they:

• Applied polish or wax unevenly
• Failed to put enough barriers to close an area where the floor is being cleaned or mopped
• Failed to provide sufficient warnings about the presence of a hazard

Meanwhile, here are some specific causes of slip and fall accidents:

Stairs

• Presence of debris like paper, gum, trash, or dirt
• Missing or broken handrails
• Uneven stairs
• Damaged railings
• Improperly labeled or designated steps
• Inadequate stairway illumination
• Unmarked steps

Outdoors

• Ice and snow
• Inadequate lighting
• Debris along the sidewalks
• Potholes
• Uneven or broken sidewalks

Indoor

• Broken, worn, or torn carpet
• Items that are caught in the rig or carpet, which can suddenly stick up to a person’s footwear
• Damaged flooring
• Inadequate lighting
• Mats or rugs that have worn spots, holes, or curled edges
• Spills that were not cleaned or mopped
• Big gap between the floor and elevator

If you were injured due to the following causes, it is likely that the property owner committed negligence. It is advisable that you immediately call your lawyer and tell him that you are planning to file a case. Taking the legal action will enable you to receive financial help, which can be useful if your injury will prevent you from working for weeks or months.

Workers Compensation claim and Personal Injury lawsuit in Bike Messenger Accidents

Bike Messengers are faced with increasing risks in Los Angeles streets. The minimal protective gears that a bicyclist can wear expose the body to catastrophic injuries against a speeding vehicle.

Bike messengers have helmets as their only required gear. Some cyclists use protective jacket and pants to prevent bruises and minor injuries.

The government recognizes the value of bike messengers who assist companies in daily office functions. Because of this, the government has issued various federal and state laws on helmet use for all cyclists to prevent serious injuries.

Common causes of bike messenger accidents

1. Hitting on red light
2. Failure to give signal or warning when making a sudden left or right turn
3. Over speeding
4. The vehicle driver failed to notice the bicyclist
5. Failure to give way to the other motorist.
6. Not wearing helmet

Common injuries caused by bicycle accident

1. Head and brain injury
2. Whiplash and neck sprain
3. Spinal cord injury
4. Broken/ fractured bone
5. Paralysis or neurological injury
6. Bruises
7. Psychological effect caused by trauma

If you are an employed bike messenger in Los Angeles, and you sustained injuries in an accident; you may seek compensation for your hospital expenses. You are entitled to a Workers Compensation benefit. You will need to gather your medical records, evidence from accident scene, and employment documents to file your claim.

The employer should compensate the amount of your hospital bills and provide you with needed assistance to regain your post. Workers Compensation claim will only be applicable if the accident occurred during work.

Workers Compensation claim has limited coverage for your losses. You may need to file a personal injury lawsuit to finance long term medication or therapy due to catastrophic injuries sustained.

Personal injury lawsuit will assert other forms of losses like pain and suffering and loss income. You will need to gather more evidence like photos from the accident scene, copy of police report, witness statements, hospital documents, expert statement, and summary of medical treatment expenses.

The amount of damages that you can recover from a personal injury lawsuit may help you finance surgery and physical therapy. Should the court allow structured payment, it will provide regular allowance for your family’s needs.

Workers Compensation claim and Personal injury lawsuit can be filed simultaneously. Workers Compensation benefit is your right as an employee, while filing a personal injury lawsuit is your right as a citizen of United States. Consult with a professional lawyer in Los Angeles and learn more on how to file your case.

Most Common Causes of Truck and Big Rig Accidents

Some of the most dangerous cases of traffic accident in Los Angeles usually involve trucks and big rigs.

Truck and big rig accidents usually result in devastating injuries and massive property damage.

Just by the size of one big rig and you could already tell that if anything goes wrong, the ending result will not be pretty.

Another point to consider is that in majority of highway accidents that involve multiple vehicles, the chances that there is a truck or a big rig is also high.
But what causes these truck and big rig accidents?

According to the 2006 Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration report, here are the top driver behaviors that cause truck and big rig accidents:


• Driving under the influence of prescription drugs (26%) – Some prescription drugs can have side effects such as drowsiness, nausea, and sleepiness, which could cause a driver to lose control of the truck

• Speeding (23%) – The higher the speed the more difficult it is to control a vehicle. Big rigs are difficult enough to operate in regular speed, imagine trying to make defensive maneuvers in high speed. That is why the maximum speed trucks are usually allowed to run is about 55mph.

• Unfamiliar with Road (22%) – Since it is difficult to operate truck or a big rig, most drivers plan their route ahead even before driving that is because, it will be difficult to adjust on unfamiliar roads where you do not know which lanes to take, especially when negotiating sharp turns.

• Driving under the influence of over-the-counter drugs (18%) – Same with prescription drugs.

• Driver Fatigue (13%) – Truck drivers, especially those who drive interstate, put in long hours on the road which leads to driver fatigue. This is very dangerous as it could cause the driver to doze off behind the wheel.

• Illegal Maneuver (9%) – Illegal maneuvers such as making a pass on a freeway or an intersection can lead to dangerous collisions

• Failed to evade (7%) – As said before, large trucks are difficult to control. It will be difficult to perform evasive maneuvers to avoid collisions.

• Aggressive driving – Since many truckers are chasing deadlines, it is not uncommon for drivers to be aggressive on the road. However, this increases the risk of truck accidents.

These are some of the behaviors of drivers that could cause truck and big rig accidents.

You should consult a truck accident attorney if you are ever injured in one.

Sources of Recovery for Traffic Injuries in Los Angeles

Traffic injuries are often caused by vehicle collision, which results from either your negligence or the negligence of the other party. At times, it is caused by defective auto parts, in which the manufacturer can be held responsible.

Road accidents may result in the following traffic injuries:

1. Head or brain injury
2. Spinal cord injury
3. Whiplash or neck sprain
4. Fractured or broken bone
5. Internal organ damage
6. Bruises
7. Broken arm or leg
8. Paralysis

Causes

Traffic injury also results from the negligent acts of drivers who violate traffic rules and signals. The driver may overlook a warning sign and crash into a guard rail or median road. The driver may attempt to exceed speed limit and fail to stop at an oncoming car. Worse, it may roll over and cause the roof to collapse.

Roll over accident is the primary cause of catastrophic and fatal injuries because a collapsed roof may force the head and neck and eventually damage the spinal cord. A slight fracture on the spinal cord is enough for the person to have difficulty in exercising basic body movements and senses.

The spinal cord protects numerous nerves that transmit signals to the central nervous system, affecting functions on touch, smell, perceiving, hearing, seeing, and other psychomotor activities.

Spinal cord injury is considered as a serious and catastrophic injury that requires long term treatment. The victim may undergo several stages of surgery and therapy to regain normal day-to-day body functions.

Other causes of traffic injuries are:

1. Driving under influence (intoxication from alcohol or drugs)
2. Reckless driving
3. Sudden left/right turn without giving signal or warning to other motorists
4. Hitting on red light
5. Not wearing seat belt or protective gear
6. Defective air bags
7. Design defect
8. Road hazards and obstruction
9. Curve, slope, or hazardous trail
10. Extreme weather condition
11. Defective tire/ brake

Recovery
If you are injured in an automobile accident caused by the above traffic violations, you may receive compensation for medical and hospital bills, therapy, pain and suffering, and loss income. You will need to file a personal injury lawsuit/ insurance claim/ product liability claim to receive damages.

When filing a lawsuit/ claim you will need to establish the fault. It is also often referred to as negligence. When the driver commits any of the above traffic violation, he or she is considered careless or negligent.

California laws implements strict penalties for negligent acts provided that there are sufficient evidences to prove the allegation.

How to win your case:

1. Establish and prove the cause of the accident
2. Provide evidence that such negligent act or object caused the accident
3. Prove that the accident caused your injuries

You may file for a Product liability claim if the defective auto part caused the accident. You may also receive other sources of recovery by filing an insurance claim.

Consult with a professional Personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles and learn how you can file a lawsuit/claim.

What is the Importance of Consulting a Personal Injury Attorney

If you are injured in an automobile accident, you have three options: File an insurance claim, file a lawsuit, or negotiate. There are advantages and disadvantages for each option you choose depending on the type of case and percentage of fault that you have in the accident.

• Insurance claim- If you have available uninsured motorist insurance plan, you can receive immediate coverage for your injuries. Your insurer will pay for your emergency bills and medical treatment for the soonest possible time. You may also seek compensation from the other party should he or she has minimum liability insurance. One disadvantage is when the insurer will not give fair adjustment for your damages.
• Lawsuit- If you want to receive just and full compensation including losses in property, long term therapy, emotional suffering, and loss income; you may file a Personal Injury lawsuit. This gives you a chance to receive damages in lump sum or structured settlement agreement should you win the case. A lawsuit usually involves serious or catastrophic injuries. This type of injury often left the victim paralyzed, disabled, or incapable to resume work. The court awards higher amount so that the victim can finance his long term medication and secure his family’s welfare.
• Negotiation- If you are involved in an automobile accident, and you commit a larger percentage of the fault; the best option is to initiate a negotiation. Your chance of winning the case is low. This may risk your financial status. Settling the accident right after the accident and offer payment in hospital bills may lessen the chance that the injured party will file a complaint.

All of the three options will need a personal injury attorney to help you represent your case before the court. Consulting with your attorney is important in determining the fault of the other party. He or she will determine elements of fault such as negligence, strict liability, and recklessness.

Negligence refers to the utter disregard of safety for other people. It includes violation of traffic rules and procedures. Failure to exercise the standard measure for avoiding harm also constitutes negligence.

Strict liability refers to the responsibility of the owner to compensate for injuries regardless of who is at fault.

Recklessness refers to the failure of the individual to prevent harmful actions that may absolutely injure the other person. One example is driving under influence.

Knowing the value of your case and your chances of winning may help you choose what the best option in asserting your rights is. Consulting with a Personal Injury Attorney will help you achieve the best source for recovery.