Santa Clarita Car Accident Lawyer

Trying to deal with insurance on your own after a crash is often a losing proposition. You might have already started your car accident claim, but you might soon find that they stop answering you or are always still “investigating” the crash instead of paying what they owe you.

Insurance companies often make low-dollar offers that will never cover your needs. The best way to get them to pay is to work with a lawyer to negotiate your claim or even go to court when necessary.

Call the Law Office of John J. Perlstein at (213) 252-1070 for a free case review with our car accident attorneys.

How is Fault Determined in a Car Accident?

Courts and insurance companies look at these issues when deciding fault:

Breach of Duty Needed

The driver must have done something wrong to be considered “at fault” in a car accident. This usually means violating or “breaching” a legal “duty” they owed.

This duty can be based on a traffic law, such as the duty to avoid speeding or the duty not to text while driving. It can also come from what is reasonable in a given situation, with unreasonable actions constituting a breach.

Proportional Fault is Possible

Anyone whose breach of duty contributed to causing the crash can be assigned a portion of the blame. This allows you to make a claim against multiple drivers, each of whom can pay a share of the damages.

It can also mean you can be held partially liable for your own crash. This reduces your damages by your percentage of the blame, but California law has no cutoff. This means you could theoretically be 99% at fault and still sue a defendant for 1% of the damages.

Jury Decides Fault

When you go to court, the jury decides fault, not the judge or the insurance companies. They base their decision on the evidence presented at trial.

If your case does not get to a trial, i.e., if it settles earlier, then there will be no determination of fault. A settlement might specifically exclude any admission of fault; it is just an agreement to end the case for payment.

What Evidence Can You Get in a Car Accident Case?

Car accident claims often use these kinds of evidence:

Your testimony
Other witness testimony
Testimony from expert witnesses who can give medical, technical, or scientific info
Photos of the accident scene and damage
Video of the accident (e.g., dashcam or security camera footage)
Medical records
Medical reports from treating doctors
Vehicle damage appraisals and repair logs
Bills
Pay stubs and other financial records
And more.

What Damages Can You Claim in a Car Accident Case?

Most car accidents revolve around the damages stemming from your injuries, including medical treatment. However, other economic damages caused by the crash, such as vehicle repairs, are also important.

Medical Bills

Any money you spent on emergency treatment, follow-up care, physical therapy, mental health therapy, painkillers, etc., should all be covered.

Lost Wages

If you miss any work from the accident, lost wages should be compensated. This includes ongoing costs if your injury is disabling, whether partially or totally.

Vehicle Repair Costs

Repairing or replacing your vehicle can be expensive, and the residual lost value in your vehicle after it has been in a crash can also be quite a loss. These damages are not related to your injury itself, but are still an important part of your claim.

Other Economic Damages

You may face other expenses from the accident, too. This could be anything from hospital parking or alternative transportation while your car is in the shop to childcare costs or help around the house while you are laid up.

Non-Economic Damages

Lastly, your injuries cause effects that have no price tag attached. You can claim monetary damages for your pain, discomfort, lost ability, emotional distress, mental anguish, and more.

What Does Insurance Cover?

In California, we use an at-fault insurance system. This typically means you should get a car accident lawyer on your side, since you cannot get damages until you prove fault.

At-Fault Rules

In our system, each driver has insurance to cover the damages they cause when they are at fault. This “liability insurance” allows victims to file a third-party claim against the at-fault driver’s insurance.

Ultimately, the defendant’s insurance pays, not yours.

What Your Insurance Might Cover

Your own insurance may have policy options you can add on to help you after a crash, too. This could include coverage for medical bills or collision coverage for vehicle repairs.

These usually require a deductible payment, but they cover you first and help you deal with expenses while you fight your case against the defendant. However, your insurance never covers pain and suffering.

What the Defendant’s Insurance Covers

We can then go after the defendant’s insurance for coverage for your injuries and other damages. If they refuse to settle and we go to court, their insurance provides them with a lawyer and still pays the damages if we win at trial.

This coverage pays for pain and suffering, too. However, it is subject to policy limits.

UM/UIM

If the defendant’s insurance is too low – or they do not have insurance – you may have uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage to help pay for the rest.

How Long Do You Have to Sue?

The personal injury statute of limitations in California is 2 years. This means you must file your case in court before 2 years from the accident, or else you are barred from suing.

What if You Are Partially at Fault?

California law allows for partial fault. This is known as a “comparative fault” system.

Under our rules, each party involved in the crash can be assigned a percentage of the blame. Then, they pay that share of the total damages. The victim simply loses out on their portion of the damages if they are assigned some percentage.

California law does not have a cutoff, meaning you could theoretically sue for 1% of the damages if you were 99% at fault.

How Do You Know When to Settle?

Our lawyers can assess settlement offers, negotiate with the defense if the offer is too low, and advise you when to accept an offer and when to reject it and go back to negotiations.

If the defendant and their insurance company simply refuse to pay full damages, we can file in court and potentially take the case to trial. We can advise you every step of the way; do not trust the insurance company to tell you what your case is worth or what the maximum payout could be.

Can You Sue a Commercial Driver’s Employer?

Often, commercial drivers work under a transportation or trucking company that you can hold responsible for the crash. This can happen in two ways:

The commercial driver’s employer can pay damages in their role as the employer for accidents that happened within the scope of their driver’s employment.
The company can be held liable for its share of damages for something it did wrong in its own right, such as negligent hiring or retention of a dangerous driver or negligent maintenance and upkeep of company vehicles.

Call Our Car Accident Lawyers in Santa Clarita Today

Call the car accident lawyers at the Law Office of John J. Perlstein at (213) 252-1070 for a free case evaluation.