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Car Accident and Injury Attorneys

CAR ACCIDENTS AND PERSONAL INJURY INVOLVING VEHICLES - ALL TYPES AND SIZES OF ACCIDENTS

Why Hire a Lawyer If You Have Been Involved in an Accident?

When an individual is involved in a car accident through no fault of their own, they need to contact an experienced Sacramento car accident lawyer for assistance. In every car accident case that our lawyers take, we handle every aspect of our client's claims. Some of the services that we offer include: Conducting investigations to identify all of the parties responsible for your wreck, including drivers, pedestrians, passengers and manufacturers. It is essential to identify all parties that could potentially be held liable for the accident.

Taking all calls from the insurance company and their adjusters so you won’t be bothered by them. Submitting your medical and repair bills directly to the insurance company so you can concentrate on getting better. Meeting deadlines, gathering and preserving evidence such as photographs, witness statements, police reports, and measurements that you’ll need to prove your case. Helping you get medical treatment, even if you didn’t think you could afford to see a doctor. Using our reputation to pressure the insurance company to pay you the highest settlement possible. Mediating your case or taking your case to trial if necessary.

Car accident victims will need to contact an attorney as quickly after the accident as possible. Sacramento car accident attorneys from the Crow Law Offices will need to view the accident site, interview witnesses, document the victim’s injuries, and review police reports regarding the accident.

Sacramento car accident attorneys that specialize in car accident cases will have the expertise that victims need to bring a satisfactory resolution to their case. Sacramento car accident lawyers at the Crow Law Offices understand how to provide the courts with sufficient and appropriate evidence to prove your case and to hold those responsible for your injuries and damages accountable.

It will be beneficial for car accident victims in Sacramento to contact a Sacramento car accident attorney before consulting with the insurance company or accepting their settlement offer.

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What To Do After Having Been In A Car Accident

Get prompt medical care. If you are injured in the car crash, you should be taken to an emergency room for prompt medical care. Call the police and report the car crash. A police report will document the facts of the wreck and will identify the parties involved, along with any witnesses.

Gather all necessary information involving all car accident drivers and passengers and refrain from making any type of statement or signing any papers without first consulting with a Sacramento car accident attorney. Anything said at the time of the car accident can be used against you. Determining who is at fault for a car accident can be difficult to do. There are many factors that can be involved in a car accident. A Sacramento car accident attorney has resources to quickly and effectively determine who the liable parties are. Even if someone involved in a car accident thinks that they are partly at fault for the car accident they may still be able to collect damages.

Car accidents may seem like simple, straightforward cases, but many times they have a number of unusual facets that may necessitate further inquiry and investigation. This is just one of the reasons that it will be crucial to have skilled and knowledgeable legal representation.

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Common Injuries From Car Accidents

Serious car accidents are the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries and spinal injuries, both of which may lead to permanent disability, mental and physical impairments, long-term financial, emotional, physical damages and even death. Sometimes what appear to be minor personal injuries or insignificant pain can lead to permanent back or neck pain, herniated disks, ruptured spinal disks or more devastating internal organ or brain injuries.

The impact a car accident can have on someone can be tremendous and sometimes catastrophic effects on the lives of those involved. Even in simple fender bender car accidents an individual involved can suffer back and neck injuries that have a lasting adverse effect. It is advised to contact both a car accident attorney and a physician following a car accident. Research has concluded that the number of car accident-related deaths in California are one of the highest in the nation.

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Types of Car Accidents

Car accidents fall under the umbrella category of traffic collisions, which involve a motor vehicle and another vehicle, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian, animal or object. Car accidents can include rollovers, rear-end impacts, head-on crashes, side or T-bone collisions and off-road collisions. Sometimes these accidents are minor fender benders resulting only in slight property damage. In other cases, accidents can result in major injuries with lifelong effects.

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Common Causes of Car Accidents

Car accidents occur due to driver negligence which includes aggressive driving, inattentive driving, driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, fatigue or driving while engaging in other tasks like texting or applying make-up.

Most car accidents occur due to circumstances or actions that could have been prevented or minimized. Rear end collisions are usually caused by tailgating in combination with distracted driving and/or speeding. Driving above the speed limit is the second largest cause of accidents due to driver negligence. Speeding slows the ability to react and correct in the event of an unforeseen obstacles. Driving drunk or under the influence of other drugs slows reaction times, decreased ability to observe driving conditions and other vehicles, pedestrians or other obstacles on the road. Reckless driving is also an obvious cause of accidents, endangering not only the reckless driver but those nearby who cannot predict where they will go. Weather conditions such as rain, snow, ice, or fog, locations where large animals are known to cross, or roads that are curvy, unpredictable, narrow or unfamiliar may all cause accidents. Most car accidents result from a combination of factors such as low visibility and driver distraction or wild animals crossing an icy road.

Negligence is the primary cause of car accidents in Sacramento. A driver is considered negligent when he or she fails to use reasonable care and caution while operating their motor vehicle. If an accident occurs as a result of driver negligence and innocent victims are injured, the negligent driver may be held responsible for the victim's injuries.

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Proving Your Car Accident Case

When a driver's negligence causes an auto accident, the driver may be liable to pay compensation to anyone he injures or for any property he damages in the car accident. In litigation involving Sacramento car accidents, the burden of proof generally falls on the plaintiff. The defendant is presumed to be not liable for the plaintiff’s injuries. As the plaintiff in a Sacramento car accident lawsuit, the first thing you’ll need to prove in order to win your case is that the defendant breached the duty of care that he owed you. All drivers are required by law to exercise reasonable care while driving. Nearly all drivers owe each other a duty of care to drive reasonably in order to avoid hurting other motorists and pedestrians. If a driver accidentally or intentionally drives in a way that a reasonable person wouldn’t, even for a split second, he is said to have violated his duty of care. When an individual decides to invoke their driving privileges, they have a legal duty to other drivers to obey traffic rules and drive safely and reasonably.

Next, in order to recover damages, a Sacramento accident victim must demonstrate that his injuries were caused by the defendant’s breach of the legal duty he owed the victim. Proving that the defendant in your case caused your accident usually requires evidence that a Sacramento car accident lawyer can help you locate and present to the judge and jury. Finally, you’ll need to demonstrate that you suffered injuries for which you should be compensated.

The injuries you have suffered as a result of your accident are probably immensely apparent to you. Just because the extent of your injuries is clear to you, don’t expect the judge and jury to take your word for it.

If your injuries are in any way physical, such as whiplash, broken bones, head injuries, or back injuries, or require one or more doctor’s visits either now or in the future, you should consider hiring a Sacramento car accident lawyer to assist you with your claim. In these cases, having a Sacramento car accident lawyer on your side can make the difference between recovering a large settlement and recovering nothing.

Sacramento car accident attorneys who represent auto accident victims use many sources of evidence to prove their cases in court and to combat the defendant’s common defenses including assumption of the risk and contributory or comparative negligence. A Sacramento car accident attorney will use the testimony of those directly involved and of witnesses who observed the auto accident is crucial. Written reports of police, public-safety, rescue and medical personnel are also important. Car accident lawyers sometimes retain the services of an engineering or scientific expert in order to determine the accident's cause. The expert will thoroughly investigate the auto accident to determine whether a vehicle defect, another driver or another entity was at fault.

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The Role of Insurance in Car Accident Litigation

If the other driver was insured, you’ll be negotiating your claim with an insurance company and its adjusters. Insurance companies don’t exist to help people; they are in business in order to make money. Whenever they have any discretion to do so, insurance companies use investigators, lawyers, and adjusters to try to deny auto accident victims’ claims or pay accident victims as little as legally possible. Insurance companies will often pressure auto accident victims to try to get them to settle their cases for small amounts of money. However, if you accept an unfair settlement offer, you’ll be forever waiving your rights to collect what your case is really worth.

Don’t trust an insurance company that offers to settle your case before you’ve hired a Sacramento auto accident attorney. Always have settlement offers reviewed by a lawyer before you accept them. Additionally, consider hiring a Sacramento auto accident attorney if the insurance company involved in your case takes any one of the following actions: Harassing you with phone calls and questions, trying to get you to admit that you aren’t really hurt or your injuries are not that bad and should have healed in a couple of weeks, or that you caused the accident, refusing to provide you with a rental car while your car is still in the shop, making you a settlement offer and telling you it is “more than you’re entitled to” or “the best they can do”, telling you that they will pay your medical or repair bills after you submit them for payment, and then refusing to pay once you’ve sent them in, you have a bad feeling about how your case is being handled.

Always keep in mind that the insurance company’s interests are directly opposed to yours. The insurance company’s goal is to compensate car accident victims for as little as possible. We’ve won cases and settlements against nearly every major insurance company in the country. We’ve seen all kinds of accidents and all kinds of injuries. Chances are that we’ve already seen a case similar to yours and that we’re accustomed to negotiating with the very insurance company involved in your case.

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The Uninsured Motorist

Often, uninsured defendants are unable to properly reimburse accident victims for their losses. If the defendant in your case is uninsured, a Sacramento car accident lawyer can perform an asset check on the defendant to see exactly how much the defendant is worth, even if the defendant is trying to hide his resources. The Sacramento car crash attorneys at the Crow Law Offices will also pursue a claim against your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage for you.

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Medical Treatment Following Car Accident and Injury

After a car accident, the costs of getting treatment for your injuries can be high after an accident. Some accident victims avoid getting the treatment they need because they are worried about the financial repercussions of taking time off from work to get care and the high cost of medical bills. If you’ve been injured in a car accident, getting medical help is not only critical to your health, it’s also important to your legal case. The Sacramento car accident lawyers at the Crow Law Offices can make sure that you get the medical care that you need, even if you didn’t think you could afford it. We’ll put you in touch with a doctor who will work with you and take your circumstances into consideration. Additionally, we can explain how the wages you lose when you take time off of work to get medical help may be reimbursable by the defendant.

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Damages in Car Accident Cases

Physical harm is not the only injury one sustains in a car accident. Car accidents can also leave emotional injuries. Studies have shown that car accidents are the most frequent source of emotional trauma for men and the number two source of trauma for women. Complications often result from car accidents, and these complications could interfere with the victim’s ability to return to work or additional medical intervention may be required. Among the damages when injured in a car accident is lost time at work, property damage, medical expenses and mental anguish and pain and suffering. At the Crow Law Offices, our Sacramento car accident injury attorneys help auto accident victims recover the full amount of financial compensation they deserve for their car accident physical and emotional injuries and property damage.

Victims often feel like they lack the time and resources necessary to bring a lawsuit against those parties responsible for their injuries. Instead, they may decide to take the settlement offered to them by the insurance company. Unfortunately individuals may find that the settlement offer they receive from the insurance company is less than adequate and their financial stability may be seriously impacted by the unfair settlement offer.

Occasionally the amount of the settlement offered to the victim may seem fair at first glance, but over time car accident victims may begin to realize that the settlement was not reasonable. By this time, it will be too late. A Sacramento auto accident lawyer will have the tools and resources necessary to help victims fight to get fairly compensated. A Sacramento car accident attorney can help victims protect their rights and will fight for the monetary compensation victims both need and deserve.

Car accident victims may be entitled to monetary compensation for things such as lost wages, medical expenses, and physical and mental anguish. Car accidents can have catastrophic and permanent effects on the lives of all those involved from financial hardship to emotional trauma to physical disabilities. Those responsible for the accident can and should be held accountable for their negligent actions. Sacramento car accident lawyers can help victims ensure that those responsible for the accident are held accountable. They can also help victims make certain they receive the settlement that they need and deserve.

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Statistics Regarding Car Accidents

Car Accidents Statistics: California is consistently ranked as one of the top three states in the nation for numbers of car accidents and fatalities. Approximately 25% of all fatal car accidents within the state of California are the result of alcohol or drug use of one or both of the drivers. Approximately 35% of fatal car accidents occur through collisions with other motor vehicles. Head on collisions account for only 2% of all car accidents, yet represent 10% of all fatal car accidents. Small and mid-sized passenger cars make up the largest proportion of fatal car accidents followed by SUVs, minivans and light trucks. Failure to wear a seat belt plays a part in 60% of car accident injuries and deaths. One of every 100 Americans will be in a car accident this year. Most of us will be in at least one car accident by the time we reach age 30.

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