If you’ve been injured in a car accident, contact Mission Personal Injury Lawyers at (619) 777-5555. You may be entitled to compensation, and our experienced San Diego car accident lawyers can help you maximize your financial recovery.
Money won’t guarantee that life gets back to normal, but it can make a world of difference while you try to get back on your feet.
Contact us to discuss your legal options. Your consultation with our team is free. We’re always available to take your call – 24/7.
If you want to recover compensation – and maximize your settlement or award – it’s smart to have an experienced San Diego personal injury lawyer fighting for you. Getting the money you deserve after an accident isn’t as easy as it should be. Other parties will try to blame you. Insurance companies will be diligent in searching for a reason to deny or devalue your claim.
Our law firm has a 99% success rate for the cases we handle. Since 2010, we’ve recovered millions in settlements and verdicts for accident victims just like you. We’re a family-run law firm with 43 years of combined experience.
We know how much is at stake, and we’re ready to fight for you by:
If you were injured or a loved one member was killed in an accident, give us a call to learn more. Our attorneys are ready to help you get the best possible outcome after your unexpected incident.
According to the California Office of Traffic Safety, San Diego has more reported motor vehicle accidents than most other cities in the Golden State.
Last year, more than 35 people died in DUI accidents, making 2021 the year with the most deaths for driving under the influence in San Diego County.
And according to data published by the SDPD, there were 8,055 traffic accidents in the city in 2020. That’s 22 accidents a day during the height of the Coronavirus pandemic.
As a result of those wrecks, at least 4,288 people were injured and another 59 lost their lives.
Between January 2021 and early October 2021, there have been more than 6,700 automobile wrecks. You can read more about the motor vehicle accident statistics here.
Car Accident Fatalities
From 2016 to 2019 people witnessed over 340 fatal car wrecks.
Protect yourself and preserve your ability to recover compensation by taking these steps:
If you have accident injuries because of someone else’s negligence, contact our law firm as you have the chance after your accident.
Negligence is the leading cause of accidents. Negligence means that someone had a responsibility to act in a particular way, but failed to do so. And, in consequence, someone else got harmed.
Some frequent causes are:
In order to prove negligence, you must show that another party owed you a duty of care, breached it, and caused you harm.
Our team has experience handling all kinds of car accident cases, including:
Contact our car accident attorneys if you were recently involved in an accident. Our lawyers know what to do and will do our best to maximize your compensation.
Motor-vehicle accident victims are commonly entitled to seek compensatory damages. These are divided into two categories: economic and non-economic.
In limited instances, punitive damages might be available, too.
Economic Damages:
Economic damages are paid to make you financially whole again after an unexpected accident. In other words, the money you’re awarded is intended to compensate for the verifiable costs, losses, and expenses that result from a wreck.
Examples include:
This type is objective – meaning that there’s a way to establish what they’re worth and the amount you will recover. However, since damages can account for future losses, it is still important to have an attorney help you navigate the valuation process.
Non-Economic Damages:
Non-economic damages are intended to compensate for these hard-to-value injuries.
Examples include:
This category is almost always subject to disagreement. Insurance companies will try to play down the pain and suffering you’ve experienced. You should have a group of experts in your corner, including medical professionals, vocational specialists, and others, supporting your claims that you’ve suffered. Taking the time to really document and verify your injuries will help you maximize your recovery.
Punitive Damages:
Punitive damages are intended to punish the defendant – the person responsible for your injuries – for what they’ve done. However, these awards are limited for situations where punishment is really warranted. California requires clear and convincing evidence of malice.
In the context of car accident claims, punitive damages most often apply when a driver was under the influence or knowingly left the scene of an accident after causing serious injuries or fatality.
If you have sustained severe and catastrophic injuries after a car accident caused by a careless driver, you can seek compensation for:
When a pedestrian or a bicyclist is involved, the injuries are often catastrophic. When an accident is fatal, our wrongful death lawyers are here to help grieving family members, too.
According to data, these are the intersections that are considered the most dangerous roads and intersections because of their high number of accidents:
Other notoriously high-risk stretches of a road include Market St and 6th Ave, Interstate 5, and Interstate 8.
No, California has fault-based rules when it comes to car insurance. This indicates that the insurance company that covers the party at-fault is on the hook for resulting damages.
After an accident that’s not your fault, you’ll be filing an insurance claim with another driver’s provider.
While California has strict requirements about what minimum car insurance coverage must be purchased to drive a vehicle, not everyone follows the rules. In fact, it’s estimated that one out of every five drivers is uninsured or underinsured.
If you get into an accident with an uninsured driver, it doesn’t mean you can’t recover damages. It just indicates that things get a bit more complicated.
In these situations, you might be able to file a:
If you were injured in an accident on the job, you may even qualify to recover workers’ compensation benefits through your employer.
California has a strict two-year statute of limitations that applies to most car accident lawsuits. So, there’s a good chance that you’ll have two years from the date of your accident to pursue a civil lawsuit against those responsible.
You may have more time to act if your injuries aren’t evident right away. You’ll have less time to act if you suspect a government agency is accountable.
One thing is certain: you will forfeit the opportunity to retrieve compensation if you miss the deadline that applies to your particular case.
That’s a great reason to get in touch with our team as soon as you can after you get hurt.
If your accident resulted in injuries or fatality, you’re required to call 911 under the law.
The SDPD typically only responds to accidents involving injuries. Accordingly, you should call the SDPD if the driver fled the accident scene or if anyone was injured or killed. If the accident occurred on a California freeway, you should communicate the accident to the CHP.
If a law enforcement officer isn’t dispatched to the scene of the accident, you may be directed to the nearest police station to submit a report. You must also report the accident to the DMV within ten days.
Even if your accident didn’t involve any type of harm, it’s always wise to call the police. In some circumstances, the dispatcher may send an officer anyway, and you’ll ensure that you’re meeting your legal reporting requirements.
Most car accident lawyers offer a free initial evaluations, so there’s no risk in scheduling an appointment to discuss your collision. Minor auto accidents can still cause injuries and property damage, and an attorney can advise you of your course of action if the other driver was at fault. There’s no obligation on having an attorney if you decide that legal action is unnecessary.
When to hire a car accident attorney is a frequent question. You should contact an attorney as soon as possible after your car accident. Insurance adjusters will try to make quick, inadequate offers to settle the claim as quickly as possible. Additionally, California’s statute of limitations is only two years. This may seem plenty of time, but if you need to submit a lawsuit, it takes time to gather evidence and build a case.
Most car accident attorneys work on a contingency fee basis.
This indicates:
When your accident attorney wins your case, they will get a percentage of your net award. It’s that simple.
Every car accident claim is different – with unique causes, victims, injuries, and defendants. Some claimants may receive a few thousand dollars, while others receive millions.
The average settlement is around $20,000 to $30,000, but you could get more or less depending on the severity of your injuries and how they affect your quality of life. During your free evaluation, we’ll talk over your collision and give you a better idea of what you can foresee to recover for your claim.
To start, you must first fill out a complaint outlining your legal arguments for why the other party is liable and the damages you are seeking. You must do this with the court, and then it will be presented to the opposing parties.
You should ensure that you’re within the applicable statute of limitations (two years for most auto accident suits), or else you’ll be barred from filing.
The defendant must answer to your complaint within 30 days, and then you’ll engage in pretrial discovery.
When researching potential attorneys to represent you in your accident case, look at client testimonials, past case results, credentials, and how many years they have with motor vehicle cases. You want an attorney who can get optimal results while providing personalized attention and compassion for what you’re going through.
You can arrange a free evaluation with a few different attorneys to determine which one you think will work best for your needs. You should select someone you feel comfortable communicating with and who listens to you.
It really depends on how serious your injuries are. According to the National Safety Council, the average comprehensive value of a car accident in 2019 ranged anywhere from $155,000 to $11,148,000.
The more serious your injuries, the higher the value your case will probably be.
Of course, there are a lot of aspects that can affect the value of your case, including:
You can increase the odds that you get a full financial recovery by having an experienced attorney to represent you.
Potentially liable parties could include:
When you have an accident attorney, they will carefully investigate your accident to determine why it happened and who’s to blame. You can trust that we will be on your side during these difficult times and will work to secure maximum compensation from all responsible parties.
The length of time it will take to settle your case is highly fact-specific. However, a few factors could impact your case’s timeline.
Is the other party willing to negotiate a fair settlement agreement? Most cases settle before trial, but sometimes a trial is the best course of action for maximizing your compensation. Cases that reach trial will take much longer to resolve than cases that do not.
How much evidence is readily available? If there is sufficient, clear-cut evidence to prove your case, your case could resolve more quickly. This is because your bargaining power will be stronger with the other side, and we might not have to go through the discovery process. Keep in mind that some cases go to the courtroom but do not fully progress to the trial stage. For instance, the discovery could unearth sufficient evidence such that the other person decides to agree on a fair settlement.
Other factors include how many parties are involved in the case and whether an insurance company is involved.
Here are a few different ways you can get your car accident report. You can click here to view the relevant webpage on the City’s website. From there, you’ll click on the “Traffic Collision or Accident Reports” heading.
Clicking this heading will expand the menu, which describes the four ways to retrieve your document. The first is an online method through LexisNexis eCrash. The second is to call the City at the appropriate phone number. You can also get it via a mail-in request.
Have you been injured in an auto accident? Call Mission Personal Injury Lawyers for immediate legal assistance. Our San Diego car accident attorneys are ready to help you fight for the money you need to cover the money spent on your medical bills, make up for lost income, and for non-economic losses.
Our law firm has proven results with settlements for our clients and litigation cases. We have experience with all practice areas, so contact us today to get started. We are happy to respond to your legal questions.
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