Articles Posted in Automobile Accidents

Are Los Angeles drivers the worst in the country? A new study suggests they may be.  Los Angeles is a dangerous city in which to drive. Many people have long complained about how badly people drive in Los Angeles, and their complaints have been validated by the findings of a recent study. According to the Allstate America’s Best Driver Report, Los Angeles ranked a dismal 193 out of 200 cities, demonstrating the problematic driving behaviors that are engaged in by L.A. drivers. In addition to the property losses caused by bad driving, many people are seriously injured or killed in the city each year because of bad driving. People who are injured and the families of victims who are killed because of bad driving by others may pursue compensation by filing civil lawsuits against the negligent drivers who caused their accidents or those of their loved ones.

The Allstate study showing Los Angeles drivers some of the worst in the country

Allstate looked at data from 200 U.S. cities in order to determine which cities had the best drivers and which had the worst. The company made their determinations based on the average number of years that drivers in the cities went between accidents. Los Angeles drivers average 5.9 years between accidents, placing the city near the bottom for the driving behaviors of its motorists. Kansas City, Kansas took the number one spot for safe driving. Drivers in that city average 14.9 years between accidents. The city with the worst drivers was Boston. Drivers there average just 3.6 years between accidents. The study points to the need for drivers to exercise caution while driving. There are several problematic driving behaviors that are engaged in by many Los Angeles motorists that can lead to accidents that injure others. These driving problems are prohibited by California law and are evidence of negligence when accidents result.

Causation issues in auto accident cases are one of the biggest legal hurdles that can be faced by an injured party seeking compensation through the civil justice system.  As a California motor vehicle collision attorney with two decades of experience representing car accident victims, I can tell you that this is the most contested and litigated issue in these types of claims.  As I have discussed in other blogs, to prove your case in any personal injury negligence claim, it is the injured party’s “burden” to show a duty was owed by the defendant(s) to the plaintiff(s) [person(s) claiming personal injury]; that this duty was breached by some act or failure to act showing carelessness, unreasonable behavior or wrongdoing; that the breach was the actual and legal cause of injury; and that injury was in fact sustained (See Cal. legal definition of “negligence”).  The most common issues on this third element of “causation” include the following:

• The delay between the collision and the treatment for the injury:   This scenario goes like this.  A person is involved in a crash and they don’t seek out immediate medical treatment.  They try to “tough it out” or see if the pain will “go away”.  This can begin with a denial of a offer for ambulance transportation from the accident scene to the hospital.  It may be compounded by factors such as a lack of health insurance which provides disincentive to incur medical bills.  The problem becomes when a serious injury is finally discovered (sometimes weeks or even months later), the defense (i.e. claims adjusters for the car insurance company of the at-fault driver), will claim: 1. Given the span of time between the accident and the diagnosis of injury, many other things could have happened that may have caused or contributed to the injury; 2. Defense argument: “If your client was really hurt, they would have gone to the doctor sooner!”
• The date of the onset of symptoms from the date of accident: Sometimes injuries do not fully manifest themselves or show up at all until some time following the accident.  This is not often but, does happen.  In this instance, the same type of arguments by insurance defense personnel get made.

The most common injuries following an auto accident have been the subject of many studies.  As a car crash lawyer who has been representing traffic collision victims in Los Angeles and throughout California, I have also seen many of these statistics born out in my practice.  I thought I would summarize what these are and what the normal course of medical diagnosis, treatment and prognosis with these particular types of bodily harm.

What are the top 5 Most Common Physical Injuries Following an Auto Accident:

1. Neck, Back, Chest and Shoulder Sprains and Strains: A “sprain” is defined as a stretch or tear of a “ligament” (the fibrous tissues that connect bone to bone at or near joints in the body) or “tendons” (fibers that connect muscle to bone).  A “strain” is the stretch or tear of tendons or the surrounding muscle tissue.  This is probably the single most common injury resulting from being involved either as a driver or passenger in a motor vehicle collision.  Sometimes, these sprains and strains do not manifest in pain until hours or sometimes days after the incident.  Some sprains and strains are minor and resolve on their own and many times, they healing process is affected by the severity and whether or not the victim seeks medical treatment including emergency trauma care, and follow up care such as physical therapy.  If the “sprain or strain” is due to a severe tear of ligament, tendon or muscle, surgery may be required to repair the torn tissue before full relief can ever be achieved.

Child safety seat laws in California are based upon federal regulations and manufacturer recommendations.  There can be no more “precious cargo” than our children and proper use of safety seats and boosters can have a major impact on the level of injury and fatalities in motor vehicle collisions involving children in California.

The Basics of California Laws on Child Safety Restraint

Under California’s Child Passenger Safety Law effective January 1, 2012, the following rules apply:

California law on auto body shop repairs are very consumer-friendly in my opinion as a consumer attorney who represents auto accident victims.  If you are involved in a traffic collision in the Golden State, you will obviously have questions about the repair of your vehicle.  I thought I would post some of the more common questions that I am asked as an auto accident lawyer in CA and the answers in this blog post.

1. Do I have the right to take my car to the repair facility of my choice or do I have to go to the one the insurance company “recommended”?  This is probably the most common question I am asked by crash victims.  We all know that auto insurance carriers, like any other corporation, are trying to always save on “the bottom line”.  One of the ways they do this is to steer consumers towards their “preferred” or “direct repair facility”.  While many of these facilities do fine work, the California legislature decided a few years ago that this it was inherently unfair to force consumers to go with the auto body shop recommended by the insurance company.  Therefore, the CA Insurance Code was supplemented to add CA Ins. Code § 758.5, which states, in pertinent part, as follows: “No insurer shall require that an automobile be repaired at a specific automotive repair dealer.”  In addition, the car insurance company can only recommend a specific place of repair under the following conditions: (a) The consumer specifically requests a recommendation; (b) the consumer has been informed in writing of the right to the repair shop of their choice; (c) if the insured chooses the facility recommended by the carrier, the vehicle must be fully restored to its original condition and the customer should not incur any additional charges that would not otherwise be charged or allowed by law if they had used a different shop; and (d) if the auto insurance company gives an oral recommendation for a particular body shop, they must follow up with a written notice of consumer rights within five days of the verbal recommendation.
2. Does the body shop have to guarantee the quality of their work? By law, auto body repair businesses are not required to guarantee their work but, most reputable repair facilities will provide such a guarantee.  If a warranty is provided, it must be in writing.