Articles Posted in Automobile Accidents

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.

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