Posted on January 15,2021 in Truck Accidents

Semi-trucks and other large commercial vehicles are already challenging to control when all of their parts are working properly. If a part malfunctions due to insufficient or improper maintenance, it may be enough to cause a serious accident. Truck accidents account for thousands of injuries and hundreds of fatalities in California every year, and improper maintenance is a factor in many of these cases. If you have been injured in a crash with a truck, you may be able to pursue compensation from multiple negligent parties.

Common Faulty Parts in a Truck Crash

If any of the following truck parts are poorly maintained, they may fail at an inopportune moment and lead to a crash:

• Brakes - Working brakes are crucial to ensure that a truck can slow or come to a stop if necessary to avoid a collision. When brakes fail on the highway, a truck can easily lose control of its speed.

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 Posted on January 08,2021 in Personal Injury

If you have been injured in a car crash caused by another driver’s negligence, one of your biggest concerns is likely recovering compensation for your medical bills. However, depending on the situation and the severity of your injuries, you may have other financial concerns as well, not the least of which are your lost earnings from any missed work time due to your accident. Fortunately, lost wages in both the past and future are included in the economic damages that you may pursue in a personal injury lawsuit.

Compensation for Lost Earnings and Earning Capacity

There are two primary reasons why you may lose income in the aftermath of a car accident injury. The first is missed time from work during your treatment and recovery. For relatively minor injuries, this could be limited to a couple of days in the hospital, but if your injuries are severe, your recovery may extend for several weeks during which you are unable to perform your usual work tasks.

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 Posted on December 31,2020 in Car Accidents

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), pedestrian fatalities from car accidents have recently reached a 30-year high. California is responsible for more pedestrian deaths than any other state, with almost 900 in 2018 alone. In part, this is due to the state’s large population, but California also has a higher rate of pedestrian fatalities than many other states, with pedestrians accounting for almost 25 percent of all traffic deaths. In light of these shocking statistics, you may be wondering why pedestrian accidents are so common, and what you can do to avoid becoming a victim.

Factors That Lead to Pedestrian Accidents

One likely reason for the prevalence of pedestrian accidents in California is the presence of several major cities. The NHTSA reports that 80 percent of fatal pedestrian accidents happen in urban areas, and California is home to four of the 15 largest U.S. cities by population, including San Jose and San Francisco. If you are walking in an urban area in California, you should take extra care to stay aware of your surroundings and avoid putting yourself at risk.

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 Posted on December 11,2020 in Personal Injury

If you have been injured in a car crash or any other accident, the financial costs can be high due to medical bills, property damage, missed time from work, and other expenses. A personal injury claim can often help you recover compensation for these economic damages if your injuries were caused by the negligence of another party. However, in some cases, the economic damages may not fully reflect the impact of your injuries on your life, and it may be worth working with your attorney to pursue further compensation for non-economic damages.

Examples of Non-Economic Damages

The purpose of non-economic damages is to provide compensation for losses due to injury that are not easy to quantify. Often, these losses are related to your mental state or your personal life. Some reasons to pursue compensation for non-economic damages include:

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 Posted on November 30,2020 in Car Accidents

While it may not attract as much attention as drunk driving or distracted driving, drowsy driving is another serious issue that contributes to car accidents, many of which result in injuries and fatalities. The most recent statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show more than 90,000 annual accidents in which driver fatigue was a factor, with nearly 800 resulting fatalities. Understanding some of the common factors in these accidents may help you avoid falling victim to one yourself.

Common Factors in Accidents Involving Driver Fatigue

Research shows that all of the following are possible factors in accidents involving drowsy drivers:

• Time of day: Perhaps unsurprisingly, drowsy driving crashes are more likely to occur late at night. What may be more surprising is that they are also more common in the late afternoon, in part due to the human body’s natural sleep rhythms.

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 Posted on November 24,2020 in Workplace Accidents

Construction sites are common places for injuries to occur, with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reporting that falls and scaffolding accidents, machinery, and improper hazard communication are some of the most frequent causes. Usually, the workers on these sites are the most likely victims.

If you are injured in the course of your construction job, you are likely entitled to workers’ compensation benefits from your employer, and if you or your employer were responsible for the accident that caused your injury, this may be your only option for compensation. However, many construction site accidents involve the negligence of a third party, in which case you can pursue additional compensation through a personal injury claim.

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 Posted on November 23,2020 in Car Accidents

On an annual basis, around 18,000 people are injured and more than 1,000 people are killed in car accidents involving alcohol throughout California. Suffering a serious injury or losing a loved one in a crash with a drunk driver can be devastating, and it is important to know how you can obtain compensation and find some degree of solace for your losses. Fortunately, an attorney can help you do so through a personal injury or wrongful death claim.

Building Your Case for Compensation

If you have been injured in an accident caused by a drunk driver, there are important steps you should take to give yourself the best chance at recovering compensation. Namely, you should:

• Seek medical attention: This ensures that you receive the proper treatment for your injuries, and it also serves to create a record that demonstrates the extent of your medical expenses and other damages and connects your injuries to the accident.

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 Posted on October 30,2020 in Car Accidents

Highway 17 between San Jose and Santa Cruz has been a consistently dangerous stretch of road for decades. The “Safe on 17” commission of the late ‘90s led to a temporary decline in the number of car accidents, but over the last few years, crashes have once again been on the rise. For example, in 2019, Highway 17 was the site of 521 accidents from just January to the middle of March, an increase of 30 crashes from that same time period the year before. To help keep yourself safe, it is important to be aware of why accidents are so common on this road, and what you can do if you are injured in a crash.

Risk Factors on Highway 17

Area law enforcement notes several factors that contribute to accidents on Highway 17. These include:

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 Posted on October 12,2020 in Truck Accidents

Any driver who is distracted by his or her cell phone poses an injury risk to other people on the road, but a distracted truck driver can be especially dangerous. A semi-truck traveling at 55 miles per hour can take more than 5 seconds to come to a complete stop, but sending a text message can remove a driver’s attention from the road for at least this long, so a distracted truck driver may not even have the opportunity to start slowing down before a serious collision occurs. For this reason, cell phone use is strictly regulated for truck drivers throughout the U.S.

Cell Phone Regulations For Commercial Truck Drivers

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) prohibits truck drivers from not just sending and reading text messages and other electronic communication while driving, but all handheld cell phone use. This includes holding a phone while making a call, dialing that requires pressing more than one button, and reaching for a phone. Drivers who violate these restrictions can be fined up to $2,750 and disqualified from driving, and truck driver employers who fail to enforce these restrictions can be fined up to $11,000. Handheld cell phone use while driving is also a violation of California law in most cases, and can result in a fine of at least $20 for a first offense and $50 for additional offenses.

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 Posted on September 22,2020 in Car Accidents

In 2017, almost 12,000 people suffered severe injuries in California car accidents, meaning that their injuries prevented them from walking, driving, or performing other activities that they were able to do before the accident. Many of these severe injuries involve damage to the spinal cord, which can have long-lasting effects and may require many years of recovery for the victim to even approach his or her condition before the accident, if recovery is possible at all. If you have suffered a spinal cord injury in an accident caused by another driver, a personal injury lawsuit can help you obtain compensation to cover your extensive medical treatment and rehabilitation.

Signs that You May Have a Spinal Cord Injury

Sometimes spinal cord injuries are immediately apparent after a car accident. If you find that you are paralyzed or have lost the ability to move body parts below the neck or waist, it is likely that you have suffered spinal cord damage. However, sometimes the extent of the injury is not obvious right away. Other signs that you may have a spinal injury include extreme back or neck pain, weakness, numbness or tingling, and difficulty walking or breathing. You may also be able to visibly detect a possible spinal cord injury if your neck or back is in an unnatural position after the accident. If you suspect that your spinal cord has been injured, you should seek medical attention immediately to prevent the damage from getting worse.

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