Understanding the Different Types of Distracted Driving

Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of car accidents today. But what is distracted driving? It refers to any activity that diverts the drivers attention from the task of driving. Here are the 3 different types of distracted driving.

Manual Distractions - These involve taking your hands off the wheel such as texting, eating, putting make ups, making phone calls, smoking, changing the radio station and more. 

Visual Distractions - This is more dangerous as this involve taking your eyes off the wheel, like reading a text message, watching a video, looking in a mirror or even looking at the passengers.

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What are the Common Causes of Car Accidents?

Car accidents is one of the leading causes of death and injuries these days. It can be a traumatic experience to anyone and can cause significant damages to the parties involved. There are lots of contributing factors to the increasing number of car accidents every year.

1. Distracted Driving - This include texting while driving, making phone calls and even putting make ups while driving.

2. Defective Products - Some car accidents occur due to faulty products and this often involve tires, brakes and steering suspension. 

3. Traffic Law Violation - Not following traffic rules is also one of the common causes of car accidents. This include over speeding and improper changing of lane.

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Personal Injury Case: What Kind of Evidence is Needed?

Winning a personal injury case can be quite difficult especially if you are lacking solid evidence to support your claim. Hence, if you have been injured to the negligent action of another person, you should gather as much evidence as possible. This can help you recover from your injuries and damages associated with your personal injury case. Below are some of the evidence that can use in order to build a strong personal injury case.

Photographs - This is definitely helpful especially in road accident cases. You need to take pictures of the damage vehicles, injuries acquired and even the street conditions at that time.

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Winning a Personal Injury Claim - Strategies and Tips

Have you been injured due to someone else negligence? Then you are qualified for a personal injury claim. You have the right to recover money for your pain and suffering, medical expenses,lost of earnings and other damages. But how do you improve your chances of winning your personal injury claim? Below are some simple steps that you need to take in order to achieve success in your injury claims. 

Get the Right Lawyer 

Winning a personal injury claim is not easy. You need someone who has the expertise and experience to handle your claim. Getting the right lawyer can make a difference between winning a case or losing your case. Of course, you need to find a trusted lawyer and someone who is willing to fight for your rights. 

Act Now

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Elements of a Wrongful Death Claim

What is a wrongful death?

A wrongful death is caused by accidental or intentional act of another person or persons, an entity or company which resulted to the death of another person. This incident may be grounds for to a wrongful death lawsuit. The filing of a wrongful death lawsuit is made by the representative of the deceased, this is to claim all rightful compensation they are entitled to. The compensation should cover the deceased individual’s wages which he could have earned until his retirement if living. 

Photo Credit: graveyarddetective(dot)blogspot(dot)com

In filing a wrongful death claim you must be an immediate family member of the deceased to make your claim valid. You also have to prove these four basic elements in order for your to vouch a winning wrongful death lawsuit.

What are the elements of a wrongful death lawsuit?

• Your loved one's death must have been caused by the other party's actions.
• Your loved one's death must have resulted from the negligence of the other party.
• Your loved one has left behind dependents and beneficiaries
• Your loved one's death caused monetary injury to his dependents- including burial, medical bills and loss of income

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How Plaintiffs Collect the Money After Winning the Case?

Photo Credit: eagnews(dot)org

Congratulations! This is usually what you would hear from your friends and loved ones after working with your California car accident attorney. Winning your personal injury case may not be as easy as a-b-c. It was a tough ride reaching to a fair settlement. At this point, you would be ready to collect the money and get back the life that you just lost from the accident.

If you think this is the end of the lawyer-client relationship, think again. Even if the decision was made, you will still continue to be working with your California car accident lawyer. This should ensure that you will be able to get the right amount of compensation. But the question still lies unanswered, how will you be able to collect the money? 

Case # 1: The plaintiff was happy to know that he was able to defend himself and won the case. He is to receive $20,000 total amount of money to compensate the injuries and damages that resulted from the accident. The defendant along with his insurance company was able to provide the amount. The plaintiff was expecting to receive a check amounting to the amount that was required of the defendant to provide. However, all his expectations went the other way around. Instead, he received a dozen of paint bucket full of change. Although it was the exact amount to be rewarded, is this the right way to collect the money? How are settlement claims supposed to be paid?

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Car Accident: The Leading Causes of the Occurrence

Car accidents always make up a large and significant portion of insurance claims and lawsuits every year in different countries and more and more people need the help of a car accident attorney. But, many of the acquired car accident injuries can be attributed to many causes. The following are some of the most common causes of car accidents.

Causes of Car Accidents

• Drunk driving
• Speeding
• Bad Weather
• Disobedience to traffic laws
• Driving while tired
• Underage driving or driving without license
• Distracted driving (ex. Texting while driving)

The majority of car accident claims can be resolved through a civil lawsuit. They basically result in monetary damages award. On the other hand, there are some types of car accidents that may lead to criminal consequences, especially the ones that involve driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while intoxicated (DWI).

The Role of the Causes to the Outcome of the Case

Certainly, the causes of a car accident can affect the outcome of the case, as accidents involving dangerous and reckless behavior, the monetary award for the damages is often higher than those that involve negligence. For example, when a person recklessly disobeys the traffic laws by speeding, he may face a lawsuit for such behavior if it leads to injuries. At the same time, the lawsuit may also result in punitive damages award, which may involve very high amounts of damages.

On the other hand, an accident that is triggered by a bad weather may result in lesser damages. And when the driver is not found liable for any form of violation, he may not be required to pay for the damages. In contrast, cases that involve drunk driving or DUI may result in severe legal consequences. The driver, who is drunk will be subject to penalties, such as the loss of driving privileges, which can be permanent or temporary.

Moreover, the nature of the car accident sometimes indicate which party is responsible. For example, in many rear-end collisions, the accident is often caused by the rear car that follows too closely.

What Happens When the Injured Party to the Cause of the Accident?

At some point, it happens that an injured party is partially at fault because they somehow contributed to the cause of the accident. Say for example, a driver was hit by another car at an intersection, however, both of the cars were found speeding at the time the impact happened. In this case, it's difficult to determine whether or not they would suffer a collision if they were not speeding. Therefore, it can be the case that the injured party is partially at fault in the cause of the accident.

Do I Need Help from A Lawyer?

Having a full understanding of the leading causes of a car accident is a great help when you have a car accident claim. And of course, it's a helpful and a wise idea to have a lawyer beside you for legal representation. Your lawyer would be able to advise you of the specific laws in your state or area and provide guidance through the entire process.

[Photo Credits: By Maxim Ross and Arup Malakar via Flickr]

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How To Document Your Personal Injury Accident Claim?

How To Document Your Personal Injury Accident Claim?   It is important for a California car accident attorney to have a clear and complete document with regard to the personal injury car accident claim. We have learned from our previous post the value of hiring a lawyer to enable us to win the case. Although you may have the ability to handle the case on your own, but you have to remember that lawyers have their skills, knowledge, talents and most of all, their experience. Keep in mind that your goal is to receive the right amount of compensation to allow you to recover from any damages, injuries, and losses resulting from the accident.   Being injured in a car accident is never something anyone wanted to happen. You can prevent these unexpected things to happen by taking safety measures such as buckling up for safety or keeping focused on the road. On the other hand, even if you do all these precautions, when someone becomes negligent with his actions, accidents will happen. And when these tragedies happen, it is important to keep your composure and if your condition would still allow to do the following, do so.  

Don't Say Cheese!

Car Damage/s

Instead, take photos of the damages your car has incurred. In fact, a California auto accident attorney would appreciate it if you have several photos taken at every damage and angle. These images can be used as evidences or proofs that there were damages to your car and it may require to be fixed. Don't take long distance shots, rather snap a close-up photo to have a clear view.

Accident Location

Car accident lawyers and attorneys may consider your photos taken from the accident location. If it could be applicable, you can take pictures of the traffic signs you see. Remember, these images may not ensure that you will win the case, but these photos will speed up the settlement process.

Injuries

Other than the car damages and the accident scene, take photos of your injuries as well. Take a picture of the injuries you have incurred right after the accident and even during the recovery period.  

Dear Diary

Writing a journal allows you to keep a record of the events that has happened. Most vehicle accident attorneys would ask you to write all the significant information with regard to the accident. You have to be precise on every detail you write in your journal, including your daily extent of pain that you have experienced.  

Keeping Correspondence and other Documents

Any form of correspondence involving any medical person attending to your injuries must all be filed and kept. Do not ignore emails! Other than conversations, you need to keep all your medical-related documents as well. This does not limit to the prescriptions, co-payments, equipment receipts such as crutches, wheelchairs, and etc.).   Perhaps, your motor vehicle accident attorney may ask you to document all your expenses from going to and from your medical physician. And lastly, don't forget to keep track on how much of your income has been lost due to the injuries you have incurred.  

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Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer: Is It worth the Cost?

One of the most common reasons people refuse to hire a California car accident attorney is the amount of money you spend when you hire one. If you think asking for a legal advice and allowing these professionals to represent and defend you in filing for a claim may cost you more, think again. In fact, as you read on, you will be able to see for yourself whether hiring a California auto accident attorney is worth its cost.

So, you may have been caught in a situation where you have incurred injuries and acquired damages resulting from an accident caused by someone's negligence. This is the right time to choose one of the car accident lawyers in your area and seek for legal advice. Although there are cases where hiring a legal professional is no longer needed so as these cases can be handled on your own. On the other hand, there are also cases where it is a must when you should hire one. How much will you need to pay? You have to keep in mind that most vehicle accident attorneys charge their clients in a fair and unique way. Are you familiar with the 'contingency fee'? Apart from the hourly fee and the different cost of lawyer's pay depending on the case, this type of payment is most common for a typical motor vehicle accident attorney. Meaning, these professionals have to do their utmost jobs only to make your case win.

 What does contingency fee mean? 

As you approached a credible lawyer to handle your case, the firm will not be asking for any payment except only when the case will win and the plaintiff will be able to collect his compensation to recover from the accident. In other words, upon the time you will be able to receive the right amount of claim your deserve, a portion of it (according to the agreement) will go to your lawyer. But, let's see how the fee is decided.

 Contingency Percentage 

The percentage your attorney will receive varies from one state to the other. However, in the usual cases, the percentage would range from 25% to 40%. One-third of the entire compensation can be standard. Say if you have recovered $90,000. $30,000 will go to your attorney.

In some other states, the lawyer's percentage may vary depending on the stage of the case. For instance, when the case would reach the jury verdict and this is where you will be able to recover $90,000. If the state would allow the lawyers to get 40%, he will be able to so. Therefore, before you sign any documents or agreements, it is wise to speak with your lawyer first.

There may be other fees and charges in filing for a claim. You may or may not be paying for the court filing fees, obtaining medical records, subpoenas and summons, reporter's fees, and even witness fees. It all depends on the lawyer you have hired and the services his firm offers.

In conclusion, hiring for a lawyer allows everything to put right into place when you could not do it. At this point, you will be able to determine how much a lawyer's value is. So, is it worth?

[Photo Credit: College-Guide @ Flickr]

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The Basics of a Personal Injury Law

Did you know that you can hire a California car accident attorney after meeting an accident? It would be wise and rightful to know your legal rights. Although you may have your own knowledge with regard to the law but these people, dedicate their time and effort to represent and defend individuals fighting for their right. Moreover, these people can lead victims who are suffering from injury and pain from the accident to where they should be going and how to deal with the situation. You have to keep in mind that each state has its own laws and may vary from the other. Also, you have to remember that there are no cases that are similar to the other. Each one is unique. This is the reason a California auto accident attorney has to be hired. Car accidents, being one of the most common accidents involving someone who has been negligent with his actions. We will discuss the basics on how to cope and handle when involved in an accident such as this.

 Personal Injury Accident 

The state provides a law to make a victim's life make whole again. Accidents are unexpected events in our lives. It can make ones life miserable as he suffers from the injuries resulting from the accident. Other than that, he can lose his job as he could no longer go to work because of the injury he has incurred. Car accident lawyers make it a point, their clients will be able to recover and have a successful claim and be rewarded with the right amount of compensation needed.

At this point, you may not have a clear view on this type of accident. Picture this situation where a driver is distracted with his mobile device while on the road. Unknowingly, he was driving the opposite lane causing a head-on collision with the other car moving in the opposite direction. Along with the deep impact of both cars, the other driver incurred serious injuries causing him to stay in the hospital for a while and a few therapy sessions afterward. In this scene, there has to be a person who is at fault causing the accident to happen. Vehicle accident attorneys can determine and will prove to the court that the person at fault has to be responsible for the accident, thus, the victim has the right to be given an amount of compensation in order to recover and take his life back.

Understanding the personal injury law is simple. Perhaps, you may be caught in an accident caused by the someone's negligent actions, a motor vehicle accident attorney can allow you to comprehend on the entire process of waking up from a nightmare. You should take note that the person at fault has to be responsible for his actions. The accident should have not happened if no one was careless.

 The Settlement Claim 

The victim is entitled to file for the claim. Although he may be able to complete the process himself, he has to consider that lawyers are experts and have full knowledge and skills with regard to the law. This should enable his case win and have the compensation he deserves. Check on the coming posts to understand on the journey you would be taking.

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