Approximately 3,316 fatal car crashes happened in California in 2019. For the incidents that were due to someone’s negligence, the passengers and drivers who sustained physical injuries were entitled to file personal injury claims.
The value of personal injury claims depends on several factors, including the type of accident you’re involved in. While it’s not always conclusive, the type of car accident gives the authorities, insurance adjusters, and even personal injury or car accident attorneys an idea of what happened, who’s at fault, and whether the parties involved are all partly to blame for the accident.
Below are examples of the different types of car accidents that police and insurers take note of:
- Head-on collision – Two vehicles driving in opposite directions crash headfirst into one another. This type of accident is often catastrophic because at least one of the vehicles involved often runs at a high speed. When both vehicles are speeding, the force of impact is magnified even more.
- Rear-end collision –This type of accident can range from a minor fender-bender to a more serious, high-speed collision. With the former, the drivers involved can make amends and arrange to pay for damages on their own. The latter, however, may require a formal investigation and filing of claims because of the potential for severe physical injury. Passengers in rear-end collisions can suffer serious neck (whiplash), spinal injuries, and other latent injuries with lifelong effects.
- Side-impact collision – This type of accident is common in road accidents that involve more than two cars. This is also potentially tragic because sideswipe accidents can send the swiped vehicle careening off the side of the road or in the middle of the road. Both scenarios can endanger the lives of the passengers of the swiped car because the vehicle can encounter trees, cliffs, and incoming speeding cars.
- T-bone collision – A t-bone happens when one car crashes headlong onto the side of another car. This type of accident often happens at intersections when motorists try to beat the red light, drive across too early, or neglect to slow down and look both ways while driving across the intersecting highway. The vehicle that crashed onto the side of another vehicle is usually judged as the one at fault or mostly at fault for the accident.
- Single-vehicle crash – This refers to car accidents that involve just one vehicle crashing into public or private property. The driver is often held accountable, unless there are external factors, like when an animal suddenly crosses the road and the driver tries to avoid it or an oncoming car swerves into the wrong lane without warning.
Filing Claims in an At-Fault State
Any of these accidents can physically injure drivers and their passengers, and even pedestrians. If you are any of these people; if you get injured because you were a passenger or driver in a car accident, you may be able to claim insurance compensation.
California follows the “at-fault” or financial responsibility rule when it comes to car accident claims. This means that anyone who is at fault in an accident is required by law to provide compensation for the victim for medical treatment and other losses incurred.
To win a claim, however, you need to prove that the other vehicle is at fault for the accident. This is where we come in — personal injury attorneys in Los Angeles who specialize in filing claims in car accidents. Haffner Law is a respected law firm known for representing people who sustain injuries because of other people’s negligence.
You need a seasoned attorney to prove that the driver or other person who caused your car accident is at fault. Los Angeles-based Haffner Law has the personal injury car accident attorneys you’re looking for. Contact us today.
