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Automobile Accidents
The United States Automobile Industry recently enjoyed its 100th birthday. However, with the convenience of the automobile also came hazards. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the United States now has over 205,000,000 registered motor vehicles. By the late 1990's, there were over 183,000,000 licensed drivers in the United States. In 2002 alone, there were an estimated 6,316,000 car accidents in the United States of America. There were about 2.9 million injuries resulting from those accidents, and approximately 42,815 people were killed in auto accidents in 2002. An average of approximately 115 persons die each day in motor vehicle crashes in the United States. This means that a death occurs every 13 minutes. It is usually a misconception that victims of automobile accidents do not need attorneys. Until the victim of an automobile accident retains an attorney, the insurance company knows that the person they are dealing with is not currently prepared to take his or her case to court and is unlikely to offer fair compensation. Today, given the horrendous stigmas associated with exercising one's legal right - especially when insurance companies routinely offer little or nothing for an accident unless the injured party has retained counsel - it is not uncommon for many victims injured in car accidents to attempt to negotiate directly with the insurance carrier themselves. In most instances, the individual is first met with feigned concern by the carrier, who then steadfastly proceeds to build a case against him/her. Insurance companies routinely work with a select group of doctors who, unfortunately, tend to reach the same conclusions in virtually all cases, to wit: that little or no injury has been sustained. Obviously this is not the case where catastrophic injury has occurred, but even then, causation for the injury is often disputed, as is extent and need for future care. In short, the unwary injured victim of a car accident attempting to negotiate with the insurance carrier on his/her own soon learns the stark reality: insurance companies are in the business of taking premium dollars, not paying claims. By the time the carrier is done with you, it will have a recorded statement regarding cause of the accident, it will have had you examined by "their" doctors, and it will be in a position to justify why your claim is worth relatively little. Do yourself a favor; avoid this scenario at all costs.
Unfortunately, there are over 40,000 fatalities each year as a result of automobile accidents. Over 3,500,000 injuries are sustained as a result of over 6,500,000 crashes that occur in the United States each year. It probably comes at no surprise that rear-end collisions (whiplash accidents) are the most common vehicle collisions. Each year, well over 2,500,000 whiplash accidents are reported. Frontal collisions, rollover accidents, side impacts are all too common. 
While it is difficult to generalize, each type of accident can produce different types of injuries. As we are increasingly learning, even low speed impacts can cause significant injury. Today, it is difficult to find jurors who have not been individually involved in some type of automobile accident, or who do not know someone who has. Juror's experiences often pre-dispose their views on automobile accidents, the injuries resulting therefrom, and the lawsuit that ultimately must be pursued by those injured during an automobile accident. Insurance companies have likewise done much to taint prospective jurors' attitudes about those who pursue lawsuits for injuries sustained in automobile accidents. Accordingly, the Scarlett Law Group does much to overcome juror bias. During trial, the Scarlett Law Group often utilizes biomechanical engineers to professionally demonstrate the awesome force involved upon the body, even in low speed impacts. Accident reconstructionists are utilized to re-enact the accident. Medical specialists provide the jury with appropriate information about the injuries sustained, and the probable residual impact of those injuries. In short, the Scarlett Law Group takes the necessary steps to properly present the auto/auto, auto/pedestrian, rollover, singular vehicle accident, and big rig/auto case. If you or a loved one have been involved in a vehicular collision, the Scarlett Law Group stands ready to assist you with your legal needs. With focus on the handling of those catastrophically injured, and those sustaining the loss of a loved one, the Scarlett Law Group is ready to assist you when you need it the most. Car DesignLets face it, despite the efforts of the automobile industry, no vehicle can be designed to withstand all of the forces typically at work in a severe automobile accident. For example, most bumper systems are designed to withstand a five mile-per-hour impact without much damage. However, isolator/shock absorber/piston bumpers, foam core bumpers, and honeycomb bumpers can, and often do, sustain significant damage in accidents occurring as low a speed as 8 to 10 miles-per-hour. Depending upon whether your vehicle is struck by a moving vehicle, or whether your vehicle strikes a stationary object, other significant forces can be brought to bear. 
The type of accident involved, the size and crash worthiness of the vehicles involved, and the utilization of airbags, shoulder harnesses, and seatbelts, all play an important role in the type of injuries actually sustained. Unfortunately, traumatic brain injuries all to often result from the acceleration/deceleration forces involved in a car accident. Soft tissues, including whiplash injuries, as well as spinal injuries likewise are the all to common result of an automobile accident. Internal injuries, bone fractures, contusions and abrasions are common injuries sustained in an automobile accident. In many instances, symptoms of the injuries can take up to seventy-two hours to manifest themselves. Following an accident, if you experience dizziness, vision problems, headaches, difficulty with memory and concentration, or sustain back pain, neck pain or muscle aches, it is important that you consult with a healthcare professional as soon as is possible. The insurance industry is not in the business of paying claims. To the contrary, do not be surprised if the carrier for the culpable driver denies that your injuries were sustained as a result of the automobile accident. This is especially so where treatment is not immediate or if the vehicles' evidence little damage. Just as there are a wide range of injuries that often times result from automobile accidents, the symptoms from these injuries may take a significant period of time before they manifest. This is especially so with individuals sustaining diffuse axonal shearing, or other traumatic brain injury. Headaches, blurred vision, dizziness, change in taste, smell or hearing, attention deficits, and other concentration problems should be carefully monitored by appropriate healthcare professionals. Rollover accidents can cause a roof to collapse, thereby resulting in injury to the occupants of the vehicle. As an occupant comes into contact with any collapsing part of a motor vehicle, injury is almost assured. During rollover accidents, it is not uncommon for passengers to be ejected from the vehicle and severe injuries, including fatalities, result. Car seating can also be a cause of significant injury. Remember, never put children under eleven years of age in the front seat. According to the NHTSA, these children should be seated in the back of the vehicle with a seat belt and shoulder harness on. Extremely young children should be placed in rear-facing infant seats, also in the back of the vehicle. The primary consideration at work behind these guidelines are dangers resulting from airbags. Airbags deploy in an extremely fast fashion. Generally, a sensor, in conjunction with an onboard computer, decides whether or not an airbag ought to be deployed in an accident. Often times, the sensor is triggered by the change in velocity of the vehicle itself. Airbags are known to cause fatal injuries in infants improperly placed in the front seat. Injuries to adults can occur as well. These injuries can include injuries to the head, chest, face, arms, eyes, and jaw. Fractures, as well as bruises and abrasions are common. This is especially so where the adult is sitting within a foot of the airbag console. The restraint systems themselves - be they seatbelts or seatbelts with shoulder harnesses - can likewise cause injury. All to often, however, the benefits of utilizing such systems far outweigh the risks involved. Defectively designed and manufactured vehicles, as well as those vehicles not properly maintained, can often be the cause of accidents. An automobile manufacturer may be responsible under legal theories of strict product liability where it is established that the design of the vehicle caused harm to the operator and occupants. Similarly, an automobile manufacturer may be held responsible under a legal theory of strict products liability where a manufacturing defect so caused the accident, or where the manufacturer failed to warn the consumer about a known defect. Other legal theories may include breach of the implied warranty of merchantability, breach of the implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose, breach of warranty of title and sales contracts, and products liability - negligence. The Scarlett Law Group promptly investigates the cause of the accident. No stone is left unturned during the investigative process. From driver negligence, to products failure, the Scarlett Law Group analyzes all causative factors involved in a collision. Vehicle Maintenance
Generally, and subject to the law of the jurisdiction in which you reside and a particular accident occurs, a motorist who fails to exercise that degree of care that an ordinarily prudent person would exercise in maintaining his/her automobile in a reasonably safe running condition will be found liable for any loss suffered by victims of this negligence, if the negligence contributes to the happening of an accident. [See, e.g., Sherman v. Frank, (1944), 63 Cal.App.2d 278, 282.] Unfortunately, negligent maintenance is all too common a cause for truck/big rig/automobile accidents. In Arroyo v. Arden Farms Co., (1966) 239 Cal.App.2d 332, the California Courts held that evidence was sufficient to support a finding that the defendant truck driver and the defendant owner of the truck were both negligent with respect to a rear-end collision involving an automobile which had stopped suddenly to avoid a laundry truck pulling out into the automobile's lane of traffic. The Court found that both defendant truck driver and the defendant owner of the truck knew, or reasonably should have known, months before the accident that the breaking mechanism on the truck was becoming increasingly defective and dangerous. The fact that an accident alone occurs is not sufficient for a plaintiff to sustain his/her burden of proof. The cause of the accident must be investigated, and presented in an appropriate manner to the jury. The fault for the subject accident must be unambiguously established. Motor Vehicle Negligence
Generally, an action for negligence requires a showing that the defendant vehicle operator breached a legal duty owed to the injured plaintiff, and that the breach of such duty was a proximate or legal cause of the plaintiff's injuries. For example, in California, a motorist, driving on either the public or private roads, must exercise the degree of care and caution that an ordinarily careful and prudent person, acting in the same or similar circumstances, would exercise for the safety of others traveling on the road. [See, e.g., Sills v. Forbes, (1939) 33 Cal.App.2d 219, 227.] It is well established in most states that a motorist, must, at all times, use ordinary care to avoid colliding with another, and must be alert and watchful so as not to place himself/herself in danger, and, while such motorist may assume that others will use ordinary care, he/she cannot for that reason omit any of the care that the law demands of him/her. Pedestrians are also required to use ordinary care. However, drivers of vehicles must be use ordinary care to prevent injuries to pedestrians. Whether or not a driver's view was obstructed, whether the motorist was in violation of the Vehicle Code or other statute, the knowledge of the motorist as to the conditions, and the weather conditions are all factors to be considered in the investigation of an accident. For example, in many states, an injured motorist can legally establish his/her claim through utilization of the legal theory of negligence per se. Generally, in order to establish negligence per se, the injured party must show that a defendant motorist violated a statute, ordinance or regulation. The violation of that statute must have proximately caused the injury, and the injury must have resulted from an occurrence of the nature, which the statute was designed to prevent. Lastly, in most jurisdictions, the injured party must establish that he/she was one of the class of persons for whose protection this statute was adopted. [See, e.g., California Evidence Code, Section 669]. An example of negligence per se follows: A motorist suddenly stops her automobile without first giving an appropriate signal to the driver of the vehicle which was immediately behind her. The vehicle behind collided with her automobile, there being no showing that she did not have a reasonable opportunity to give the required signal before stopping. Under virtually these circumstances, a court in California found that the motorist's failure to give signal of her intention to stop constituted negligence per se. [See, e.g., Lutz v. Schendel, (1959) 175 Cal.App.2d 140; California Vehicle Code Sections 22109, 22110]. Common Carrier
A common carrier is anyone who offered to the public to carry persons, property or messages for hire. In California, and certain other states, a carrier for persons for reward must use the utmost care and diligence for their safe carriage, must provide everything for that purpose, and must exercise a reasonable degree of skill. Such carrier must provide vehicles that are safe and fit for their intended purpose and generally, are not excused from omissions in this regard. Bus lines, train lines, ship lines, and other common carriers are often involved in accidents causing injury. Your legal specialist should be aware of the distinctions under the law, which may apply to common carrier accidents. If you, or a loved one, have been involved in an accident involving a common carrier, the Scarlett Law Group has the expertise to assist you through your difficult times. If you or someone you know has been injured
as the result of an auto accident or car crash, you need the assistance of The Scarlett Law Group. Call 800-262-7576 today to speak with a California Personal Injury Attorney. |
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