San Bernardino
Car Accident Lawyers

Car accidents often result in extensive damage, both to your vehicle and to your body. Intense forces can bend and twist the body in numerous harmful ways that create injuries to your head, neck, back, major bones, and internal organs. You can also suffer mental and emotional injuries from the trauma of the accident. These injuries often require expensive medical attention, surgical treatment, physical therapy, and long-term rehabilitative care.

If you have received injuries in a car accident or a family member died because of injuries they sustained in an accident, you need expedient legal representation from an experienced San Bernardino car accident attorney. Consider the information below to learn more about car accident law and personal injury statutes in California, then contact Kampf, Schiavone & Associates today. Our San Bernardino car accident lawyers have the knowledge, resources, and legal expertise to prepare your personal injury claim, argue your case in court, and help you achieve the best possible result in your case.

California Car Accident Statistics

The Federal Highway Administration reports nearly six million car accidents annually. In addition, approximately two million drivers experience permanent injuries as the result of an accident each year. According to the US Department of Transportation, 33,244 fatal car accidents occurred throughout the country in 2019, resulting in 36,096 deaths.

In the state of California alone, there were 3,316 fatal car accidents and 3,606 deaths, with 9.1 fatalities for every 100,000 residents and 1.06 fatalities per 100 million miles traveled. Motor vehicle accidents rank as the number one cause of injury-related deaths in California, with 12% of the country’s car accident fatalities occurring in the state. The fatality rate has increased by 28% since 2013.

Common Injuries Sustained in Car Accidents

The following injuries commonly sustained in car accidents can result in compensation:

• • Concussions. Hitting your head on parts of your vehicle’s interior is common during an accident and can cause a concussion. Considered a type of traumatic brain injury, concussions result from a blow or jolt to the body that forces the head to move suddenly, causing the brain to bounce or twist within the skull. This movement may stretch and damage brain cells or create chemical changes in the brain. Symptoms include loss of consciousness, headache, vision problems, balance issues, nausea, vomiting, and memory problems, such as being unable to recall activities prior to the collision.

    After experiencing a concussion, individuals feel dazed, groggy, and confused, but more serious symptoms can take hours or days to develop. Even in less serious cases, symptoms can last for over a month and can involve serious medical complications, such as post-concussion syndrome or second impact syndrome. Seeking immediate medical attention is necessary to ensure the injury has not caused bleeding in or around the brain, which can quickly become fatal. You will require proper treatment to alleviate your symptoms and restore your brain to full health.

• • Other traumatic brain injuries. Depending on the type and severity of damage, traumatic brain injuries (TBI) can require hospitalization and extensive medical treatment. Such an injury can affect every aspect of life, from the ability to work or complete daily tasks to the capacity for maintaining relationships. While mild injuries cause temporary effects, more serious injuries often lead to one or more of the following long-term complications:

     

    • Altered consciousness. TBI can result in prolonged or permanent changes in awareness, responsiveness, or state of consciousness. Different states of consciousness include minimally conscious states, vegetative states, comas, or brain death, an irreversible condition in which brain activity ceases and the victim requires breathing devices to survive.
    • Physical complications. Car accidents can cause physical complications, such as sensory issues, seizures, post-traumatic epilepsy, hydrocephalus (buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain), meningitis infections, and blood vessel damage that can lead to blood clots, strokes, or other medical issues. TBI at the base of the skull can produce damage to the cranial nerves that causes loss of vision, hearing, smell, or taste, along with loss of sensation or paralysis of the face.
    • Intellectual issues. Intellectual issues encompass both cognitive issues and problems with executive functioning. Cognition includes attention, reasoning, judgment, learning, and memory. Executive functioning allows the management of organization, planning, completing tasks, decision-making, and problem-solving.
    • Relationship complications. TBI can result in communication problems which, when coupled with emotional and behavioral changes, could substantially affect social skills. Emotional changes include anxiety, depression, anger, irritability, mood swings, and reduced empathy. Behavioral changes include lack of self-awareness, issues with self-control, verbal or physical outbursts, and risky behavior.
    • Increased risk of degenerative brain disease. Research has also demonstrated that severe or repeated TBIs correlate with degenerative brain diseases, such as Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, and Dementia pugilistica.
  • Whiplash. Commonly caused by rear-end collisions, whiplash consists of strains in the muscles and ligaments of the neck from quick, forceful back and forth movement. Symptoms present within days following the injury include pain and stiffness, reduced range of motion, increased pain with movement, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, and tenderness or pain in the upper back, shoulders, neck, or arms. Most people improve within a few weeks of beginning treatment with exercise and pain medication, but some people experience chronic neck pain and other complications that can last for months or even years.

• • Other neck and back injuries. Along with whiplash, additional injuries can occur to the neck and the back as the result of a car accident. Ruptured or herniated discs of the spine can irritate the nerves and cause pain, numbness, or weakness in the limbs. This type of injury can significantly limit mobility and will take time to heal, either with physical therapy or surgery. Individuals can also experience lumbar sprains, injuries to the lumbar or thoracic areas of the spine, facet joint injuries, or progressive spinal stenosis that worsens without prompt care.

• • Broken bones. One of the most frequent injuries resulting from car accidents, broken bones, can occur in several ways. Many times, broken bones result from being thrown forcefully against the seatbelt, total ejection from the car, forceful collision with the airbag or loose items inside the car, or even force caused by an attempt to brace against the vehicle before the collision. The most commonly broken bones in a car accident include facial bones, pelvic bones, leg bones like the femur and fibula, sternum, ribs, clavicle, skull, and vertebrae. Cranial fractures can cause serious brain damage and death, as can fractures of the vertebrae in the neck or spine.

• • Internal bleeding. Internal organs are delicate and can easily become damaged from the force of a car accident, especially during high-speed collisions. Car accident victims can experience a ruptured spleen, kidney damage, or lacerations to the liver. Broken ribs can puncture a lung, while compression of the stomach can cause an aneurysm in the abdominal aorta, which is typically a fatal injury. In fact, each of these injuries can cause extensive internal bleeding and hold life-threatening consequences without immediate medical attention or surgical procedures.

• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In addition to physical symptoms, drivers and passengers alike can develop mental conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder from the emotional damage of a car accident. The American Psychological Association reports that car accidents serve as the most frequent cause of PTSD among non-military individuals, occurring in around 9% of accident victims.

  This pathological anxiety disorder can result in fear of driving, aversion to images or sounds you associate with the accident, and sleeping problems. Severe cases can feature auditory hallucinations, paranoid thoughts, or urges to hurt yourself or others. Like other car accident damage, symptoms can manifest hours after the incident or can take much longer to develop. Recovery is rare and involves a lengthy, comprehensive treatment process comprised of medication, therapy, or a combination of both.

Car Accident Law in California

The state of California features a range of laws applicable in car accident cases, which determine the criteria for filing a personal injury claim. In addition, statutes dictate what damages are available after a car accident, as well as how to navigate insurance claims. Vehicle owners are financially responsible for car accidents and must adhere to specific insurance and reporting requirements.

Insurance Requirements

All motorists must carry a minimum of 15/30/5 insurance, which provides maximum coverage equaling $15,000 for the injury or death of a single individual, $30,000 for the injury or death of multiple individuals, and $5,000 for property damage. The law also stipulates that insurance companies provide uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage and underinsured motorist coverage. These coverages provide for injuries or property damage caused by a motorist without any insurance or with only sufficient insurance, respectively.

Proof of insurance must be readily available in the event of an accident. Failure to provide proof of insurance to law enforcement officers who respond at the scene can lead to fines or suspended driving privileges.

Reporting Requirements

Motorists involved in a car accident have the legal obligation to stop after the accident. During this time, motorists must check other motorists or pedestrians for injury, provide aid to those individuals, and exchange information with the driver of the other vehicle.

In addition, if the accident caused injury or death, motorists must report the accident to California Highway Patrol or the appropriate police department within 24 hours. If an accident involves injury, death, or property damage exceeding $750, they must also report the accident to the CA Department of Motor Vehicles within ten days of the accident.

Damages Involved in Car Accident Cases

Car accident victims in California have the right to seek recovery for injuries they sustain due to another person’s negligence. Damages recovered with help from a San Bernardino car accident attorney can consist of both economic and non-economic damages.

Economic damages may include:

• Cost of vehicle repair or replacement
• Past and current medical expenses
• Cost of future medical treatment
• Loss of income
• Loss of employment or employment opportunities
• Loss of earning capacity, and
• Burial expenses in the event of a fatality

Non-economic damages typically prove more difficult to compute. However, a San Bernardino car accident lawyer can help you seek recovery for damages, including:

• Physical pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Mental anguish
• Disability or disfigurement
• Loss of companionship, consortium, or affection resulting from the accident

Determining Liability

Determining liability involves evaluating the specific factors of the accident to decide whether it was caused by one party’s negligence. For personal injuries resulting from a car accident, law defines negligence as driving in a manner that a reasonably cautious person would not utilize while operating a vehicle under similar circumstances. Negligence can mean violating traffic laws as well as failing to adhere to the “rules of the road.”

Through a comprehensive investigation of the accident, your San Bernardino car accident attorney can find evidence of the other driver’s negligence. Negligence can include behaviors such as distracted driving, excessive speeding, failure to keep a proper lookout, neglecting to maintain an appropriate following distance, or driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Hire San Bernardino Expert Legal Representation Today

If you have experienced serious injuries as the result of a car accident or a loved one has died due to their car accident injuries, contact Kampf, Schiavone & Associates as soon as possible. Since 1985, our team of San Bernardino car accident lawyers has utilized our decades of combined experience to investigate accidents and advocate for clients during negotiations with insurers. Our reputation for delivering the best results for our clients includes more than $250 million in verdicts and settlements.

When you hire the services of our dedicated, compassionate San Bernardino car accident attorneys, we will aggressively pursue your case to protect your rights and deliver the best possible resolution to your personal injury case. In the meantime, our diligent work allows you to focus on recovering from your injuries. We charge only via a contingency fee, meaning you owe no attorney fee unless we win your case.

To schedule a free consultation with one of our skilled San Bernardino car accident lawyers, contact Kampf, Schiavone & Associates today using our contact form. We will offer you the best legal representation at the earliest opportunity and can even meet at your residence or a medical facility to prevent unnecessary travel. Se habla Español.