Service Tag: motor vehicle accidents

Crosswalk Accidents

Pedestrians are often injured or killed in crosswalk accidents where inattentive motorists disregard the signals. We have traffic light engineers that help us establish the condition and color of the light at the time of the accident holding the driver and their insurers responsible for these devastating accidents

Emergency Shoulder Accidents

Motorists or motorcyclists will often pull off to the shoulder of the road to check on their vehicle, wait for assistance or look in the trunk only to get hit or killed by an oncoming driver. We have the experts in accident reconstruction, human factors and visibility to hold these drivers and their insurers responsible for these tragic events

Sidewalk Accidents

Pedestrians get injured walking on the sidewalk due to errant, inattentive drivers, open or improperly placed or maintained manholes or other debris, or falling objects from buildings, construction sites or locations above. We have the experts and experience to litigate and win these cases when these horrific events occur

Paralysis & Spinal Injuries

In most of the accident cases we handle, our clients typically suffer neck or back spinal injuries ranging from complete paralysis to disk and facet injury in the spine. We utilize the best neurosurgeons, radiologists and pain management experts to evaluate, these injuries who can offer expert opinions on the severity at trial. In a world where every defense lawyer contends that any level of spinal injury is degenerative or pre-existed the accident, we aggressively litigate and offer evidence on the traumatic nature of the injuries through expert opinion, diagnostic tools, and medical illustration and animation. Our experience and knowledge of the jury instructions allows us to build a case around the defense arguments of degenerative conditions that wins every time and results in substantial monetary awards.

Paralysis

Paralysis is obviously the most serious form of spinal cord injury, whether it is intermittent or partial paralysis, or complete and permanent paralysis such as quadriplegia. We have handled paraplegia and quadriplegia cases from auto and truck accidents, falls, products cases or other accidents. We have the experience and the experts to present your case to a jury to obtain significant jury verdicts for this devastating life-long injury

Spinal Cord Injury, Surgery and Fusion

The most common form of spinal cord injury is a herniated or bulging disk which can enter the spinal canal or the nerve roots and cause extreme pain and/or weakness in your arms or legs. We handle many cervical spine or neck injuries and lumbar spine or back injuries through jury verdict. We have the experience and the experts to assess the spinal cord injury including spinal surgery, which could be a discectomy (trimming of the disk), a laminectomy (removal of the disk) and/or a fusion (a removal of the disk and fusion of the spinal bones). These injuries and surgeries have life-long consequences on your ability to work and function as a normal person, extensive medical bills sometimes losing your career and ability to take care of yourself and your family and live a normal life. We have taken many jury verdicts for clients with spinal cord injuries including fusions

Back and Neck Injuries (Whiplash) and Pain Management

Spinal injuries such as whiplash can be mild but can be very painful and lead to a life-time of pain and medical care. We have the experts to assess the spinal injury and refer for the appropriate care. The injuries often occur in low speed accidents, such as in bumper to bumper traffic, but we have the experience and the experts in accident reconstruction, biomechanics and kinematics to prove to the jury that the accident was most likely the cause of the injury. We also have experts available to assess the treatment for these injuries, whether it is chiropractic, physical therapy, pain management and injections or referrals for surgical consultations.

Wrongful Death

We represent many families whose loved ones have been lost in an accident by the negligent act of another. We have decades of experience in asking juries for damages for the loss of a loved one. Understanding how to calculate both economic loss and non-economic losses of the deceased requires special experts and trial preparation. Our time-honored methods of selecting juries and presenting evidence of the loss of a loved one and the grief of their absence has allowed us to recover millions of dollars for our clients in these cases.

Loss of Life

Wrongful death cases arise when a family member is killed in an accident, whether it is a vehicle, premises, construction or other kind of accident. The loss to the surviving family is horrendous making it difficult for the family to cope. We have decades of experience at dealing with the grief that families experience in wrongful death cases and presenting these cases to juries for large verdict awards

Survivor Claims

In California, the closest family members can file a lawsuit in a wrongful death case seeking damages, including funeral expenses and other economic damages such as lost earnings that the decedent would have made had they not been killed. Family members can also make survivor claims for the loss of support, direction and counsel that the decedent would have given over their lifetime. These are very sensitive cases and we have decades of experience in litigating and trying these cases to trial juries.

Catastrophic Accidents

Wrongful death, usually but not always, occurs in larger scale accidents, trucking accidents, warehouse accidents, extreme falls, poison, burn and explosion cases. We have the experts and the experience to analyze and assemble these cases for juries to easily understand who is at fault and what the measureable losses are to the family members resulting in significant jury awards

Automobile Accident

One may think that just any lawyer can handle a routine auto accident case particularly one that is minor or that has relatively minor damage. However, the concept that people always receive minor injuries in minor accidents is a misnomer. We have special litigation and trial skills and experts to prove to juries that victims of minor car accidents can, in fact, sustain more serious injuries or death in these minor accidents. Through the use of damage matching analysis, computer-driven crush analysis, and vehicle dynamics programs, we can demonstrate that even the most minor crash can cause more serious injuries or death. In focusing on the scientific variable of Delta V or change in speed, we can demonstrate to juries that even minor accidents can result in larger impacts on the human body than one would expect or imagine. Often times a minor accident initially causes what is believed to be minor injuries which later develop into more serious problems, but we have the medical experts to combat claims by insurance companies that the injuries were not produced by the accident or were somehow caused by natural degenerative processes. As trial lawyers, we routinely see these claims by insurance companies but they backfire and juries award substantial damages. If you are in a minor accident but feel your injuries are more significant, please do not hesitate to call upon us to handle these kinds of cases.

Fender Bender Accidents

These are commons accidents that raise questions about how to get your car fixed, and how to hold the other insurance company responsible. We have 30 years of experience in handling these issues, and will also help you find doctors and other help that you might need as a result of the accident

Limited Insurance

Auto accidents often raise the question of what happens when you have injuries and pain from an accident but the other party has limited insurance or will not even disclose how much insurance they have. We have experience in demanding insurance information and in some cases holding the insurance companies responsible for the damages well above the insurance policy limit. We can make these complicated issues very simple for you

Low Speed Accidents

Most insurance companies take great pride in claiming that injuries cannot occur in lower speed accidents like those that happen in bumper to bumper traffic. We have experience trying these cases to juries with experts and demonstrative evidence that shows that low speed accidents can cause serious injuries and/or cause a pre-existing injury to become much worse

18-Wheeler Truck, Bus and Commercial Motor Vehicle Accidents

We represent people who have been severely injured in truck, bus, and other commercial motor vehicle accidents. Whether it is a rear-end, intersectional, side-swipe or hit and run accident, we specialize in jury verdicts against trucking and bus companies. We often find that these transportation companies are poorly run and managed, drivers are not properly trained, drivers often have health problems, are not well-rested, are fatigued and vehicles are poorly maintained. Through discovery, we uncover these negligent practices and put them on display for the jury and under certain circumstances obtain punitive damages against these companies. We will make sure your truck or bus accident case receives the maximum recovery in litigation or trial.

Protect Your Rights Immediately

We are truck accident lawyers that will fight for your cause and retain investigators and experts to immediately go to the scene and inspect the vehicles to hold the company accountable for their actions

Commercial Truck and Bus Cases Are Complicated

Truck accident investigations involve special equipment and investigators to download the engine data and on-board computer satellite systems which tell the speed and location of the truck. Our investigation team will lock down all of that information as well as police documentation, witness statements, photographs, videos and other value evidence which will help you win your case

Commercial Trucks and Buses Cause a Lot of Accidents

We are experienced in litigating the numerous kinds of reasons trucks cause accidents including drowsy driving, distracted driving, inadequate training, unsecured cargo, aggressive driving schedules, inverted driving schedules, night driving, circadian rhythms and poor road conditions. Sometimes commercial transportation companies let drivers drive that have a history of accidents and even criminal conduct

Internal Organ Injuries-Internal Bleeding

We have decades of experience suing insurance companies that refuse to pay insurance claims in good faith or refuse to provide coverage to their insureds under certain claim conditions. We handle everything from homeowner’s claims from a leaky roof to coverage litigation over catastrophic accident ligation in the context of truck and vehicle accidents and, warehouse accidents, among others. We understand the philosophy of the insurance companies and beat them at their own game in representing our clients in these cases.

 

Automobile Policies

Often times insurers will deny coverage in an automobile accident for the wrong reason or simply refuse to acknowledge the claim. We have extensive experience holding insurers responsible for their obligations under the Insurance Code and Bad Faith Principles

Uninsured-Underinsured Motorists Claims

When you are involved in an accident but the other driver does not have insurance or has only limited insurance, we have decades of experience at collecting UM/UIM insurance from your own insurance carrier to make sure your damages are covered, including property damages, medical bills and lost wages

Commercial Policies

In commercial truck, vehicle or premises accidents often the responsible parties have “towers’ of insurance that need to be exposed and attached to make sure that all insurance carriers involved are aware of the accident and involved in the litigation, claim and settlement process. We have decades of experience litigating commercial and excess insurers for coverages and liability for commercial vehicle and premises accidents including bad faith litigation in commercial and excess policies

Bad Faith Cases

Insurance companies sometimes refuse to acknowledge and perform their obligations in cases involving residential accidents involving falls, burns, dog bites, drowning and swimming pool accidents and other accidents and damages that can happen in a home or around the house. We are fully experienced in how to handle these cases and require the insurer to assume coverage under the policies and pay the claim or face bad faith consequences under the Insurance Code

Product Liability Litigation

Over the years, we have handled and tried to verdict almost every kind of product defect case imaginable. With respect to automobile defects, we have litigated and tried cases involving enhanced catastrophic injuries (commonly referred to as crashworthiness cases) from defects related to automobile seat backs, seat belts, SRS (Supplemental Restraint Systems) or airbags, door latches, roof crushes, laminated glass windows, gas tanks explosions in frontal, side-impact, rear-end and rollover collisions at high and low speed. We have also handled utility trailer cases involving weight ratio claims against manufacturers of cargo trailers, tow dollies, and rental trucks. We have litigated guard cases in conveyors belts, wood chippers and drill presses among other plant machinery. We have litigated defects in the household and commercial step stools, ladders and other climbing devices, as well as defects in commercial truck batteries and tire tread separation cases to name a few. These cases require decades of experience, specialized and expensive experts, including extensive crash testing of products to prove our case. Litigating these cases can take years and require hundreds of thousands of dollars in expert fees and costs before reaching trial and we are one of the few firms that actually handles these matters through trial and verdict. You do not have to pay anything until we win your case

Single Vehicle Crashes and Rollovers

These cases are referred to as “crashworthiness” cases and are complex and expensive to litigate, and often involve serious injury, paralysis, brain damage and death, but we have decades of experience handling cases against car and truck manufacturers and dealers. These cases usually involve defective accelerators, brakes, airbags, seatbelts, seatbacks and on-board computer systems, including self-driving cars. We utilize the best accident investigators, demonstrative evidence and expert witnesses to prove these difficult cases to a jury

Explosions

We handle cases involving battery explosions, tank explosions and chemical spills which injure, maim and kill people. We have decades of experience holding companies and manufacturers responsible for code violations and negligence that leads to these devastating accidents

Consumer Defects

Everyday household items such as kitchen appliances, ladders, irons, blenders, machines and even children’s toys all can have defects that cause unexpected and devastating injuries. We know exactly how to handle these unexpected injuries and cases to hold the manufacturer, distributor, installer, retailer and marketer responsible for the damages, which often involve burns, choking, falls and death

Warnings Cases

Product manufacturers and business have a duty to warn of a potentially dangerous products or services, such as hotels who have dangerous and unsupervised swimming pools or defective shower glass. But these warning principles apply to every retailer, business, office building, apartment complex, store and mall for any good or service that causes harm

Motorcycle, Bicycle & Bird Scooter Accidents

Motorcycle accidents are a specialty unto themselves. These machines are of course unique and the operating rights of motorcycles are by enlarge ignored on the highway by other motorists. We have special
experience in litigating and trying motorcycles cases in accidents involving lane splitting, sideswipe and intersectional accidents. We use experts in motorcycle operation and technology as well as human factors experts on the requirement of other drivers to visualize and detect the presence of motorcycles. The reality is that most drivers do not know the rights of motorcycles on the road and do not know where to expect them on the highway, resulting in serious accidents. The same is true of bicycles and bird scooters, they have very special rules of the road and most drivers do not understand or respect the rights of non-motorized vehicles such as bicycles and bird scooters, bike lanes and other designated areas for their operation. For example, bicycles and bird scooters are required by law to operate according to the rules ofthe road, observe traffic lights and streets signs and are not considered pedestrians that can operate on the sidewalks and rely on pedestrian crossing signals. We understand those unique rules and know how to effectively educate juries in their application. Not surprisingly, jurors are by nature prejudiced against motorcycles, bicycles, bird scooters, and other non-motorized vehicles and we have experience in confronting those prejudices with jurors in voir dire resulting in a jury that is fair and willing to significantly compensate victims of motorcycle, bicycle and bird scooter accidents, which generally result in seriousinjury or death.

Motorcycle Accidents Cause Severe Injury

We are very experienced in handling motorcycle cases, which are unique kinds of cases. Motorcycle accidents often cause paralysis, broken bones, and death, which is why are called “donor cycles” in emergency rooms. Inattentive divers do not respect motorcycles on the road and do not recognize the legal ability of motorcycles to lane-split. We will protect you in any motorcycle accident case and we will retain specialized experts in the area of motorcycle law and handling to help you win your case

Bicycle Accidents Are Complex

We are experienced in accidents involving bicycles, which can also cause very serious injury or death. Bicycles in California are required to obey traffic signals not pedestrian signals and are required to be ridden on the road or the bike lane and not on the sidewalks. We are well versed in litigating serious bicycle accident claims and know all of the rules to protect your rights and obtain significant jury awards in these catastrophic accidents

Bird Scooter Accidents

Although bird scooters are a relatively new phenomenon, they are involved in a lot of accidents, because drivers are not aware of them, do not respect them, do not see them and do not account for them. We understand the bird scooter technology and have a team of investigators and experts ready to investigate and help you win your bird scooter accident