Auto Accident Attorneys

An auto accident is a jarring experience, but taking the right steps immediately can make all the difference for your health and your legal claim. Here’s what to do after a car accident in California:

Taking these steps after a car accident will safeguard your well-being and strengthen any future claim you pursue.

It’s a difficult time, but you don’t have to go through it alone – help is available.

You might be wondering if you really need a lawyer after a car accident. Couldn’t you just handle the insurance claim yourself? It may be tempting to deal directly with insurance companies, but there are important reasons why hiring a car accident attorney is highly beneficial for injury victims. Insurance companies deal with claims every day, and unfortunately, their goal is often to pay out as little as possible – even if that means you don’t get fully compensated.

Having a skilled personal injury lawyer on your side evens the playing field and greatly increases your chances of a full and fair settlement. It’s one of the best decisions you can make after an auto accident to protect yourself and your family’s future.

At Golden Coast Trial Attorneys, we understand that each legal issue requires a distinct approach and strategy. Whether you are facing personal injury, employment disputes, consumer rights issues, or real estate matters, our experienced team is dedicated to providing the guidance and representation you need to achieve the best possible outcomes. Connect with us for more information and legal expertise.

Accidents can happen anywhere: busy intersections, highways (like the I-5 or 101), winding mountain roads, parking lots, or even quiet residential streets. Each environment poses its own risks – for instance, intersections see a lot of T-bones, highways see high-speed rear-ends or sideswipes, and parking lots witness low-speed bumps. No matter where or how your car crash happened, Golden Coast Trial Attorneys can help. It’s important not to assume you have no case even if you think you were partially at fault. California follows a pure comparative negligence rule, which means you can still recover damages even if you were up to 99% at fault for an accident. In other words, even if you made a mistake, you may still be entitled to compensation for the portion of the blame the other party bears. Our attorneys will analyze the facts, determine all contributing factors, and fight for your rights – even in accidents where liability isn’t black-and-white.

Interesting Fact: Certain regions in California consistently see more accidents. Major urban centers like Los Angeles and San Diego have some of the highest accident frequencies in the state (unsurprising given their dense traffic). Additionally, specific factors remain a concern – for example, a significant percentage of accidents involve speeding, and a substantial number of fatal crashes (nearly 30%) involve an impaired driver (DUI). California has implemented many safety measures, from anti-DUI campaigns to improved road engineering, but accidents remain a daily reality.

California’s roadways see hundreds of accidents every single day. In fact, this state – home to nearly 39 million people and over 28 million registered vehicles – has more vehicles on the road than any other state. With so many drivers, it’s not surprising that there are roughly 680 crashes per day on average in California. These collisions range from minor fender-benders to major multi-car wrecks, and they collectively impact thousands of lives daily.

To put things in perspective, California consistently has one of the highest total numbers of traffic accidents and fatalities among all U.S. states. In 2022, there were 4,428 traffic fatalities in California (a slight decrease from 4,513 in 2021). That means on average, tragically, over 12 people lose their lives every day in California car crashes. Tens of thousands more suffer injuries each year. While vehicles today are safer than decades ago (thanks to innovations like seat belts, airbags, and improved vehicle design), the sheer volume of traffic in California – along with modern hazards like smartphone distraction – keeps the number of accidents alarmingly high.

Historical trends: Over the long term, fatal accident rates per mile driven have actually improved (drivers in the 2020s are statistically safer than in the 1970s, for example), largely due to better safety technology and public awareness. However, recent years have seen new challenges. During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns of 2020, California saw a notable drop in car accidents – about a 25% decrease in total crashes from 2019 to 2020 due to fewer vehicles on the road. But when normal traffic resumed, collisions surged again – there was roughly a 19.6% increase in crashes from 2020 to 2021 as commuters returned and roads filled back up. This rebound in accidents erased the temporary safety gains and even overshot previous levels in some areas.

Overall, these statistics and historical trends underscore why it’s so important to know what to do after a crash and to have experienced legal guidance. With thousands of crashes a year in California, Golden Coast Trial Attorneys has the background and context to understand any accident scenario. We stay up-to-date on traffic safety data and use that knowledge to advocate for our clients’ rights.

Car accidents can cause a wide range of injuries – from minor aches that heal in days to catastrophic injuries that change a victim’s life forever.

Below are some of the most common injuries our Clients from California experience in their car accidents.

If you’ve been hurt in a car accident due to someone else’s negligence, you have the right to seek financial compensation (damages) for your losses. But how exactly is accident compensation calculated?

Calculating these damages accurately is a complex process, and that’s where our expertise comes in. Golden Coast Trial Attorneys, PC will thoroughly assess every impact the accident has had on your life. We collect medical records and bills, speak with your doctors about future prognosis, gather proof of income and missed work, and even talk with you and your family about the less tangible ways the injury has affected you. Our attorneys use legal tools and experience to make sure nothing is overlooked – we often utilize insights from past jury verdicts and settlements for similar injuries to determine a fair range for pain and suffering. We may bring in economists or life-care planning experts for complex injuries to pinpoint future costs. Our goal is to present a compelling, evidence-backed demand to the insurance company (or to a jury, if we go to trial) that fully and fairly values your entire loss.

(Calculating Vehicle Accident Compensation)

Insurance companies, as mentioned, will often start with a low offer, hoping you’ll settle cheap. But with our team on your side, we’ll negotiate firmly for full compensation. If the insurer won’t budge, we are prepared to take the case to court and let a jury decide. Our track record includes numerous successful settlements and verdicts because we refuse to let clients be short-changed. When we say “full and fair value,” we mean accounting for everything – your past, present, and future losses – so you have the financial support needed to recover and move forward after an accident.

We are not intimidated because we’ve been on that side. Now our only mission is to use that insider knowledge to benefit you, the injured person seeking justice. We take pride in being shrewd negotiators and formidable trial attorneys who won’t back down. The defense knows that we know their tricks, which often leads them to offer a fair settlement rather than face us in court.

One of the unique advantages of working with Golden Coast Trial Attorneys, PC is our team’s inside knowledge of how insurance companies and big corporations defend against injury claims. Our firm includes attorneys who previously worked as insurance defense lawyers – the very lawyers hired by insurance companies to minimize payouts – as well as attorneys with backgrounds defending corporate clients. We’ve since switched sides to fight for the injured victims, but we carry with us invaluable insight from our defense days.

Why does this matter to you? Because we know the playbook that insurance companies use. We’ve been in their shoes, so we understand their strategies from the inside out. For example, having worked on the defense side, we know the subtle ways an insurer might try to pin fault on the victim or downplay an injury. We know the common arguments they make to a jury to reduce damages. We’re familiar with the internal value calculators and “settlement authority” limits insurance adjusters use behind closed doors. This means we can often anticipate the next move from the defense and counter it before it gains traction.

Our former defense attorneys will, for instance, prepare your case in a way that neutralizes typical insurance arguments. If we know the insurance company might claim your injury was pre-existing, we’ll gather clear medical evidence to prove how the accident directly caused your condition or aggravated any older injury. If we expect they’ll argue you were partially at fault, we’ll be ready with accident reconstruction, witness statements, or expert testimony to solidify liability against the true at-fault party. Essentially, we build your case with the insurance company’s perspective in mind, strengthening every angle so their usual tactics don’t work. Furthermore, our team’s experience in corporate defense means we’re very comfortable handling complex, high-stakes litigation. Big insurance companies and corporations have deep pockets and aggressive lawyers – but so do we.

When hiring a Golden Coast Trial Attorneys, you’re gaining a team with a 360-degree view of the legal battlefield. We bring the full weight of our experience – both plaintiff and defense – to maximize your advantage. It’s like having a guide who not only knows the road ahead, but also knows all the shortcuts and potential roadblocks along the way.