Car Accident Compensation Laws in California
There are a great many benefits to living in the Los Angeles area. There is almost unlimited fair weather, beautiful beaches, movie premieres, and access to as many oranges as a person could conceivably eat. Sadly, living in such a crowded area also has its disadvantages. The population density of Los Angeles, coupled with a major shortage of any form of suitable public transportation, has produced the home of what is quite literally some of the worst traffic in the entire country. According to statistics that have been compiled and reviewed by Inrix Global Traffic Scorecard in 2017, the city of Los Angeles, California, topped São Paulo, Brazil, New York City, New York, and Moscow, Russia, for the most notorious traffic anywhere in the entire world. With all of the buses, cars, vans, trucks, and cabs jamming up every freeway, highway, throughway, byway and side street, it’s no great surprise that Los Angeles also heads the United States in its annual number of traffic accidents. Anybody who intends to drive a car in California would most likely benefit from familiarizing themselves by learning a little bit about accident compensation laws in California.
Basic Negligence Rules
California is one of the many states that have at-fault insurance policies. As the name itself suggests, if you are attempting to seek any financial compensation following a car crash, you have to be able to prove that it was the driver of the other vehicle who was really at fault. The state of California also practices “comparative negligence,” which is when a judge has the capability to dole out liability for the accident according to a percentage of blame that he will assign to each individual driver. For instance, if a driver sustains $10,000 worth of loss in a car crash in which they were assigned absolutely no fault, then the court would probably find in favor of that driver and he would be awarded the full $10,000. If that driver, however, was determined to be at fault for 20% the collision, then the highest amount of financial compensation that that driver would be awarded, irrespective of their personal losses, would be $8,000. That is the original $10,000 claim, minus the 20% for which the driver was held liable. Choosing an experienced and reputable Los Angeles car accident attorney can do a lot to improve your chances of showing a judge that you were not the driver at fault and, as a result, collecting the compensation to which you are entitled.
Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations is a legally enforceable deadline for filing your car accident claim with the appropriate court. The statute of limitations varies from claim to claim and person to person. If either party involved in the accident endeavors to file a claim once the statute of limitations has expired, then their case will be most probably be thrown out and nothing further will be able to be done about it. The different limitations as they apply to California drivers are:
- Two years for personal injury claims;
- Three years for property damage claims; and
- Six months for any claims against the state of California.
An enormous amount of preparation and planning are required to pull a successful lawsuit together. It is a process that is very time-consuming, which is the exact reason why you need to get in touch with a Los Angeles car accident attorney as soon as you are able to, following your accident. A capable car accident attorney will also ensure that your claim is handled promptly and accurately so that it will not fall through the cracks or, worse yet, get thrown out altogether.
If you or someone that you love have been injured in a car accident, it is imperative that you do not waste time in starting your claim. We here at the Los Angeles Injury Group would like to give you a free consultation regarding your case and discuss what we are able to do for you. Please, give us a call at (310) 954-7248 today.