Common Causes of Bicycle Accidents & How to Avoid Them

As the weather in the San Fernando Valley continues to get warmer, and the days get longer, more and more locals are taking to their bikes to get around. Bicycling can be a great form of exercise and, for the eco-friendly, an ideal form of transportation. So what happens when you, or you and your family, are on a leisurely bike ride and an out of control or negligent driver careens into you? Do you have legal rights? Can you recover financial compensation for your injuries?

Bicyclists accidents and injuries

Each year, cyclists are involved in auto accidents with cars and trucks and suffer from serious injuries. Recent statistics indicate that these bicycle accidents are most often the fault of the automobile driver. Whether it is a result of motorists simply not paying attention for bicyclists as carefully as they should or texting and driving or simply a disregard for a cyclist’s life, cycling accidents in the San Fernando Valley are increasingly common.

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Bike Accident

When Is It Necessary to Hire An Auto Accident Lawyer?

If you have lived in the San Fernando Valley long enough, you have probably been involved in or witnessed an auto accident. If it was what you considered to be a “minor” car accident, you probably figured you didn’t need a lawyer, that you could work it out with the insurance companies. After all, your insurance company is on your side, right? Wrong.

Many people work under the assumption that their insurance company will treat them fairly and have their best interests at heart. So when their insurance company tells the accident victim that they would like to settle the matter and offer a number, the person thinks “this must be what my injuries and property damage were worth.” While that may sometimes be the case, and indeed, you may be able to represent yourself in a car accident claim (click here to learn more about self-representation), it is often not the case.

Just because your own insurance adjuster tells you that you do not need a lawyer does not make it true. Before signing a full and final release in exchange for a settlement offer, make sure that you have obtained the full and rightful financial recovery that you deserve. Even when you think you were hardly injured, it is best to seek an opinion as many injuries pop up down the road, known as later injuries, and can have long-term side effects.

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Car Accident
Apr142015

Auto Accidents and Double Yellow Lines: What’s the Connection?

California law prohibits driving to the left of, or essentially crossing, double yellow lines.  These lines symbolize a no-passing restriction or no-passing zone.  If a law enforcement officer catches a driver crossing over double yellow lines, the driver will receive a ticket and a hefty fine.  If a driver who has crossed the double yellow lines gets into an auto accident, the consequences may be much more severe.  The driver could be liable for all of the damage caused to the victims, due to the deliberate act of crossing the yellow lines.

Auto Accidents Caused by Crossing Over Double Yellow Lines

If you were injured a car accident in the San Fernando Valley because the other driver illegally crossed over double yellow lines, you may want to reach out to an experienced auto accident lawyer to discuss your legal rights and potential for financial recovery. Often times, the at-fault driver will try to raise defenses and make justifications for why he/she crossed over the lines, thereby challenging your claim. Defenses include trying to avoid a head-on collision, sun in their eyes, and more. Having a savvy personal injury lawyer on your side will help you fight these defenses and obtain the financial compensation you deserve.

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Car Accident

Do Tinted Windows Cause Car Accidents?

Putting a window tint on the windows of your car may seem like a smart move to beat the summer heat in the San Fernando Valley.  Window tinting is not necessarily illegal, but it can be confusing because two sets of laws regulate tinting.  Furthermore, tinting can lead to car accidents as it can drastically reduce visibility.  In fact, some law enforcement officials have described driving a car with heavily tinted windows as akin to driving with sunglasses at night.  If you are in an auto accident that you believe was caused by the other driver’s tinted windows, be sure to take pictures of the car and the scene before the evidence is removed or destroyed. Indeed, whether the windows were tinted could become an important part of the theory of liability that your experienced personal injury attorney uses to help you recover financial damages for your injury.

Window Tinting and Car Accidents

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Car Accident
Apr82015

Another Reason to Increase Your Uninsured Motorist Coverage–Latest Report Shows 4.2 million Californians — or one in six drivers —Have Suspended Licenses!

Woodland Hills Personal Injury Lawyer Barry P. Goldberg has long been a leading advocate of Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage.  Most of Mr. Goldberg’s advocacy focuses on the fact that “unlicensed” drivers have reached alarming rates in California markedly increasing the chances that your traffic collision will be “uninsured.” The California legislature estimated the “unlicensed” driving population…

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Car Accident, Personal Injury, Uninsured Motorist

Auto Accidents in Construction Zones

Accidents involving motorists in highway construction zones are more common than one might think.  In fact, 88,000 auto accidents took place in construction zones in 2010, according to the latest findings from the U.S. Department of Transportation. California is among the top four states for fatal car accidents in or near road construction zones, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Construction Site Car Accident Injuries

Common injuries from highway accidents may include back injuries, such as herniated disc fractures, spinal cord injuries (which may result in paralysis) and traumatic brain injury.  Facial injuries, such as lacerations and trauma, broken bones, and aggravation of a prior injury are also possible.

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Car Accident

When Blind Spots Cause Auto Accidents

Even if you think you can easily change lanes while driving, auto accidents often occur when another vehicle is in a driver’s “blind spot.”  For instance, a driver may signal and begin changing lanes — without realizing another driver is already in the lane.  That second driver may panic, swerve off the road, and be seriously injured.

What is a Blind Spot

The blind spot is any area around the car that cannot be observed in rear view mirrors or side mirrors.  Blind spots can easily hide a cyclist or another vehicle; indeed, by the time a driver realizes he or she cannot safely change lanes, it may be too late.  Understanding a car’s blind spots can help a driver avoid serious auto and truck accidents, and at the same time, prepare the driver to avoid being in someone else’s blind spot.

Blind spots generally extend out and backwards from the front car windows, into the lanes on either side of the driver.  Some drivers choose to attach to their vehicles wide angle mirrors that offer the driver a wider angle for side and rear observation.  Drivers of certain vehicles, such as motorcycles, have modified visibility due to their own physical limitations of how much they can turn their heads.

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Car Accident