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.

Details
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

Details
Car Accident

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…

Details
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.

Details
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.

Details
Car Accident

Bringing a Lawsuit for a Defective Airbag

Airbags have made headlines recently, and not for the reasons one might hope. Instead of protecting drivers and passengers, some airbags have been causing injuries, ranging from burns to eye injuries and, unfortunately, death. If you or a loved one was injured in a car accident and your injuries were worsened by a defective airbag, contact an experienced Woodland Hills personal injury lawyer. An airbag, which is likely located in either the steering wheel or in a panel on the dashboard, is connected to a crash sensor.  The sensor works by deploying at the moment the car gets into a severe crash (which usually means a head-on or near head-on collision with speeds ranging from 8 to 14 miles per hour).

Airbag Malfunction

When airbags deploy, they burst out of the dashboard at speeds topping 100 miles per hour.  The airbags can be hot, dusty, and covered in chemicals.  The airbag deploys in about 1/20th of a second, meaning the average person has very little time to react.  If you are injured when an airbag deploys, you may have a claim for damages.

Details
Car Accident