Many individuals drive each day merely minding their own business. They tend to use their signals when turning and always look carefully when merging. Some others, however, do not adhere to these rules and instead get in accidents. A common type of accident is a sideswipe. Although it is sometimes a benign accident that merely damages vehicles, it can also be greatly impactful and cause injuries if the cars lose control and crash. You should be sure to pursue legal help if you were involved in a sideswipe accident and you suffered physical injuries. Our experienced team of attorneys at the Downtown LA Law Group in Los Angeles can help you with your case. We are willing to do all it takes to secure you a fair settlement, and we will not stop until you are satisfied with the result.

Sideswipe Accident Information

A sideswipe accident can occur anywhere on the road, but they are most common on freeways and at intersections. Drivers who negligently change lanes may scrape against your car and hit your tire, causing you to lose control. All too often, these accidents lead to severe crashes; the driver may try to swerve out of the way or may not be able to regain control of his car after it’s been hit. The crashes can result in severe injuries and damages to numerous parties. A sideswipe accident can be caused by someone not checking his blind spot, merging into another lane when someone else is merging from the other side, merging onto the freeway without speeding up or slowing down to match traffic, and much more. Certain individuals may be negligent and look at their phones while driving, or they may be speeding and unable to stop in time. Others even go so far as to drive while inebriated, which can alter perception and make it hard to gauge distance and speed.

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The simple act of a sideswipe can just as easily scrape some paint off the doors as it can cause a devastating crash. You should not take such potential accidents lightly and always be aware of your surroundings; if someone is getting too close to the side of your car, you can speed up or slow down to provide room. Defensive driving is important, but if you do get hit, you should contact a lawyer at our firm for the next step.

Proving the Negligence of a Driver

To prove that an individual was negligent, you must be able to show that he owed you a duty of care that was breached, which led to an accident that caused you to get hurt. If you can show that each part of the chain occurred and led to the next, you are in good shape for your claim. Some key points to remember, though, include the breach itself and the presence of injuries. If the driver did not breach the duty and an accident occurred because of your own negligence, you likely won’t be able to receive any compensation, or you may receive a lessened amount if you both could be blamed. Further, if you weren’t hurt in the crash, you will not be able to seek damages for personal injuries. You may be confused as to how to proceed to file such a claim and to prove the negligence of another party. Fortunately, our team of attorneys can help you.

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Potential Damages from a Sideswipe

Sideswipe accidents can run you off the road and cause you to crash into other vehicles, road hazards, light poles, telephone poles, buildings, and more. Even a slight nudge could make you lose control of your car and crash. Some of the injuries you could sustain include:

• Broken bones
• Nerve damage
• Concussions
• Fractures
• Closed head injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Muscle damage
• Dislocations
• Neck and Spinal cord injury
• Disc injuries
• Neck pain
• Whiplash
• Crushing injuries
• Severed limbs
• Coma
• Paralysis
• Death

You should not take your injuries lightly. Contact the paramedics immediately and reach out to an attorney who can help secure you the compensation you deserve for such damages.

Procedure after a Sideswipe Accident

You should follow a set procedure after sustaining injuries in a sideswipe accident. These steps are meant to help you have the best chance of successfully winning your lawsuit and to keep you protected under the law. You should make sure that you do the following:

• Acquire medical attention: If you were hurt, you should call the paramedics immediately to get treated. The paramedics can treat you at the scene or transport you to the hospital to receive urgent care or emergency care. It is important that you get medical attention as quickly as possible, even if you feel you were not injured in the car crash. Some injuries may not show up immediately and will take a few days before they begin to hurt, once the adrenaline has worn off and you can pay closer attention to your body. Waiting too long to go to the doctor can harm your case, as the insurance agent may claim that you were injured elsewhere, thus explaining the long gap between the injury and the visit.
• Take photos: You should always take photos of everything possible, from your injuries to the scene of the accident to the damage of your car to the personal details of the responsible driver. These pictures can showcase the extent of the damages you suffered.
• Write down information: You should take down the name, contact number, driver’s license number, license plate number, and insurance details of the individual who hit you so you can file a claim with the correct insurance company. If you do not have this information, you may not be able to collect any compensation at all.
• Contact the police: The cops will generally come if the accident involved an injury of some kind or if the crash were particularly devastating. You can ask the cops to give you a copy of the police report once it’s been completed, or you can request a copy from the local department.
• Call an attorney: Many people elect to try to and pursue legal action by themselves with no assistance from an attorney. This is not recommended. We will help you through the entire legal process starting from the time the accident happens if you call our firm.

Once you have received treatment and gathered evidence, our lawyers can submit the evidence package to the insurance agency and demand compensation.

Benefits of Hiring an Attorney

There are numerous benefits to hiring an attorney to handle your claim. Chief among them is the amount of time it gives you to recover from your injuries. You should not over exert yourself if you were hurt in a car accident, and continuously traveling to meet with insurance agents or having to undergo such stress can make the healing process that much longer. Our team of lawyers can represent you. We will negotiate the best deal form the attorneys and make sure that your claim is handled efficiently and fairly. Some attorneys will try to rush through claims or else misrepresent their clients, but our track record proves that we are a dedicated group and place you first. You should always search for an attorney that cares about your wellbeing, and there is no better choice than those of us at the Downtown LA Law Group.

Your Case Value

Your case’s value is determined by an insurance agent who receives the claim. He will look at the damages you suffered physically and use them as the primary factor. The extent of the damages and how severe they were can greatly increase the value of your case, as well as whether or not they had a profound impact on your daily life and career. If you were unable to work or if your future job opportunities are compromised because of the injuries, you stand to gain much more from a claim than if you healed up within a few weeks. Many times, individuals call us requesting second opinions because they do not feel as though they are receiving the appropriate offers from agents or their attorneys. We will tell you if we feel that your case has a higher value than what your attorney is telling you. The main reason for this lies with bad attorneys: some try to hurry cases along and purposely settle for low amounts so they can receive their share and move on to the next case. In these situations, the lawyer and the insurance company both win, and you suffer the brunt of the loss. Call our law group and we will tell you how much we believe your case is worth.

Statute of Limitations for Your Claim

Personal injury lawsuits can only be filed up to two years after the injury has occurred. If you do not file a claim within this time period, you will not be able to receive any compensation at any point in time for your damages. It can be difficult to remember the exact day of the injury and how much time you have left, and we recommend hiring a skilled lawyer to help you file your documents and get all of your evidence submitted on time. You may be eligible for the statute of limitations to be tolled, or temporarily suspended. This extension of the deadline can occur in various ways; most commonly, it is because you were underage at the time of the accident, in which case the time limit would begin counting down on your 18th birthday. A severe injury may also have impaired your mind or body and left you unable to pursue legal help; the statute, therefore, would begin when you returned to functioning health.

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The defendant can also alter the time limit of the case. If he left the state and resided elsewhere in an attempt to outlast the statute of limitations, he would not be successful, as the time limit does not count down while he is not present in the state. Once he returned, the deadline would begin. If you have questions, you can contact our lawyers at Downtown LA Law Group to learn more.

Compensation for Damages from a Sideswipe Accident

If you have been injured in a sideswipe collision, you can collect various types of compensation for your damages. A personal injury lawsuit allows you to collect both economic and non-economic damages from the responsible party. With the help of our attorneys, you can receive coverage for expenses that have numerical amounts and those that don’t. We can assist you in receiving the maximum compensation available under the law, including coverage for: – Medical expenses, such as surgery costs, medication fees, hospitalization bills, ambulatory transportation, physical therapy expenses, and future medical procedures – Lost wages, as well as any additional lost income that you will suffer because of future medical treatments or time needed to recover – Property damage to your vehicle or personal belongings that were harmed, broken, or lost in the accident – Pain and suffering, or emotional damages, such as PTSD, anxiety, fear, psychological stress, and more – Punitive damages, which are handed out in times of gross negligence or when the responsible party attempts to cause harm on purpose; however, these damages are difficult to win, and only a talented lawyer will be able to secure them for your case – Wrongful death expenses in the event that a family member or loved one passes away as a result of the crash; these damages include pre-death medical bills, pre-death pain and suffering, funeral and burial expenses, loss of expected savings, loss of inheritance, loss of consortium, and more You should not be expected to have to pay for the expenses that accrued after an accident if you were sideswiped by another car. The negligent driver should be held responsible for your costs.

Our Firm’s Promise

Downtown LA Law Group in Los Angeles promises to do everything we can to bring you the maximum compensation available under the law. We will aggressively hunt for your fair settlement, and if we need to take your case to court to prove that your rights were violated and that you deserve a hefty settlement, we will do so. We will work hard to provide the judge and jury with the necessary evidence. You are our highest priority, and we dedicate ourselves to helping you. We will always be transparent and honest with you, and ensuring that you are safe and healthy during the case is equally as important. Call us today at (855) 339-8879 to set up a free legal consultation with one of our skilled lawyers. We are available around the clock and will gladly tell you what you need to know about your case, including its value, the potential of winning, and how long it may take. We will answer all of your questions. Further, we will give you our zero fee guarantee, which promises that you won’t have to pay any out of pocket expenses for our services – we will not get paid unless and until we win, and the money will come from the settlement we bring you. To learn more and to get started, give us a call at (855) 339-8879: the Downtown LA Law Group. We will help you sort out your sideswipe accident lawsuit and represent you against the insurance agency.