Maison Law represents people who are hurt while enjoying the Oceano Dunes in San Luis Obispo County. It’s a place where off-highway vehicles (OHV) are allowed on the beach. This freedom can lead to accidents and serious injuries. If a careless driver hurts you or a loved one, contact our personal injury lawyers to schedule a free consultation. It’s a no-risk way to find out what your case is worth and how to hold at-fault drivers accountable.
Do I Need a Lawyer After Suffering an Injury at Oceano Dunes?
If you suffer serious injuries due to someone’s careless mistake on the beach, you should speak to a skilled Pismo Beach Personal Injury Lawyer about your options. Drivers may have vehicle insurance or homeowners insurance in place to help victims if an accident occurs.
Unfortunately, insurance companies sometimes decide to fight accountability when medical bills will be high over something like a broken bone or a head injury. Insurance adjusters can try to blame you for what happened. They may question how badly you are hurt and offer you far less than you need to pay for a full recovery.
Your Maison Law representative serves as a defense against these tactics. Your lawyer fully investigates the accident and the records of those at fault. Your lawyer collects all evidence available. Then your attorney demands the most for your injury on your behalf.
Accident Dangers on Oceano Dunes
Oceano Dunes State Vehicle Recreation Area at Pismo State Beach is a beautiful and unique place along the California coastline. Beachgoers can enjoy the sand, sun, and surf. Thrill-seekers can also bring their Off Highway Vehicles and travel and race up and down the dunes or simply haul the family out to the water’s edge.
It’s the only place in Central California where you can drive on the beach. Some people love the options available at Oceano Dunes, but this freedom can come with additional dangers not seen at other beaches.
When riders on ATVs and Dune Buggies get careless they put the occupants of other vehicles at risk. They also expose defenseless pedestrians and sunbathers to extreme danger.
These are just a few of the ways you or someone you love could be involved in an Oceano Dunes traffic accident:
- Vehicle vs vehicle collisions. You may be driving your rig on the beach and get hit by someone else driving carelessly.
- Pedestrian Accidents. You or your loved ones may be strolling the beach on foot when you are struck by a reckless driver.
- Struck While Lying on the Beach. Reckless drivers may lose control and run you over while your family is lying on the beach.
- Child Driver. A child may be allowed behind the wheel of a dangerous vehicle and cause a collision.
- Disabled Person Struck. A disabled person might be struck by an ATV while trying to enjoy this accessible beach.
- Maintenance and Breakdown Accidents. A lack of proper maintenance on an OHV may cause it to veer out of control to strike someone.
- Other Beach Accidents. People don’t have to be in vehicles to put your family at risk. A dog on the loose may bite you or a loved one on Pismo Beach. A negligent beachgoer may start a fire that endangers you or a loved one. A reckless swimmer, surfer, or boater could put your child at risk of drowning.
Your injuries may require more care than just a single trip to the emergency room. Victims can suffer long-term injuries requiring surgery and physical therapy. A skilled attorney can make sure victims and their families get the support they need to recover physically, emotionally, and financially.
Our compassionate attorneys can also act on behalf of family members who have lost a loved one to a deadly accident on the beach. We can file wrongful death claims to see that those left behind are taken care of financially in the years ahead.
What Vehicles Are Allowed on Oceano Dunes State Beach?
Off-Highway Vehicles (OHV) are motorized land vehicles mostly used for recreation purposes. As the name suggests, an OHV is usually not legal to operate on public highways, streets, or roads.
An OHV is instead driven on public or private authorized trails, beaches, open fields, or in the desert.
These are some of the vehicles you may see on the dunes at Pismo Beach:
- All-terrain vehicles (ATVs)
- Off-road motorcycles (dirt bikes)
- Dune Buggies
- 4-wheel Drive Vehicles (E.g., Jeeps and Trucks)
The California State Parks Department explains that speed limits on Oceano Dunes are to be kept to 15 mph and under. Unfortunately, those who are reckless or remain ignorant of these rules will go much faster and put everyone on the beach at risk of a personal injury accident.
For more information, you can visit our page that covers California ATV Laws and how to get support after an ATV accident.
Compensation Available for Oceano Dunes Accident Victims
After an accident at the beach, you’ll be asking for full compensation for several factors. And if family members have been hurt and can’t act on their own behalf, you may have to file injury claims for them. Your personal injury lawyer can act in the best interest of families from San Luis Obispo County and across California who may have been hurt at Pismo State Beach.
Every hardship you and your family face must be clearly listed in an accident claim. Anything left off can end up as a bill you’d have to pay out of your own savings. That’s unacceptable after someone else’s mistake caused you to suffer pain and left you in medical debt.
A skilled Oceano Dunes Personal Injury Lawyer would make sure every damage you’ve endured receives consideration when negotiating the size of an accident settlement check. Your lawyer would also seek support for things you may not have known could earn compensation.
- All current medical expenses and the cost of care expected to be needed in the future.
- Physical pain and emotional trauma in the accident and during recovery.
- Compensation for a loss of enjoyment of life.
- Compensation for a loss of consortium (the loss of intimacy with a spouse).
- Travel costs getting to and from doctor’s visits and surgery consultations.
- Car repairs or replacement.
- Past and future lost earnings and benefits.
- Wrongful death benefits. Families who have lost a close relative can file a wrongful death claim to receive support with burial expenses. They’ll also seek help with making up the income the victim can no longer support their loved ones with in the years ahead.
Contact a Pismo Beach Accident Attorney
After getting injured in an accident on Oceano Beach, talk to a skilled attorney before speaking with any insurance representative. We offer free consultations and case reviews to all victims and their families. Tell us what happened and how your injury has affected your life. We can answer your questions too.
We’ll help you determine what your case is worth and who should be held responsible. Our objective will be to obtain the highest settlement or award possible so that you can rebuild your life. There’s no obligation for your case review, but if you feel we can earn you more, you won’t need any upfront money to hire us. We don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the money an insurance company is forced to provide to your family.
