Clovis residents wake up each day to head off to work, to gear up the kids for school, or to run errands down Herndon Street or perhaps Bullard Avenue. Commutes and road trips to soccer games require hitting local roads that can be quite busy at certain times of the day.
Those most popular Clovis routes will carry their share of careless drivers who can make crazy decisions that put you at risk of a scary car accident. In the seconds it takes for an impact to occur, you may be left with a serious injury. In the weeks to come, you may be facing a pile of doctor’s bills while also missing out on valuable paychecks at work. It’s enough to make you wonder why you should pay for someone else’s mistake.
Schedule a Free Consultation with a Skilled Clovis Car Accident Lawyer
After your injury is stabilized, you have a right to know if an at-fault driver will be held accountable for what happened. Unfortunately, that recovery support that is only fair, isn’t guaranteed, even when the fault is clear.
Avoid losing out on the injury compensation you and your family will need by calling Maison Law and talking to a Clovis Car Accident Attorney. Schedule a free consultation and find out how much your injury is worth. It’s a no-risk way to find out about every benefit available to car crash victims before a car insurance company tries to tell you otherwise.
Car Accident Dangers in Clovis
There are over a million people in the Fresno/Clovis metropolitan area, and this puts lots of drivers and passengers on the roads in and out of Clovis. Clovis residents themselves spend a lot of time in their cars commuting to work, driving around town, or heading out of the city for a vacation.
The number one source of personal injury in Clovis is auto accidents. The sad fact is that the more time you spend in your car, the greater the risk of a personal injury. Many local residents commute into Fresno by way of the Sierra Freeway, while others work locally in retail, hospitals, schools, construction sites, and manufacturing facilities.
Some take Highway 99 to jobs in Visalia. Some go south on 65 through Lindsay, Porterville, or Terra Bella to work in one of the local wineries or farms.
Those routes in and out of Clovis are the lifeblood of our region’s economy, but they also present daily hazards for motorists. In 2021, the California Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS) registered 256 car accidents involving injury in Clovis. At least three people lost their lives in those accidents.
There were 95 accidents involving injury along Highway 168/The Sierra Freeway through Fresno County in 2021. These tragic numbers have reached similar levels in each of the most recent years. It’s a sobering reminder of the jeopardy we put ourselves and our families in each time we pull out onto a local Clovis boulevard or Highway.
Common Types of Auto Accidents in Clovis
The Clovis Car Accident Lawyers at Maison Law work with clients on any type of serious car accident. Yet, there are some common types of accidents that we see endangering the wellbeing of local residents over and over again.
These are just some of the different accident types that are most common on Clovis avenues:
- Rollover/Ejection Accidents: These can happen on any busy road or highway, and they bring some of the most severe injuries. Victims can suffer dangerous impacts with a car dash, a car door, a car seat, and even the ceiling. They might even be thrown through a window to land on the roadway.
- DUI: Unfortunately, Clovis suffers from a significant number of DUI accidents which puts everyone on the roads at risk for serious injury and death.
- Head-On/Wrong Way Driving: Rural roads and highways are dangerous spots for head-on collisions that are devastating for victims. It only takes one drowsy driver or a distracted driver to unknowingly veer into oncoming traffic.
- Large Trucks/Utility Vehicles: Manufacturing and agriculture vehicles are traveling in and around Clovis. When victims are injured by commercial trucks, they are up against companies with a lot of resources and the best attorneys. You need an experienced Clovis car accident lawyer to represent you.
- Speeding/Racing/Aggressive Driving: Speed is the one factor that makes the consequences of any accident more serious. Combine that with reckless decisions and other motorists are at risk of suffering life-threatening injuries.
What Should I Do After Being Involved in a Clovis Car Accident?
In the moments after an accident, there’s the opportunity to gather powerful evidence to show that you weren’t to blame for your collision. If you are left strong enough after an impact, you’ll need to complete a few tasks to make sure you have a strong case. There are also some actions you should avoid.
Try to follow these steps at the site of the accident:
DO’S
- Call for Clovis Police or the California Highway Patrol: Call 911 no matter how minor your accident appears. Alert officers to every detail you can remember leading up to the crash. Allow an ambulance crew to check out every pain you experience and go to the hospital if necessary.
- Gather evidence: When the scene is secure, get out of your car and start taking photos of the scene. Show car damage, license plates, traffic signs, lane markings, and any visible injuries. Get contact information from witnesses and driver’s license and insurance information from other drivers.
- See your doctor. The shock of being in a Clovis car accident can hide the pain from injuries. You may not know how badly you are hurt until a day later. Have your physician examine all discomfort you feel. Save your medical invoices.
- Talk to a qualified Clovis Car Accident Lawyer: Even if you don’t think you need a lawyer, at least take advantage of a free consultation. You might be throwing away your opportunity to hold a reckless driver’s car insurance company accountable for your rising medical bills. You’ll also learn about the pitfalls to avoid when dealing with insurance adjusters.
DON’TS
- Don’t offer statements: On the scene of your crash, don’t discuss how badly you are hurt, and never accept blame for an accident. Keep this in mind when an insurance adjuster for the at-fault driver calls you in the days that follow. Adjusters will ask for a recorded statement about what happened. Refuse and only give basic information. These statements can be twisted to hurt your injury claim later. Refer them to your Clovis Personal Injury Lawyer.
- Don’t post on social media: It’s natural to want to share your misfortune with friends and vent a little, but be cautious. Insurance adjusters will be checking your feeds for pictures and comments describing your collision. These posts can be used against you later.
- Don’t sign off on any settlements: If an insurance company offers you a quick settlement offer for your injury, alarm bells should go off. Without knowing the extent of your injuries and your recovery, you could be accepting a “lowball offer” that leaves you footing more than half of your medical bills. Once you sign it, you won’t be able to return to the insurance company to ask for more when your recovery takes longer than expected. Have a Clovis Car Accident Attorney at your side throughout any settlement negotiation.
Compensation Available After a Clovis Car Accident
Determining exactly what your case should be worth won’t be possible until your attorney has been able to investigate your accident. Some factors will definitely affect the amount you’ll see on a car accident settlement check.
These and other details will go a long way towards deciding the total in compensation you’ll receive:
- Past and future medical bills in connection with the accident.
- Pain and suffering. This includes the emotional trauma you experience.
- Any permanent disfigurement or disability.
- Past and future lost earnings or diminished earning capacity resulting from the accident.
- Diminished enjoyment of life.
- Financial support for the families of victims in the event of wrongful death.
Contact a Clovis Car Accident Lawyer
After getting injured in an accident, don’t talk to the opposing insurance company without first speaking to a Clovis car accident injury lawyer here at Maison Law. We’re pleased to 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 all of your questions and there’s no obligation to you or your family.
Then, we’ll help you determine the best path to getting the most out of your car accident injury claim. If we’re retained to represent you, no up-front money is due. We don’t get paid unless we win your case. Our objective will be to obtain the highest settlement or award possible so that you can rebuild your life.
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