Somewhere around six million people visit Long Beach each year. They come to stroll the waterfront, tour the Queen Mary, and stare at fish in the Aquarium of the Pacific.
But there are also almost half a million people who live, work, and raise families in Long Beach. On their daily commutes and school drop-off trips, locals must often compete for lane space with the crowds of tourists in buses, rideshares, and rental cars. They’ll also have to share the lanes with big rig drivers and plenty of delivery trucks.
This merging of so much traffic on local freeways and boulevards can leave local drivers vulnerable to devastating Long Beach vehicle accidents and severe injuries. When these frightening impacts occur, insurance companies must be held accountable for every cost of recovery.
Long Beach Accident Injury Claims Process
Contact a Long Beach Car Accident Attorney for a Free Consultation
After you’ve been in a frightening car accident in Long Beach, you should be allowed to focus on healing without the worry of how you pay for your care. Unfortunately, getting fair compensation to cover your medical bills from an at-fault driver’s insurance company isn’t automatic.
Before talking with any insurance representative, take advantage of a free case consultation with Maison Law of Long Beach. This evaluation comes with no obligation to you or your family. Discussing what happened with a skilled attorney gives you a clear understanding of your options so that you can get the most out of your Long Beach car accident injury claim.
Long Beach Car Accident Dangers
California’s Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS) records every accident in Long Beach each year. In 2021, they documented 2,897 accidents resulting in an injury or a fatality in the city. Those accidents led to a tragic 26 people killed.
These sad figures represent car, SUV, truck, and motorcycle collisions. They also include pedestrians and cyclists being struck by motor vehicles. Drivers might suffer a dangerous impact with a big rig on the 405 or 710 Freeways. Motorists could be struck from behind by a driver operating an Uber or Lyft car. A reckless driver on Studebaker Road might be traveling too fast and lose control, only to hit someone at an intersection.
In these cases, and others, injured victims can face long recoveries involving surgeries, weeks of physical therapy, and sometimes long-term lifestyle changes. When there’s another driver to blame, victims should never face hospital bills and a potential financial crisis alone. Speak with a Long Beach car accident lawyer to determine what benefits are available to you and your family.
What to Do After a Long Beach Car Accident
After an accident along a busy street in the Long Beach Downtown Waterfront section, or in the lanes along Highway 1, there are steps to take to make sure you have proof of what happened.
On the scene, right after a collision, you’ll find the best evidence. You’ll need this evidence when you file a claim against unhelpful insurance companies. They’ll attempt to say that you were to blame for what happened and cast doubt on how badly you are hurt.
So, if you are well enough, try to gather certain details on the scene of your Long Beach traffic collision:
- Dial 911 no matter how minor you think the accident and your injuries are. Give a full report to Long Beach Police or the California Highway Patrol. Allow paramedics to check you over and go to the hospital if they feel it’s a good idea.
- Use your cellphone to snap pictures. Take photos of the damage to all vehicles. Show relevant traffic signs and lane markings. Take pics of any visible injuries. Get photos of any signage that shows who the driver may be working for (trucking company, delivery company, rideshares, etc.)
- Get driver’s license and insurance information from everyone involved. Don’t offer your opinion on who caused the crash or how bad your injuries are. These statements can be used against you later.
- Talk to all witnesses. Get their contact information. Your Long Beach Personal Injury Lawyer will be seeking testimony from these witnesses to strengthen your case.
- Note any security cameras nearby. Business security cameras or doorbell cams on homes may have recorded the accident.
- Get checked out by your physician. Pay special attention to any injuries that appeared in the days after an accident. Follow your doctor’s orders and see specialists if you are instructed to do so.
What Kinds of Things Can Earn Me Compensation After an Accident?
Your Long Beach car accident lawyer will be gathering additional evidence to go with your own. Once your injury claim is backed by proof of your innocence and proof of the severity of your injury, your claim is filed.
Along with this claim, the car insurance company will receive a list of every hardship you’ve faced during recovery and may face in the future. Whatever doesn’t make this list could end up as your responsibility, so it’s critical that this list is complete.
These are just a few of the factors that should contribute to the total on your insurance settlement check:
- Medical expenses now and the estimates for care anticipated to be needed in the future. An emergency room visit and/or a month’s stay in a hospital. This can factor in the costs of living with a permanent disability over a lifetime.
- Physical pain. Pain can lead patients to experience trouble sleeping, trouble focusing, and exhaustion.
- Emotional anguish. Anxiety and depression can set in when there’s a loss of enjoyment of life due to serious injuries. A loss of consortium deals with the loss of intimacy with a spouse.
- Travel to and from medical appointments while you may be off your feet. The costs of visiting out-of-city specialists.
- Income lost while the victim has been away from work. This would include any paychecks missed and benefits lost.
- Destruction of property.
Do I Need a Lawyer After a Long Beach Traffic Accident?
If your accident only reaches the level of property damages and a few scratches and bruises, you may not need a lawyer. Car repair and/or replacement have become fairly standard.
However, if you are seriously hurt in an accident or are being unfairly blamed, you will probably benefit from legal protection.
These are a few of the pitfalls you’ll face when dealing with car insurance representatives:
- Quick Settlement Offer: When your bills escalate, insurance adjusters will be working much harder to avoid blame for your injuries. They can strike quickly and offer you a “lowball” settlement that they know won’t fully cover your emergency room costs and lost income in the months ahead. But once you sign off on a settlement, you sign away your rights to ask for more when you have an injury flare-up. Insurance companies hope you get you to sign before you speak with a personal injury lawyer.
- Delayed Settlement Offer: Insurance companies could also delay responding to your claim. They let you and your family face mounting medical bills and more and more lost paychecks. They want you desperate so they can offer you what’s less than fair.
A skilled Long Beach car accident attorney recognizes these tactics and calls out insurance companies. You will never be left to sign off on an unfair settlement offer. Your lawyer will fight for more until you have what you need to rebuild your life.
Your lawyer also handles every frustrating aspect of dealing with insurance companies and, in some cases, other lawyers. This frees up you and your loved ones to focus on healing.
Our Long Beach Clients Frequently Ask...
Two years. California’s statute of limitations runs out after 24 months. It’s important to bring your case to a car accident lawyer as soon as you can so your lawyer has access to fresh evidence and can keep in contact with witnesses.
Yes. California allows close family members to file a wrongful death claim against an at-fault driver’s insurance provider. This claim would earn money to pay for a funeral and help replace the income the victim can no longer provide.
No. Refer any calls from insurance companies to your personal injury lawyer. Insurance representatives want you to give a recorded statement about what happened so they can twist it around to hurt your case later. Decline and only offer basic information.
Contact a Long Beach Car Accident Lawyer
Contact Maison Law of Long Beach to obtain a free consultation and case evaluation. We want to hear what happened to you. We’re going to answer your questions and advise you of your best course of legal action to get the most out of your Long Beach Car Accident injury claim. No legal fees are due unless we obtain a settlement or award on your behalf.
Martin Gasparian, the founder of Maison Law, has worked for major corporations and dealt with some of the biggest insurers in the world. He now uses his inside knowledge to make sure everyday people aren’t taken advantage of by corporate lawyers and insurance adjusters.
