Maison Law represents victims of scooter accidents caused by potholes in Merced. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, scooter riders are twice as likely to be injured by defects in the road, like potholes, cracks, or uneven surfaces. Injured scooter riders often face serious injuries like fractured arms, head trauma, and soft-tissue damage.
The impact these accidents can have on a person’s life is significant, which is why it is important to consult with the attorneys at Maison Law to get your life back on track after being injured in a scooter accident. Contact us today for a no-cost, no-obligation consultation and see what legal options are available for your situation.
Do I Need a Lawyer for a Scooter Accident Caused by a Pothole?
Potholes are a significant hazard for scooter riders and can easily cause accidents due to loss of control, hard falls, or collisions with traffic. These hazardous conditions are difficult to detect and often send scooter riders, bicyclists, and runners tumbling into even more dangerous situations, like oncoming traffic, furthering their injuries. But that’s why our Personal Injury Attorneys at Maison Law will not hesitate to take legal action if you’re injured due to a pothole in Modesto. Our firm protects injured victims from liability and ensures they are compensated for the following damages:
- Economic damages: financial damages you incurred due to the accident.
- Medical bills
- Lost Wages
- Loss of future potential earnings
- Loss of property
- Cost of property repair or replacement
- Non-economic damages: these are subjective, non-compensatory damages.
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Loss of consortium
- Punitive damages: these are damages awarded to serve as punishment to the at-fault party.
- Intentional carelessness
- Actions performed out of spite
What You Will Need When Consulting with a Personal Injury Lawyer for the First Time
The initial process of speaking with our law firm for the first time usually starts off with a questionnaire to assess the merits of the case. This questionnaire will provide us with key information to help determine if a case is worth pursuing or not. However, if you’d like to speak directly to one of our attorneys, you can set up a brief meeting to discuss the details of your situation prior to answering a questionnaire. The following data is what potential clients will need when they first sit down with us:
- Employment details: current or former employer, job title, dates of employment, and compensation information.
- Nature of the complaint: type of carelessness that led to your injury (premise liability, reckless driving, defective equipment)
- Timeline of events: dates of key incidents, formal complaints filed, relevant communications with the employer
- Witnesses: names and contact information of potential witnesses to the alleged misconduct
- Documentation: list of relevant documents (x-rays, MRIs, doctor’s diagnosis, physical therapy appointments, workers’ compensation forms)
- Prior legal action: if you’ve filed previous personal injury claims, then the details of your previous case may be relevant to your new case
- Medical information: details about your medical diagnosis and treatment plan
- Social media presence: your injury may be documented online, as well as you discussing the details of your personal injury
Some of these elements may seem irrelevant to your case, but trust us, they are not. Most defense lawyers will use anything they can to diminish the damage done to your life after a scooter accident. For example, if your social media account has videos of you speeding on your scooter or riding dangerously, they will most likely attempt to use that against you to say you’re a dangerous rider, even if you were safely riding when the accident occurred.
Who is Liable for a Scooter Accident Caused by a Pothole?
Determining liability for a scooter accident caused pot hole can be difficult, but ultimately, the party responsible will be discovered by the details of the accident. For example, a road or sidewalk could be maintained by the following parties:
- Government entity: city or state agencies in California are typically responsible for the maintenance of the roadways, so if a pothole is left unattended, the government could be held liable.
- Construction companies: if a construction zone is poorly marked or maintained, resulting in a hazardous pothole, they can be held responsible for their careless actions.
- Private property owners: if a road hazard is on private property, such as a parking lot or driveway, the owner may be at fault if they fail to maintain the area.
Potholes left in the road are considered a premises liability because someone has allowed public or private property to be unsafe. So, once it is determined who is at fault, they can be served with a premises liability lawsuit. If you believe that a premises liability caused your scooter accident, then please don’t hesitate to call, text, or stop by our offices for a free case review.
Reporting a Pothole in Merced
Potholes can be found unrepaired all over Merced. This is mainly due to a combination of heavy rains and traffic, which is common anywhere in the Central Valley. Fortunately, Merced has a pothole repair program through their Public Works Department, which can be contacted to repair streets, alleys, curbs, gutters, and sidewalks on government property. Here’s how you can report a pothole in Merced:
- Call Street Services at 209-385-6800 and provide the pothole’s location, size, and the hazards it presents.
- Email: a direct email to publicwks@cityofmerced.gov will put you in touch with a city representative who can file a report of the pothole
What is the Typical Compensation for a Merced Scooter Accident?
There is no set dollar amount for the trauma and pain experienced by scooter accident victims. However, an experienced Scooter Accident Lawyer will help you understand the value of your case by calculating your economic damages (such as lost wages and medical bills) and non-economic damages (emotional harm, depression, and anxiety). These damages combined include:
- Special Damages: medical bills, ongoing treatment, costs that accumulate when you’re unable to work, like rent or mortgage payments
- General Damages: these are non-economic hardships like pain and suffering, anxiety, depression, mental trauma
- Wrongful Death Damages: these damages may be sought by a spouse or close relative for funeral arrangements, burial expenses, and medical treatment before a loved one’s death
- Punitive Damages: these damages are rare, but if the driver engaged in reckless driving with the intention of hurting you, then you could sue for punitive damages
Contact a Scooter Accident Lawyer in Merced
If you or a loved one has suffered broken bones, head trauma, or any type of serious injury in a scooter accident caused by a pothole, Maison Law can help. Our team of lawyers has years of experience getting full financial compensation for injured scooter riders’ physical, mental, and financial damages. Our firm practices solely in personal injury law and will aggressively pursue a successful outcome for your injury claim.
So, don’t wait until it’s too late to take legal action. Contact Maison Law today for a free consultation and case evaluation. There is no charge for our services and you will not be charged a cent until we’ve won your case.
