Maison Law helps the victims of traffic accidents caused by merging drivers on local highways. Our lawyers make sure car insurance companies help victims pay for every doctor bill and replace each lost paycheck.
If you have been injured, please contact a Modesto Car Accident Lawyer for a free case review. It’s an informative, no-string-attached way to find out what your injury may be worth and how to hold a car insurance company fully responsible.
When to Contact a Modesto Car Accident Attorney
If your accident involves a more serious injury, and a careless driver trying to merge caused the collision, it’s a good idea to speak to a lawyer. A serious injury might include a broken bone, a Traumatic Brain Injury, or a neck or back injury. A skilled attorney would be more helpful with these types of cases and may be able to bring home much more recovery money for you.
The reason is that a serious injury brings a bigger price tag for recovery. Higher bills and more time lost at work often send car insurance companies looking for ways to avoid the problem. They can twist the facts of a merging incident to make it look like you were at fault. They may even question your doctors about how serious your injuries are and how long you’ll need support.
A skilled attorney can investigate your accident and use the evidence to keep blame on the right driver.
You always have the right to file your own claim, but a skilled lawyer often gives you a much better chance to win the kind of settlement you need to rebuild your life.
A Free Consultation with a Real Lawyer
It’s natural to doubt the strength of your case. And sometimes it can be intimidating to think about taking on a giant car insurance company to get help after an accident.
But you should never decide on your next step until you know what your injury is worth, and what benefits a car insurance company should be providing.
Maison Law offers a free case consultation that comes with no obligation to you. It’s a chance to determine what evidence you’ll need to file a strong claim and how a car accident attorney can help you protect your interests and earn enough to rebuild your life.
Figuring Out Who Is Liable for a Merging Accident
You may be cruising down Highway 99 when a driver in the merge lane starts to weave across the dotted lines, speeds up and slows down, and then sideswipes your car.
After you are safe and you’ve received medical attention, you may wonder just who is responsible for what happened.
Fortunately for you, it’s the merging driver who bears the accountability when trying to join traffic. California Vehicle Code CVC 21804. details how the responsibility to merge safely is on the merging driver.
Drivers already on the highway will have the right-of-way and aren’t required to move or switch lanes. It’s up to the driver coming onto the roadway to find a big enough space to join other vehicles without causing an accident, or sending other drivers swerving to avoid a collision.
This means that the merging driver would usually be found responsible for most accidents happening on a highway or interstate.
The California Driver’s Handbook explains how a motorist should handle this important “duty of care.” The handbook instructs Modesto drivers to try to match the speed of the vehicles already on the interstate. It also tells drivers to avoid coming to a stop unless absolutely necessary.
Support for Modesto Victims Struck by Merging Drivers
Drivers and passengers hurt by a reckless merging driver can face weeks, months, or even years of pain and a difficult physical recovery.
Unfortunately, victims must also manage stacks of medical bills and, in some cases, late car payments while they can’t work. These are car payments on a vehicle that may have been totaled by another driver’s mistake. Rent and mortgage payments may also go unpaid.
A car insurance provider must be held fully responsible for these damages and more:
- Hospital and physical therapy expenses.
- Estimated costs associated with a long-term injury or permanent physical disability.
- Emotional anguish, such as depression and anxiety, during a difficult injury rehab. You could experience a loss of enjoyment of life while you can’t participate in your favorite hobbies.
- The hardship of dealing with chronic, physical pain.
- Past and future lost income and benefits at work during recovery.
- Money for vehicle repairs or replacement.
- Wrongful death benefits. A family that has lost a loved one to a tragic accident may file a wrongful death claim against the at-fault driver’s insurer. This claim seeks help with funeral costs and leftover medical expenses. It also seeks to replace the income the deceased would have provided the family in the future. Families should also receive support for the love and support the deceased can no longer provide.
The Insurance Tactics to Beware Of After an Accident
The benefits mentioned above are great, but victims can suffer additional hardships in their lives when made to wait weeks for compensation. Delayed responses and late settlement checks are just one way insurers can leave victims in a bind.
Sometimes it’s just the price for dealing with a giant, unfeeling insurance company. Other times, it’s just another way for insurers to try to get you to give up hope and accept less for your troubles.
These are a few of the most common tactics auto insurance providers try:
- Delayed Response: The insurer can purposely wait weeks or months to respond to your claim. They hope your escalating bills make you desperate enough to accept any offer they send your way. A lawyer would be demanding a faster reaction time for a client still in recovery.
- Lowball Settlement Offer: Once you are way behind on your monthly bills and medical invoices, insurance agents can send you a “lowball” offer that may not even cover half of your expenses. An experienced lawyer can easily identify when an insurer will provide more if you simply reject a settlement and demand more.
- Refusal to Settle: Insurers can outright reject your claim, even if they know their policyholder caused the accident. They often hope you’ll accept the bad news and go away. They also hope you don’t have a lawyer who will be monitoring their behavior and will have evidence in hand to prove who was really at fault and who should be writing a check.
- Question Your Injuries: If insurers can convince you that your injuries will heal within days, they can usually get you to sign off on a lower settlement. Once you sign, you can’t go back to ask for more when you need surgeries a few months later, or require more physical therapy. Insurers can also dispute what your doctors say about your serious injury by getting you checked out by the doctors they pay.
Contact a Modesto Car Accident Attorney
If a merging driver rams your car and you suffer a serious injury, it’s a good sign that you could earn more with a lawyer’s help. Contact us to set up a free consultation with a real lawyer to go over your options.
We are ready to answer questions for any injured Stanislaus County accident victim in a free, no-obligation case review. If you don’t end up needing our help to earn justice, we can still get you started on filing a successful claim on your own.
If you would like our help, we are there! But you don’t have to worry about finding the money to pay a lawyer. We work on a contingency basis. It means we don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then, our fee comes out of the settlement check that an insurance company must write for you.
