California is an ultra-popular vacation destination for many Americans. The mountains, the beach, and city life bring in millions of tourists each year.
But California is also a busy place with plenty of accident hazards lurking along freeways and up and down the hallways of crowded resorts. People can get hurt and wind up in hospitals they are unfamiliar with. They can be sent home while still in the dark about who should be responsible for their hardships after an accident caused by someone else’s mistake.
Maison Law of California compiled some helpful legal information for anyone hurt while visiting the Golden State and wondering how to hold an at-fault party fully responsible.
Do I Need a Lawyer If I’m Hurt While on Vacation in California?
If your injury leads to only minor scrapes and soreness, you may not need a lawyer for your case. But if your injuries are more serious and someone else is responsible for what happened to you, going forward without a lawyer can cost you the support level you need to fully recover.
When injuries are significant, like a fractured arm or a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), insurance companies for at-fault parties will avoid taking the blame for your escalating medical bills at all costs. They’ll look for ways to pin the blame on you for what happened, or use other doctors who might claim your injuries aren’t as bad as you are claiming.
A skilled personal injury lawyer is a shield against these unfair insurance tactics. Your lawyer would fully investigate your accident and collect evidence against those at fault, whether that’s an individual or a massive company, or a corporation. Your lawyer then works to secure the most in compensation possible so you can rebuild your health and your life.
When you’ve been hurt in a California accident, but have returned home to another state, the question becomes where to find a good lawyer for your case, and how to get peace of mind if you have to litigate your claim from long distance.
Where Should I Find a Lawyer If I’m Hurt While Visiting California?
California, like all states, has personal injury laws that protect people hurt by someone else’s actions or negligence. They hold a careless driver on a freeway responsible for losing control while speeding and ramming your rental car. They hold a hotel owner responsible if you fall down a flight of stairs because of a puddle left to sit out on a step.
The personal injury laws in every state are similar, but there are differences. It’s one of the reasons you’ll want to consider hiring a California attorney to handle your personal injury claim.
If your accident happened in California, it’s a good idea to talk to a lawyer who is licensed to practice in the state to represent your case. If you use a lawyer in your own state, that lawyer would likely have to partner with a California lawyer to collect evidence and get your claim filed.
It’s probably going to be beneficial to hire a lawyer who works where your accident occurred. Just make sure to pick out a reputable lawyer with plenty of experience.
- Look over a lawyer’s website and read over reviews and case success stories. Check out the type of experience they bring to the table. Most law firms will offer a free case consultation, so schedule one and make sure your lawyer is a good match for your goals.
- A California lawyer will know state law and can explain how local ordinances differ from the laws in your own state of residence.
- A local lawyer can gather physical evidence on your behalf. This includes surveillance video before it gets erased. It might include details obtained from the scene of the accident. Your lawyer may need to employ an accident reconstruction team to block an insurer’s insinuation that you caused the accident. Your lawyer can also secure accident reports to add to your evidence folder.
- Hiring a local California attorney will mean the lawyer can represent you in court for some proceedings, saving you trips back to California.
What If I’m in a Car Accident While on Vacation in California?
Let’s face it. You didn’t book a California vacation because of the amazing traffic. California drivers can be hard to avoid. Many local drivers speed, are distracted, and are reckless. What’s more, some freeways and boulevards are jammed-packed for 90% of the day.
You can be coming back from a beach day when a driver’s mistake sends you off the road and leaves you with traumatic injuries. Filing an injury claim with the driver’s auto insurance provider can be a frustrating experience, and without a lawyer, they may not take your case or your pain seriously.
Here are a few things to keep in mind if you are in an accident in California:
- Your car insurance covers you in every state. This can be important in case you are struck by a driver without insurance or by a hit-and-run driver who escapes identification. You may have to file a claim using your own uninsured/underinsured coverage.
- An accident report from the California Highway Patrol may clearly state that the other driver in your accident was to blame, but this report isn’t the final word. The at-fault driver’s insurance provider can still dispute what happened and try to get you to accept some or all of the liability. You may require a California car accident lawyer to protect your innocence and to make sure an insurer provides every benefit available. If you end up needing to file a lawsuit to hold a car insurance company accountable, you can trust a local lawyer to handle your court preparations and court date with as little disruption to your life as possible.
Visit our page on what to do after a rental car accident for more information.
What to Do If You Are Injured at a California Hotel and Resort While on Vacation
When you stay on anyone’s property, whether it’s a rental property owner or a multi-million-dollar resort, those owners must show your family a “duty of care” to keep you safe.
This duty of business owners and property management companies is spelled out in California Civil Code 1714.
“(a) Everyone is responsible, not only for the result of his or her willful acts, but also for an injury occasioned to another by his or her want of ordinary care or skill in the management of his or her property or person, except so far as the latter has, willfully or by want of ordinary care, brought the injury upon himself or herself.”
Motel and resort owners must keep rooms and courtyards free of hazards that might put you in harm’s way. Slipping hazards in lobbies, spas, and gyms must be monitored for and removed before a guest can come along and take a tumble. Stairs and decking must be maintained so visitors can’t fall through railings or suffer an injury after a collapse. Elevators and escalators must work properly and safely.
You may need a California premises liability lawyer who can visit the scene of your accident and visit corporate offices for major hotel chains and resorts. These massive businesses will have teams of lawyers at the ready, and you will need your own legal representative to make sure they can’t find loopholes that allow their employers to escape blame.
Visit our page on what to do if you are injured while staying in a Vacation Rental through a company like VRBO.
Visit our page on what to do if you are hurt at your California hotel.
Pools and Drowning Accident Liability
Pools are top amenities at motels and hotels. But the owners and operators of these features have a great responsibility to keep guests safe from injuries and from life-threatening situations.
Resort owners and park owners can be sued over these accidents and more:
- Slipping accidents around unmaintained pools
- Negligence by untrained and careless lifeguards
- Near-drowning injuries
- Exposure to harmful pool chemicals
- Harm from pool machinery and drains
- Diving accidents in pools that are too shallow and that lack warning signs
- Electrocutions
Support for Families After a Tragic Pool Drowning. The ultimate tragedy while on vacation. A property owner or an operator can fail to make pools safe and provide enough supervision to prevent horrible accidents.
Resort owners and property managers must be held responsible through a wrongful death claim. A California wrongful death lawyer can seek justice and support for families at such a difficult time. The support should include money for funeral costs and any leftover medical bills. Families should receive help in replacing the income that a victim might have always provided for the family. This includes the future financial security of close relatives. Families can also receive support for the loss of love and guidance they will have to cope with.
Sadly, children are often the victims of pool tragedies. A wrongful death claim could also seek support for the parents’ loss of companionship over the years that have now been lost.
Theme Park and Fun Park Liability in California
California is home to some amazing theme parks like Disneyland, Universal Studios, and Six Flags. They take your cash at the ticket booth and the souvenir shop, but they also owe you a legal duty to protect you and your family during a fun day at the park.
If you are hurt due to a ride malfunction or a fall from a platform, park owners and operators are responsible for providing support for as long as it takes you to heal.
A California Theme Park Accident Lawyer can take on these giant theme park companies so that you can return home, rest, and focus on healing.
More legal information for California Theme Park Accident Victims.
How Can I Help Build My Case If I’m Hurt While Visiting California?
With insurance companies ready to attack the facts of your personal injury and throw out your claims, it may fall to you to collect some powerful evidence right after your accident occurs.
Make sure you and your family are safe first. Contact 911 if someone is hurt and request an ambulance.
Then, if it’s safe to move about your scene, and you feel strong enough, try to get some valuable proof of what happened. It’s a wise move, because a lot of the best evidence will disappear when the scene is cleared. If you were hurt by a hazard left out at a resort, the hazard will likely be cleaned up or repaired long before you can speak to a lawyer, and your lawyer can return to the scene.
Focus on securing these details:
- Take Pictures of Your California Accident – Show the property damage. If you fell or were struck by a malfunctioning machine, document the hazard that sent you to the ground or otherwise hurt you. Capture any visible injuries you have. This includes injuries, property damage, and anything that might explain how the accident happened (like a broken handrail or poorly marked crosswalk).
- Get Contact Information – Talk to others on the scene. Get addresses, phone numbers, driver’s license information, and insurance information where it applies. Make sure you find out how to contact witnesses so your lawyer can call later to get testimony.
- Alert the Business of Any Accidents – If you fall or are injured at a business or at a public place, don’t leave the premises until a manager or employee has been notified.
- Make Sure Reports Are Created– After a car accident, tell police officers everything you remember about what happened. Allow property owners or staff members to create an incident report for their parent companies after a slip-and-fall accident.
- Contact Your Own Insurance Agent. If you are in a car accident, make sure you are the first person who contacts your insurance company.
- Preserve Your Medical Records and Receipts – Keep your medical charts handy for your lawyer. Also, collect every receipt from your medical care, including purchases you made to help cope with an injury.
- Travel records – Save receipts that can place you at the scene of your accident. Save store receipts that can show the time when your accident occurred. Save trip itineraries to show how an injury affected your vacation.
- Keep Your Paystubs – Make sure you can show how much in income and benefits you’ve lost while you’ve had to miss work.
- Avoid Posting to Social Media – You may have posted your best meals and beach selfies all over your Instagram feed, but you should keep accident photos and statements about your misfortune private. Insurance adjusters will be checking your Facebook and Twitter posts to see if you uploaded any photos or made comments that could be twisted to hurt your accident claim. Save your photos for your lawsuit.
Support for Victims Hurt While on a California Vacation
Your lawyer would work on your behalf to force insurance companies to treat you fairly and honestly.
Your Maison Law attorney would demand these and other benefits on your behalf:
- The totals for your hospital care and physical therapy expenses.
- The estimated costs for care in the years to come if you suffer a long-term injury or a permanent physical disability.
- Travel costs while making doctor’s appointments and going to see specialists.
- Non-economic damages such as the physical pain and emotional distress you endure. This includes depression, anxiety, and a loss of enjoyment of life due to your injuries.
- Past and future lost income while you must miss work. Estimates on your lost earning capacity if you have a permanent disability.
- Support for the damage or destruction of property caused.
- The losses you had to absorb due to a vacation ending early.
- Wrongful death benefits for the families of victims.
Contact a California Personal Injury Attorney
After an accident while you’re on vacation, be sure to discuss your case with an experienced California Lawyer. You should be able to focus on your recovery without worrying about how you’ll hold at-fault parties responsible in a state that may be hundreds of miles away. Let Maison Law fight for your rights on the ground in California.
Contact us today for a free case evaluation to find out how we can assist you. There’s no obligation, and your case review is completely confidential.
Keep in mind that you don’t need to worry about having the money to pay a Maison Law attorney if you need one. We don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the settlement money that an insurance company is forced to provide.
