Santa Monica attracts visitors with its beautiful downtown and waterfront attractions such as Palisades Park and the Santa Monica Pier. But it’s also a city where plenty of people live, commute to work, attend class, and enjoy family life.
No matter what brings folks to Santa Monica, visitors and residents alike must share the busy lanes of Ocean Avenue, Freeway 10, and other dangerous routes. They also frequent some of the same stores and businesses, either while shopping or working, and face some of the same safety hazards on properties across Santa Monica.
When people become victims of a careless driver or a negligent business or property owner, they have rights and can seek financial help with their injuries after a Santa Monica Personal Injury Accident.
Santa Monica Personal Injury Claims Process
STEP 1
Call Us For A Free Consulation
Call us 24/7 with No Obligations
STEP 2
Describe Your Accident Details
We will then discuss your legal options and decide whether to move your case forward.
STEP 3
Retain Maison Law w/ No Upfront Fees
We work on contingency. No attorney fees unless you win your case.
STEP 4
Receive Your Compensation
We will fight for you to earn the highest possible payout for your damages.
Contact a Santa Monica Personal Injury Lawyer for a Free Consultation
People who suffer serious injuries in Santa Monica accidents should be free to focus on healing and not on stress-inducing hospital bills. Those whose carelessness causes these personal injury accidents must be called upon to provide full support to victims. Unfortunately, insurance companies won’t always make it easy to earn fair compensation.
Contact us before speaking with any insurance representative. Maison Law of Santa Monica offers a free consultation to all victims. It’s a chance to find out what your injury may be worth. You’ll also stay informed about the tactics insurance adjusters use to limit the support Santa Monica families receive.
Who Is Responsible for Recovery Costs After a Santa Monica Personal Injury Accident?
In California, everyone has a legal responsibility to show others a “duty of care.” Drivers must show caution around other motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians. When they behave recklessly and someone gets hurt, they are legally liable for providing compensation to Santa Monica injury victims. This is why drivers pay car insurance premiums.
A personal injury accident can also occur at a Santa Monica business, a local workplace, on a residential property, or at an attraction like Pacific Park. When owners, operators, and employers leave a hazard out or unrepaired, and someone gets hurt, they can be held financially responsible.
Unfortunately, insurance settlements aren’t guaranteed and the amount on a settlement check can vary greatly. It’s why Santa Monica accident victims must often fight to force an insurance company to pay what’s fair.
A California personal injury lawyer can be a big help to victims facing off against insurance adjusters. A skilled attorney will have the experience necessary to negotiate the maximum settlement available and make sure victims have what they need to rebuild their lives.
Personal Injury Accident Cases in Santa Monica
Maison Law of Santa Monica assists injured victims and their families with many different types of personal injury cases.
The most dangerous thing Santa Monica residents do most often is probably getting behind the wheel and venturing out on crowded city streets. There’s never a shortage of distracted and reckless drivers on roadways like Santa Monica Boulevard, Lincoln Boulevard, or Broadway.
Car accidents are the most common way people can get hurt in Santa Monica, but there are many other personal injury claims we can assist you with. These are just a few examples of the cases we help victims earn injury compensation for:
- Santa Monica Traffic Accidents – Drivers and passengers and riders on motorcycles, can suffer severe injuries and require weeks or months of financial support to fully heal. If you or a loved one suffer a serious injury or you are being unfairly blamed for your accident, please talk over your options with a real Santa Monica car accident attorney in a free consultation.
- Santa Monica Big Rig Accidents – Large semi-trucks, delivery trucks, and produce haulers race up and down Freeway 10 and other narrow city streets. They can squeeze drivers in cars and SUVs out of the lane. Careless truck drivers can cause devastating impacts. Big rig accident claims are more complex because a truck driver’s insurance and the trucking company’s insurance may be involved. A Santa Monica Big Rig Accident Lawyer helps identify which parties should provide compensation.
- Motorcycle Accidents – Because of its beautiful weather and proximity to several popular routes, Santa Monica is an exciting place to ride a motorcycle. Unfortunately, like many other cities, Santa Monica experiences motorcycle accidents on its roads. These accidents can be caused by a variety of factors, such as speeding, distracted driving, or reckless behavior. When you’re involved in one of these accidents, it’s important to work with our team of experienced lawyers.
- Pedestrian and Bicycle Accidents – Santa Monica is the perfect place for a walk or a bike ride. Unfortunately, drivers don’t always respect a cyclist’s right to the lane. Unfocused drivers also miss spotting pedestrians in crosswalks. Skilled personal injury lawyers work to get the most out of a car accident settlement claim so that those on foot and on bikes receive enough in compensation to pay for the best medical care.
- Workplace Accidents — Santa Monica is home to several large companies that employ thousands of people. You may earn your paychecks at Hulu headquarters, on a construction site, or during daily shifts at Vons Supermarket. You may be hurt in an unsafe work environment. Injured employees may file for workers’ compensation, but there are some hardships that workers’ comp won’t cover. Talk to a California personal injury lawyer about the additional benefits available.
- Slip-and-Fall Injuries — Grocery stores, gyms, malls, and places like Walmart must provide you with a safe visit. Puddles of water left on floors or a damaged sidewalk outside could cause you to slip or trip and fall. A property owner or a corporate chain would owe you full support if that hazard had sat there for an unreasonable amount of time. Landlords could also be liable if you fall down a flight of stairs in disrepair at an apartment complex.
- Santa Monica City Government Liability – Getting hurt while trying to board a city bus or while walking at a public building or park might leave Santa Monica or Los Angeles County liable for your recovery. Suing city departments can have tighter deadlines than normal personal injury cases. It’s critical to speak with a legal representative as soon as possible about your options.
- Dog Bites – California and Santa Monica follow the legal concept of “strict liability” for dog bite incidents. This allows bite victims to file injury claims against Santa Monica dog owners even if the dog has never shown aggression before. Trusting your case to a skilled California dog bite attorney is the best way to ensure you receive full compensation for a difficult recovery after an attack.
- Santa Monica Wrongful Death Benefits — Any type of personal injury accident can end in a tragedy. Family members can lose a loved one to a careless act and quickly face enormous bills. California allows family members to seek financial support through a wrongful death claim. A spouse or children of the victim or a Santa Monica Personal Injury Lawyer can file this civil claim on behalf of the rest of the family.
What To Do Immediately After a Santa Monica Personal Injury Accident
In the wake of a scary car crash or fall, you may only have the strength to call 911 and then wait for help to arrive. But if you are feeling up to it, you should attempt to gather as much evidence on the scene as possible.
Once you leave the scene of a Santa Monica personal injury accident, a traffic collision scene will be cleared, and a slip-and-fall hazard will be quickly cleaned up. The best evidence showing that you were the victim of someone’s negligence will be gone.
If possible, try to gather these details to boost your chances of holding a reluctant insurance company fully liable:
- Call 911. Alert paramedics to every pain you experience. Take an ambulance ride to the hospital if necessary. If you must be taken from the scene, ask someone with you or a nearby witness to help you gather evidence.
- Alert authorities. After a car accident, have Santa Monica police or the California Highway Patrol respond. They will construct a collision report detailing what happened according to your testimony. If you get hurt in a place of business or on a residential property, tell a manager about what happened. That manager will likely need to create an incident report that will become evidence for your injury claim.
- Take photos. Document the scene and grab images of any hazard that caused you to fall. Grab images of any malfunctioning machinery that caused you harm. In a car accident, show the damage to vehicles. Take photos of any injuries that are visible and any damage to clothing.
- Talk to any witnesses. Get contact information so that your Santa Monica Personal Injury Lawyer can secure testimony.
- Don’t offer statements. On the scene, don’t discuss who was to blame for an accident or how badly you are hurt with the others involved. Also, don’t give recorded statements over the phone when an insurance representative calls you in the days that follow. Any statement you make can be twisted and used to weaken your claim to compensation.
- See your own doctor. Get everything pain examined. Follow your doctor’s recommendations.
- Keep any damaged clothing and personal items. After a fall, preserve your shoes, don’t wear them again until your California personal injury attorney says it’s okay. Don’t throw evidence out.
What Kinds of Damages Can I Receive Compensation for?
Your Santa Monica personal injury lawyer will be filing a claim for damages to recover everything possible after an accident and injury. These damages may include:
- Hospital and physical therapy costs.
- All estimated costs associated with a permanent physical disability over a lifetime.
- Wrongful death benefits. Families would be justified in seeking help with funeral costs. They should also seek economic help for the future when they’ll be without the victim’s emotional support and the income they provided the family.
- Emotional trauma experienced by the victim, such as depression and anxiety, stemming from an accident and a difficult recovery.
- Loss of enjoyment of life.
- Loss of consortium (being without the support of a spouse, partner, family member, etc.)
- The hardship of dealing with constant physical pain.
- Past and future lost income at work.
- Property damage compensation.
Frequently Asked Questions Asked By Our Clients
Usually, yes. If your car accident or slip-and-fall involved only property damage and a few bruises, you may not need a legal representative. If your injuries are more serious, you’ll need the help of an attorney to secure full support.
24 months. You have two years from the date of your accident to file an injury claim. If you wait beyond this point, your case will usually be rejected.
Bring any medical receipts you have. Show up with some sample paystubs to mark how much you’ve lost while being unable to work. Turn over any contact information for witnesses. If you already have collision and incident reports, bring them.
What Our Clients Say
Contact a Santa Monica Personal Injury Lawyer
If you have been seriously injured or lost a loved one due to the negligence of another person or party in Santa Monica, take action as soon as possible. Insurance companies aren’t required to inform you of every benefit available to victims. Avoid talking to insurance adjusters before you know what your case is really worth.
Martin Gasparian, the founder of Maison Law, offers a free, no-obligation case consultation to all Santa Monica victims. Mr. Gasparian 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 after an accident.
