Southern California Injury Law Blog

At approximately 10 p.m. on Thursday, December 23rd, 57-year-old Elvira Bermudez was killed in a car accident at the intersection of Goldenwest Street and Georgetown Avenue in Westminster. Bermudez was traveling north on Goldenwest in a Saturn when a southbound GMC pickup truck attempted to turn left onto Georgetown and struck her. She died at the scene. Neither the driver nor the passenger of the pickup truck was injured. Authorities have asked anyone with information about this collision to call 714-548-3830, explains an Orange County auto accident attorney.

Throughout the state, there were 3,113 fatal and 170,496 injury motor vehicle traffic collisions in 2008, the most recent year for which the California Highway Patrol has complete accident statistics. 296 of the fatal crashes involved a driver making a left turn. Westminster accounted for 4 of the 152 fatal and 467 of the 13,414 injury accidents that occurred in Orange County.

All of us at Allen, Flatt, Ballidis, and Leslie would like to offer our condolences to the family of Elvira Bermudez.

Additional information, including books, articles, and videos on pursuing an injury or wrongful death claim, is available to the public free of charge.

To request one of these resources, or to speak with an Orange County auto accident attorney, feel free to call 866-981-5596.

Some time around 8:30 a.m. on Friday, December 17th, the driver of a Toyota 4Runner SUV failed to decelerate in time at an intersection and rear-ended a Nissan Sentra, the impact sending it through the intersection and into the paths of two other vehicles. Both drivers were hospitalized for their injuries. The occupants of the other vehicles involved in the multiple-car collision were not seriously injured. Authorities suspect that the driver of the 4Runner was under the influence, explains a California injury lawyer.

In the United States, drunk driving claims one life every 45 minutes. In 2008, 11,773 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving accidents, accounting for almost 32% of all traffic-related fatalities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That year, there were 258 fatal and 4,832 injury traffic collisions involving alcohol, of which 6 of the fatal and 28 of the injury accidents occurred in Carson.

All of us at Allen, Flatt, Ballidis, and Leslie would like to wish the drivers injured in the multiple-car collision a full recovery.

Additional information, including articles, books, and videos on protecting an accident claim, are available to the public free of charge.

If you would like to request one of these resources, or to speak with a California injury lawyer, feel free to call 866-981-5596.

At approximately 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, December 12th, 21-year-old Kevin Gammoh was killed in a hit-and-run auto accident on the I-15 Freeway in Corona. While traveling just south of Weirick Road in a 1998 Toyota 4-Runner, another vehicle swerved into Gammoh’s lane, causing him to lose control of the vehicle, which subsequently overturned and struck a guardrail. He died at the scene. The other driver fled. Authorities have asked anyone with information about this accident to call (951) 637-8000, explains a California personal injury lawyer.

Statewide, there were 3,113 fatal and 170,496 injury motor vehicle traffic collisions, according to the California Highway Patrol’s 2008 accident statistics. Corona accounted for 11 of the 220 fatal and 697 of the 8,561 injury crashes that occurred in Riverside County. Throughout the state, 247 people were killed and 22,091 injured in hit-and-run accidents.

All of us at Allen, Flatt, Ballidis, and Leslie would like to offer our condolences to the family of Kevin Gammoh, the person killed in the hit-and-run auto accident last Sunday.

Additional information, including articles on injury and wrongful death claims and books on protecting an accident claim, is available to the public free of charge.

To request a book or an article, or to speak with a California personal injury lawyer, feel free to call 866-981-5596.

Doctors and insurance companies often have arrangements in which the services are provided at reduced fees in exchange for immediate payment. This is also the case with Medicare. After treating accident victims, many hospitals and doctors would prefer to bill for the full cost of care over the reduced reimbursement offered by Medicare. A doctor or care provider may request to collect payment directly from your accident settlement. However, you should never comply with such a request if you want to protect your settlement, advises a California injury lawyer.

Allowing the cost of care to be deducted from your settlement could compromise the amount of compensation you receive. Without the adjustment that would be made for an insurer, your medical bills may consume a large portion—if not all—of your settlement money.

You have the right to have Medicare pay for your injury-related medical expenses. Although you will have to reimburse Medicare once your case is resolved, rules governing the amount that can be collected will protect your settlement.

Watch this informative video to learn more.

If a health care provider or hospital is refusing to accept Medicare as a payment option, call 866-981-5596 to speak with a California injury lawyer immediately.

Yes. After an accident, if you pursue a personal injury claim, the other party’s insurance company may request personal information from you, including your Social Security number. Under a recently legislated mandate, explains a California personal injury attorney, you are obligated to supply this information.

In an effort to monitor reimbursement distributed by health insurance companies, state and federal governments have required that Medicare and other health care organizations report certain information, such as the reimbursement rights of parties involved in an accident. Since insurance is often issued to individuals through their Social Security number, this information may be requested during the injury claims process. Moreover, when your case is resolved, you will not receive your settlement check without furnishing this information.

When complying with such requests, be sure that the method in which you choose to communicate personal information is safe and confidential.

Articles, books, and videos on the personal injury claims process are available to the public free of charge.

If you have questions for a California personal injury attorney, or would like to request one of these resources, feel free to call 866-981-5596.

Shortly before 11 on Tuesday morning, a Chevrolet Impala and a Nissan Altima collided at the intersection of South Harbor Boulevard and Orangefair Mall in Fullerton. While neither driver sustained injuries from the car accident, authorities had to use the Jaws of Life to extricate a passenger from the Altima. The injured passenger was transported to a nearby hospital, explains an Orange County auto accident attorney.

Nationwide, the number of fatal and injury traffic collisions has decreased from 34,172 fatal crashes in 2008 to 30,797 in 2009 and 1,630,000 injury crashes in 2008 to 1,517,000 in 2009, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Moreover, passenger car occupant fatalities declined for the seventh consecutive year, and are at their lowest level since NHTSA began collecting fatality crash data in 1975. In 2008, Fullerton accounted for 4 of the 152 fatal and 743 of the 13,414 injury motor vehicle traffic collisions that occurred in Orange County, according to the California Highway Patrol.

All of us at Allen, Flatt, Ballidis, and Leslie would like to wish the passenger injured in Fullerton yesterday a full recovery.

The Orange County Register originally reported this car accident.

Additional information, including articles on protecting an auto accident claim and videos on mistakes to avoid when pursuing an injury claim, are available to the public free of charge.

If you would like to request an article or a book, or to discuss a specific legal matter with an Orange County auto accident attorney, feel free to call 866-981-5596.

Shortly before 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 2nd, an elderly driver struck three teenagers in Spring Valley. 72-year-old John Reyes was driving his 2008 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck along Sweetwater Road when he crashed into a utility pole and then into the group of Mount Miguel High School students. The teens sustained moderate to major injuries and were taken to a nearby hospital. Authorities did not find any indicators that Mr. Reyes was under the influence of drugs or alcohol and are investigating the accident, explains a California injury attorney.

While older adults are generally cautious drivers, physical changes that accompany aging have the potential to impair their ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. These changes include a decrease in motor function, vision, and cognitive skills. Moreover, the risk of being involved in an accident increases with age: an 85-year-old driver is nine times more likely to suffer a fatal collision than a driver who is between the ages of 25 and 69. Certain prescription medications and medical conditions may also have an impact on driving abilities.

Pedestrian accidents accounted for 63 of the 246 fatal and 998 of the 13,527 injury traffic collisions that occurred throughout San Diego County, according to the California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Annual Report of Fatal and Injury Motor Vehicle Traffic Collisions. In most instances, a pedestrian has the right-of-way, regardless of whether that person is walking within a designated crosswalk or not. If a driver fails to yield for a pedestrian and an accident ensues, the driver may be held responsible for any injury-related expenses the pedestrian incurs.

All of us at Allen, Flatt, Ballidis, and Leslie would like to wish the three teenagers who were struck by the elderly driver in Spring Valley a full recovery from their injuries.

Articles on pedestrian rights, links to pedestrian advocacy groups, and videos on mistakes to avoid when pursuing an injury claim are available to the public free of charge.

If you would like to request an article or a book, or to discuss a specific legal matter with a California injury attorney, feel free to call 866-981-5596.