Bakersfield Car Accident Lawyer

Pursuing the Compensation Car Accident Victims Deserve

Our knowledgeable and dedicated legal team is proud to advocate on behalf of car accident victims who have suffered harm on roads in and around Bakersfield. Regardless of what circumstances led to a particular crash, and regardless of whether the accident victim may have been partially at fault for that crash, we invite all accident victims to schedule a no-cost, obligation-free, case evaluation with our team.

During your meeting, we’ll be able to explore issues of causation and fault that will allow us to objectively assess whether you may have strong grounds to file legal action at this time. Depending on the unique circumstances surrounding your accident, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits for a work-related crash, insurance settlements from one or more insurers, and/or compensation from responsible parties via a personal injury lawsuit.

No two car accidents unfold in exactly the same way. It is therefore important for our legal team to consider every angle of a case when determining fault and causation as these concepts apply to your accident. Depending on what kind of information we’re provided during your free consultation, we will likely begin investigating whether some common causes of car accidents contributed to your collision’s occurrence. It may be possible that your accident was caused by highly irregular forces, such as a very large bird flying into your windshield and obscuring your vision. However, chances are significant that one or more of the following challenges contributed to the cause(s) of your crash:

• Impaired driving: According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 30 people die on American roads every single day in crashes involving at least one impaired driver. Despite decades of warning against the dangers of drunk driving, the influence of this phenomenon on our nation’s road safety has not significantly lessened.
• Speeding: Per California Vehicle Code § 22350, “No person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent having due regard for weather, visibility, the traffic on, and the surface and width of, the highway, and in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property.” This means that someone can be “speeding” under the law for driving too fast for conditions, even if they are technically obeying the speed limit. The act of speeding limits the ability of drivers to operate their vehicles as safely as they would, had their speed been reduced. As a result, it is little wonder that speeding is a major contributor to the cause of many vehicle accidents.
• Distraction: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “In the U.S. in 2018 (alone), over 2,800 people were killed and an estimated 400,000 were injured in crashes involving a distracted driver.” As society becomes increasingly reliant on portable electronic means of communication and gathering information, distraction has become one of the leading causes of accidents in the U.S. California outlaws cellphone use while driving unless said phone is being used in a hands-free capacity. However, passage of this law has not halted the pervasive distracted driving behaviors embraced by millions of motorists.
• Improper distance between vehicles: Per California Vehicle Code § 21703, “The driver of a motor vehicle shall not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard for the speed of such vehicle and the traffic upon, and the condition of, the roadway.” Accidents caused by distance-related factors (including but not limited to behavior commonly referred to as “tailgating”) are usually “more” to blame on the part of the vehicle operator following than the one leading. However, this is not always the case. Don’t dismiss the idea that you may be able to file a successful case simply because you were the one whose vehicle crashed into the back of another.   
• Failure to use turn signals: Per California Vehicle Code § 22107, “No person shall turn a vehicle from a direct course or move right or left upon a roadway until such movement can be made with reasonable safety and then only after the giving of an appropriate signal in the manner provided in this chapter in the event any other vehicle may be affected by the movement.” Signaling other travelers to a motorist’s intention to turn is a critical safety precaution. In the event that one or more parties failed to signal properly before a collision occurred, that failure could serve as evidence of negligent, reckless, or intentionally dangerous behavior on their part.
• Slippery road surfaces: Weather often causes road surfaces to become dangerously slick. Motorists obviously can’t hold anyone accountable for the presence of rain, frost, or fog on a roadway. Nor can they hold anyone responsible for an impaired perception of the roadway due to weather. However, accidents caused by slippery surfaces and compromised vision often also involve the contributions of speeding, tailgating, distraction, and/or ill-maintained roadways to the causation of the crash itself. Refrain from dismissing the potential strength of your case by rationalizing that because the weather or road conditions were poor when your accident occurred that the accident itself was automatically “nobody’s fault.”
• The presence of animals: Most animal crossing accidents occur because motorists encounter wild animals on the road. This specific safety challenge is usually nobody’s fault. However, when domestic animals cause accidents, the owner of those animals may – under certain circumstances – be held liable for the harm caused by the crash. As always, multiple factors may come into play in such accidents, so it is important to dismiss the idea that you lack a cause of action simply because your accident was caused as a result of an animal crossing.
  

Insurance Claims and Settlement Offers

Regardless of whether you are interested in filing a personal injury claim against anyone responsible for the harm you have suffered, you will likely be required to deal with multiple insurance providers before the legal side of your accident’s aftermath can “wrap up” entirely. It is important to speak with our firm before accepting any insurance settlement offers so that we can ensure that those offers are fairly valued. However, you will ideally want to allow us to negotiate with insurance providers on your behalf before any settlement offers are extended. Unfortunately, insurance claims adjusters will look for any excuse to devalue or reject your claim. Speaking with them may cause you to unintentionally compromise the amount of compensation you will be offered.

Our team has extensive experience dealing with these professionals and we know how to advocate on behalf of our clients to better ensure that all insurance-related communications are approached in ways that preserve and advance their best interests.

Contact Our Firm Today for a Free Case Evaluation

If you have been injured in an accident, you may be entitled to compensation, regardless of whether you may have contributed to the cause of your crash. Please refrain from making any assumptions about your legal situation until you have attended a risk-free, no-cost, confidential case evaluation with our experienced legal team. Our firm has handled many different types of car accident cases and cases of varying levels of complexity. As a result, no matter what your unique situation is, we can help.