As personal injury attorneys, we often hear from prospective jurors that injury victims should not necessarily be compensated for their losses because “accidents happen.”  One of the most common type of vehicle “accident” is the rear end collision.  The truth is that these types of crashes are almost always the result of human error and are the most easily avoidable.  Yet the consequences can change innocent lives forever.

Fresno Car Accident Lawyers

On March 8, 15-year-old Shaela Warkentin suffered major injuries, including serious brain trauma, in a tragic Fresno car accident. Ms. Warkentin, a Bullard High School sophomore, was riding in a Mustang being driven by her sister on her way home from youth group at People’s Church.  While stopped at red light, the Mustang was violently hit from behind by a pickup truck.  Ms. Warkentin literally had to be pried from the Mustang wreckage by emergency personnel.  Shesustained permanent eye damage and has undergone facial reconstruction surgery.  She remains in a critical condition with fluid in the brain and glass “in an area that’s too dangerous to remove.”

Anyone seriously injured in an auto accident has a number of serious issues to deal with. First, legal responsibility for the collision must be determined. Sometimes that requires investigation beyond what is contained in the police report. Second, the medical bills must be paid. Even if there is health insurance to pay for the bills initially, the health insurance company will likely seek reimbursement from any liability insurance recovery. That means that the health insurance company will be competing for money that otherwise would go to the injured victim. Third, even in apparently straight forward cases, insurance companies will do whatever they can to avoid paying fair compensation for not only medical bills, but lost income and pain and suffering as well.

California Auto Accident Attorney

Based on the available information, the driver of the truck is more than likely responsible from a legal standpoint to compensate Ms. Warekentin and the other victims of this California injury accident. In most cases, the driver’s insurance would pay for these losses. If he had no insurance, the victims may be able to recover under the uninsured motorist provision of an auto insurance policy covering their vehicle. Because of these and many other issues, injury victims and families  involved in a injury accident like this are strongly urged to consult with an experienced Northern California Personal Injury Attorney or Fresno Personal Injury Attorney who will make sure that the victim’s rights are protected and that they are dealt with fairly.

Contact our Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyers

The Demas & Rosenthal personal injury law firm is not currently representing anyone mentioned in this article at the time it was posted. If you were involved in this incident or a similar incident and have questions as to your legal rights and options, call us or another well recognized and respected personal injury law firm. Please do not rely or act solely upon the information provided in this article. Please consider getting a consultation immediately. The best personal injury law firms will provide a free consultation. Demas & Rosenthal will provide a free, confidential consultation to the persons who were not at fault named in this article. The free consultation offer extends to family members as well.

Every California car accident involves extreme danger, and this danger only rises precipitously when a collision creates a chain reaction where several other vehicles become entangled in the unfolding disaster. Unfortunately, such a California car accident took place in the small town of Keyes over the weekend, and it ultimately involved six vehicles and sent seven people to the hospital.

According to police, this multi-vehicle California car accident occurred just before 11 p.m. approximately one-half-mile north of where Taylor Road crosses Highway 99. Apparently, Fernando Martinez, 30, was driving the wrong way down Highway 99 in the northbound lanes. His Chevrolet Silverado collided with a Lexus and rolled several times, thereby smashing into several other vehicles as a result.

Unfortunately, Martinez is suspected of driving under the influence, and it’s believed that he entered Highway 99 and started going the wrong way by entering the road on an off-ramp. Overall, seven people were taken to the hospital, but thankfully all are expected to survive their injuries.

California Car Accident Statistics

First and foremost, we’d like to extend our hopes that those who were injured in this incident are able to make quick recoveries. In addition, this California DUI accident will now become an entry in the statistics regarding California car accidents overall. Every year, approximately 175,000 people are injured and another 3,000 are killed as a result of these incidents.

California DUI Accident Lawyers

It’s possible that those who were harmed in this incident will be able to bring California personal injury lawsuits against the wrong-way driver. If successful, such claims could result in damages awards that compensate those who were harmed for medical expenses, property damage, lost income and pain and suffering depending on the specific facts of the case.

If you or someone you love has been harmed by a drunk driver, you need the help of California DUI accident lawyers who have been successfully fighting for the rights of those harmed for many years. Contact Demas & Rosenthal today to schedule a free initial consultation.

If you’ve been in a collision it’s always better to hire a lawyer earlier rather than later. One of the reasons this is true is that we work on a contingency fee, which means we only get paid if your case settles. So if your case involves significant injuries or a wrongful death type case, we prefer for a number of reasons, including preserving evidence, collecting evidence, talking to witnesses, to get involved in that case early on. It costs our clients usually the same if they hire us a week after the collision versus a year and a half after the collision. However, most of the time, we’re able to achieve better results the earlier we get involved with the case because of the fact that we can preserve evidence and track witnesses down and do what we need to do to start building our case as soon as we get involved. That’s not to say that we don’t take cases if they’re not within the first couple of weeks.

The law of worker’s compensation is designed to deal with injuries that are sustained at work. However, some situations are so serious that they can involve claims in civil court as well as the District Attorney’s office. It appears that the case of a seriously injured woman against Hershey avoided much of that recently when a settlement was announced between the parties.

According to the Modesto Bee:

“A 35-year-old Ceres woman whose arm was severed as she cleaned a Hershey chocolate factory machine will get $100,000 in exchange for criminal charges being dropped against the company, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

Erica Domen also received a $300,000 lump sum as well as $5,000 a month in workers compensation, which will continue for the rest of her life.

The Hershey Co. faced two charges alleging it did not secure safety checks on the machine that injured Domen.

The company faced a maximum fine of $1.5 million if the case had gone to trial. But Deputy District Attorney John Goulart said dropping the criminal charges helped ensure some money would go to Domen because she might not have been entitled to more restitution.

On March 24, 2007, Domen was cleaning the inside of a “conomill,” a batter-sifting machine, when a rotating paddle in the machine caught Domen’s left arm and amputated it at the shoulder.

A report by Cal-OSHA found that employees weren’t properly trained in how to lock a machine so it couldn’t begin operating while being cleaned or repaired.

OSHA’s report also noted that a switch that was supposed to stop the machine from operating in such a situation was broken.”

If you or someone you love has been seriously injured at work or anywhere else, you need the help of Sacramento personal injury attorneys who understand all of the complexities of different types of laws. Contact Demas & Rosenthal today to schedule a free initial consultation.

When an auto accident occurs at 1:30 a.m., immediate suspicions arise that something is amiss. Most people are simply not out driving around at that hour, and when an accident occurs that seems to be the result of some sort of driver impairment, that’s often what turns out to be the case. While no determination has yet been made regarding a terrible crash in Loomis on Friday morning, there are suspicions arising.

According to an item published by the Sacramento Bee:

“One person died and two suffered major injuries when a car hit a fire hydrant early this morning in Loomis.

The accident occurred about 1:30 a.m. near Auburn-Folsom and Dick Cook roads.

After the car slammed into a fire hydrant and sent water gushing about 200 feet skyward, it kept going and came to rest in a ravine, according to a report by the KCRA Web site.

Alcohol may have been a factor in the collision, according a California Highway Patrol dispatcher.”

Drinking and driving can lead to terrible consequences, as everyone seems to know but some do not seem to internalize. This seems to be especially true at the beginning of a long, summer holiday weekend, when accident rates and DUI arrests spike markedly all over the United States. If you or someone you love has been injured in an auto accident, contact the Sacramento auto accident attorneys at Demas & Rosenthal immediately to schedule a free initial consultation. The firm has been fighting for the rights of those wrongfully injured in situations like the one described above for years.