Have you or someone you love been in a car accident in Santa Ana? Was this accident caused by another’s negligence, and did it end in severe or costly injuries? If so, you should contact the Santa Ana personal injury attorneys of OnderLaw to learn about filing a personal injury claim or lawsuit. We can help you get compensation for your injury and get your life back on track after a debilitating accident.

Call today for a free, no-obligation consultation, and see if a personal injury claim or lawsuit is right for you.

Why Do I Need a Lawyer for My Car Accident?

Car accidents happen every day all over California, so why should you need to hire a lawyer for your accident?

If your accident was caused by the negligence of another party on the road and caused you or a loved one serious injury or financial losses, you can be compensated for these losses through a personal injury claim. An injury claim is a demand for the negligent party that caused your accident to pay for the damages you’ve sustained as a result. Although you’re certainly able to pursue a claim for compensation on your own, a lawyer can help make the process easier and simpler for you and may be able to get you more compensation than you would get on your own.

Your lawyer will do the hard work on your case, so you don’t have to. We will handle the investigation into your accident, we will interview all the witnesses and gather all the needed documents to support your claim, and negotiate a settlement on your behalf. We take on the lion’s share of the work so you can concentrate on recovering from your injury or helping a family member to do the same.

Insurance companies will often use tactics that may not be entirely forthright to protect their bottom line and their customers from liability. They may not outright lie to you, but they may not be completely honest, either. They will often try to convince claimants like you that your injuries aren’t severe enough to warrant any kind of settlement or that hiring a lawyer isn’t necessary for your particular type of accident. In reality, they understand that if you hire an attorney, you have access to tools and knowledge that can put them at a distinct disadvantage.

The majority of personal injury claims are concluded with a settlement, which is a cash amount intended to justly compensate you for your injuries and losses if you don’t pursue further legal action against the party responsible for your accident. If you don’t have legal counsel and settlement negotiations fail, you’re largely out of options.

If you do have legal counsel, you can file a lawsuit against the negligent party. This means taking your case to court for a judge or jury to decide whether compensation is warranted. This can change the entire equation for an insurance company, as now they have to expend resources to defend their customer in court. Litigation costs can often be more expensive than a fair settlement would be, which can tilt the scales in your favor.

Hiring a lawyer isn’t absolutely necessary, but it certainly helps.

Why Hire OnderLaw to Represent Me?

We have almost two decades of experience with injury law, and we know the ins and outs of the civil court system in California and beyond. We know the relevant laws and are intimately familiar with the claims process. We can use this wealth of experience and knowledge to help you get the compensation you deserve.

We treat all of our clients with the utmost respect and compassion. We’re not just here to provide top-tier legal counsel. We’re here to provide support during a difficult time for you and your family. We understand what you’re going through because we’ve helped thousands of clients through the same ordeal. We will be there when you need us.

We also understand that not everyone has the financial ability to hire a lawyer at the drop of a hat, which is why we work on a contingency fee basis. This means that we only take payment for our work if we’re successful in getting you the compensation you need. There are no up-front costs. If we get you compensation either through a settlement or award, we take a percentage of the amount awarded. It’s that simple. If we don’t get money for you, you owe us nothing.

The number one reason you should choose OnderLaw to assist with your car accident is our record of success. We’ve been able to obtain over $3 billion in settlements and awards for our clients since 2002. The numbers speak for themselves. Our clients choose us because we get the results they need.

Types of Car Accidents

In California, car accidents are a daily occurrence. We see a wide variety of car accident types in Santa Ana, including the following:

  • Head-on collisions
  • Rear-end collisions
  • Rollover accidents
  • Sideswipe accidents
  • T-bone collisions
  • Multi-car collisions
  • Hit-and-run collisions
  • One way accidents

Causes of Car Accidents

The causes of car accidents in Santa Ana are as diverse as the types of accidents that may occur. Some of the more common causes include:

  • Distracted driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that distracted driving may be the number one cause of car accidents nationwide. This can be anything that takes your eyes off the road, from eating lunch to checking a text message.
  • Impaired driving. Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs can easily end in serious injury for anyone sharing the road with the impaired driver.
  • Excessive speed, especially on city or neighborhood streets, can cause severe injury to other motorists, pedestrians, or cyclists.
  • Inclement weather. Bad weather can decrease visibility and increase stopping distances, increasing the likelihood of a car accident.
  • Road conditions. This can apply to poorly maintained roadways or to unmarked or poorly marked hazards in the roadway. If a road maintenance contractor doesn’t take care, serious accidents and injuries can result.

Common Injuries Suffered in Car Accidents

Even low-speed car accidents with no extenuating circumstances can cause injury, but when you factor in speeding, distracted driving, or impaired driving, the danger level can increase exponentially. We see many different types of injuries in car accidents, such as:

  • Broken bones
  • Traumatic brain injury
  • Whiplash
  • Soft tissue injuries
  • Concussion
  • Sprains and strains
  • Lacerations
  • Head and neck injuries
  • Burns
  • Internal injuries
  • Spinal cord injuries
  • Trauma
  • Crushing injuries
  • Amputation
  • Scarring and disfigurement
  • Coma
  • Death

Who Is Responsible for My Car Accident?

To prove that another party was responsible for your accident, you must prove that they were somehow negligent. California law states that everyone is responsible for providing a certain level of care to everyone else, and that they have a duty not to harm anyone else with their actions. To obtain compensation through a personal injury claim, you must show that the responsible party was required to behave a certain way, did not behave as they should, their behavior caused an accident, and that accident caused you to be injured.

California has a “comparative negligence doctrine,” which allows apportionment of responsibility to all parties involved in an accident. This means that you can be held partly responsible for an accident in which you were injured by someone else. For example, if you’re in a car accident in Santa Ana at night but it’s discovered that your headlights weren’t on at the time, a judge may decide you bear some responsibility for the accident. If a judge finds that you were 20 percent responsible for the accident because your headlights were off, any award you receive would be reduced by 20 percent.

Compensation for a Car Accident Claim

You can be compensated for any losses you sustained as a result of the accident, material or immaterial.

Losses with a specific monetary value are called economic damages. Some examples include:

  • Property damage
  • Medical bills
  • Lost wages
  • Household expenses

Losses without a specific monetary value are called non-economic damages. There are several categories, such as:

  • Pain and suffering
  • Mental anguish
  • Emotional distress
  • Loss of consortium
  • Loss of enjoyment of life

Talk to your attorney to determine which damages you are eligible to claim.

Santa Ana Car Accident Statistics

Here is some information about the prevalence and type of car accidents in Santa Ana and elsewhere:

  • More than half of fatal car accidents in Orange County between 1997 and 2019 occurred on well-lit streets at night.
  • The majority of car accidents in the Santa Ana area between 1997 and 2019 occurred on a Monday.
  • The number of fatal car accidents in Santa Ana has decreased recently, with 24 reported in 2016 and 12 reported in 2019.

Call Today for a Free Consultation

Call OnderLaw today, and let us review your case to see if an injury claim or lawsuit is right for you. The consultation is absolutely free, and you only pay for our services if we win, so you have nothing to lose. Call today, and let us help you get the compensation you deserve after a car accident.