Have you been involved in a car accident in the Santa Clarita area that wasn’t your fault? Have you or a loved one suffered injuries or financial loss as a result of a car accident? If so, you may be entitled to compensation for the losses these injuries caused you. This road to recovery can be difficult and stressful when handled by yourself, but the experienced Santa Clarita personal injury lawyers of OnderLaw can make the process easier and ensure you receive the compensation you’re entitled to.

Call today for a free consultation. We’ll advise you about your rights and your possible legal options for pursuing the compensation you deserve.

Why Do I Need an Attorney?

If you’ve suffered injuries in a car accident, your priority should be your health. It’s hard to concentrate on your physical recovery if you’re also trying to manage a complicated insurance claim or navigate the legal system. You will likely get flooded by phone calls, paperwork, and hard-to-understand legal documents in the aftermath of a car accident. It is normal to feel overwhelmed during this time, especially when you aren’t sure who you can trust. An attorney experienced in car accident cases will handle all these issues for you and allow you to focus on getting well.

Insurance company representatives will probably contact you after your accident to get a statement from you. Because these companies are businesses, they are more interested in their own financial wellbeing than your health or your right to compensation. They make money by denying claims filed against them or reducing settlement amounts as much as they can. They may try to use your statement against you or try to shift blame for the accident on to you.

That’s why it’s important to hire an attorney right away. An attorney from OnderLaw understands how to communicate with insurance companies and will ensure that they don’t take advantage of you. Your attorney will conduct their own accident investigations and gather evidence. They will then use this information to build an argument that supports their demands for the full financial compensation you’re allowed under California law.

If negotiations with the insurance company aren’t successful, you may consider the option of filing a personal injury lawsuit. This is not something you should try to tackle by yourself. The ins and outs of the legal system can be confusing and daunting. Individuals represented by attorneys tend to have significantly better outcomes in court than individuals without legal representation.

Why Should I Choose OnderLaw to Represent Me?

The lawyers at OnderLaw have been helping clients like you for almost twenty years. We pride ourselves on the personal relationships we’ve built with thousands of clients over the past two decades. To us, you’re not merely a statistic. You’re somebody who deserves compassion and respect during a difficult period of your life. As soon as you first contact us, we will make you our top priority. Our team of reputable, experienced lawyers has extensive knowledge of the California legal system and claims process. We will support you, guide you, and fight for the compensation you deserve.

Since the founding of OnderLaw in 2002, we’ve helped our clients earn over $3 billion in settlements. Because we work on a contingency fee basis, we don’t ask you for any upfront payment. If we’re successful in obtaining compensation for you, we will take a percentage of your award for our fees and costs. But if we’re unable to get you money, you won’t owe us anything. However your case turns out, we promise we’ll provide you with respectful, compassionate, knowledgeable, and dedicated representation.

Call us today for a free consultation. We’re ready to help you get through this challenging time.

Types of Car Accidents

Although all car accidents are different, and each presents its own unique set of circumstances, they usually fall into a general category that OnderLaw has experience with. These categories include:

  • Single-car accidents
  • Multi-car accidents
  • Head-on accidents
  • Rear-end accidents
  • T-bone accidents
  • Sideswipe accidents
  • One-way accidents
  • Hit-and-run accidents
  • Rideshare accidents
  • Commercial vehicle accidents
  • Pedestrian accidents
  • Bicycle accidents

Causes of Car Accidents

There is a wide range of causes of car accidents in Santa Clarita. OnderLaw has experience handling all of them. Some of the most common causes of crashes include:

  • Distracted driving
  • Excessive speed
  • Impaired driving
  • Fatigued driving
  • Poor road conditions
  • Inclement weather
  • Reckless driving
  • Unsafe lane change
  • Failure to yield
  • Poor vehicle maintenance

Common Injuries Suffered in Car Accidents

Car accidents can result in many different types of injuries, not only to the drivers and passengers in the vehicles involved but also to nearby pedestrians and bicyclists. Extenuating circumstances, such as impaired driving and excessive speed, frequently lead to severe injuries. Some of the more common injuries that OnderLaw sees include:

  • Broken bones
  • Whiplash
  • Traumatic brain injury
  • Paralysis
  • Concussions
  • Head and neck injuries
  • Sprains and strains
  • Soft tissue injuries
  • Internal injuries
  • Lacerations
  • Burns
  • Scarring and disfigurement
  • Amputation
  • Coma
  • Death

Who Is Responsible for My Car Accident?

According to California law, everyone has a duty to act with a certain level of care for everybody else around them. If somebody fails to perform this duty and that failure results in an accident that injured you, they could be held responsible for your accident. For a successful personal injury claim, your attorney will need to demonstrate that the responsible party owed you a level of care, that their behavior did not meet this required level of care, that their behavior caused an accident, and that the accident caused your injuries.

California follows the doctrine of “comparative negligence.” This means that courts determine approximately how responsible each party is for causing a car accident. For example, if you’re involved in a car accident in Santa Clarita, and the other party discovers you were operating a vehicle with faulty brakes, the court could find that you were thirty percent responsible for the accident. In that case, any financial compensation you are found to be owed would be reduced by thirty percent.

Compensation for a Car Accident Claim

Your attorney can help you receive compensation for two different categories of losses related to the accident.

The first category is economic damages. These damages are losses with a specific dollar value. A few examples are:

  • Past and future medical expenses
  • Property damage
  • Past and future lost wages
  • Household expenses

For economic damages, it’s extremely important for you to keep records and receipts of all the various expenses you’ve incurred because of the accident. This includes such things as hospital or doctor visit receipts, prescription medication receipts, and bills for emotional counseling.

The second category of losses is noneconomic damages, which are losses that negatively impact your wellbeing but don’t necessarily have a specific dollar value. A few examples are:

  • Pain and suffering
  • Mental anguish
  • Emotional distress
  • Loss of consortium (loss of the benefits of a family relationship)
  • Loss of enjoyment (reduction in one’s quality of life)

It is very difficult to put a price on these types of losses. And you may not even realize the extent of these losses until you speak with a licensed mental health professional. Talking to a psychotherapist about the anxiety, stress, and trauma that results from a car accident can play a key role in your recovery.

Additionally, it is important for you to have an attorney who can help you obtain compensation for all of the different types of losses you’ve suffered. The attorneys at OnderLaw have extensive knowledge of claims of this type and all the varieties of losses that you may have encountered. We know how to assess all the losses associated with your accident and arrive at an appropriate dollar value to demand from the insurance company. Should they fail to provide an acceptable settlement offer, we will be prepared to take your case to court.

California and Santa Clarita Accident Statistics

Here is some information about car accidents in Santa Clarita and California.

  • There were ten fatal car accidents in Santa Clarita in 2019.
  • Four of these fatal car accidents involved impaired
  • Nearly fifty percent of Santa Clarita’s fatal car accidents occur during daylight
  • Over ninety percent of Santa Clarita’s fatal car accidents occur during clear weather
  • In California in 2019, fifty percent of all drivers involved in fatal accidents who were tested, tested positive for legal and/or illegal drugs.
  • Overall, traffic fatalities in California dropped by 5.1 percent  from 2018 to 2019.

Contact OnderLaw Today

If you or a loved one has been injured by another driver’s negligent actions, don’t wait to contact OnderLaw. Under California law, you must file a lawsuit within two years of the accident date. Our attorneys are here to support and guide you through every step of this challenging process. We’ll tirelessly work on your behalf to bring you the financial compensation you deserve. Call us today for a free consultation.