California Personal Injury Lawyers Blog
Two Los Angeles Police Department officers were injured when their vehicle was rear ended in Los Angeles. The two occupants of the car that rear ended the patrol car fled the scene and were not located by police.
The Los Angeles rear end accident happened near the intersection of Whitworth Drive and Fairfax Boulevard. According to the Los Angeles Times, the two officers who were injured in the accident sustained back and neck injuries and were treated at a local hospital.
This will likely be considered a work accident and the officers should be able to make a workers’ compensation claim for their injuries. Also, because the suspects left the vehicle and fled the scene on foot, police will be able to determine who the owner of the vehicle was. This will help investigators determine if the owner was involved in the Los Angeles car accident or if the car was stolen from the owner prior to the accident, in which case the owner may not bear any legal liability.
If the owner carried liability insurance, and was the driver or allowed someone else to drive the car, the police officers may make a bodily injury insurance claim against the owner’s insurance coverage. If no insurance is found, then the police officers may make a claim with their own uninsured motorist coverage, which may be covered by the police department for this type of situation.
Because of the physical nature of their jobs as police officers, it is likely that the injured officers will have to take some time off of work due to their injuries. The injured officers should contact a Los Angeles personal injury attorney in order to make a claim for their damages, including medical bills, pain, suffering and any loss of earnings (even if paid for the missed time) they incur.