Car Accidents

Los Angeles Intersection Collisions and Red Light Cameras

December 14, 2010 | by Robert Walch

Many Los Angeles auto collisions and serious injuries occur in intersection accidents, usually caused by one party running a red light. Without eye-witness accounts, it is often very hard to figure out which party ran the red light. According to the Los Angeles Times, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck is recommending that Los Angeles continue the controversial red-light camera program.

This program, in an attempt to reduce Los Angeles red light collisions and injuries, as well as raise money for the City, has lost the City of Los Angeles 2.5 million dollars in the last two years. Chief Beck’s justification for the program is that “the number of citations for red-light violations has quadrupled from 14,000 to 59,000 annually since the program began in 2007.” In addition, according to Beck, “from 2004 to 2009, red-light traffic collisions have declined 63%. There were five red-light fatalities from 2004 to 2006 and none since the program began.” The argument is that Los Angeles drivers are aware of the program and, in turn, do not run as many red lights. This is key to keeping Los Angeles drivers safe, as, according to Beck, “a top National Highway Traffic Safety Administration official testified before Congress last June that about 1,000 people die annually in red-light traffic collisions.”

4 Car Collision in North Hills Injures 5 After High Speed Chase

December 13, 2010 | by Robert Walch

A high speed chase of a suspected drunk driver, that started in Calabasas, California, ended with a 4 car collision in North Hills on Friday. The suspect in the chase was the most seriously injured, while the 4 other injuries are believed to be minor to moderate, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Unfortunately, high speed chases ending in a multi-vehicle collision in Los Angeles are an all too common occurrence. Fortunately, here, the injuries to innocent bystanders do not appear to be very serious.

The question continues to come up as to whether these Los Angeles high speed chases are actually necessary. Some commentators advise that a new system of simply tracking the vehicle without the fleet of patrol cars following at high speeds would be a safer option for the public.

Los Angeles Body Shop for Auto Collision Repair

December 12, 2010 | by Robert Walch

Los Angeles auto accident victims have many choices when it comes to repairing their vehicles. There are many body shops in Los Angeles for people to choose from and many considerations that must be taken into account when choosing a Los Angeles body shop.

After a car accident in Los Angeles, oftentimes the applicable insurance coverage will dictate what happens to your vehicle.

Usually, the at-fault driver’s insurance company will pay for the damage to your vehicle (whether it be a total loss or repairable). However, sometimes, especially when there is a dispute over liability, a person’s own insurance (through collision coverage) will pay for his or her damage, and then later seek reimbursement from the at-fault driver or his/her insurance company, through what is called subrogation.

Drunk Driver Injures Los Angeles School Bus Passengers

December 9, 2010 | by Robert Walch

On Monday, two high school students were injured in yet another Southern California drunk driving accident. Their school bus was hit by a Ford truck, which was apparently driven by a drunk driver. Fortunately, the injuries to the students were minor. Unfortunately, Los Angeles drunk driving collisions continue to occur.

All too frequently, Los Angeles drivers, passengers and pedestrians are injured by drunk drivers. Our office has handled cases of Los Angeles drunk driving accidents involving drunk drivers running stop signs or red lights, driving the wrong direction on roads, rear ending a stopped car, making unsafe turns, etc.

While many drunk drivers often escape serious injury, their victims are often not as lucky. While we have seen cases where the drunk driver was able to run from the scene of the collision, our clients have been seriously injured by Los Angeles drunk drivers.

Avoiding a Rain Accident in Los Angeles

December 3, 2010 | by Robert Walch

Although rainy days are rare in Los Angeles, they do appear every once in a while and cause plenty of hardships to Los Angeles commuters. Driving in rainy conditions can be very dangerous and we wish to remind our readers to be extra careful to avoid auto accidents caused by the rain.

One reason many accidents occur in the rain is decreased visibility, especially at night. This, combined with the fact that it takes cars a longer time to stop in the rain, mean that drivers should keep a much larger distance between their car and the cars around them.

Because there are more Los Angeles auto accidents in the rain, this often causes more traffic as drivers look to see what is going on in the shoulder of the road. It is very important to always concentrate on the road and not be too distracted with looking at ambulances, fire engines and police cars. These distractions often turn one Los Angeles auto accident into many.

Traffic Accidents – Some Tips To Help Avoid

November 30, 2010 | by Gary Walch

There are so many ways to get into car, truck, motorcycle and bicycle accidents in congested Los Angeles, including Hollywood, Inglewood, Culver City, Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, Woodland Hills, Canoga Park and Calabasas, so we want to provide a couple of useful reminders to share with your loved ones and friends to try to avoid getting into a preventable accident.

Turning right – When turning right, how often does someone look right, then left and then turn, without checking again for oncoming cars, bicycle riders, skateboarders and pedestrians suddenly coming from the right. Always look right again before turning right.

Turning left — Never turn unless you can see all oncoming cars and you know it is clear. Ignore the honks from the person behind. That person won’t be around to pay your damages or increased insurance rates if you make an unsafe turn causing a collision (Yes, your insurance rates will go up if it is a chargeable collision – that is, if it is decided by your insurer that you contributed more than 50% to causing the collision. More about that in a future blog).

Happy Thanksgiving From Your Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorneys

November 25, 2010 | by Robert Walch

We, at Gary K. Walch, A Law Corporation, your Los Angeles personal injury attorneys, would like to wish all our family, friends, clients and colleagues a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

Throughout the year, and for over 30 years, we have been helping injury victims obtain recoveries for their losses. Recently, we have helped and obtained settlements for a wide range of injury victims, from people who have had an auto accident in North Hollywood, a slip and fall accident in Woodland Hills, a dog attack in Van Nuys, a burn injury in Encino, and many more injury claims throughout the greater Los Angeles area.

We recently obtained a very favorable settlement for a woman who was hit by a car in San Bernardino. Despite the insurance company originally treating her unfairly, after we filed a lawsuit on her behalf, we were able to get her the recovery she deserved for her injuries, pain, suffering and loss of earnings.

Avoiding Los Angeles Personal Injury Case Pitfalls

November 22, 2010 | by Robert Walch

It is continually getting harder and harder to obtain a fair personal injury settlement in Los Angeles. Insurance companies will make every argument possible for why you, the victim of someone else’s negligence, do not deserve a fair recovery for your Los Angeles personal injury claim.

One mistake that accident victims frequently make is giving statements to the other party’s insurance company after an accident. If you give a statement, without an experienced Los Angeles personal injury attorney present, you may be committing certain mistakes that can seem innocent at the time, but may torpedo your case’s settlement value.

Another mistake Los Angeles accident victims make is thinking they can handle their claim on their own. We get countless calls from people who attempted to handle their case on their own, and then felt like they were being given the run around and treated unfairly by the insurance company. While we are usually able to help these people, there is not much that can be done to reverse some mistakes that they have already made. These clients often tell us they wish they called us the day of the accident, or from the scene of the accident, as they learn that this would have helped them maximize their recovery on their personal injury case in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Auto Accident Recovery Keypoints

November 20, 2010 | by Robert Walch

If you are injured in an auto accident in Los Angeles, the last thing you are probably thinking about is preserving evidence for a personal injury case. However, if you are physically able, or have a family member or friend who can help you, getting and preserving evidence will have a huge impact on your potential recovery.

Once you have obtained the other driver’s information (driver’s license number, address, phone number, license plate number, insurance company policy information, etc.), it is then important to document how the accident happened. If the other party is admitting liability (fault) at the scene, and seems genuinely apologetic, see if the other party will sign a short document stating that he/she caused the accident. While this may seem silly, especially in cases such as a seemingly simple rear end collision, oftentimes the responsible party will change his/her story when it comes to reporting the facts of the collision to his/her insurance company. If you have a signed document, this will help prevent the other party from changing his/her story.

One important type of evidence is photographs. People injured in an accident in Los Angeles should take photographs of the scene of the injury as well as of any visible injuries. Take photos from multiple angles and get injury photos with good lighting. Photos of visible injuries, taken as soon as possible after the auto accident, can significantly increase the value of your case. Make sure to keep the pictures in a safe place and maintain them until well after your case is fully resolved.

Huntington Beach Drunk Driving Prevention Proposal

November 17, 2010 | by Robert Walch

Due to a significant problem with drunk driving injuries in Huntington Beach, the Huntington Beach City Council and Police Department are considering a policy of publicly shaming drunk drivers on Facebook.

According to the Los Angeles Times, “A July report by the city said there is ‘a significant DUI problem in Huntington Beach,’ citing 274 alcohol-related collisions and 1,687 drunk-driving arrests last year — one of the highest rates statewide for a city its size.”

This is a major concern as we all know the risk that drunk drivers pose to not only other drivers and pedestrians, but also to themselves. The theory seems to be that the threat of injury, severe fines and possible jail or prison time are not enough and that the fear of a public ridicule on Facebook may help prevent drunken driving injuries in Huntington Beach.