Injury producing events can be varied including fire, assault on a person including battery, murder and sexual assault, molestation of children and disabled persons, car, motorcycle, bicycle, trailer tractor or truck, farm equipment and pedestrian accidents, construction accidents, agricultural accidents, accidents or injuries caused by machinery, slip /trip and falls, fallen merchandise, sexual assaults, defectively designed and/or manufactured products, dog bites and other injuries caused by animals or some form of ultra hazardous activities, injuries caused as a result of recreational or sport events, injuries caused by inhabitable premises including noxious gasses, mold, lead poisoning, asbestos exposure, injuries caused by a dangerous condition that exists on or around a property, as well as injuries resulting from medical or dental procedures. 

Potentially, there is a risk of personal injury to every person and most people may easily be putting themselves in situations which will cause them to face claims and/or lawsuits due to personal injuries to others.  Even though the possibility of a personal injury cannot be completely eliminated, there are things that can be done proactively to prepare for an incident that can result in personal injuries.  A big part of this preparation obviously should focus on how to prevent any such incident. However, knowing what to do in case of a personal injury is very important in order to preserve the rights of an injured person as well as the person who could potentially be legally responsible for those injuries.  Similarly, prior to the occurrence of any injury producing event, it is imperative for every person to make sure that they have proper insurance coverage to protect themselves in case of personal injury as well as a claim arising out of a personal injury to others.  An occurrence in that regard is a risk of personal injury to one person while it is a risk of liability claim for another.  Since one cannot determine what side of the coin one will be, every person must take measures to protect themselves against both risks.  This includes individuals, car or other vehicle owners, business owners, contractors, essentially every person or entity we can think.  Our attorney can advise and guide you as to what kinds and what levels of insurance protections can be obtained prior to any such occurrence. 

There are incidents involving personal injuries wherein the injured person, due to lack of knowledge and/or experience is not able to make a claim even though there is an insurance policy that could potentially provide coverage for them and their injuries.  On the other hand, there are incidents where a person or business is faced with a claim or lawsuit by another for personal injuries however, they either failed to obtain a proper insurance policy that could have protected and defended them against a claim like that or that they actually have coverage and protection by an existing policy obtained by them or by others but they are simply not aware of how that works.  Either scenario can cause all involved thousands of dollars in medical costs, past and future loss wages or earnings, litigation costs and other compensation and expenses.  Our attorneys can help you identify and pursue your rights. 

What to do in case of a personal injury depends on the type of injury producing event.  There are some things that are common in all incidents such as informing emergency medical personal and preserving evidence.  There are also different things to consider under each type of incident. 

What to do if you are involved in a Motor Vehicle Accident

If in fact you are involved in a car accident where you or someone else injured, contact police and/or emergency medical personnel immediately.  In California if you call 911, the operator will inform the police and also will ask you if anyone is injured and needs an ambulance.  Some injuries may not manifest themselves immediately and some may not be obvious, such as concussion or whiplash injuries or internal bleeding.  Do not take any chances and be cavalier about the question.  Be truthful, but do not shy away from communicating your suspicions and/or asking for an ambulance or help by paramedics or EMS if you believe that you do.  If you say you are not injured, you will most likely be asked whether you need a police officer.  Ina serious collusion, a police report is necessary and you will need to ask for it.  Sometimes a community service officer will come to do the report and you have a right to ask for one.  If worse comes to worst, you should go to police department as soon as you can to report the accident.  Sometimes, when you are injured and taken to the hospital, the police officer will come and see you in the hospital to take your statement about the accident.  Make sure that you are truthful and coherent and not under the influence of any medication at the time of your statement.

 If you are able, call a friend or relative to come and help you.  If not able to do it yourself, ask someone including police and EMS personnel or by standers to help you to call a friend or relative.  If you can call immediately your insurance company and inform them about the incident. 

Always make it your habit to carry a disposable camera in your car or vehicle.  If you are able to take as many photographs of the accident site, vehicles or persons involved, tire or yaw marks, intersection or the roadways, and area surrounding the immediate point of accident.  The more photographs you have the better it is.  Remember to document the damage to your vehicle as well as other vehicles involved in the accident.  If you are not able to take the photographs yourself, ask either the police officers or other EMS personal to help you or other people who are in the area to help you take photographs.  If you are seriously injured or cannot get out of your vehicle, you can always give your camera to someone to take as many photographs as possible for you.  If you do not have a camera in the car, try to locate and use your cell phone as almost of them have a camera function nowadays.  If there are witnesses in the area, try to capture their names and addresses and telephone numbers just in case they may leave the area before police or EMS arrival.  If necessary kindly ask witnesses to write this information on a piece of paper and leave it with you.  If the police is already there, make sure to point out the witnesses to them and ask the police to get their information.  If you have any suspicion that the other driver is under the influence, point out this fact to the police immediately and insist that they investigate.   Under no circumstances, get into arguments or confrontations with anyone at the accident scene.  Try to do your best to keep calm and be cooperative with the police and EMS personnel.  If you are asked about your injuries, be truthful, clear and complete.  Do not minimize or exaggerate or characterize your injuries as “major” or “minor”.  That is the job of the professionals at the site.  Communicate necessary information and avoid volunteering unnecessary information.  Do not comment on whose fault the accident was unless you are talking to the police and you are asked direct questions about the opposing party’s fault.  Under no circumstances, admit fault or enter into negotiations with the other driver(s) or insurance company representative(s).  Contact your own insurance company and contact and attorney to make sure that your rights are protected. 

Sometime after the day of the accident a representative from your insurance company or from the insurance company of any other party involved in the accident may try to contact and get a statement from you.  You will need to cooperate and provide the information to your own insurance company.  You have no obligation to do so with any other insurance company’s representative and you do not need to give recorded statements to them.  Your best plan of action would be to immediately contact your own insurance company and if you are the injured party to obtain your own attorney to pursue your case or if you are the party being sued, to wait for your own insurance company to assign you an attorney to defend you.  Under each scenario, it will be your attorney’s job to advise you as to how to handle the rest of the case.  Follow your attorney’s instructions. 

Personal Injuries Resulting From Pedestrian Accidents

As the urban areas get dense with population the amount of vehicles as well as pedestrians on the streets and sidewalks, etc., are continuing to increase.  This of course contributes to an increase in accidents involving pedestrians.  The common causes of pedestrian accident include, but by no means limited to, pedestrians running or walking into roadways, violation of traffic control lights (running a red light or stop sign), not noticing the vehicle or the pedestrian, people trying to get in or get out of a parked vehicle getting struck by other vehicles, cars backing up and hitting pedestrians, pedestrians getting injured as a result of fallen cargo or as a result of being hit by the side mirror of a large vehicle while waiting to cross the street, large trailer trucks not noticing pedestrians and pedestrians who are crossing the street being run over by the rear portions of trailer trucks, parked vehicle either as a result of driver negligence or product defect rolling down and hitting pedestrians, malfunctioning traffic lights, improperly designed cross-walks.  These are types of pedestrian accidents where there is an interaction between at least a pedestrian and a vehicle.  There are other pedestrian accidents without the involvement of a vehicle due to defective or dangerous conditions which are addressed under premises liability heading. 

The main factor in almost all pedestrian accidents is negligence either on the part of a vehicle driver or operator or the pedestrian.  Carelessness and not paying attention to one’s environment can cause very serious injuries.  Similarly, most pedestrian accidents are caused by speeding drivers or drivers who are under the influence or impaired due to alcohol or drugs consumption.  Pedestrian accidents tend to occur more at non-intersections and more in the urban areas.  However, they also occur in intersections and rural areas as well. 

If you or a friend or relative is involved in a pedestrian accident, immediately call the police to file a report.  Unless it is medically required, never leave the scene of the accident.  All of the advice that is given above regarding car accidents in general is also applicable here.  In that regard, try to preserve evidence, photograph the scene, vehicle(s) involved and any injuries sustained by anyone and take down names of witnesses.  If you are the party who was operating a vehicle involved in a pedestrian accident, immediately inform your insurance carrier and if you are the injured party immediately seek medical attention and help of an experience attorney without any delay when you have serious injuries. 

One must also remember that pedestrians in many instances may experience close head injuries as a result of being hit by a vehicle.  These types of injuries are not always detected.  This emphasizes the importance of requesting emergency medical help or presenting immediately to a medical facility if there is loss of consciousness or head trauma as a result of the incident. 

Motorcycle Accidents

Accidents involving motorcycle riders are in a category of their own as they represent more than 50,000 injuries and 3,000 fatalities each year in the United States.  They move very fast, they are light and agile however, they provide very little protection to the user and they are usually not readily noticed by the other drivers on the road.  The driver’s of other vehicles on the road, especially large trucks and SUV, which gradually have gotten bigger and bigger over the years, may not notice motorcycle drivers easily.  In that regard, the apparent advantages of motorcycles for being small, light and fast are also the potential hazards for its drivers.  For all these reasons, motorcycle drivers are in very serious danger even in case of relatively small accidents.  We have handled cases in the past where a driver of a motorcycle hit the curb at a very low speed when someone cut him off and he flew forward, hit the light pole and was killed.  Similarly, while going through the stopped traffic to cross a street, a motorcycle driver was bumped or tapped by a very slow moving car and his motorcycle tipped over pinning his leg underneath it which resulted in his leg being amputated.  Another example involves a driver of a motorcycle almost being decapitated due to a sagging telephone wire over the road in the middle of the night.  As motorcycles tend to share the lanes, this can create many hazards for them. 

There are various factors contributing to motorcycle accidents which may include but certainly not limited to, vehicle blind spots, lessened visibility due to size, speed, alcohol or drug related impairment while operating a motorcycle, product (design or manufacturing) defects in motorcycle, defects or dangerous conditions on the road such as large potholes, uneven pavements, debris or water or grease puddles on the roadways, whether conditions, such as rain, fog, wind, hail, snow, animals on the road, pedestrians or even parked vehicles.  However, operator negligence on the part of other motor vehicles on the road is still the number one or leading cause of all motorcycle accidents. 

What you should do in a case of a motorcycle accident is essentially the same with what is stated under motor vehicle accidents.  It is very important to get proper medical evaluation for any injuries sustained or even suspected.  It is also critical to contact with an experience attorney who is familiar with accidents and injuries involving motorcycles. 

Cases Involving Slip/Trip and Fall Injuries

Incidents involving slips/trips and falls are in the millions each year throughout the United States.  Falls in general can cause serious injuries such as sprain and strains to muscles back, neck, ankle or wrist injuries, broken bones, severe head injuries, paralysis, and even death. 

The slipping related falls are primarily caused by slippery surface and they are compounded by the type of footware worn.  There are essentially two types of slips involved in normal walking:  A forward slip occurs when the heal of the front foot contacts the walking surface and because of improper traction or friction between the walking surface and the shoe sole the foot slips forward thereby causing the person to fall backward.  A backward slip usually occurs as the heal of the back foot is lifted and the force is transferred to the front of the sole the foot slips backwards and causes the person to fall forward.  A fall is caused by a trip when the front of the either foot strikes an object and it is suddenly stopped in normal walking.  When the person’s foot is tripped, the upper body continues to move forward and usually the person will fall forward.  Under certain circumstances, the fall is due to an entrapment when the person’s foot is trapped under an object. 

Same level falls, like slips or trip type of falls, make up almost 65% of all falls.  There are other types of fall injuries however, including falls from elevated places such as ladders, stairs, platforms, elevators, loading docks, vehicles or structures. 

An owner or a possessor of a property is under a duty to maintain and keep the premises in a reasonably safe condition to prevent any risk of harm to others and to comply with the State and local building and safety codes.  This is however, not an absolute duty.  It is the reasonable person standard.  Furthermore, safety is a relative concept based on the criteria used to measure the same. 

If you are involved in an incident where you or someone else is injured as a result of a fall, immediately call an ambulance and also call the police.  The incident should also be reported to the owner or controller of the premises.  If you are the owner of the premises or the person in control of the premises, you should immediately inform your insurance carrier.  In any event, it is very critical to document the condition of the premises at the time of the fall as well as the instrumentalities involved and the injuries sustained.  This is called the “preservation of transitory evidence”.  This task must be accomplished as soon as possible.  Well preserved or documented transitory evidence will make or break the case on either side.  You must also obtain the names and addresses of all witnesses and contact an attorney specializing in fall related cases to protect your rights.