An injury crash where your vehicle was struck multiple times is one clear example where having a skillful San Mateo car accident lawyer can be invaluable. Depending on what the facts and evidence from the crash show, you may have a claim for compensation against one of those drivers, all of those drivers, or some (but not all) of them.
California Highway Patrol's "Bay Area Traffic Incidents" Twitter feed reports on a variety of events that require a police, fire, and/or paramedic response. This past New Year's Eve, the CHP tweeted about an incident that definitely falls into the "things you don't hear/read every day" category.
The tweet informed readers a traffic collision had occurred in the 4 o'clock hour in Oakland, on westbound Highway 24 just east of Broadway. CHP and the Oakland Fire Department had responded and an ambulance was en route. According to the tweet, a black Mercedes Benz 550 had been "rear ended 5-6 times."
We don't know the specifics about how the Mercedes came to get struck nearly a half-dozen times but, regardless, this Oakland incident serves as a useful reminder about auto accidents and the injuries that result from them.
A lot of multi-vehicle crashes involve special circumstances like a big rig or poor weather. A distracted, intoxicated, drowsy, or otherwise impaired trucker may fail to spot stopped traffic in front of him/her and strike with such force that the collision impacts numerous vehicles. In a situation like that, the trucker and/or his employer may be entirely liable for all the damage.
Other times, weather-related poor visibility leads to multi-vehicle accidents. The bad weather leads to an initial crash and, because the subsequent drivers fail to see the initial accident in time, they keep piling into the other vehicles. While those drivers may not have been exceeding the posted speed limit, the evidence might show that they were driving too fast for the conditions, and each could be liable for your harm. California injury law follows a set of rules called "pure comparative negligence." That means that you potentially can recover an award from the court even if you were partly at fault; in fact, even if you were the primary cause of the crash. For example, say you were hurt in a three-car collision and the court concluded that you were 60% liable and each of the other two drivers was 20% liable. If the court also determined that you endured $300,000 in damages, you can recover $60,000 from each of the other two drivers, even though the crash was mostly your fault.
The Importance of the Right Legal Team
If you've been injured in an auto accident, whether it involved two, three, or a dozen vehicles, you need a skilled advocate on your side. An injury accident can adversely impact your life in countless ways and trigger a variety of types of harm, including medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. By retaining the right legal counsel as quickly as possible, you can give yourself the best chance of success in your court case. The experienced San Mateo personal injury lawyer at Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos, LLP are here to help. Our team has decades of experience helping the injured to get the recovery they need. Contact one of our helpful attorneys at 650-345-8484 or through our website.
