La Mesa Car Accident Attorney
Request Free ConsultationCar accidents are frightening, painful, and traumatic. Often, the trauma continues when the medical bills begin coming in and you’re not able to return to work because of your injuries. A La Mesa car accident attorney in San Diego County is the ally you need when a successful car accident claim can help you move forward from your accident.
When someone else’s negligent or reckless actions caused your accident, you shouldn’t be left holding the bag. According to California’s fault-based insurance laws, the person at-fault in an accident is liable for damages, but it’s rarely that simple. As the injury victim, you first have to prove negligence on the part of the person who caused the accident to their insurance company—and insurance company representatives are never happy to write out large checks. A San Diego personal injury attorney from Haffner & Morgan, LLP is ready to zealously defend your rights under Texas insurance law.
How Can a La Mesa Car Accident Attorney Help?
You shouldn’t have to go it alone against powerful insurance companies who protect their profits as their top priority. A car accident attorney in La Mesa knows how to counteract common insurance company tactics when they try to deny or undervalue claims. Instead of dealing with powerful insurance companies who do not have your best interests at heart, you should direct all communication with them to your San Diego car accident attorney at Haffner & Morgan, LLP. Your attorney will represent your interests by doing the following:
- Diligently filing all required paperwork for your claim
- Investigating the circumstances of your accident through the police report, traffic camera footage, dashcam footage, eyewitness testimony, photos, and accident reconstruction experts
- Review your medical report and medical bills to calculate damages, including your pain and suffering
- Draft a compelling demand letter to the appropriate insurance company
- Negotiate from a position of evidence-based strength to maximize your compensation
- Defend your rights in a lawsuit in court if unable to secure an ample settlement for your damages
Reach out to the La Mesa car accident lawyers at Haffner & Morgan today so we can begin strategizing the best way forward with personalized attention to your case.
Why Choose Our La Mesa Car Accident Attorneys?
Navigating the car accident claim process can be challenging. While chances are, you’ll only have to deal with this process once in a lifetime, our experienced car accident attorneys handle these cases on a daily basis with skill and efficiency. Choosing Haffner & Morgan for your La Mesa car accident case in San Diego County is the best move forward for the following reasons:
Case Results
Our strong reputation and 99% track rate of success puts strength behind your case from the beginning to the end of the process when your receive your check. View some of our case results here.
Personalized Attention
We purposely handle fewer cases compared to other law firms so we can devote fully focused time and personal attention to every client’s case.
Expertise
At Haffner & Morgan, LLP, we understand the importance of rigidly adhering to procedural details to avoid delays while also using our skilled investigative techniques to put strength behind your case. Our compassionate counsel and advice along with our dedication to achieving your desired outcome makes us renowned in the San Diego area.
Professionalism
At Haffner & Morgan, LLP, we handle even the most challenging cases with diligence, care, and competence. We will never leave you wondering what’s happening with your case. We keep open lines of communication so you’re included in decisions and kept fully informed throughout the process
Common Causes of Car Accidents in La Mesa
Most car accidents occur due to driver error. There are many ways that negligence, recklessness, or intentional wrongdoing behind the wheel ends in a crash. Common causes of La Mesa car accidents include the following:
- Distracted driving
- Speeding
- Failure to yield the right of way
- Improper merging
- Unsafe lane changes
- Intoxicated driving
- Aggressive or reckless driving
- Improper turns
- Poor road maintenance (potholes or debris in the road)
- Slippery road conditions
- Inclement weather and poor visibility
- Defective auto parts
- Poor roadway planning
A negligent driver is most commonly the liable party in a car accident, but depending on the results of the investigation, the liable party could be the manufacturer of a defective auto part, a negligent road maintenance agency, or a road-planning agency that created a hazardous condition. It takes an experienced car accident attorney to investigate an accident and determine the cause, the correct liable party, and the appropriate insurance company with which to file a claim for compensation.
What Types of Car Accidents Happen in La Mesa?
The crash force in a car accident causes serious injuries, even when vehicle occupants wear their seatbelts properly. A car accident propels the victim forward against the seatbelt and then snaps them back against the seat. Depending on the type of crash, the interior structures of the vehicle also crumple inward at high force, causing injuries. Common types of car accidents in California include the following:
- T-bone accidents (angle collisions) at 44.9% of two-car accidents
- Head-on collisions at 29.6%
- Rear-end collisions at 17.3%
- Sideswipe accidents at 8.2%
- Roadway departures
- Rollover accidents
- Multi-car collisions
- Commercial truck vs. car accident
Car accidents happen in a moment but can end in months of pain, medical treatments, rehabilitation, and challenging legal processes.
Common Car Accident Injuries in La Mesa
Depending on the type of car accident, the speed of the vehicles when the accident occurred, and the safety features of the vehicle in the crash, injuries range from mild to severe. Severe injuries may be life-altering, resulting in disability and difficulty earning a living. Even victims of less serious injuries deserve fair compensation, since they may quickly face financial hardship with a large emergency room bill and a single missed paycheck. Common injuries in car accidents include the following:
- Broken bones
- Back injuries
- Neck injuries
- Wrist injuries
- Shoulder injuries
- Knee injuries
- Head injuries/traumatic brain injuries
- Thoracic injuries/internal organ damage
- Burns
- Facial trauma
- Bruises, abrasions, lacerations, and soft-tissue damage
A car accident also causes significant emotional trauma. If a car accident results in wrongful death, a La Mesa wrongful death accident attorney from Haffner & Morgan can help close family members recover compensation for damages such as loss of income for the number of working years the loved one had left to them plus compensation for grief and anguish.
What to Do After a Car Accident in La Mesa
If you’ve been seriously hurt after a car accident, it’s best to remain in place and wait for emergency services (EMS) to arrive to help you. However, if you’re able to safely move and use your phone, it becomes a powerful tool for your physical and financial recovery. You can also hand your phone to an uninjured person and ask them to take the following steps for you:
- Call 911 to report the accident and request EMS
- Record a brief description of what you remember about the accident while it’s fresh in your mind
- Take photos of the damaged vehicles and accident scene, including anything relevant, like traffic signals and signs
- Take photos of any visible injuries
- Add the contact information of the other driver(s) and eyewitnesses
After you arrive at the hospital, tell the doctor about all of your symptoms and ask for a detailed written report including the provider’s recommendation for your treatment and their prognosis for your recovery. Keep all medical bills and keep track of your lost wages. Gather this data and the police report and call the La Mesa car accident lawyers at Haffner & Morgan, LLP, for a free consultation.
Proving Liability After a La Mesa Car Accident
After a car accident, obtaining compensation requires proving how the accident occurred, who was at fault, and who is liable for the damages like medical expenses, lost wages, and compensation for pain and suffering. Proving liability requires a thorough investigation and documenting compelling evidence of negligence including showing the following:
- The at-fault party owed a duty of care to the injury victim and others on the road, such as a driver’s duty to follow traffic laws and avoid distraction
- They breached this duty through an act of negligence
- The negligent breach of duty directly caused the accident
- The injury victim suffered damages due to the injury
After a skilled attorney makes an evidence-backed demand for compensation for a client, they begin negotiations for a settlement.
What Type of Compensation is Available for Car Accident Claims?
Damages add up quickly after a car accident, especially when you and your loved ones suffered injuries as well as property damage. A successful car accident claim could recover compensation for your damages including:
- Property damage
- Medical expenses
- Future medical expenses for complex injuries requiring ongoing treatment
- Lost wages
- Future lost income
- Pain and suffering
- Any other non-economic damages that apply in your case, like PTSD, disfigurement, loss of limb, or loss of pleasure in life
Car accidents can have life-altering consequences. A successful car accident claim in California can’t erase the injury, but it can help you focus on maximizing your physical healing with fewer financial worries.
Will I Need to Go to Court for a Car Accident Claim?
Over 90% of car accident injury victims recover compensation without having to set foot in a courtroom. Having a seasoned car accident attorney working on your case can help you recover damages through a settlement. Only in the event that the insurance company fails to pay out on your claim or seriously undervalues your compensation does the case proceed to a lawsuit in court. In this case, your La Mesa car accident attorney will aggressively defend your rights to achieve a favorable jury award.
What is the Statute of Limitations for Car Accident Claims in California?
If your case isn’t settled directly with the insurance company, your attorney will file a lawsuit in court within the state’s statute of limitations. California places a two-year time limit on personal injury lawsuits in order to ensure that evidence is still available and testimony is fresh and relevant.
Proudly Serving San Diego Neighborhoods
La Mesa | El Cajon | Clairemont | North Park | South Park | Old Town | Point Loma | Balboa Park | Bankers Hill | East Village | Mission Valley | Normal Heights | Hillcrest | Little Italy | University Heights | Gaslamp Quarter | Mission Hills | Bay Park | Bay Ho | Pacific Beach | La Jolla | Torrey Pines | Encinitas | Solana Beach |
Contact the La Mesa Car Accident Lawyers at Haffner & Morgan Today
When you’ve been seriously injured in a devastating car accident, you need an attorney with skill, experience, and resources on your side to streamline the process and maximize your compensation. A successful claim also helps accident victims to achieve a sense of justice and closure as they move forward. Call our La Mesa law office today for a free consultation and pay nothing upfront. We only take a fee once we’ve secured your compensation.