Filing a Personal Injury Claim after a Highway Accident in California

This legal guide explores the unique issues of liability in highway accidents in California. From solo vehicle rollover accidents to multi-fatality bus accidents and freeway pileups involving dozens of vehicles, crashes on California highways seriously injure or kill thousands of people each year.

California Auto Accident Statistics

About 90% of all injury accidents in California occur on highway, and about 4,000 people die each year in motor vehicle accidents in California. Most of these fatal crashes occur on highways and freeways. More than a thousand fatal accidents are DUI-related. Because vehicles on highways are travelling at higher speeds, both drivers and passengers are more likely to suffer serious injury or death in a highway or freeway accident than in an accident on a city street.

Highway and Interstate Accidents

California has more than 16,000 miles of freeways and highways. These roads are used by automobiles, large semi-trucks, motorcycles, buses, Cal-trans vehicles, and even cyclists and pedestrians. Types of accidents that occur on highways include solo vehicle rollover crashes, collisions with debris, guardrails, and trees, head-on collisions, T-bone collisions, bus accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents and bicycle accidents. Accidents may be caused by negligent or distracted motorists, drunk drivers, speeding drivers, debris falling from vehicles, other drivers falling asleep at the wheel, defective road conditions, insufficient illumination, lack of road maintenance, poor road design, poor sign placement, defective automobiles, and numerous other causes. If you have been hurt in a highway accident that was not your fault, you deserve to be compensated for your injuries. 

Highway Accident Investigations

Establishing what parties were at fault for an accident is an important first step in obtaining compensation. This starts, but does not necessarily end, with the California Highway Patrol report. If you are involved in a highway accident in California and suffered any kind of injury, do not leave the scene of the crash until the California Highway Patrol (CHP) has responded to the scene and taken a report. You should also collect the contact information of drivers and passengers involved in the accident and the contact information of any witnesses that stopped at the scene. Finally, once you have addressed your immediate medical needs, you should contact a California personal injury lawyer. If your accident involved a serious injury, an attorney will likely hire an independent investigator to determine the cause of the accident and what parties were at fault. For this reason, it is advisable to contact an attorney soon after the accident.

Compensation for California Highway Accidents

Victims of California automobile accidents may be entitled to compensation for their past and future medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, rehabilitation, and other expenses related to an accident. An experienced attorney can help you obtain the full and fair compensation you deserve for your injuries. If a member of your family died in an accident, you may be entitled to compensation for wrongful death. Contact an attorney with experience handling highway accidents to determine your legal rights for compensation. Most California car accident attorneys handle cases on a "no-win, no-fee" basis. Due to a statute of limitations, you have a limited amount of time to bring a claim for your injuries or a loved one’s wrongful death, so do not delay in seeking representation from a qualified California accident lawyer.