Auto

Auto Accident Attorney

Auto accidents are a daily part of life in San Francisco and unfortunately many of those car accidents involve personal injury. These accidents can have a destabilizing effect on your life and it’s important to understand 1) how to prevent them from occurring in the first place and 2) what you need to do to seek financial recovery. Sally Morin, a popular San Francisco personal injury attorney offers up tips and advice on both subjects.

Car accidents are one of the most common ways people are injured. More than 2,600,000 people were hurt or killed in car accidents, compared to just over 1,000 people who were hurt or killed in aviation accidents in the United States in 2007. Yet more people worry about airplane crashes than car accidents. It is important for people who travel by car to know how to avoid car accidents, which are so common, and how to protect their rights if they are involved in an accident.

Car Accidents - How to Avoid Them

While some auto accidents are unavoidable, there are steps that you can take to avoid as many accidents as possible. In order to protect yourself, it is important that you:

Follow all the rules of the road. Obey the speed limit, wear your seat belt and do not use your cell phone while driving.

Make sure that your car is in good working order. Make sure that the tires are properly inflated, that your lights are working and that you have all of the necessary fluids.

Stay alert. Do not drive while you are tired, on heavy medication or intoxicated. Look in
your mirrors often and be aware of your surroundings.

What to Do if You Are in A Car Accident

Sometimes, despite your best efforts to drive safely, car accidents happen. When a crash does occur, it is important to know what to do to protect your rights. First, and most importantly, seek medical care for anyone who is injured and call the California Highway Patrol or local police. Next, obtain as much information as you can from the other driver including driver license information, car description, license plate number and automobile insurance information. Also, speak with any witnesses to the accident to obtain their contact information. Although the police usually do this if they make a report, sometimes they only speak with select witnesses. If possible, take pictures of the scene of the accident and the damage to the vehicles (cell phones are good for this purpose).

As soon as everyone who needs urgent medical care has been taken care of and you have notified the police, it is important to contact your local San Francisco personal injury lawyer and insurance agent to notify them of the accident. They will advise you on the next steps to take given your specific accident circumstances. Remember that evidence gets harder and harder to gather as time passes after the accident. The sooner that you contact your attorney, the sooner the attorney can begin to talk to witnesses and gather the physical evidence that will be necessary for your case.

What NOT to Do if You Are in a Car Accident

The most important thing to remember is not to talk with any investigator (other than the on-site police officers) or insurance personnel for the other driver's insurance carrier until you speak with a personal injury attorney.

Carry Appropriate Insurance Coverage

Everyone who drives an automobile should carry the proper insurance coverage that is right for his or her particular situation. It is important to understand exactly what your automobile insurance policy covers. If you are unsure about your current policy, then you should contact your insurance broker or insurance company and request that they explain it to you. If you have a copy of your policy, the insurance declarations page (usually page 1) will explain your coverage to you.

In California, the minimum insurance a person must carry is what is called a 15/30 bodily injury policy. This means that if someone carries the minimum limits in California and they injure someone with their car, their insurance will only cover $15,000.00 of the injured persons claim or $30,000.00 if more than one person is injured. As we all know, the cost of medical care, especially ambulances and emergency room visits, is very expensive. $15,000.00 does not buy much medical care, and if you carry the minimum limits and injure someone beyond a simple whiplash, they could feasibly go after your personal assets, or even income you have yet to earn.

This is why you should make sure you have insurance coverage that equals or exceeds your assets or your "net worth". You can obtain the amount of insurance coverage that is right for you by speaking with a qualified insurance representative.

If you do not have an insurance broker, or are looking for a new one, Attorney Morin recommends: Greg Gurovich, a reputable Insurance broker with On Market Insurance in San Francisco says:

Liability is probably the most important part of an auto, motorcycle, RV and/or watercraft's insurance policy. It is required by most state auto insurance laws. Liability car insurance protects you against the cost of damage and injury that you cause to another in an automobile accident.

It's actually made up of two different policies; bodily injury liability and property damage liability. As you might guess, bodily injury insurance protects you from the cost of personal injury to others, and property damage insurance protects you from the cost of damage you cause to any physical property.

You've probably seen automobile policies described by three numbers (like 50/100/25). These numbers refer to auto liability insurance.

They're usually called the split limits of liability insurance. Under our example auto liability insurance policy, you'd be covered for up to:

$50,000 worth of bodily injury caused to another person
$100,000 for bodily injuries caused to everyone
$25,000 worth of property damage.

California's car insurance law requires the minimum auto liability limits to be at 15/30/5.

Even though it may be tempting to save a few bucks by going with the minimum liability required in your state, it is always worth investing in a little extra protection.

Our recommendation is to carry minimum limits of 100/300/100 and 500/500/500 (500 CSL) if you are a homeowner and/or business owner. We even recommend that you add at least a 1M umbrella to your insurance arsenal. This gives you excess liability protection of 1M over the underlying limits. In order to have an umbrella policy in force, the primary auto liability limits must be at least 250/500/100.

We also recommend carrying matching uninsured/underinsured liability limits. This coverage protects you and all your passengers from getting into an accident with a driver who either has no liability limits or minimal ones.

If you have questions about your coverage, Mr. Gurovich can be reached at: On Market Insurance Associates - (415) 487-1810, ggurovich@onmarketins.com.

Car accidents can be expensive and life changing. Car accident victims may have high medical bills, lost wages and potentially permanent disabilities. In order to protect your assets and reach a fair resolution to the problems created by an accident, it is important to carry adequate car insurance and to work with a San Francisco personal injury attorney like Sally Morin who is well qualified to help you resolve the issues created by your San Francisco car accident.