Los Angeles Attorneys

Automobile Crashes

Motor vehicle crashes often arise from careless driving. These acts of negligence include:

• Speeding
• Running a red light or stop sign
• Driving too fast for the conditions, such as wet roads, fog or traffic congestion
• Failing to adequately look out for traffic
• Unsafe lane changes or turns

A Los Angeles personal injury lawyer sees distracted driving as a significant culprit in motor vehicle accidents. Drivers who text, view and send messages, call and surf the Internet are inattentive. Their recklessness can cause serious injuries and deaths. Nationally, 3,142 people died in 2019 at the hands of distracted driving.

Motorists who are impaired by alcohol or drugs pose serious risks to other drivers, passengers and pedestrians. With impaired driving comes a loss of judgment and ability to stop suddenly or in time to avoid a crash. In 2018, alcohol played a role in 2,810 deaths and injuries in Los Angeles.

Motorcycle Crashes

Distractions, impairment and inattention carry potentially serious consequences for motorcycle operators and passengers. The only protection in a collision for motorcyclists comes from a helmet. If you’re in a motorcycle crash, you will likely face serious injuries or even the risk of death. A personal injury attorney Los Angeles pursues drivers who failed to observe a motorcycle before turning in front of or trying to pass the motorcycle.

Truck Accidents

At Pacific Attorney Group, we also understand the unique aspects of commercial truck and bus accident cases. These vehicles take longer to stop than their passenger vehicle counterparts. That means drivers of the vehicles must drive slower and stay farther behind to avoid a rear-end collision. Careless truck or bus drivers may fail to check for blindspots before changing lanes.

The owners and operators of tractor trailers, commercial trucks and buses must follow regulations from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. You need a personal injury lawyer Los Angeles who can understand and find violations such as:

• Inadequate or improper securing of loads or equipment
• Non-placement or incorrect placement of warning flags, signs and lights
• Not inspecting the vehicle before driving
• Defective tires, brakes or other safety devices
• Driving excessive hours, resulting in driver fatigue

The companies hiring the drivers may be liable to you for negligent hiring, negligent training or negligent supervision. To that end, we examine driving histories and criminal records for convictions such as impaired driving, speeding and reckless driving.

Pedestrians

In 2019, more than half of the 236 people killed in Los Angeles car incidents were pedestrians. A reported 3,563 pedestrians in Los Angeles either died or suffered injuries from a motorist in 2018.

Accidents involving pedestrians often occur at intersections because the at-fault driver does not obey a traffic light or sign or fails to look for pedestrians. Negligent drivers may fail to observe those walking along the shoulder of a street or highway. As with many car and truck accidents, distractions by radios, smartphones and other passengers draw drivers’ attention away from the road and pedestrians.

Premises Liability

At the foundation of any personal injury attorney Los Angeles practice is identifying parties responsible for your losses. Pacific Attorney Group does not pursue only careless drivers.

Those who own or control properties with hazards and dangers can also face liability. Premises liability cases can arise from conditions such as:

• Broken handrails
• Lose or rotten steps or floors
• Liquid or loose objects on the floor
• Unstable columns or roofs that collapse
• Insufficient fire hydrants
• Malfunctioning fire or smoke alarms.

We also pursue claims for negligent security. The law holds property owners responsible for the foreseeable criminal acts of third parties. The evidence that a criminal act was reasonably anticipated includes records of similar criminal activity in the vicinity. Contact us at Pacific Attorney Group if you have been injured by an attacker because the establishment, such as a hotel, motel or store lacked adequate lighting, locks on doors at night, security cameras or security guards.

Workplace Injuries

The Pacific Attorney Group has the experience and knowledge in workers’ compensation cases. If you have been injured in a workplace accident, you may recover benefits in the form of medical expenses and lost wages to a point. To get workers’ compensation, you need not show your employer was at fault in causing the injury. As a trade-off, you normally cannot recover pain and suffering or other non-economic damages. Your lost wages or earning ability is capped as well.

As a result, we look to third-parties who may be liable in a personal injury case. Workers face injuries from defective equipment such as vehicles, scaffolds and machines. If you have been at a job site performing repairs or cleaning, the property owner may be responsible for defective property conditions or security.

Animal Bites

In animal bite cases, we focus on the owner’s failure to confine or control the animal. Evidence of a dog or other animal’s dangerous tendencies may give rise to negligence claims.

Fractures

Fractured legs, knees, arms and feet restrict your mobility and can impose tremendous pain upon you period. In some cases, immediate surgeries on broken bones become essential to prevent more chronic or long-lasting problems. Physical therapy also comes with treatment of fractures.

Traumatic Brain Injuries

When your head strikes a steering wheel, dashboard or another type of object, you likely will suffer a traumatic brain injury. The sudden and often violent impact of these and other objects with your head can lead to concussions and perhaps even internal injuries. Leaving these harms unattended can result in more serious health problems. You may also suffer memory or behavioral impairment as the result of a traumatic brain injury.

Soft Tissue Injuries

Strains, sprains and bruises do not sound as dramatic or traumatic as concussions or fractures. However, left untreated, soft tissue injuries create long-term pain and restriction of your movements. Within soft tissue injuries lie damages to ligaments, the skin, muscles in tendons. These kinds of injuries can be the result of falls, car crashes and other acts of negligence.

Spinal Cord Injuries

Among injuries, damage to your spinal cord can prove among the most devastating. Victims may become paralyzed. A Los Angeles personal injury lawyer will often point to the loss of body functioning and the associated need for long-term assistance and care. If you or a loved one suffers a spinal cord injury, you will likely face years of extensive rehabilitation.

Drivers and passengers involved in forceful vehicle accidents, motorcycle crashes and large commercial vehicle accidents stand at particular risk of spinal cord injuries. A Los Angeles personal injury lawyer sees these injuries in cases where the victim falls from high places or is involved in a serious vehicle accident.

Burns

Incidents such as car crashes or explosions cause fires that can burn your skin. The painful, disfiguring and debilitating effects of burns come via more than just fires. You may suffer burns from exposure to toxic chemicals, hot oil or excessively hot coffee spilled upon you by a careless worker. A waiter or waitress that negligently pours for you a cleaning solution thinking it might have been tea or water can cause severe internal burns to your throat and organs.

Loss of Limbs

A sudden accident can immediately destroy a limb, eye or ear or leave members of your body beyond repair. In some cases, amputation becomes necessary to even save your life. The loss of limbs can leave you permanently and in some cases totally disabled. You will likely also suffer considerable mental anguish and pain.

Mental and Psychological

A Los Angeles personal injury lawyer also recognizes the emotional, mental in psychological toll a serious car accident or other personal injury event takes upon victims. You are having to deal with the pain, stress regarding your finances, and the inability to have the life you once led. Work, recreation and travel become limited if not eliminated.

Medical Expenses

At Pacific Attorney Group, we understand that medical attention and treatments can leave you financially burdened. To reduce some of that load, we seek to recover for you the expenses of emergency room visits, ambulance trips, surgeries, doctor visits and rehabilitation. Your injuries may also result in seemingly never ending cost for prescriptions. Your medical expense damages may include the cost of hearing aids, prosthetics and other medical and dental devices.

Lost Wages and Earning Capacity

Injuries that put you in the hospital and force you to stay at home keep you away from your job. You can recover not only these lost wages, but you may have lost earning capacity. Car accidents and other acts of negligence can leave you significantly disabled. Lost hearing, eyesight and ability to use your limbs can prevent you from holding many kinds of jobs. Depending upon your education, prior work experience and skills, a personal injury lawyer Los Angeles can pursue significant compensation for your lost earning capacity.

Pain and Suffering

Motor vehicle accidents, falls, burns and other incidents can generate constant pain, discomfort, depression and anguish. Your pain and suffering may manifest itself also in insomnia, anxiety, stress, humiliation, shock and other emotional trauma.

Loss of Consortium

Negligent actors not only diminish your well-being but can disrupt your relationships with your spouse and family. California law allows you or your spouse to recover loss of consortium damages for the removal of affection and companionship occasioned by a crash or other event.