Auto Injury

Potential Causes of Pedestrian Accidents in Southern California

When you know what to watch out for, you can be safer when walking. Of course, no one wants to be hit by a car while walking, but it does happen. Here are some of the reasons:

• Poor conditions for visibility – There are certain conditions that make things more dangerous for pedestrians because they increase the chances of a driver not seeing you. For example, rain, fog, and other weather conditions can decrease visibility for drivers. It is also more dangerous to walk after dark, especially in poorly lit areas. Be sure to wear something reflective or hi-vis if you have to be out walking in conditions that impact visibility for drivers.
• Hybrid and electric vehicles – These vehicles can be virtually silent, so you may step out in front of one if you are not paying attention. Be sure to avoid looking down at your phone while walking so you can pay attention. And don’t walk with headphones in. While you can’t rely on your hearing 100% due to quieter cars, it is still a useful sense for keeping you safe.
• City infrastructure issues – If you live in a town with few crosswalks or lights for pedestrians, you are at an increased risk. This can also be an issue in a parking lot that doesn’t have sufficient signage or crosswalks for pedestrians.

If You Have Been Injured in a Pedestrian Accident

Petrov Law Firm has the experienced attorneys you want in your corner when negotiating a settlement with a car insurance company. Call 619.344.0360 today to get your case started.

4 Factors That Influence Your Personal Injury Settlement

If you experience a personal injury – a slip and fall, for example – what factors go into determining your settlement from the individual or company’s insurance company? Here are four of the primary things to consider.

• Medical bills – The more extensive the injuries, the larger the settlement. You need to be compensated for the medical bills you incurred, and that will include bills that occurred due to seeing a doctor who was not in your network.
• Lost wages – Did you have to use vacation or sick days? Did you miss other days of work that were unpaid? You should be compensated, not just for current lost wages but also future lost wages (for example, if you can no longer work due to the extent of your injuries).
• Personal losses – If you experience ongoing hardship due to the extent of your injuries, you should be compensated. This includes both emotional and physical damages.
• Other Intangible losses – Not everything you lose will have a set value. Personal losses are included as intangible losses. However, you may also experience intangible losses, such as loss of trust, safety, fertility, expectations. There are all sorts of things that could be lost due to an injury that doesn’t have a specific dollar value.

Get Help from Experienced Personal Injury Attorneys in Southern California

Sadly, if you try to work with the insurance company alone, they may try to only pay for medical bills or just add in a little extra to get you to go away. To get what you truly deserve, call Petrov Law Firm in San Diego at 619.344.0360. Our experienced attorneys will help you to maximize your settlement.

Teens Need to Speak Up About Distracted Driving

Whether they view it as a part of their culture or just simply feel they are invincible and “able to handle it,” teens still seem the most prone to try to use their smartphones while driving. Even though this is a problem regarding all age groups, California does have additional laws that target younger teen drivers. For example, teens under the age of eighteen are not even allowed to use hands-free solutions for their tech while driving. The idea is to create the least distractions for someone who is still just getting used to driving.

If you are a teen yourself, how can you help your peers to drive safely and avoid the serious injuries that occur every year due to distracted drivers?

• Don’t get in a car with someone whose driving habits make you feel uncomfortable.
• Speak up if you believe the driver is taking dangerous, illegal, or unnecessary risks.

Keep in mind that about half of the deaths caused by distracted teen drivers are their own passengers, so advocating for yourself may save your life or a friend’s.

If You Have Been Injured by a Distracted Driver

Approximately 400,000 injuries occur every year due to distracted teen drivers, and other distracted drivers add many more injuries to that statistic. Petrov Law Firm is here to help if you have been injured in a car accident in southern California. Give us a call today at 619.344.0360, and let our experienced attorneys deal with the insurance company to ensure that you get what you truly deserve.

Important Safety Tips for Cyclists

When a cyclist is in an accident with a motor vehicle, injuries can be severe, even if the accident happens at just a few miles per hour. Here are some tips to help you protect yourself.

• Make sure your equipment is working properly – Lights, a horn, and protective gear are essential, but they only help if you make sure they are in good working order, so be sure to check regularly.
• Keep yourself as visible as possible – You can do this through lighting and reflectors on the bike itself as well as through reflective clothing. Of course, it is always safer to ride during daylight hours.
• Follow the rules for cyclists – Often, these are the same as traffic laws for drivers. Be sure to use the bike lane when there is one and know-how and when it is safe and legal to leave the bike lane.
• Watch out for distracted drivers – Yes, the accident will be their fault, but your safety is more important than who is right or wrong. A districted driver could make a quick righthand turn at a light without seeing a bike in the lane next to them, or they may miss your hand signals and not realize you are turning. Defensive riding is a must.

Help for Those Injured in Cycling Accidents

Petrov Law Firm is here for injured cyclists in the San Diego area. Let our personal injury attorneys help you to get what you deserve from the insurance company. Just call 619.344.0360 to get started today.

3 Ways to Reduce Smartphone Distractions While Behind the Wheel

Smartphones are not the only distraction for drivers, but they are the one that gets the most attention. Perhaps this is because nearly every person has one, and we seem to find it difficult to stop looking at them over and over throughout the day. Have you ever taken your phone out of your pocket to check the time and then put it away a few minutes later and then realized you still don’t know what time it is? Then you understand what we mean.

But when driving, smartphone distractions can become deadly, so here are a few ways to stay focused:

• Use Bluetooth – Making a hands-free call or having your phone read a text over the car stereo system is still distracting, but at least you don’t have to take your eyes off the road or your hands off the wheel. If you absolutely need to make calls while driving, this is the best way to do it.
• Use DND mode – Most phones have a do not disturb, focus, or driving mode. Use these settings to limit what your phone will notify you about while driving. Some settings even allow you to reply with an autoresponder that lets the person know you are driving and will check their message when you arrive.
• Turn it off – This is the safest and most effective method of avoiding distraction.

If You Have Been Injured by a Distracted Driver in CA

California is a tort state which means the at-fault driver is on the hook for all damages caused. Petrov Law Firm can help you to get the best settlement from a car insurance company to cover your medical bills and other expenses. Give us a call today at 619.344.0360 to get started.

How to Keep Alert When at the Wheel

We often talk about how important it is to avoid distractions when driving, but it is also essential to stay alert. Driving while drowsy slows reaction times and can cause a person to make a bad decision that leads to a dangerous accident. Here are a few tips to help you feel more awake while behind the wheel.

• Try to avoid driving at times you would normally be asleep – We know that schedule changes sometimes occur. However, these adjustments take time for the body. If you just decide one day to take a road trip and drive overnight to your destination when your body is used to being asleep during those hours, you may end up fighting an irresistible urge to close your eyes.
• Pay attention to how medications affect you – Some medications may cause drowsiness. Often these drugs impact people in different ways. Therefore, when starting a new medication, you should take some time to see how it impacts your alertness. Keep in mind that some medications could result in a DUI if you drive while taking them, so be sure to know the law.
• Take regular breaks – On a long drive, take breaks every couple of hours. If you have another driver in the car, be sure to change drivers when one of you is tired. If you have to, it is better to find a place to pull over and take a nap than to drive with your abilities impaired by drowsiness.

Car Accident Attorneys in San Diego

If you have been injured in a car accident in southern California, the personal injury lawyers at Petrov Law Firm can help. Call 619.344.0360 today to schedule a consultation.

Don’t Let an Insurance Adjuster Cost You a Fair Settlement

Insurance companies usually play a role after a personal injury. Not only do most individuals not have the money to cover medical bills after things like an accident, slip and fall, or dog bite, but most individuals and businesses carry insurance for this purpose. The only thing is, in order for the insurance company to stay in business, they hire people to be really nice to you while paying you as little as possible. Don’t get cheated out of a fair settlement by any of these insurance company tactics.

• Requests for signed or recorded statements – This is a trap. They hope you will say something on the record that allows them to pin part of the blame on you and therefore reduce your settlement. Only your lawyer should be in communication with the insurance company.
• The delay game – Sometimes, the insurance company will make you sweat it out, wondering if they will ever offer anything. By the time they come back to you with an offer, you are desperate and surrounded by medical bills. You better believe that offer isn’t going to be fair to you.
• Trying to make you give up – Sometimes insurance companies ask for ridiculous information, perhaps even info that it is not your job to provide. They do this to make it seem like a claim is just too much work. Sadly, many people give up without getting any compensation.

Get the Help You Need in Southern California

Petrov Law Firm in San Diego is here to help! Contact an experienced personal injury attorney today by calling 619.344.0360.

What Are the Most Common Causes of Motor Vehicle Accidents?

The NHTSA (National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration) has reported in the past that most car accidents occur due to human error, making the subsequent injuries avoidable. Poor decision-making accounts for more than 90% of crashes, which means that in a tort state like California, there is usually evidence to place blame on one of the drivers. Here are three of the main reasons accidents occur.

• Distracted driving – Smartphone use may be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a distracted driver. However, drivers found ways to be distracted long before modern technology. A driver may be too busy fiddling with the radio, smoking, eating, or applying makeup to pay attention to the road, and that can lead to an accident in the blink of an eye.
• DUI – This term is most often associated with drinking and driving. However, it can also refer to someone driving while under the influence of any type of drug, either legal or illicit. And while it doesn’t count as DUI, driving while drowsy can also significantly slow a person’s reaction time.
• Driving too fast – Speeding is the top cause of serious injuries. The faster a driver is going, the more likely they are to cause serious damage to any vehicle they collide with.

Car Accident Attorneys in San Diego

If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident in southern California, contact the personal injury attorneys at Petrov Law Firm. We can help you to maximize the settlement you receive from the insurance company. Call 619.344.0360 to get started today.

Who Is Responsible for Damages Due to Road Hazards?

There are many factors that can lead to an accident when no other vehicle is involved but your own. If you are injured in such an accident, you may wonder where to turn for proper compensation. Much has to do with who was at fault. Consider the following scenarios.

• Debris falling off the back of a truck – Let’s say a driver failed to properly secure debris or equipment in the back of his truck. On the road, it flies off the truck and causes you injury. The driver’s insurance would be on the hook for medical bills and other damages since the driver failed to take the proper precautions.
• Construction debris – If the company is privately owned, the contractor’s liability insurance should cover the damages. If the construction was federal, state, or local government-run, then you would need to seek compensation from a public entity. Remember that the statute of limitations is often short when suing the government, so don’t wait to begin the process of seeking compensation.
• The weather causes dangerous road conditions – If you fail to take proper precautions when driving in dangerous conditions, it may be deemed as your fault that the damages occurred. Even in this case, you might be able to seek compensation from your own insurance company.

Getting Help After a Road Hazzard Accident

Of course, these are just some examples, and your case may be different. That is why you should contact a personal injury attorney to get assistance. Petrov Law Firm can help if you were injured in an accident in southern California. Give us a call today at 619.344.0360 to learn more and to maximize your compensation.

How a Lawyer Can Help After a Motorcycle Accident

If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident, your first priority should be getting the medical care you need. Your next step should be hiring a personal injury attorney. Why? Here are a few things that a lawyer can do to help maximize your settlement.

• File necessary documents before the statute of limitations ends – Once the statute of limitations is up, you are unlikely to get anything, so this is an essential step.
• Assist you in gathering necessary proof – You will need to provide proof of the damages. This may mean collecting relevant medical records, acquiring a copy of the police report, compiling photos or videos of the scene of the accident, and more.
• Acting as a go-between with the insurance company – The insurance company is going to want you to admit to some degree of blame, especially if you live in a tort state like California. This would significantly reduce the compensation you are due. It is better to let your lawyer be the only one who speaks with the insurance company.
• Interview witnesses – If there are witnesses to the accident, your lawyer may decide to interview them to see if their testimony is relevant.
• Provide you with peace of mind – Your attorney will help you understand your rights and provide you with confidence that you will receive the best possible settlement.

Hire the Right Personal Injury Attorney in Southern California

Petrov Law Firm in San Diego has attorneys who are experienced with motorcycle accident cases. Give us a call today at 619.344.0360 to ensure your case gets the attention that it deserves.