Huntington Beach Car Accident Attorney

Car accidents are some of the most common causes of injuries and fatalities in California and the United States as a whole. If you recently experienced a car accident in Huntington Beach, you may have suffered injuries, along with the property damage to your vehicle and other economic losses. It’s vital to understand your rights and legal options at a time like this, and a Huntington Beach car accident attorney is an ideal resource if you want to determine your best options for legal recourse after a negligent driver injured you.

Huntington Beach is known as a prime surfing location and an idyllic beach town on the Pacific coast. Still, it also boasts one of the highest car accident rates in California, according to the state’s Office of Traffic Safety. On average, about 50 out of every 100,000 California residents are injured or killed in car accidents each year. At Easton & Easton, we strive to provide our clients and prospective clients with as much legal information as possible so they can make more informed decisions when it comes to filing civil claims for damages.

If you recently experienced a car accident, the damage to your vehicle may be the least of your worries. Car accidents can cause serious personal injuries that may leave you unable to work or disabled. They are also scarring, traumatic experiences for many people. At Easton & Easton, we put our legal team’s more than 100 combined years of experience at your disposal to maximize your recovery. In just the last five years, our attorneys have secured more than $100,000,000 in civil claim awards for our clients in a wide variety of cases, including car accident claims.

As your Huntington Beach car accident attorneys, the team at Easton & Easton will carefully review every aspect of your claim to determine the party or parties responsible for your damages and the full extent of those damages. We know how to find potential recoveries that other firms may overlook, and our legal team’s experience with the local court system means you will never need to worry about procedural or administrative issues slowing down your claim.

Car accidents are one of the leading causes of personal injury claims in the nation. All drivers have a duty of care to operate their vehicles safely and responsibly while adhering to posted traffic signs and signals. Drivers who fail to drive with reasonable care and who engage in reckless driving or driving under the influence put everyone around them at severe risk. When these actions result in injuries and economic losses to others, the drivers responsible must face civil liability for the damages they cause and criminal prosecution in some cases.

The first step in building your car accident personal injury claim in Huntington Beach is to identify the party responsible for your accident. If another driver hit you, you and your Huntington Beach personal injury lawyer will need to prove the at-fault driver was negligent or reckless in the handling of their vehicle. This may require pulling traffic camera footage, cell phone records, and gathering eyewitness testimony from the scene of the crash. All this evidence will work in your favor and help you establish fault for your claimed damages.

The next essential step in filing a personal injury claim for a car accident is to determine the exact extent of the damages the at-fault driver caused. California law allows personal injury plaintiffs to claim compensation for all medical expenses, property damages, lost wages, and pain and suffering. You could not only recover the cost of your necessary medical treatment but also lost income due to your injuries, the cost of repairing or replacing your vehicle, and compensation for your physical pain and emotional distress resulting from the accident.

Personal injury claims for car accidents arise every day in Huntington Beach. Some of the most common causes of car accidents in the area include:

• Moving violations, such as a driver speeding, failing to stop at a stop sign or red light, or failing to signal before changing lanes or turning.
• Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. A driver who injures someone else due to driving under the influence will be not only liable for a victim’s civil damages but also criminal penalties, including license suspension, fines, and even jail time.
• Dangerous and distracted driving. California has a zero-tolerance policy for cell phone use behind the wheel. Drivers who must use their phones while driving may only do so with the use of hands-free attachments so they can maintain control over their vehicles with both hands.
• Mechanical failures. Drivers who fail to take care of their vehicles may cause accidents, and parts manufacturers who sell dangerous or defective auto parts could face liability for any damages those parts cause.

These are just a few examples of situations that might lead to car accident lawsuits in Huntington Beach, California. In many cases, liability for a car accident may fall to more than one driver, a professional driver’s employer, or even partially to the claimant. California’s pure comparative negligence law means that a plaintiff can still recover damages in a civil claim even if they are partly responsible for causing their claimed damages. They simply lose a portion of the case award equal to their level of fault for causing the damages.

Huntington Beach is one of the busiest areas in Orange County, California. Like any other metropolitan area in the US, there is an inherent risk of injury from traffic accidents due to the large number of vehicles using Huntington Beach roads each day. While Huntington Beach does not have as high of an accident rate as nearby Anaheim, the city still boasts one of the highest accident rates in all of Orange County.

When drivers experience traffic accidents, they may be left injured with significant property losses. In these situations, they need to seek legal counsel as quickly as possible to ensure the best chance of recovery. An experienced Huntington Beach car accident attorney can provide professional guidance to help an injured driver determine the best approach to handling their recent accident.

Accident Data in Huntington Beach

Anaheim has the highest vehicle accident rate of any metropolitan area in Orange County, with just over 5,000 motor vehicle accidents each year. The accident rate in Huntington Beach is roughly 4,000 per year, significantly lower than the Anaheim accident rate but still indicative of the risk of traffic accidents in the area. Traffic accidents in the Huntington Beach area of California can cause severe injuries and substantial economic losses.

Most of the traffic accidents in the Huntington Beach area result from drivers failing to act with reasonable care. Unfortunately, some drivers are aggressive, distracted, or under the influence of alcohol or drugs when they operate their vehicles, putting others at grave risk of injury. It’s crucial to understand your legal rights when you have suffered losses due to a negligent driver’s actions.

How Do Accidents Happen in Huntington Beach, CA?

When traffic accidents occur resulting in injuries and economic losses, those injured may have grounds for legal action against the driver or drivers responsible for causing these incidents. Some of the ways in which accidents happen that most commonly lead to civil claims in Huntington Beach, CA include:

• Driving under the influence (DUI). This can not only lead to serious accidents resulting in civil damages but also criminal prosecution for the driver responsible for causing the accident. California state prosecutors aggressively pursue convictions for DUI arrests.
• Aggressive driving. Unfortunately, many drivers do not exercise reasonable care while on the road. Speeding, swerving, and changing lanes suddenly without signaling are common examples of aggressive driving that can easily lead to liability for an accident.
• Driving while distracted. California has strict laws in effect to discourage distracted driving. Using a cell phone or otherwise failing to pay attention to the road can lead to liability for a distracted driving accident, which also entails criminal penalties.
• Vehicle maintenance issues. Drivers in California and throughout the US have a responsibility to ensure their vehicles are safe and compliant with all applicable regulations. If a vehicle owner fails to fix a maintenance issue such as a leak or broken signal light, it could cause serious injury. This mechanical fault could potentially cause an accident for which the driver is liable.

Any of these situations could implicate one or more drivers as liable for the accident. If you experienced any recent motor vehicle accident in the Huntington Beach area and believe another party is responsible, call our firm. It’s essential to consult an experienced Huntington Beach car accident lawyer to discuss your legal options.

How Can an Attorney Help?

When another driver has caused an accident with your vehicle due to a failure to exercise reasonable care on the road, an attorney can help you determine the best legal path to securing compensation for your losses. It’s not uncommon for vehicle accidents to result in significant injuries, which in turn lead to substantial economic losses. Prompt legal action is essential for avoiding serious financial problems a traffic accident can cause.

A Huntington Beach car accident attorney can be a tremendous asset, especially when liability for a recent accident is unclear. Your lawyer can assist you in securing physical evidence from the scene of the accident, eyewitness testimony, and input from expert witnesses to establish liability for your damages and win your civil case.

At Easton & Easton, our legal team has successfully handled many different motor vehicle accident claims for our Huntington Beach clients. We put our experience to good use in your case. We will review the circumstances of your recent accident and help you determine which party or parties bear liability for your damages. Contact Easton & Easton today to schedule a free case evaluation from an experienced Huntington Beach car accident lawyer and learn more about how our firm can assist you.

Easton & Easton understands that a car accident can have dramatic repercussions for an innocent driver. When accidents happen due to the negligence of other drivers, we believe they need to be held accountable for the injuries and economic losses they cause. If you need a Huntington Beach car accident attorney to help you start building your claim, contact Easton & Easton today to schedule a consultation with one of our experienced and compassionate attorneys.