Car Accident Basics – Finding Fault

A car accident can cause a great deal of confusion. Regardless of what happens, you’re going to find a lot of issues that are looming. There are a lot of different issues that may rise on a legal level, and knowing what your rights are is very important overall. You may have to file a claim with your insurance company, and you may have to get legal help, but how do you move ahead? If you’re not sure what to do or how to move forward, consider a few notes on accident issues overall.

Liability  

The first thing that is important is simple, you need to know who is liable. You may not know this at first glance, especially when accidents occur.

Legal Duty – the first thing you need to understand is that there’s a legal element involved with driving. You are legally bound to adhering to the rules of the road.

Duty Breach – when an accident occurs, the notion of a legal duty changes. It is breached, because someone has not followed the rules of the road. If one driver could’ve been more careful, and avoided issues, then they would be at fault. Proof of course would need to be had.

Injuries – someone may be at fault, but in order to move forward with a claim or with getting legal help, injuries may help the issue become more clear. A drier may be negligent, for instance, but that doesn’t mean he’s at fault under the law. However, if there are injuries, the definition may be a bit clearer.

Sharing Liability

In some instances, there may be a shared liability that comes into play. This is where legal professionals have to focus on moving forward with figuring out who is truly at fault, and who is going to be responsible for damages, and medical bills. What makes this more complex is that there are fault states and no-fault states. This makes things quite difficult to manage without knowing exactly where you are and what the laws are in your state.

If you are involved in a car accident, you should consider safety first. Then contact your insurance company, local authorities, and try to remain calm. After that, you should consider legal professionals to assist with figuring out what your rights are, and what financial parameters you’ll have to navigate as well.

Orange County Car Accident Attorney

New Road Rules For California in 2016

With a new year comes a lot of new laws, and if you are not aware of them, you could be cited for a fine. Ignorance is no excuse in today’s legal world, so you’ll need to be aware of what’s going on in terms of changes to the road. If you’re going to drive on the roads, you need to know these crucial changes that have come to the California roads. These are just a handful of the changes that are now in place, and you may find yourself needing to adjust swiftly.

Yellow Alerts Now In Place

When there is a hit and run accident, information about the driver will now be placed in what are known as “Yellow Alerts”. This will include television, radio, and cable companies posting partial license plates, and information about the vehicle in question, as to find people that have been involved in hit and run accidents, where someone is injured or even dead.

Broader Lanes 

Bicycles are now required to pull over to the side and allow vehicles to pass if they are slower than traffic. Bicycles need to use turn outs and areas that are away from vehicles if there are more than 5 vehicles waiting.

Motorized Skateboards (Hoverboards)

With the popularity of these things, more specific laws are now in place. For instance, a person must be 16 years or older and wearing a helmet when riding these in public. The speed limits are 15 miles per hour on sidewalks and other areas where pedestrians may be allowed. However, a maximum speed of 36 miles per hour is now in place. A new law in place has been placed in regards to operation at night, no longer being lawful unless there are lights on all sides of the board including reflectors as well.

Electric Bicycle Changes 

Electric bicycles that have motors less than 750 watts now have a few changes to their rulings. There are 3 major classes, but the rules cover each one. The latest change makes it illegal to change electric bicycles, ones that have a motor and require pedaling as well, to run faster. Altering the motor is now illegal. Riders do not need a license, registration, or any elements that a motorcycle rider would need, and must stick to regular laws as posted.

These laws are just a handful of changes that have come to California in 2016, and there’s a lot more to explore. However, these changes are some of the more prominent at the present.

Orange County Personal Injury Attorney

What To Know About Elder Abuse and Neglect

Elderly individuals can be abused, and neglected. People don’t immediately think about the elderly, but it’s absolutely something that you should consider about this. There are some signs that you should consider in this regards, especially if you have a neighbor, friend, or family member that is older in the years. As such, consider a few notes in regards to this serious issue.

What Constitutes Abuse? 

First and foremost, it’s imperative to understand the elderly individuals don’t always have the cognitive resources to help themselves. They can be mentally and physically frail, even though they may not want to admit that. Many senior citizens have care takers and helpers, but and are susceptible to various issues. Neglecting them, hurting them by physically hitting them, withholding food and more can be difficult overall as well. These are issues that constitutes abuse.

Other forms of abuse can be found within emotional issues such as berating them in public or private, ignoring them, and more. Sexual abuse is also something that happens quite frequently, and doesn’t always come in the form of physical contact.

Financial Exploitation Problems

Aside from the physical and mental abuse that many elderly people may be subject to, there is also a financial issue at play. Financial exploitation is something that many people have to deal with. Misuse of funds, stealing money, credit cards, and much more is something that can be constituted as abuse and exploitation that occurs a great deal.

Healthcare Issues And More 

In some instances, caretakers and unethical individuals will use Medicare to create fraudulent elements. Healthcare fraud can isolate drug abuse, getting referral money, and even overcharging. Healthcare fraud and abuse run hand in hand in many cases.

Preventing Elder Abuse 

Finding ways to prevent elder abuse is a very important thing to consider. The biggest thing to do is to listen to seniors and caregivers that have concerns. Intervening is paramount, and should not be something that you hesitate about. Educating others, and make sure that you report individuals, and even services that are targeted elderly individuals is also crucial.

Elderly people may find themselves dealing with a variety of issues that could cause them to be targeted by nefarious individuals. This can be anything from depression, isolation, and difficulty with simple tasks on their own. It’s important that family members and friends should consider adult day cares, and other things that can help elderly people not stay alone or become targets of abuse. If there’s any issues that rise up, it’s imperative to report, discuss, and take action in regards to abuse.

Elder Abuse Attorneys Orange County

Focusing On The Rules of Liability In Injury Accidents and Legal Cases

When you look for the definition of liability you can simplify it to mean fault. Simply put it means that there is something or someone that is at fault. Whether it’s a person or a business, someone is to blame for issues. Whether it’s due to personal injury or damage to a piece of property. If you do not understand liability you will not be able to figure out what the right settlement may be.

Clearly Liable 

First and foremost, in some cases the liability element is easy to identify. You will find that in car accidents for instance, you’ll find that insurance companies will make judgement calls fast. In fact insurance companies will usually settle if there’s a clear liability element in place. It’s easy to work with a suit here and you may not have to hire a lawyer. Take into account the issue at hand in terms of an accident. If you are involved in an accident where you are hurt, damage comes to your property, and there’s a clearly liable party, a claim can be filed and settled fast.

Lack of Clarity 

When things get difficult to put responsibility on things get tough to deal with. When there is a “grey” area in terms of who may be to blame insurance companies will not immediately move with a claim. You’ll also find that getting compensation will be difficult and hiring a lawyer is going to be absolutely important. Hiring an attorney is absolutely important here because you will have two people arguing that they are liable.

The Burden of Proof

At the core of this issue someone has to be at fault in order to move forward. Whether you have insurance companies involved or not someone has to take on responsibility or have no clear fault in mind. Litigation makes the burden of proof become a major center point to consider. Recognizing this is the key factor in getting insurance companies to pay out or for injuries and medical bills to get covered by another individual. Determining fault is difficult in some instances which is why legal professionals should be called in when there’s no defining line.

Orange County Personal Injury Attorneys