Monterey Car Accident Lawyers

Car accident injuries and fatalities in Monterey can have significant monetary and emotional effects on accident victims, their family members, and close friends. Even more disheartening is that most car accidents are preventable if drivers take the time to drive carefully and safely. Our Monterey car accident lawyers can help you take legal action when this happens.

When people drive recklessly and carelessly, serious motor vehicle crashes unfortunately happen. In these circumstances, accident victims usually suffer injuries that require ongoing medical treatment—often at a high cost to the accident victim. Monetary damages in a personal injury case can help ensure that you receive the medical compensation you need, along with compensation for your lost wages, inconvenience, pain, and suffering.

If you or a person you love recently suffered injuries in a California car crash, you should have skilled legal representation on your side every step of the way. The experienced Monterey car accident lawyers at Silva Injury Law have a strong track record of helping car crash victims recover the monetary compensation they need.

Representing California Car Accident Victims

Our legal team knows everything that car accident victims must endure emotionally, physically, and financially. We have the skills necessary to negotiate with the at-fault driver’s insurance company on your behalf and, if necessary, file a lawsuit in the court system and negotiate on your behalf. Our ultimate goal is to help you obtain the fair monetary compensation you deserve for your accident-related injuries.

Our lawyers operate on a contingency fee basis. Therefore, we won’t take a fee in your case unless and until we recover monetary damages on your behalf—either through a favorable monetary settlement from the insurance company or a favorable binding arbitration award or jury verdict.

Let us help you recover the full monetary compensation you deserve for your car accident injuries. Please contact our office today for a free case evaluation and legal consultation.

Our Dedication To Our Clients

At Silva Injury Law, we never doubt the effects of a car accident injury on the lives of our clients. We take every injury seriously and will listen to your account of how your injuries changed your life.

One of our clients suffered a torn rotator cuff in a rear-end crash at high speeds. The insurance company initially offered him $69,878. We proved the severity of his injury and his physical, emotional, and financial losses, and we secured a settlement of $110,000 to cover his losses.

This is only one example of how our advocacy can maximize your compensation.

What Types Of Monterey Car Accident Cases Do We Handle?

Most car accidents in Monterey result from driver negligence of some sort. When drivers negligently speed, violate traffic laws, and drive while distracted, they are more likely to cause a severe accident.

Our legal team represents accident victims who become involved in:

• Rear-end accidents
• Truck accidents
• Drunk driving accidents
• Pedestrian accidents
• Distracted driving accidents
• Bicycle accidents
• Bus accidents

Every type of motor vehicle accident is different, and the injuries victims sustain are different. Therefore, it takes a knowledgeable and experienced team of personal injury attorneys to represent accident victims and handle the unique aspects of their cases. The knowledgeable Monterey car accident attorneys at Silva Injury Law can help you handle every aspect of your car accident claim, from the beginning filing through a jury trial or binding arbitration hearing, if necessary.

Steps To Take Following Involvement In A Monterey Car Accident

Individuals recently involved in a Monterey car accident should take several necessary steps. First, they should seek follow-up medical treatment on the same day as their accident. Seeking this medical treatment early in the process is crucial because even relatively minor injuries can become far more serious as time passes. This is especially true with soft tissue injuries and traumatic head and brain injuries, like concussions, where symptoms do not always manifest right away.

In addition to seeking prompt medical treatment at an emergency room or with a primary care doctor, you should take detailed notes about the accident and collect as much information as possible while you are still at the scene. For example, you should obtain contact and insurance information from every driver involved in the crash.

If you can, you should also take pictures of the surrounding area, including street names, road signs, traffic lights, and property damage. Speak with a police officer at the scene about how the accident occurred. Finally, ask a police officer to prepare a formal report. These reports often contain critical evidence when insurance companies dispute fault for the accident.

Next, you should retain a knowledgeable Monterey car accident lawyer to begin handling the legal aspects of your case while you focus your attention on getting medical treatments and making a full recovery from your injuries.

What Are The Most Common Causes Of Car Accidents In The Monterey Region?

Car accidents in Monterey are, unfortunately, more common than people think. In fact, according to recent statistics from the California Highway Patrol, more than 269,000 people suffered injuries in motor vehicle accidents just in a recent year alone. In addition to these injured accident victims, 3,737 car crash victims suffered fatal injuries. Monterey County is one of California’s smaller counties. However, more than 2,800 people in that small area suffered injuries or death in car crashes.

According to recent statistics from the California Office of Traffic Safety, the leading causes of traffic accidents in the Monterey region include alcohol-impaired driving, drug-impaired driving, driving without a seatbelt, and motorcycle crashes.

In particular, drunk and drugged driving can lead to severe accidents and injuries. This is because alcohol-impaired drivers frequently lose control of their vehicles due to impaired faculties. For example, a driver who illegally drives impaired by alcohol may experience poor vision, limited concentration, delayed reflexes, and delayed reaction time. As a result, they may speed excessively, lose control of their vehicle, and bring about a serious crash with another vehicle or a pedestrian.

If you recently suffered injuries in a car crash that resulted from one of these types of negligence, you should talk with a Monterrey car accident attorney as quickly as possible.

At Silva Injury Law, our legal team can determine your eligibility for filing a personal injury claim or lawsuit. If you are eligible, we can assist you throughout the claims-filing and negotiation processes and, if necessary, litigate your case in the court system.

What Are Some Common Injuries In Monterey Car Accidents?

Monterey car accidents can lead to many injuries requiring ongoing medical care, including treatment at hospital emergency rooms, doctor offices, physical therapy facilities, and surgery centers.

One common type of car accident injury is a soft tissue contusion. Soft tissue injuries damage an accident victim’s ligaments, tendons, and muscles. Although they do not typically involve a broken bone, they can still produce a significant amount of pain and require ongoing medical treatment and physical therapy to treat. Some common soft tissue injuries include back injuries, herniated discs, whiplash injuries, and muscular contusions.

Another common car accident injury is an internal injury. Accident victims’ common internal injuries include rib fractures, broken bones, internal organ damage, and internal bleeding.

Head injuries, including traumatic brain injuries, may occur when an accident victim strikes their head on the steering wheel or headrest in a car crash. In many instances, these head and brain injuries may affect an accident victim for the rest of their life.

One common example of a traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is a concussion. A TBI may affect an accident victim’s brain functioning and cause permanent impairments. In a worst-case scenario, the accident victim might end up in a permanent coma or vegetative state.

Finally, some car accidents lead to emotional and mental injuries in addition to physical injuries. For example, after some serious car accidents, accident victims may fear operating or riding in a motor vehicle due to post-traumatic stress disorder. As a result, the accident victim might need ongoing mental health treatment with a psychologist, psychiatrist, or other mental health counselors.

If you sustain any injury in a recent car accident, the knowledgeable Monterey car accident attorneys at Silva Injury Law can review your legal options with you. If you have a strong case, we can file a claim that seeks monetary damages.

What Does It Mean That California Is A “Fault” Or “Tort” State?

The State of California follows the fault-based or tort recovery model for car accidents. When an accident victim sustains injuries in a car crash resulting from another driver’s negligence, they may turn to the at-fault driver’s insurance company for monetary recovery.

To obtain monetary damages for their injuries, a car crash victim must generally prove that the at-fault driver violated their duty of care in some manner. For example, the driver might have violated a traffic law or traffic regulation, operated their vehicle inattentively, or operated their vehicle while intoxicated, causing the subject accident.

Furthermore, the car crash victim must show that the other driver’s duty-of-care violation caused the subject accident. Finally, the accident victim must show that they sustained a physical injury and that their injury occurred because of the accident.

The skilled Monterey car crash attorneys at Silva Injury Law can help you satisfy the legal elements of your claim so that you are eligible to recover monetary compensation for all of your injuries.

How Can A Monterey Car Crash Attorney Help Me?

One of the most important steps you can take after a car accident, in addition to seeking prompt medical treatment, is to retain a skilled Monterey car accident lawyer to assist you with your case. Despite what they say in their advertisements, insurance companies are never on your side and are not interested in getting you the fair compensation you deserve.

A skilled lawyer at Silva Injury Law can handle all settlement negotiations for you and threaten the insurance company with litigation if they are unwilling to offer you fair monetary damages.

Also, if you decide to litigate your case in the court system, we can file a lawsuit on your behalf and assist you throughout the discovery process. We can also engage in ongoing settlement discussions with the insurance company and, if necessary, resolve your case at a jury trial or binding arbitration proceeding.

How Much Will I Receive From A Car Accident Settlement Or Litigation?

At Silva Injury Law, we understand that the facts of every car accident case are different. Settlements in these cases can range anywhere from a few thousand dollars to more than $1 million. Our legal team will work hard to help you maximize your monetary damages and recover the full compensation that you deserve.

The two primary types of monetary damages in car accident claims are compensatory and punitive damages.

Potential compensatory damages in car accident cases include monetary recovery for the accident victims:

• Medical expenses since the date of the accident
• Anticipated medical costs, including future physical therapy or medical procedures
• Lost wages due to the injuries you suffered in your car accident
• Anticipated lost earnings due to a permanent injury or reduced earning capacity
• Damage to your relationship with a domestic partner or spouse, called loss of companionship or consortium
• Lost quality-of-life
• Physical pain, suffering, and inconvenience

In addition to compensatory damages, accident victims may recover punitive damages if the at-fault driver behaved particularly egregiously or recklessly. The purpose of these damages is to punish the wrongdoer driver and to serve as a bad example for other drivers. At Silva Injury Law, our legal team will do everything possible to maximize your damages and recover the full compensation that you deserve.

Speak With a Monterey Car Accident Attorney Today

If you recently suffered injuries in a Monterey car accident, the skilled legal team at Silva Injury Law is here to help you with every aspect of your case. For a free case evaluation and legal consultation, please call us at (209) 308-8924 or contact us online today. Reach out to a personal injury lawyer.

Our Monterey Office Address

215 W. Franklin St.
Suite 212
Monterey, CA 93940
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