Personal Injury Lawsuit

In a motorcycle crash in Los Angeles, how is liability determined? What can victims obtain from the people liable? Can the victims themselves be held liable too? How can lawyers help with your claim? How does one really find out if he/she has received rightful justice from the sufferings, he/she has sustained?

The main points of contention in motorcycle accident cases are /1/ whose party is at fault; and /2/ how much award must the injured victims receive for their damages and injuries. The answers to these questions constitute a motorcycle accident claim.

First, in analyzing liability, it must be established that the other party has violated a statute or a traffic law of the California Vehicle Code; that he/she failed to act accurately or failed to observe the rules of the road; and where in turn, was the proximate cause of the accident.

Liability can be asserted to a driver too, when he/she failed to act with reasonable care, and did something, which an ordinary sensible person would have not performed in a same circumstance. Although there was no violation of a regulation, liability will still be asserted if proven that the other party did not exercise standard of care, which is required of every vehicle driver.

Besides the driver of the other vehicle who is believed to be the cause of the accident, other entities could also be held liable and sued if they contributed in any way to the accident. These includes the motorcycle supplier, the motorcycle manufacturer, other drivers on the road, or the local, city or state government who also failed to exercise their duty of care.

As a “comparative fault” or “comparative negligence” state, California only requires liable parties to pay for the degree of their own fault. Comparative negligence distribute fault among the parties involved in the accident based on the extent of their negligence or recklessness that contributed to the accident.

A classic example of comparative fault in a motorcycle crash is when a motorbike’s headlamp, tail light, or break light is out, particularly if the crash took place at night.

Let us say you were involved, even if you have been responsible in part for the accident, you can still obtain some compensation from other parties who was also partially accountable with the crash. The basic rule here is:

“If an individual involved in an accident was more careless than the other, he/she must pay for at least a share of the damages sustained by the more careful party.”

What monetary payments can you get from these individuals? Liable parties are required to pay for the property damage. This payment is for the cost of repairing or restoring your motorbike to its original condition, or for its replacement. Other items or equipments that were also damaged should be paid.

You will also be entitled to recovery of past medical expenses and treatment costs rendered. Payments for future medical bills should also be provided. Loss of income, loss of possible work opportunities and loss of earning capacity are also included in the payment of damages.

Non-monetary damages should also be compensated for, such as pain and suffering, psychological trauma and stress, loss of security or comfort and other subjective non-monetary losses incurred in the aftermath of the accident.

To guarantee optimum compensation, make sure to get a highly experienced Los Angeles motorcycle crash lawyers to represent you.

To get the optimum result on your motorcycle crash claim, seek the aid of our professional Los Angeles lawyers. Just log on to our website and take advantage of our free case evaluation services.

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Along with brain injuries, spinal cord injuries are among the most severe and life-destroying injuries a person could sustain. In fact, the spinal cord is like an extension of the brain. It is a rope of nerves that runs from the base of the brain (medulla oblongata) down inside the spinal bones to about waist level. The bones (vertebrae) continue on down to the hip area, where we sit on the coccyx. Being inside those bones protects the spinal cord from many potential injuries, and any of those bones can be damaged or chipped without the spinal cord necessarily being hurt.

But an event like a car accident, sports accident, or slip and fall can so damage the spinal vertebrae that the spinal cord may be bruised, pinched, or severed. Then a wide assortment of consequences will happen, depending on how severely the spinal cord is damaged and at which exact point it is damaged.

The Job of the Spinal Cord

The main function is to transmit nerve information from the brain to the body parts and from the body parts to the brain.

• Messages traveling out from the brain are movement instructions, traveling in motor nerves, such as “Jump quickly and catch that basketball!”

• Messages traveling back to the brain carry sensation information, traveling in sensory nerves, such as “Aarrgghh! The coffee’s too hot!”

The spinal cord branches out through the vertebrae to extend throughout the body. These branches are referred to as the spinal nerves, and they exist in 31 pairs – a pair for each spinal bone. One nerve in each pair is a motor nerve exiting from the spinal cord, and the other is a sensory nerve returning from the body to join the spinal cord.

Spinal Cord Segments

When a person sustains a spinal cord injury, the resulting paralysis or disability will be determined by which segment is damaged. The vertebrae are divided into five segments and the corresponding nerve pairs are named accordingly, as, for example, Cervical 1 through 8.

• Eight cervical vertebrae – spinal nerves C1 to C8, controlling the back of the head, neck, shoulders, arms, hands, and diaphragm

• Twelve thoracic vertebrae – spinal nerves T1 to T12, controlling the torso and some parts of the arms

• Five lumbar vertebrae – spinal nerves L1 to L5, controlling the hips and legs

• Five sacral vertebrae – spinal nerves S1 to S5, controlling the groin, parts of the legs, and the toes

The spinal base is one coccygeal bone (several vertebrae fused together).

Complete and Partial Spinal Cord Injuries

A complete injury removes all function below that injury location. There will be no movement and no sensation because the nerve messages that would normally enable them cannot travel past the injury. Quadriplegia (paralysis of both arms and legs) and paraplegia (paralysis of the legs) can result from a complete injury

A partial injury will leave some movement and sensation intact. One side of the body may remain more functional than the other, or one limb will function more than the others. Partial injuries are individual to each person.

Impaired Body Functions

Besides causing loss of movement and sensation, spinal cord injuries can impair any of the body’s functions such as urination, blood pressure, heart rate, fertility, breathing, body temperature, and sweating ability. There will also be secondary complications arising from these initial impairments. Examples of those would be a greater susceptibility to infection, respiratory disease, or stroke.

Auto accidents cause more spinal cord injuries than any other trauma. Other causes are violent attacks, falls, and sports injuries, especially diving incidents.

Treatments of spinal cords are as various as the injuries themselves. When the injury is caused by somebody’s negligence, medical attention is often supplemented by legal advice and representation. If you have suffered a spinal cord injury, or if you have a loved one who has, why not learn more about your legal options by getting a free consultation with an experienced spinal cord injury attorney?

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