Auto Accident Lawyer Bakersfield
To get an accurate picture of what can happen if you live and drive in Bakersfield, statistics from the California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) revealed that in 2006, 24 people died and 1,126 were injured in car crashes. Motorcycle accidents killed four and injured 54. DUIs caused eight deaths and 141 injuries. In 2007, 23 car collisions resulted in 25 deaths.
Sadly, two of Bakersfield’s notoriously dangerous roads, Highways 46 and 65, are still among the most deadly in the nation, according to a Fox News report. Highway 46 is a main artery to the coast from Bakersfield. Known by residents as “Blood Alley,” the narrow two-lane highway has been the site of numerous car crashes and deaths. One problem is that semi-truck and vacation traffic both compete for space on this highway and plans to widen it have been slow. Another problem is that Highway 46 is particularly unforgiving to heavy and high-speed traffic. There are no passing lanes, no shoulders, and the paving is poor in some sections. Although the posted speed limit is 55 mph, many drivers routinely ignore it. They also ignore the double-yellow lines that mean no passing. The results are often fatal. Sharing Highway 46′s dubious distinction is State Highway 65 between Porterville and Bakersfield. Heavy truck traffic cuts down on visibility and reckless drivers often cross the centerline to pass, risking their lives and many others in the maneuver.
Within 48 hours after an accident occurs, most of the evidence about how the accident happened will have been removed, destroyed or lost. It’s important to find out if the police made a report and what was in that report. It’s also important to take pictures of the wrecked vehicles, skid marks and other evidence at the scene. An auto accident lawyer Bakersfield will hire private investigators and use accident reconstruction experts who can testify how an accident happened in case liability is later contested.
Communicating with the insurance company adjuster on the other side is risky. Most people have no prior experience dealing with the medical and legal consequences of a serious personal injury or with the loss that accompanies the wrongful death of a loved one. But insurance companies are sophisticated machines whose sole objective is to minimize the amount that they have to pay on injury or death claims or to prevent them from being paid at all. Without an auto accident lawyer Bakersfield to protect your interests, you could say or do something that the insurance company might attempt to use to deny or limit your claim.
Though you are not required by law to work with an auto accident lawyer Bakersfield on your auto accident insurance claim, you may find that you will have a greatly increased chance of recovering the full value of your claim if you have a professional at your side. A lawyer can protect your rights and help keep the insurance company in line, assisting you in avoiding becoming the victim of insurance bad faith. If needed, a lawyer can also take your car accident claim to civil court to be resolved.
