As a focus on driving and safety, I’m going to discuss the most common type of car accidents. This article is solely based on my opinion and is not a specific study. That said, I have handled around a couple thousand car accident cases. If we can focus on why car accidents occur more frequently, perhaps we can avoid them. The car accident type I see the most frequently are rear-end accidents. Most people would probably guess this as well. This occurs when two cars occupy the same lane and the car ahead is either stopped or slowing down. The vehicle behind the front vehicle fails to either stop or slow down in time and rear- ends the vehicle in front. These car accidents are caused by a couple main reasons- following too closely or distracted driving. Giving yourself more space between you and the car ahead of you will go a long ways to help avoid these collisions. As far as distractions, the cell phone is obviously the biggest concern. However, drivers can be distracted by the radio, things they see outside the vehicle, food, and other things in their car. The second most common type of accident resulting in injury is where one car is turning left at an intersection and the other vehicle is going straight in the opposite direction. Frequently, the car turning left assumes that the car going straight will stop on a yellow light. Unfortunately, that does not always happen, resulting in a collision. The best way to avoid this collision is to wait until the vehicle going straight stops, if you are making a left-hand turn. Also, make sure all straight travel lanes are stopped, as there can be several lanes of travel. If you are going straight, keep an eye on the vehicle waiting to make a left-hand turn. Even though most of us want to run a yellow light to avoid stopping, if there is a vehicle waiting to turn left, it is safer to stop. If you don’t stop, you should slow down and be prepared to take evasive action. These two scenarios are the most common type of car accidents that I have seen resulting in injuries. If...
Read MoreOne of my clients was injured in a car crash near Sugarhouse and Millcreek, Utah. The car accident involved several vehicles and my client was injured. It seems that the driver of the car who caused the crash was distracted. Unfortunately, that seems to be occurring more and more frequently, despite the efforts of the government to stop distracted driving. We have all seen the billboards and messages on the freeway system in Utah and through Salt Lake County warning drivers of distracted driving with clever messages, however, apparently that is not enough, as this car crash in Sugarhouse would not have happened. In fact, just yesterday I was working on a separate case where the driver was distracted and hit my client’s car from behind with his truck in a violent crash. That driver claimed he was actually looking at a third driver who was texting, so even though he wasn’t texting himself, he was driving distracted. We all need to remember to put down or away any distractions, especially cell phones. If you need to call someone or text someone, pull over. It will only take a minute to stop and then you can communicate safely. Otherwise, you can cause a car crash, like the one in Sugarhouse and seriously injury someone or even yourself. Is it really worth the extra minute to risk your life or someone else’s life? No, it is not! Let’s make this car crash in Sugarhouse the last one of it’s...
Read MoreAbout a year ago, one of my client’s was hurt in a car crash near West Valley City, Utah. My client was driving her car near West Valley City when she was struck from behind by another car. Although the damage to her car wasn’t substantial, she did suffer a concussion. My client was taken to the hospital from this car crash. After the hospital, she saw a concussion specialist and also saw a physical therapist. I became involved in her case a short time later. Once I got involved in her case, it became apparent that there were several hospital liens filed. In Utah, a hospital can file a lien on a settlement for injuries that were caused by a third-party under certain circumstances. What that means is the hospital files documentation in court that they are entitled to a certain amount of the eventual settlement or jury verdict. There are limitations on when and how hospitals can file liens and for that reason it is typically best to consult with an attorney on the liens. Depending on the circumstances, a lawyer can often negotiate a satisfactory resolution to these liens. “How are these liens fair?” You might ask. After all, my client was simply minding her own business while in West Valley City when she was crashed into by another car. I believe the reasoning of the legislature in Utah in having these liens is that the hospitals need to provide emergency care in all situations when an injured person arrives from a car crash. If the person doesn’t have health insurance, the hospital should be entitled to some form of payment. That said, the liens may not be fair, depending on the ultimate outcome of the case. If you have been hurt in a car crash in West Valley City or West Jordan, please give me a call. I’d love to chat with you and see what I can do to help you with your car...
Read MoreHere at Symkoviak Law Firm, we assist many clients that were injured in West Valley City. Recently, we assisted a client that had a bad injury in a car accident in West Valley City. The client was proceeding through an intersection in West Valley City when another vehicle turned in front of her, causing the cars to collide and resulting in her injury. My client initially hired a injury lawyer that she saw on a TV commercial. She continued with that injury lawyer for several months, but eventually became extremely frustrated with her injury lawyer. She reported that the lawyer would not call her back and that only a paralegal would contact her infrequently. She was also given incomplete information and was very unsure of her case. She decided to contact me upon the advice of a friend. One our law office became involved in the case, we could understand why the client was frustrated. She had actually been given some incorrect information on her case by her former injury lawyer. She also had some extenuating circumstances that necessitated a quicker resolution to her case, and her former injury lawyer was not working to make sure this happened. We began working immediately and diligently on her case in order to make sure she would reach the resolution to her injury case that she needed. It was not an easy case and many circumstances arose that made resolving her injury case difficult, but we were able to navigate through these difficulties for her and resolve her case in a timely manner. The client was very happy and wondered why she had not contacted me earlier as her injury lawyer. Unfortunately, car crashes do happen frequently. I have many clients from West Valley City, West Jordan, and the greater Salt Lake City area who were looking for a good injury lawyer. I always try to meet and exceed their expectations. Call me...
Read MoreI recently represented a client who was hurt in a car crash in West Jordan, Utah. My client was stopped waiting at a red light when he was violently struck from behind by another vehicle. The accident happened near Jordan Landing in West Jordan. The other driver claimed not to be at-fault for the crash, despite hitting my client from behind there in West Jordan. The client then retained my services. One of the big issues for my client was the fact that he worked a job that required a lot of physical labor. Due to his injuries from the car crash in West Jordan, he was not able to work. However, my client was self-employed and providing documentation about his wages was difficult. I worked with the client to provide alternative forms of evidence to prove his wages. While he continued to receive medical treatment, he received lost wages from his own insurance under the PIP coverage for this crash in West Jordan. Oftentimes I would have my client submit a calendar of the hours he missed from work, which he prepared himself. After my client was done treating, we submitted a demand package to the insurance company of the person who caused the crash in West Jordan, Utah. At first, the insurance company refused to pay their insurance policy limit for this crash, however, we were eventually able to demonstrate that my clients injuries were severe and he was justified in receiving the policy limit for his injuries and ongoing injury. We then pursued an underinsured motorist claim with his own insurance company for this crash in West Jordan, Utah, which we were able to successfully resolve. If you have been hurt in a crash, whether in West Jordan, West Valley City, or Sugarhouse, please give us a call. We are happy to assist you with your injury claim....
Read MoreI was recently contacted by a client who was involved in a car accident in Magna, Utah. Unlike most of my posts, where I discuss past clients, this client, who was in a car accident in Magna, is still a current client- so I won’t be able to give many of the details about the case or the car accident in Magna. My client was hit from behind in this crash in Magna and was injured. If you are hit from behind, the fault almost always rests with the driver that hit you from behind, although there can be exceptions to this. Most of my clients are hit from behind while waiting at a stoplight or a stop sign. A few of my former clients have also been hit from behind while moving, typically if they are either slowing down or accelerating after a change in the stoplight or on the freeway slowing down or accelerating due to traffic ahead. If you were hit from behind, like my client in Magna, you can feel pretty comfortable that the other party will likely be at-fault, but feel free to call us to confirm. Sometimes we have to set-up the claim for one or more of the parties. If the other party has not reported the claim to their insurance company, that is fine. You or your representative should be able to open a claim on their policy. This happened with this car accident in Magna. Our office had to contact at least one of the insurance companies to set up a claim. If you have been hurt in a car accident in Magna, West Valley City, Kearns, West Jordan, or Salt Lake City, please give us a call for a free consultation. 801-738-9999. We never charge for the initial phone call or...
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