Many motorcyclists ask (and many auto drivers ask) whether lane splitting is legal in California. Lane splitting is legal in California and has been for a long time. However, the California Highway Patrol–just in early 2013–has issued some guidelines about lane splitting, and the guidelines are that a motorcyclist should not split lanes: 1) If [...]
GJEL Accident Attorneys' Blog
S.F. challenged to reduce bike fatalities, ramp up safety efforts
Thursday, June 13th, 2013A report released earlier this week is urging San Francisco’s mayor and Board of Supervisors to increase efforts to reduce bike fatalities, calling for an ultimate goal of “zero bike fatalities.” Although the report [PDF] gave credit to the city for supporting and bolstering bike transportation, it also called for significant increases in bike safety. [...]
What if I get ‘doored’ while riding my bike?
Friday, June 7th, 2013If someone opens a door while you’re riding by on your bicycle, the question becomes, “who’s at fault.” And, in California, as a general rule, it is the fault of the driver who opens the door. But, it’s only a general rule. For instance, if the bicyclist sees the car pull over, sees the brake [...]
Medical cannabis creating uncertainty in state DUI laws
Monday, June 3rd, 2013Two states have legalized cannabis and 17 states (18 including Washington, D.C.) have legalized medical cannabis. As the nation slowly shifts towards decriminalization, numerous questions arise on how to regulate and police cannabis fairly and responsibly. Michigan’s Supreme Court recently acted as a guinea pig on one matter: driving under the influence of cannabis. Last [...]
If I make an uninsured motorist claim, will my insurance rates go up?
Friday, May 24th, 2013Very often, about 15 percent of the accidents in California involve someone who was uninsured. So if you are one of those people where you were injured in an accident that’s caused by an uninsured motorist, you can use your own uninsured motorist insurance coverage to make a claim with your own company. We can [...]
An Interview with Sara Marcellino of TransForm
Thursday, May 23rd, 2013As advocates for street safety and supporters of alternative transportation, we at GJEL try to align ourselves with local non-profits actively working to influence public policy and make our community better. One of the organizations we frequently contribute to is TransForm. In the interview below, TransForm’s Development Director, Sara Marcellino talks a little bit about [...]
What if there’s no police report for my accident?
Friday, May 17th, 2013If there’s no police report your case becomes a little more complex than it otherwise would. On the other hand, we handle lots of cases where there’s no police report. I would say 10-15 percent of our cases there’s no police report. Sometimes the reason is the accident happened on private property, sometimes the reason [...]
What if I don’t feel the insurance company is making a fair offer on my car?
Friday, May 10th, 2013Many times the insurance companies will try and make a relatively low offer on your car. It’s important to know that you don’t have to accept the offer. And, just because they say, “Oh, gee – this is what our appraiser says,” doesn’t mean that their appraiser is right. And we’re happy to help with [...]
New studies reiterate texting while driving is unsafe
Tuesday, May 7th, 2013Recently released studies have confirmed what we already know, but too often ignore: texting and driving is not a safe combination. Even though you’re 23 times more likely to be involved in a car crash if you’re operating your cell phone while driving, many motorists still try to sneak out a text or two while [...]
How does auto-medical payments insurance work?
Friday, May 3rd, 2013Many clients–probably most of our clients–have auto-medical payments insurance, also known as med-pay. The most typical amount is $5,000, but it can be as low as $500 and I’ve seen them as high as $100,000. What this means is whether you have health insurance or not, you can get your medical bills paid immediately by [...]
If my child is injured, how do funds get handled?
Friday, April 26th, 2013A very common question is, “If your child is injured, how do the funds get handled when we make a recovery?” And the answer in California is always the same. The funds go into what is called a “blocked account” after a judge approves the settlement. Whenever a minor is involved in a case, we [...]
Report: Hastings to Haiti Partnership’s Spring 2013 Delegation
Wednesday, April 24th, 2013By Ben Buchwalter “You make us think instead of just memorize facts,” said a fourth year Haitian law student on our last night in Jérémie, a rural coastal town in western Haiti. For the week before, the Hastings to Haiti Partnership (“HHP”), a group comprised of professors and law students from UC Hastings College of [...]
Do I need money to hire a lawyer?
Friday, April 19th, 2013A very common question we get is whether or not you need money in advance to hire us, and with our firm you do not ever need money in advance to hire us. We all started here giving free legal services to the poor when we got out of law school, and there’s never a [...]
Creative cycling attire tricks surrounding drivers into obeying the law
Tuesday, April 16th, 2013Cyclists across the pond have come up with a creative way to make sure surrounding motorists treat their safety with the appropriate amount of respect. By wearing reflective gear very similar in appearance to that of a police officer, cyclists are finding that confused drivers are much more likely to give them a wide berth. [...]
What if I was in an accident caused by someone with no insurance?
Friday, April 12th, 2013A very common question is, “What do I do if the person who caused the accident is uninsured?” And, there are several answers to that. First of all, we don’t always take at face value the statement of the person that they’re uninsured–because it’s rare–but occasionally a person will say they’re uninsured when they really [...]
REI lists San Francisco among most ‘bike friendly’ cities
Wednesday, April 10th, 2013In an infographic published by REI earlier this week, San Francisco was listed as one of the countries most “bike friendly” cities. As well as highlighting 6 cities with strong cycling populations, the graphic also provides some bike commuting tips and additional info. Although a lot of the information isn’t particularly earth shattering (did you [...]
What if I was in an accident and don’t have insurance?
Friday, April 5th, 2013A question that we get at least once a month is, “What do I do if I was in an automobile accident and I was uninsured?” And, this is a very significant problem. First of all it’s illegal to drive in California if you’re uninsured, and secondly, if the other person is at fault for [...]
And the unhappiest job in America is…
Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013After compiling over 65,000 company reviews during 2012 and evaluating multiple factors that influence an employee’s job satisfaction, CareerBliss released their list of the happiest and unhappiest jobs in America. Topping this year’s list as the unhappiest job in the country is the thankless role of associate attorney. The survey data was complied by looking [...]
What if I don’t have health insurance?
Friday, March 29th, 2013A very common question is: what do I do if I have no health insurance? We can usually help you through that one. Number one: if you’ve been taken to a local trauma center, you can be sure that the people there–the social worker there–are going to work very hard to get you on something [...]
Robert Redford is too cool for speed limits
Monday, March 25th, 2013As proof that it’s not just young celebrities who can be terrible role models, 76-year-old screen icon Robert Redford recently boasted he drives at speeds in excess of 120 miles per hour. In a recent interview with Esquire, the onetime Sundance Kid was asked if he still enjoys driving fast. Redford’s response: “You bet. I’ll [...]
View the GJEL Blog Archives by Category:
CONNECT WITH GJEL
GJEL’s blog is jointly maintained by our community outreach team. Pictured above from left to right are Jim Larsen, Jason Arango, Cheryl Carmo, and Miguel Hernandez. Please feel free to get in touch with feedback or stories you’d like to see us write about using the links below.
GJEL across the web:
Blog Categories
Latest Tweet
- No public Twitter messages.
- Follow us on Twitter »
