Personal Injury Blog

Rear end collisions are one of the most common – but luckily one of the least serious – accident types. What is often most complex about these accidents, however, is not the extent of the injuries that they cause, but is determining who is to be held liable for damages. Because California is an at-fault, or tort liability state for car accidents, determining fault in all crashes that result in damages, even if those damages are minor, is important. It should also be noted, of course, that while most rear-end collisions are not serious, those that occur at high speeds have the potential to be very severe, and could even be fatal.

All clients want to know: will there be an opportunity to settle their case short of a personal injury trial? The short answer is yes, there will be a number of them. But let me tell you what has to happen first.

What happens if you got hurt in a car accident but did not realize the extent of your injuries until days or weeks later? What if your decision to delay seeking medical treatment exacerbated your injuries, resulting in the need for more extensive and costly medical treatment? Regardless of when you decided to seek medical treatment after the crash, an Oakland car accident lawyer can help.

Despite the requirement that all drivers in the state of California have liability insurance or show proof of financial responsibility, many people in the state do not carry insurance for various reason. In fact, a lack of insurance is so common that one source suggests that 4.1 million California drivers are uninsured. The fact that there are some many people driving around without proper insurance coverage is one of the primary reasons that carrying uninsured motorist coverage is a very wise idea.

When you sustain a personal injury because of another party’s negligence, you will likely need medical treatment and will have ongoing healthcare needs related to the injury. For residents of Northern California who rely on Medicaid (or Medi-Cal, in California) for healthcare, you can continue to anticipate that your injury-related treatment will be covered. In other words, you will not be responsible for paying the upfront costs associated with your recovery.

If you live in California and you are involved in a car accident, the driver who caused the accident is responsible for paying for it. However, drivers rarely pay for accidents that they cause out of pocket – instead, they turn to their auto insurance liability policies to pay for damages.

Unfortunately, this happens way too often. In the case of a severe injury that permanently prevents you from returning to work, the first thing we do is try…

A 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…

When your minor child is injured due to the negligent actions of another, you may feel outraged, heartbroken, and extremely worried about what your child’s future may hold. Further, you may be thinking about filing a personal injury claim on your child’s behalf, but may have questions regarding what will happen to the money your child recovers based on the fact that they are a minor.

No one expects to get hurt on a bus when they climb aboard to get to work or to travel for vacation. However, bus accidents happen much more often than they should in California, and people get hurt. In many cases, the bus company can be held liable for injuries sustained in an accident. If you or someone you love got hurt in a bus accident, there are some important things you need to know about filing a claim. If you are injured on a bus, and it is a public bus–AC Transit, San Francisco Muni, anything like that–then the rules change a little bit. Number one, if it is the fault of the bus company then instead of having two years in which to file the lawsuit you only have six months within which to file a claim and then additional time to file a lawsuit. Secondly, if you are injured on a bus, then the bus is held to a much higher standard than if you were a passenger in a friend’s car. It’s called the Common Carrier Rule.

One question that some people ask me just when they’re hiring me is, “Can you settle my case without my consent?” The answer to this question is simply…

Accident victims often wonder: Is my personal injury settlement taxable by the IRS or the state of California? This is very much an understandable concern; after all, everything in life is taxed right? Fortunately, ninety-nine percent of the time, your recovery from a personal injury case will not be taxable. Indeed, that is simply the way the law is set up. For the most part, your personal injury recovery is tax-free money that you receive. Even better, not only is it tax-free (which means that you don’t owe taxes) but, generally, you don’t even report your settlement to the IRS.

Were you injured recently in a car crash or another accident in Northern California? You might be asking yourself: who will pay for my medical bills, and will using my health insurance cause my coverage to go up? Nobody who gets hurt in an accident resulting from another party’s negligence should have to pay for the costs of care.

There are 5 important steps to take after an accident: Seek Medical Assistance, Exchange Contact and Insurance Information, Gather and Secure Evidence, Be Wary of Insurance Adjusters, and Contact a Qualified Attorney

Anytime that you are involved in a car accident, or any other serious accident type that necessitates emergency medical care, you should make sure that an accident report is filed with the police (in fact, in the event of a car accident, California law requires that you report the accident if anyone is injured or killed, or damages total more than $750).

How do courts calculate loss of earnings for self-employed plaintiffs in car accident and other personal injury cases? This can be actually a fairly complex issue. If you work for an employer, it’s pretty simple. If you’re out for two months your employer fills out a form that says what you would have earned, but if you’re self-employed and you have your own business then it gets a little tricky and the reason it gets tricky is because your earnings probably vary.

The City of Cupertino required the 3.5 million square foot spaceship to include 11,000 parking spaces, amounting to more space for parking than office space.

This article looks at problems of standing that arise when stepchildren are statutory claimants.

Searching for the most dangerous roads in San Jose isn’t easy. You can focus on roads with the highest numbers of collisions and wind up overlooking the roads where the most serious injuries have occurred. Or you could just as easily do the opposite.

Any way you slice it, the danger on San Jose streets is alarming.

Highway 17, connecting San Jose and Santa Cruz, has among the highest number of collisions.

The latest annual report on motor vehicle collisions from the California Highway Patrol has a ton of information about what’s happening on California roads and highways, with extensive datasets on alcohol- and truck-involved collisions and more tightly focused summaries of collisions involving pedestrians, motorcycles, and bicycles.

A common question we hear at GJEL Accident Attorneys is, “I don’t feel hurt after my car accident. Should I see a doctor?”. After an accident, your adrenaline…

View the most dangerous Intersections for Bay Area Cyclists with this interactive map provided by GJEL Accident Attorneys.

It’s true–what you say or post on social media after an injury or even a more general legal dispute can completely wreck your personal injury case. With seven…

Last week, we looked at the number of motor vehicle injuries occurring in the San Jose area and concluded that traffic safety around GJEL’s San Jose office is getting worse. According to California’s latest traffic records, the number of collisions leading to injury increased each year from 2013 to 2015 and was trending up again through the first half of 2016. Full-year results for 2016 should be available in August.

Whether driving or riding in a passenger seat, there’s no way to guarantee your safety in a car, on any day of the year. But you can educate yourself about local traffic safety risks. If everybody knew when and where collisions occur, we would all have a better chance to stay out of harm’s way.

Through nearly 40 years of representing accident victims and families, GJEL has shown that many injuries suffered on the roads are preventable. Our efforts to improve traffic safety extend far beyond the legal process. We sponsor organizations such as the California Bicycle Coalition to advocate for safe and viable transportation alternatives. When we learn about traffic safety risks, we encourage friends and neighbors to stay out of harm’s way.

These innovative Dutch-inspired designs (amongst the first dozen built in the U.S.) seek to maintain physical separation between drivers and bicyclists through an intersection.

While car, truck, and motorcycle accidents can happen anywhere, there are some roads that are significantly more dangerous than others.

After several years of anticipation, the expansion of Bay Area Bike Share (recently rebranded as Ford GoBike) from 700 to 7,000 bikes will finally commence Spring 2017…

A typical personal injury claim against an individual defendant resolves in one of two ways: (1) settlement with the defendant, or (more commonly) his or her insurer, either…

There are plenty of accessories you can buy for your commuter cyclist friends this holiday season. Here are five gift ideas that can help keep riders out of harm’s way.

Tennyson Road is one of Hayward’s major backbones for people walking and biking, but it is also one of the City’s most dangerous.

What a difference a year makes…

OakDot has completely reinvented its plans for Harrison Street to include state-of-the-art protected bikeway and protected intersection designs while adding pedestrian and transit enhancements.

Recently, the City made a perplexing change to the design that relocated the parking attendant kiosk into the middle of the bike lane…

Santa Cruz County is in the midst of a debate over how to relieve gridlock along Highway 1. Traffic congestion has continued to worsen in recent years along the four lane freeway, to the point that an 18 mile one-way commute to or from Watsonville can take in excess of an hour each way.

According to the Washington Post of July 11, 2016, although Pokemon Go (the latest summertime craze made by Niantic, Nintendo, and the Pokemon Company) was released just five…

Oakland’s parking enforcement officers have been criticized recently for their lack of enforcement of illegal and unsafe parking behavior along Telegraph’s new protected bike lanes. Yesterday, parking enforcement…

A month after unveiling a road diet on Telegraph Avenue featuring Oakland’s first protected bike lanes, Telegraph remains a mess. Obstructions of the bike lanes are seemingly never-ending as confused and/or negligent drivers continue to park alongside the curb. While growing pains are normal for innovative projects that disrupt the status quo, the sustained chaos on Telegraph has been troubling.

GJEL Accident Attorneys only handles contingency fee cases where a victim was seriously injured or killed due to someone else’s negligence.  What is a Contingency Fee? Contingency fee…

Earlier this week, GM CEO Mary Barra said she believes self-driving vehicles should continue to include steering wheels, brake pedals and accelerators as the technology develops. The state of California has already taken this position, requiring a licensed driver at the helm of all self-driving cars.

What is the role of a private investigator? In short, the private investigator helps to determine the series of events that led to the car accident in which you sustained your injuries. You might be asking yourself: why do I need to work with a private investigator? Law firms across Northern California, and indeed across the country, rely on the services of private investigators to obtain specific information about an accident and to help determine who may be liable for injuries that occurred.

After nearly two decades of planning, the timeline for completion of the Silicon Valley BART extension remains uncertain. Later this year, BART will open a five mile, $890…

What Is Road Rage? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration defines road rage as “criminal act[s] of violence,” a product of aggressive driving, like tailgating, speeding, and running…

There is a growing consensus that building a second Transbay Tube is critical to the Bay Area’s future. Transbay ridership has skyrocketed in recent years – MTC’s ongoing…

Oakland’s new buffered bike lanes continue to experience frequent blockages due to illegal double parking. Robert Prinz of Bike East Bay recently posted a video of Webster Street…

As common law doctrines evolve, sometimes their rationale, and proper application, can get lost; that can be because of just one “less than thoughtful” reported appellate decision. One…

The Oakland Police Department issued a press release on Wednesday announcing a pedestrian safety enforcement operation on Monday, February 1st. The press release notes increasing rates of pedestrian…

Tonight (Thursday January 14th) at 7:00 PM, the Lafayette Circulation Commission will review a dangerous double-wide roundabout proposal at the intersection of Pleasant Hill Road and Olympic Boulevard,…

Bay Area traffic is worse than ever. Whereas traffic jams were once restricted to typical rush hour (7-9 AM, 4-6 PM), congestion now extends earlier and later past…

The American Planning Association (APA), a professional organization for urban planners, claims to “provide leadership in the development of vital communities by advocating excellence in planning, promoting education…

In motor vehicle personal injury or wrongful death cases where the responsible driver was allegedly intoxicated, the injured plaintiff may want to consider seeking an award of punitive…

On Tuesday morning, Jeffrey Donnelly of Palo Alto was tragically killed while riding a bicycle on Page Mill Road near I-280. Riding along a popular recreational cycling route,…

As the East Bay enters a new chapter of growth, the needs for better transportation infrastructure and more transit-oriented development are becoming increasingly evident. The inner East Bay…

More good news for Oakland: MTC has announced the awarding of a $4.5 million grant from the State’s Active Transportation Program for a road diet and protected bike…

BART’s ridership is booming. On a typical weekday, BART carries 423,000 passengers – an increase of 26 percent since 2010. While BART’s crowding problems during commute hours are…

California’s “primary assumption of the risk” doctrine was first set forth in Knight v. Jewett (1992) 3 Cal.4th 296. That case involved a plaintiff’s claim for personal injuries…

Last week, we examined the I-80 Smart Corridor project and its highway-like approach to San Pablo Avenue. To recap, Caltrans has exercized its jurisdiction over San Pablo Avenue…

If you’ve recently traveled along I-80 in the East Bay, you may have noticed new electronic signage and metering lights. Caltrans is currently putting the finishing touches on…

As protected bike lanes become more common across the U.S., the way in which we design intersections is also evolving. American cities are on the cusp of implementing…

The City of Oakland recently unveiled a new pedestrian signal policy intended to streamline the implementation of more pedestrian-friendly intersections. We’ve written at length about how Oakland’s implementation…

A new driver advocacy group in Alameda has mobilized to preserve the status quo on one of the City’s most dangerous corridors. “I Drive Alameda” has distributed flyers…

Crossing the street in Oakland’s Rockridge District just got a lot more difficult due to “improvements” by the City’s traffic engineers. Along College Avenue, one of Oakland’s most…

photo credit: 2420 via photopin (license)   It is clear that the object of romantic interest in the Beatles’ song never anticipated a self-driving (“autonomous”) car; but as…

At long last, the Uptown Bike Station opened this week adjacent to BART’s 19th Street Station. The Bike Station offers free, secure bike parking between the hours of…

The practical answer is whether you’re on the proper side of the road or the improper side of the road, if you are riding safely and a vehicle…

This month, Hövding released an updated version of their “invisible” bike helmet that has taken Europe by storm. The Swedish startup produces an unobtrusive collar for cyclists that…

Los Angeles is famous for freaking out when it rains. Recently, Noah Deneau, an electrical engineer from Austin, Texas, graphically illustrated the effect of rain on the rate…

The City of Berkeley has taken a step toward improving pedestrian safety at a deadly intersection, but continues to mishandle its broader approach to street safety. Last April,…

In California tort litigation arising from a wrongful death, the question often arises as to whether plaintiff claimants bear legal responsibility for the pre-death medical expenses of their…

Pursuant to Rule of Court 2.550(c) and its predecessor, California court records have long been “presumed to be open” to the public, absent exceptions for confidentiality required by…

During the height of California’s highway boom from the 1950s through the 1970s, Caltrans bulldozed through hundreds of neighborhoods to construct freeways. The economic and environmental toll on…

For the vast majority of people, signal timing is not an exciting subject. Apart from traffic engineers and a select group of superwonks, few people pay attention to…

As Caltrain’s ridership surges, bike ridership on the system has grown at a similarly fast pace. On an average weekday, approximately 5,900 riders (11 percent of total ridership)…

Construction on the much-anticipated first segment of the East Bay Greenway has stalled due to delays from unexpected levels of soil contamination. The 0.5 mile, $3.56 million project…

As Bay Area cities redesign their streets to better accommodate safe bicycling, key gaps in the region’s infrastructure become ever more apparent. Much of the growth in bicycling…