Yuba City Personal Injury Attorney
Car Accident Lawyer Sutter County
Michael Rehm – (530) 410-6474
Free Consultations
Yuba City was recently ranked number 7 out of 201 on the Milken Institute's best-performing small cities list. Yuba City businesses are creating jobs that lead to growth and prosperity. Unfortunately, growing cities have growing pains, including a growing number of traffic accidents.
Compared to 105 California cities of similar size, and after adjusting per capita accident rates to account for miles driven and other factors, the Office of Traffic Safety ranks Yuba City as having the 16th highest rate of injuries and deaths caused by traffic accidents.
Yuba City ranks 32 of 105 cities in accidents caused by speeding, and 28 out of 105 cities in hit-and-run accidents. Yuba City also has a high rate of pedestrian accidents (particularly involving children under 15) and bicycle accidents.
Whether a traffic accident involves passenger car occupants, a pedestrian, a bicycle rider, or a motorcyclist, a dedicated car accident attorney can help injury victims obtain the compensation they deserve. Michael Rehm helps accident victims in Yuba City and surrounding communities recover compensation for their losses.
Speed-Related Accidents in Yuba City CA
Speed and vehicle weight are the two factors that have the greatest impact on injuries in a traffic accident. Simple physics teaches that the forces generated in a traffic crash are greater as the speed and/or size vehicles increases.
Several recent multiple-vehicle crashes in or near Yuba City have been horrifying. A speeding SUV recently crashed into the rear of a pickup truck on Highway 20, then swerved into an oncoming lane of traffic and caused a head-on collision. Two people were killed.
Speeding on roads like Highway 99 and Highway 20 can have deadly consequences. Drivers who are speeding are more likely to lose control of their vehicles in an emergency and are less able to respond to wet roads, cargo that falls from trucks, and other road hazards.
Even when accidents are not fatal, speeding increases the severity of injuries. A rear-end collision at 10 mph can cause a nagging whiplash injury, but a rear-end collision at 50 mph can cause brain injuries and spinal damage. Accident victims who are not wearing a shoulder harness may also suffer from other bone fractures and facial injuries.
High-speed intersection accidents can lead to vehicle rollovers and crushed organs. Even in the absence of a rollover, broken bones, head injuries, and joint injuries often result from high-speed T-bone collisions. The intersection of Sanborn Road and Aaron Drive is one of several locations in Yuba City at which speed-related collisions have recently occurred.
Drivers who speed are regarded as negligent under California law. Negligent drivers can be made to pay compensation for the accident injuries they cause.
Hit-and-Run Accidents in Sutter County
Unfortunately, it can be difficult to hold hit-and-run drivers accountable for accident injuries. Unless the accident victim or witnesses can provide information that identifies the driver, victims may need to rely on their own insurance for compensation.
While “medical pay” coverage will pay medical expenses up to the policy limit, it does not cover wage loss or pain and suffering. That's why every driver should have uninsured motorist coverage with limits that equal their liability coverage. Uninsured motorist coverage is less expensive than liability coverage, but it is a valuable investment that provides protection against both uninsured drivers and hit-and-run drivers.
In addition, your own insurance company has a duty to settle your claim in good faith. Your lawyer may be able to settle your hit-and-run claim without all the hassle caused by insurance adjusters for insured drivers.
Pedestrian and Bicycle Accidents in Yuba City
Pedestrian and bicycle accidents involving children usually occur in residential neighborhoods or in school zones. Children tend to cross in the middle of the street, and residential streets usually have no bike lanes.
Drivers who fail to slow down in school zones place children at risk. Some drivers do not notice that they have entered a school zone because they are distracted by their smartphones. Drivers who send or read texts, check email, scroll through contact lists, or use an app while driving are a hazard to pedestrians and bicyclists.
Unfortunately, victims of pedestrian and bicycle accidents tend to suffer more serious injuries that occupants of colliding cars. Pedestrians and bicyclists are not surrounded by steel. They have no airbags and safety harnesses to protect them.
Injuries that are common in pedestrian and bicycle accidents include:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal injuries
- Wrist and elbow injuries (caused by extending arms to break a fall)
- Facial scarring
- Dental injuries
- Road rash and infections
Pedestrians and bicyclists are also vulnerable to most of the other injuries that car occupants can experience in an accident.
Car Accident Injuries in Yuba City
Rear-end collisions usually cause whiplash injuries. The twisting of the spinal column and the rapid back-and-forth motion of the head in a rear-end crash can lead to months of neck and back pain. In some cases, whiplash injuries cause long-term or permanent disabilities.
Other injuries that commonly occur in Yuba City car accidents include:
- Head injuries
- Eye injuries
- Organ damage
- Disfigurement
- Back injuries
- Broken bones
- Joint injuries
- Puncture wounds and infections
- Nerve damage
- Torn and stretched muscles, ligaments, and tendons
In addition, every physical injury is accompanied by pain, suffering, and emotional distress. In some cases, the anxiety and depression that comes from not being able to lift a child and other physical limitations is more stressful than the injury itself.
Compensation for Sutter County Auto Accident Injuries
Injury victims are entitled to compensation for their physical injuries and for the pain, suffering, and emotional distress that the injuries cause. Financial compensation cannot make pain disappear, but it does help accident victims improve the quality of their lives. In that way, compensation offsets pain and suffering.
Compensation also replaces what people lose in an accident, including:
- Lost wages
- Loss of future earning ability
- Medical expenses
- Prescription costs
- Physical and vocational therapy expenses
- Future healthcare costs
- The cost of medical devices (such as wheelchairs and knee replacements)
When accident victims have a permanent disability, compensation must include the lifetime cost of coping with it. That may include the annual salary of a caretaker, job retraining, adding wheelchair ramps to a home, and similar expenses.
When Yuba City traffic accidents cause a fatality, families of the deceased victim can seek wrongful death compensation. A traffic accident lawyer can help families understand which members are entitled to compensation and how it is measured.
Yuba City Traffic Accident Lawyer
A dedicated traffic accident lawyer can help Yuba City accident victims recover the compensation they deserve. The Law Office of Michael Rehm provides compassionate service to injury victims in and near Yuba City. Our office helps victims of car accidents, truck accidents, bus accidents, motorcycle accidents, bicycle accidents, and pedestrian accidents.
Michael Rehm deals with insurance adjusters to maximize settlements so that accident victims can concentrate on healing. Most cases settle, but when adjusters are unreasonable, Michael Rehm uses his skills as an aggressive trial advocate to pursue favorable verdicts for clients. To learn how the Law Office of Michael Rehm can help you, call (530) 410-6474 or contact him through this website.
Sutter County Accident Resources: