Oceanside Rear-End Collisions

Oceanside is located south of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, and encompasses 42.2 square miles. If you are driving north on I-5, it is the final city before you reach Orange County. You may spend a lot of time in stop-and-go traffic if you frequently use the I-5 or other local freeways, putting you at risk for being rear-ended. These types of collisions occur when the front end of one car hits the back end of another car. Rear-end collisions can cause significant harm depending on the speed of the collision and other factors. Soft tissue injuries, disc herniation, spinal cord damage, and paralysis can all arise from a rear-end crash. If you were injured in a rear-end collision and you believe the other driver was at fault, you should consult an experienced Oceanside car accident attorney. The Rubinstein Law Group provides tough, aggressive representation to injured motorists.

In some states, the driver of the vehicle to the rear is presumed to be at fault for a rear-end collision. However, there is no presumption of this sort in California. In most cases, a rear-end collision is the result of negligence by one or more drivers. To establish another driver's negligence you'll need to prove these elements: (1) the other driver's duty, (2) the other driver's breach of duty, (3) causation, and (4) actual damages. A breach of duty can occur in many different ways. It may arise as a result of a driver speeding, following too closely, failing to maintain a vehicle, weaving in traffic, distracted driving, drunk driving, or aggressive driving.

Although there is no presumption of fault, if a driver commits one of two vehicle code violations, he or she will almost always be found to be at fault. Under California Vehicle Code section 22350, nobody is supposed to drive a car on the highway at a speed that is more than what is reasonable and prudent considering all factors, such as the surface of the road, the traffic, visibility, and weather. Nobody is supposed to go at a speed that endangers a person's safety. Under California Vehicle Code section 21703, the driver of a car shall not follow another car more closely than what is reasonable and prudent considering speed, traffic and road conditions.

Often defendants in rear-end accident cases look for some way in which the plaintiff was partially or fully to blame in order to shift responsibility for the crash to them. They may raise the defense of comparative negligence. In that scenario, the jury will look at the evidence and arguments, and assign percentages of fault among the parties. A plaintiff's damages will be reduced by an amount equivalent to his percent of fault for the accident. For example, if the driver in front failed to repair his brake lights and had to brake suddenly, but the driver to the rear was also tailgating, it is possible that both actions will contribute to a collision. If the front driver's damages are $200,000, and both drivers are 50% at fault, the front driver will only be able to recover $100,000.

Damages resulting from an Oceanside rear-end collision can include both economic and noneconomic losses, but the amount of these losses will depend largely on the nature and severity of the injuries. Economic losses are concrete losses, and they are often documented. They may include medical expenses, wage loss, out-of-pocket costs, and replacement services. Replacement services can include, for example, household services such as someone to clean the house if you are not able to clean your home anymore as a result of serious spinal cord injuries. Noneconomic losses are more subjective damages, and include pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of consortium, and loss of enjoyment. The jury will quantify these losses based on what it believes would naturally follow from the types of injuries you sustained. Your attorney should talk to you about the full scope of your losses and how these injuries have affected your daily life and happiness. However, an attorney should also be able to persuasively present these to a jury. This is why an experienced trial lawyer can make such a difference to the outcome to your case.

If you were injured in an Oceanside rear-end collision, you may be dealing with severe physical pain, missed work, and mounting medical expenses. An experienced personal injury attorney at Rubinstein Law Group can assess your potential claims after a car accident. For a free consultation, please call 760.804.2790 or contact us through our online form.