A rollover accident might destroy your vehicle, but it doesn’t have to destroy your life. Let’s pursue successful accident compensation.
Rollover accidents are severe auto accidents that often lead to major vehicle damage and significant bodily injuries. When your car flips into a rolling crash, it sets off a path of destruction that can harm every person and vehicle that’s nearby.
As an injured victim, you may need a trip to the emergency room, reconstructive surgery, and months of rehabilitation – plus, you could be missing out on your paychecks as your bills mount. The car accident team at Sally Morin Personal Injury Lawyers can help you at a time like this.
We have a successful history of helping injured Californians secure full, fair compensation after severe rollover accidents. A car accident claim can help you cover your medical bills while helping you maximize a settlement that keeps you out of court.
Your accident lawyer handles legal details, eases your stress, and gives you a chance to focus on recovering from the accident. Learn more by requesting a free case evaluation for your rollover accident.
Things You Should Know About Your Rollover Accident Claim
Rollover accidents aren’t as common as other types of car crashes, but they’re usually more severe. Rollovers occur in just 3% of all traffic accidents but account for 30% of all vehicle deaths.
What most people don’t realize about severe traffic accidents is that victims aren’t automatically compensated at the level they deserve. You might have to fight for your right to claim coverage of your medical bills, lost wages, and other damages.
Keep reading to learn more about how to protect your rights after a rollover crash. Your next steps strongly impact whether you can successfully claim high-value accident compensation.
Accept Medical Treatment and Save Your Medical Bills
Rollover accidents usually send injured people to hospitals in San Francisco, Los Angeles, or another city here in California. It’s important to accept medical care even if your injuries seem minor and follow your doctor’s instructions about how to heal from your injuries.
Keep in mind that there’s no second chance to get the proper healthcare you need to heal from your injuries. Fail to get it now, and you could regret it later if your injuries worsen. Plus, medical bills build the basis of a legal claim.
Even if you’re not taken to the hospital by ambulance, head to the ER right away and report your injuries. This establishes when your accident happened and helps you match up details to other important documents, like the police report. Delaying healthcare would be a big mistake that could ruin your accident claim.
Build Your Case Based on the Evidence
Now you’ll need to start gathering car accident evidence that proves what happened. If you’re too injured to do this yourself, it’s especially important to hire an accident lawyer right away. Your accident lawyer knows how to handle a rollover accident and what evidence you’ll need.
Take videos and photos from the scene of your rollover accident showing car damage, nearby debris, and other details. Include road signs, skid marks, construction zones, or roadside damage that might have something to do with the crash.
In California, drivers in accidents are supposed to exchange contact and insurance information, plus this info should be in the police report. Focus on the basic facts and try not to get into debates about what happened. Anything you say is evidence that could be twisted and used against you.
Contact the police department to obtain a copy of the police report, which will become a key piece of evidence that could support your case. A talented lawyer can help add context to the police report for the court and insurance company, further strengthening your case.
Remember to take photos of your injuries and include any bandages or scarring you may have from your crash. Start a journal that documents your emotional injuries and the enormous impact the accident has had on your life.
Be Careful About What You Say
Choose your words carefully when discussing your accident and only interact with your lawyer and the police. Watch out for the insurance company, because they aren’t your friend after an accident.
An insurance company representative will likely be eager to get as many details from you as possible to build their own version of the case. As a way of minimizing their insurance payment, they’ll be looking for every opportunity to use your words against you.
We advise our clients not to allow anyone to record your conversation without your permission and don’t give out your social security number or other details until you talk to a lawyer. Certain information is perfectly legal to withhold in California, although the insurance company might try to tell you otherwise.
Stay Off of Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and All Social Media
There’s no question that it’s tempting to talk about your rollover accident and how it’s changing your life. Don’t use social media though, because it’s a public form of communication that can be captured and used in your case. Even an innocent thought could be used in the other party’s favor.
Insurance companies often look through social media accounts, searching for anything that will support a certain version of events. This includes photos, posts, comments, likes, and almost anything else shared online, so go social media silent for a while.
Why Do Rollover Accidents Happen in California?
Looking for answers about your accident? That’s understandable, and your lawyer can give you helpful insights. A free case evaluation will reveal more details specific to your accident, but we can share some general info below.
Poor Signs, Lighting, or Road Surfaces
Perhaps your rollover accident occurred due to poor road signage that made it confusing to merge or change lanes. Maybe there was construction debris in the road. Circumstances like these can impact accident claims.
Make sure you take photos that capture these problems and consider whether a government agency or private company could hold some responsibility. Your lawyer can help you decide whether these factors apply to your rollover crash.
Bad Weather Conditions and Low Visibility
Bad weather isn’t necessarily a cause that will release someone from liability because California drivers are expected to adapt to changing road conditions. It’s still possible that the weather could be introduced as a factor in your accident.
You might be able to use weather reports and other information that support your claim. Plus, trucking companies and commercial fleet drivers must keep driving logs that your accident lawyer could review as possible evidence that bolsters your case.
Drunk or Drugged Driving
When someone drinks alcohol or takes drugs to the point of intoxication that prevents safe driving, this is a type of negligence that factors into rollover accidents. Was someone intoxicated in your crash?
Researchers have found that in California, 50% of all drivers killed in road collisions test positive for intoxicating substances during their autopsies. It’s also infuriating to realize that 77% of all drunk driving fatalities involve drivers who are repeat drunk driving offenders.
Distracted Drivers and High Impacts
Distracted driving is also an important idea to consider when pursuing accident compensation. Was the person who caused your rollover crash doing something that caused them to be too distracted to drive safely?
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more than 2,800 deaths and 400,000 injuries can be attributed to distracted driving annually. Smartphones are one of the biggest culprits, but other things like food, music, navigation apps, passengers, and roadside distractions can also play a role.
Failure to Maintain Vehicles
Any vehicle on the road can become a hazard when it’s not maintained properly. Big rig brake failures can cause rollover accidents when huge trucks can’t stop in time to avoid other vehicles, causing them to tumble on impact.
Certain state and federal laws require trucking companies to keep fleet maintenance logs that show the vehicle’s maintenance history. Witness testimony and repair records from auto shops are similar types of evidence that might help your case.
Common Rollover Accident Injuries
Almost any car accident injury can arise from a rollover accident when it’s so severe and causes so many impacts from various directions. Here are some of the most common injuries accident lawyers see after rollovers.
- Bruises, scratches, and skin damage
- Face, eye, and tooth damage
- Hand, wrist, and elbow injuries
- Whiplash and other neck/shoulder damage
- Head injuries like traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- Broken bones across the body
- Torn muscles and ligaments
- Back and spinal cord injuries
- Internal organ damage and internal bleeding
- Nerve damage that leads to chronic pain
- Crushing injuries, including crushed limbs and ribcage injuries
- Loss of feeling, numbness, and tingling
- Burns and scalds from fire, explosions, and chemicals
- Paralysis
- Deep emotional damage from the trauma of the crash
How Insurance Works After a Rollover Accident
Insurance tends to follow a certain path after a rollover accident, but every case is unique. Contact us for a free online evaluation of your case. Here are some things you should know:
The insurance company will want to talk to you as soon as possible and get your story on record, but this isn’t always the best idea for your case. Before making any statements to the insurance company, contact Sally Morin Personal Injury Lawyers.
Just like your lawyers, the insurance company will do an investigation into your accident and consider any statements you’ve made. They’ll look over the police report and look into other evidence that might support or refute your claims. You’ll have very little control over this part of the process, but your lawyer can provide valuable insight that keeps things moving in the right direction.
The first offer you receive from the insurance company will probably be a lowball offer. Insurance companies do this to minimize their payments. Patience helps during this phase of the process. With your lawyer’s help, it’s possible to negotiate a much higher amount to more fully cover your losses.
Assigning Fault in Rollover Crashes
Here in California, we have a rule known as the comparative fault rule for car accidents. This impacts how fault is assigned and who has to pay how much for a rollover crash.
Accident liability is divided by percentage, with each person in an accident taking a percentage of the blame. Any monetary award you receive is reduced by your percentage of fault. If there are multiple parties, all will be assigned a proportion up to a total amount of 100%.
Think about a crash where you’re innocently stopped at a stop sign and a big rig slams into you from the side, causing a rollover crash. They might be given 100% of the blame and you have none, meaning you can claim 100% of the damages.
But if you both did something to contribute to the cause of the rollover crash, like you were both driving while distracted by your phones, this could severely reduce any award you might receive in an accident case. Plus, there could be three or four other people involved in a rollover crash, which could bring more shared blame.
Judges, juries, insurance companies, lawyers, and other parties will consider factors like:
- Applicable federal, state, and local laws and ordinances
- Exactly where your vehicle rollover accident happened on the road
- Any eyewitnesses and expert witness testimony
- The damage to each vehicle in the rollover crash
- The potential impact from drunk, drugged, or distracted driving
- Video footage from vehicles and buildings
- Police reports and the officer’s testimony
- Other details like the time of day, the weather, and any relevant road conditions
Are There Multiple People Involved in Your Rollover Crash?
Your lawyer will help you identify the full list of who is involved in your crash, and it might be more people than you realize. A massive highway rollover crash could involve a commercial trucking company, a delivery driver, and/or a rideshare driver working for a company like Uber.
Plus, there are complex legal concepts that might involve more or fewer people in your crash. Perhaps there’s a government agency involved. You could also be shielded from blame under California’s emergency doctrine, which releases people from blame when confronted by a danger they didn’t create.
Rollovers often involve chain-reaction collisions, where multiple impacts occur after the initial impact that sets off the crash. As you can see, these are complicated accidents. Talk to your lawyer about the many factors that could be relevant to your case.
The Deadline for Starting a Rollover Crash Claim
California has a strict time limit for filing car accident actions under California’s statute of limitations, so don’t wait too long. Start your case within two years of the date of the rollover accident.
Many crashes involve much shorter deadlines when a governmental entity like a city, county, or state agency is involved. This shortens your deadline to six months from the date of the accident.
Hiring the Right Rollover Accident Lawyer
Having an accident lawyer on your side is a huge relief at a stressful time in your life. Finally, someone is working in your best interests and moving your case forward.
A top-notch rollover accident lawyer will assertively pursue the full value of the compensation you’re due. Unlike the insurance company, the team at Sally Morin Personal Injury Lawyers won’t ignore your emotional damage, lost earnings, or the impact on a suffering family. We’re here to stand up for your rights and your family’s future.
We hope you’ll contact us as soon as possible to start making progress on your rollover accident case. Let’s work together to pursue the full compensation you deserve.
We Handle Your Rollover Accident Claim So You Can Focus on Your Life
After a traffic accident, please contact the car accident attorneys at Sally Morin Personal Injury Lawyers. We handle many areas of the law, including rollover accidents. We believe you should be able to focus on recovering while we handle the legal details.