On September 21, at 2:14 AM, a car slammed into a home on Crandall Drive near Garston Street. A young girl was asleep in her bed when the car hit the home, intruding some five feet into her bedroom. Fortunately, she was not hurt. The police suspect that alcohol was a factor in the accident.

Then on September 22, at 2:45 PM, a car driven by a man in his mid-20s struck a house in the 2200 block of Balboa Avenue. Police believe the driver had a seizure prior to the crash. The police did not say whether the residents were home at the time of the accident, but only one person was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla.

These two incidents illustrate the varying circumstances in which a car accident involving a home can occur. The accident may involve alcohol, a medical condition, or sheer carelessness. Accidents can happen at any time of the day, so even improved visibility during the daytime will not necessarily prevent an incident.

Everyone knows that when two vehicles are involved in a car accident, car insurance should cover the damages. However, if the accident involves both a car and a home, then the question of insurance coverage emerges. Many people in this situation wonder whether the claim should go through their homeowner’s policy or the driver’s automobile policy.

The best option in these circumstances is to seek redress through the driver’s automobile policy first. It is very likely that they were at fault for the accident because your house could not very well move out of the path of their car. Filing through your own homeowner’s insurance company could lead to higher rates in the future.

One possible wrinkle involved with filing a claim through the automobile insurance company is the amount of coverage that the driver has. If the damage to the house is extremely severe, the driver may not possess enough coverage. If you have an accident with two vehicles and the at-fault driver does not have enough coverage, then underinsurance coverage will cover the difference. With an accident involving a home, a homeowner’s policy does not have underinsurance coverage. If the driver’s coverage is not sufficient, you may be forced to seek reimbursement from your homeowner’s insurance company.

The situation becomes even more muddled if you are driving and strike your own house. Again, it is probably best to place your claim through your auto insurance policy. In this type of situation, it is most likely that you simply struck your house backing out of the garage, or something similarly lower-cost. You may want to consider the amount of your deductible as well, because many auto insurance policies have a lower deductible. One of your first steps should be to contact your insurance agent, particularly if you have both your homeowner’s and auto insurance policies with the same company. The company may have a set procedure for this type of situation.

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The worst time for such collisions was between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Friday, according to figures released by the California Highway Patrol. The peak hour was 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., when a whopping 38 collisions occurred, averaging more than one accident every two minutes. California Highway Patrol was stretched thin tending to the accidents that clogged major arteries across the metro area.

This rate is better put into perspective when compared with a typical, non-rainy day when San Diego County car crashes number between 50 and 75. That means that the Friday commute saw some fivefold increase in the number of crashes. Though any time there’s rain the number of accidents increase, this Friday saw an especially full day of San Diego auto accidents. San Diego commuters had to contend with more than just dinged bumpers; there were multiple rollover accidents, including a rollover on Highway 94 in which Border Patrol agents were forced to cut a seatbelt to free a woman trapped inside her vehicle. Rain should not be underestimated as a hazard and drivers need to be cautious when getting behind the wheel in wet weather.

Rain makes it significantly more difficult to stop and thus more difficult to stay on a roadway or to avoid colliding with other vehicles. This is even truer when it first begins to rain when roads are at their most slippery. Oil rises to the top at the outset of any rainstorm and the roads become a greasy mess. In addition, water sprays onto drivers’ windshields and obscures their sight of the surrounding lanes of traffic. Dirty, oily water coating drivers windshields combined with a slick surface leads to a dramatically increased chance of injury producing collisions.

Rain is set to return, so drivers need to be prepared for another slippery commute. To stay safe on the road our San Diego car accident attorney recommends the following tips: 1) drive slowly; 2) keep your eyes on the road; 3) avoid breaking quickly as stopping time increases and other drivers will have a difficult time breaking; and 4) avoid standing water or flooded roads.

Following these tips can keep you out of harms way. However, if you’ve been injured by someone not as well informed, you may be entitled to compensation for the harm you suffered. Our San Diego car accident lawyer would like to help you determine what your rights are and whether you are entitled to receive damages from losses you sustained. If you were injured by a careless driver please call our office today to set up a free, no-obligation consultation with our San Diego accident attorney. He will discuss your case with you and assist you in deciding where to go from here.

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California Uninsured Drivers Rate Is Fifteen Percent

According to reports, a man driving a late model Toyota Camry westbound unexpectedly swerved into eastbound lanes and collided with a 2002 Chevy Trailblazer. The driver of the Camry and his 12-year-old passenger suffered major injuries. Two individuals in their 50s were the Trailblazer, and both were seriously injured. Witnesses estimate that both drivers were travelling near 50 mph at the time of the collision, which occurred near Stage Coach Road.

CHP is still investigating what caused the Camry to swerve.

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Source: San Diego Union Tribune

The Escondido personal injury lawyers at the Walton Law Firm represent accident victims throughout San Diego County and have recovered millions of dollars for individuals involved car accidents, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian injuries, uninsured motorist claims, defective products, construction accidents, slip and fall injuries, dog bites, insurance disputes, and medical malpractice suits. Call (760) 571-5500 for a free consultation.

We’ll have to wait and see what does to auto insurance rates, or Farmers current ranking as the 7th worse insurance company in America.

The San Diego accident and injury attorneys at Walton Law Firm LLP represent individuals who have been injured in automobile accidents, motorcycle accidents, products defect, and cases involving insurance disputes.

I don’t know if it’s “normal,” but it sure is prevalent. One would think that the insurance companies would do whatever it takes to prevent a person from contacting a lawyer after a personal injury claim, but every year our office takes over the cases of many people who simply want to avoid any further dealings with the insurance company.

Is there any way to make the process easier? Not really. But after a car accident, there are certain obligations under California law that insurance companies must follow:

• If it’s your own insurance policy (such as an uninsured motorist claim), tell you of all benefits and coverages available to you.

• Open a claim file immediately and contact you within 15 days to appraise you of the status of the claim.

• Respond to phone calls or letter received by you within 15 days of receipt.

• Accept or deny the claim within 40 days after receiving documentation that the claim made is legitimate and supported by evidence.

• Offer a fair settlement, and pay it within 30 days.

The California Department of Insurance has an excellent manual that covers most issues that arise in an auto insurance claim (click here). Or, of course, you can call our office to answer any questions you might have. If, after an accident, the injuries are serious, then I believe it is important to get an attorney involved. The personal injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm LLP provide free consultations on all auto accident case.

In this report, the AAJ lists how some of America’s largest insurance companies such as Allstate and AIG have denied valid claims for the sake of profit, including employment practices where employees are given incentive bonuses to deny claims or make low-ball offers. It also includes instances of insurance carriers delaying claims in the hope the claimant will give up, or, in the case of long-term care insurance, die.

Anyone who has had to make a claim for insurance benefits is probably not surprised by these findings. Occasionally you’ll find people who are totally satisfied with their experience, but by far most people come away upset, confused, and angry. In fact, many of our auto accident clients come to us after a bad experience with the adjuster assigned to the claim. They feel they have no choice but to involve a lawyer.

Click here (.pdf) to read the entire report.

The accident and injury attorneys Walton Law Firm LLP represent individuals and families who have been involved in auto and motorcycle accidents, bicycle accidents, and most other accident claims.

As you probably know, California requires that all drivers in the state maintain a policy of insurance of at least $15,000 per person, $30,000 per accident. Because that is the lowest amount of coverage a driver can possess and still drive legally in the state, it is also the cheapest… and many, many drivers buy it for that reason.

What does that mean? If you are in an accident that is not your fault, and the driver that hit you has a $15,000/$30,000 policy, the most you can collect from that insurance policy is $15,000 no matter how severe your injuries are. If you broke a leg and incurred $18,000 in medical bills, and missed one month of work at $4,000, and endured a tremendous amount of pain and suffering and inconvenience, your claim against the bad driver’s insurance policy will be limited to $15,000 – not even enough to cover your financial losses.

This is where uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage comes in. A UM or UIM policy is a policy that you purchase from your own insurance company which will cover you in the claims like the one outlined above. Whenever your losses exceed the available insurance limits (of if the bad driver had no insurance at all), your UM or UIM policy will cover the losses above and beyond the available coverage.

There is one caveat: your UM or UIM policy must exceed that of the driver that hit you. If, for example, you purchased a UIM policy of $15,000/$30,000 and then were injured by a driver that had a liability policy of the same amount, you would not be able to tap into the UIM policy if your damages exceed the $15,000 limits. Under those facts, you must maintain a UM or UIM policy of more than $15,000/$30,000 to collect money above-and-beyond the bad driver’s policy.

The important points. First, always purchase UM and UIM coverage. If you don’t have it presently, call your insurance broker and get a quote. Second, make sure you purchase the highest amount of UM or UIM coverage you can afford, or the highest the insurance company will sell you. This coverage will protect you against all bad drivers in the world, many of whom are insufficiently insured to cover the damages they will cause.

If you have any questions about making a claim for UM or UIM coverage, feel free to give us a call at (760) 571-5500 or fill out our online questionnaire.

Based in Carlsbad, the law firm of Walton Law Firm LLP represents individuals throughout San Diego County in all types of personal injury, wrongful death, and nursing home abuse and neglect cases.