Head-on collisions, side-impact accidents, rear-end accidents, rollovers, and other types of injurious and deadly car accidents happen every day. If you or a loved one was hurt in a car accident, you may be able to recover your related damages.
A member of our team can answer any questions you have about pursuing financial awards with the help of our Ontario car accident lawyer. We offer free consultations for all car accident victims. If we decide to take your case, you will not owe us anything unless and until you win a financial award.
Our Ontario Office
Address: 3200 E Guasti Rd #100, Ontario, CA 91761
24/7 Hotline: (909) 316-5154
Why Car Accident Victims Choose Us
- At Jacoby & Meyers, the client comes first. Your satisfaction, recovery and success will be the goals that we strive to achieve with high-quality and personalized legal representation.
- We have more experience and better case results than our competitors. Our team has spent more than 50 years representing car accident victims, with over $2 billion won.
- We operate on a contingency fee basis for all Ontario car accident cases, meaning you won’t pay us unless we win your case.
Let Us Help You Pursue Justice
Fighting for compensation can seem like a complicated legal burden, but it does not have to be. An Ontario car accident lawyer from Jacoby & Meyers Law Offices can take the stress off of you and your loved ones.
If you choose to work with us, our team will:
- File your insurance claim
- Negotiate with the insurance companies
- Gather evidence to prove negligence and support your case
- Review your settlement offers
- Answer all of your questions
- Keep you updated on the status of your case
We will make sure you have all the information and assistance you need to make a strong car accident case and claim the financial compensation you deserve. You will benefit from the wealth of knowledge and expertise we have accumulated throughout the years.
A Negligent Driver Could Be Responsible for Your Damages
Nobody is a perfect driver, but everyone on the road must do their best to operate their vehicle with a reasonable duty of care. When drivers make negligent or dangerous driving decisions, the result may be a crash that harms another innocent party.
Examples of negligent driving behaviors include, but are not limited to:
- Speeding
- Tailgating
- Improper lane changes
- Texting and driving
- Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- Failing to yield
- Disobeying traffic lights and signs
- Hit-and-run
Dangerous driver behaviors can cause severe accidents, such as head-on collisions and T-bone accidents. Driver negligence that leads to a car accident can make the driver financially responsible for related injuries and losses.
Proving Negligence
If another party caused your accident, they should pay for your medical bills, vehicle damages, and more. However, to win compensation through an insurance claim or lawsuit, you have to prove negligence and show that you suffered losses.
An Ontario car accident lawyer from our firm can help you collect evidence to support your claims. This evidence may include:
- Witness statements
- Surveillance video
- Photographs of your injuries, vehicle damages, and the crash site
- Expert testimony
- Medical bills
- Medical treatment records
Another potentially important piece of evidence is an official crash report. If a law enforcement officer was at the scene of your accident, they filed a report. However, if an officer was not called, the State of California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) requires that you report any accident involving injuries, death, or property damages of $1,000 or more within 10 days of when they occurred.
Awards You Could Win
The financial compensation or damages you could win as a car accident victim in Ontario depends on the circumstances. Factors involved in the calculation of a personal injury settlement or trial verdict include the severity of your injuries, your medical expenses, lost earning capacity, insurance policy limits and noneconomic damages (e.g., pain and suffering). You may be eligible for awards for various types of losses.
Medical Bills
If you were in a serious accident, one of the biggest expenses you likely face is medical bills. Severe injuries could require tens of thousands of dollars or more in medical care. Lawyers that help with car accidents from our team can help you fight for the awards you need to pay for your past and future treatment.
This can include surgeries, therapies, rehabilitation, medications, disability costs and long-term care.
Lost Income
Another huge source of financial stress may be time lost at work. If you cannot perform your job because of your injuries, you can seek your lost wages. If your injuries leave you unable to work or return to your previous employment, you could win compensation for your loss of future earning capacity.
Property Damage
If your vehicle was damaged or destroyed, you can win awards to repair or replace it. You can also seek compensation for any other damaged valuables, like electronics, stereo equipment, or jewelry.
Pain and Suffering
We will help you seek a monetary award for the intangible ways in which the car accident has affected you. This can include physical pain, emotional injuries, mental anguish, psychological trauma, anxiety, depression, sleeplessness, and loss of enjoyment of life. If you are experiencing these damages or mental or physical anguish because of your car accident, you can seek damages for your pain and suffering.
Wrongful Death Damages
If you are seeking compensation on behalf of a deceased loved one, you could recover the cost of their final medical treatment and funeral and burial expenses. You could be eligible to receive awards for the loss of the deceased’s future financial support, household contributions, and loss of consortium.
Legal Information You Should Know about Your Case
It could be helpful to understand a few laws that may affect your case and potential settlement.
Successfully navigating your car accident case requires knowledge of relevant statutes, such as your filing deadline and who is legally responsible for your losses based on California’s insurance rules.
Helpful statutes to know include:
- VEH §16056 mandates all California drivers carry a minimum amount of liability insurance for accidents they cause. Motorists must have $15,000 for injuries to one party, $30,000 for injuries to two or more parties, and $5,000 in property damage coverage
- CCP §335.1 sets a two-year deadline for filing personal injury and wrongful death cases, which starts at the time of your loved one’s death or at the time your injuries occurred. If you do not take legal action within the established window, the court will likely dismiss your case.
- CIV §1431.2 makes it possible for car accident victims who have been allocated a percentage of fault to remain eligible for partial financial compensation. California is a pure comparative negligence state, meaning that any amount of fault (short of 100 percent) maintains eligibility for compensation.
With a lawyer from Jacoby & Meyers by your side, you can confidently navigate the justice system in Ontario with in-depth knowledge of the laws that relate to your car accident case. We will guide you through your claim and inform you of all new developments as we pursue maximum compensation.
Legal Precedent Could Also Affect Your Case
Li v. Yellow Cab Co. establishes the state’s pure comparative negligence model. This ruling states that plaintiffs can seek partial compensation even if their own negligence contributed to their accident.
The court awards each party a percentage of fault, and any awards you may win are reduced by this amount. There is no percentage of fault that bars a plaintiff from seeking compensation. You can pursue awards even if the other party is only 1 percent responsible.
Common Car Accident Injuries
A car crash can cause many serious injuries. The forces of a collision can be severe enough to cause blunt-force trauma injuries due to the impact between the human body and fixed objects, either inside or outside of the car.
At Jacoby & Meyers, our personal injury attorneys in Ontario can help clients who have sustained any type of injury in automotive accidents, including:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Skull fractures
- Spinal cord injuries
- Neck injuries or whiplash
- Soft-tissue damage
- Bruising and contusions
- Burn injuries
- Broken bones
- Lacerations and scarring
- Chest and rib injuries
- Internal injuries
- Amputations
- Psychological injuries
In the most severe car accidents, fatal injuries can occur due to critical physical harm such as head trauma or internal bleeding. Our attorneys in Ontario represent the families of those wrongfully killed in preventable fatal car accidents.
Accident Injuries Can Have Lasting Consequences
Some accident injuries have permanent physical and mental side effects. If you suffered a traumatic brain injury, spinal injury, internal injury, or other severe bodily harm, you might experience:
- Paralysis
- Coma
- Changes in behavior and mood
- Loss of coordination
- Weakness
- Memory loss
- Seizures
- Chronic pain
- Scarring
- Disfigurement
Our car accident attorneys can help you fight for the compensation you require for the long-term effects of a catastrophic injury, including a potential lifetime of medical costs.
Steps to Take After a Car Crash in Ontario
If you get involved in a car accident in Ontario, California, it can help to know what steps to take to ensure that your rights are protected and to build the strongest possible injury claim. After a car crash, you should do the following, if possible:
- Move your disabled vehicle to a safe place and turn your hazard lights on. Only exit your vehicle if and when it is safe to do so.
- Check yourself and others involved in the car accident for injuries. Request paramedics right away, as necessary.
- Always get immediate medical care for car accident injuries. Listen to your doctor’s advice and keep copies of your health care records.
- Exchange names, contact information and insurance information with the other driver involved. Verify they aren’t uninsured or underinsured. Get the names of anyone who was a witness to the accident.
- Do not admit fault for the car accident, apologize to the other driver or say anything that could be construed as a confession of guilt.
- Take pictures of the accident scene before you leave, capturing any relevant details, property damage, road conditions and injuries.
- Contact your own car insurance provider to notify them of the crash and initiate the claims process. Provide relevant details, but do not give a recorded statement.
- Before accepting a quick insurance settlement, consult with a car accident attorney at Jacoby & Meyers for an in-depth review of your case.
Try to remain calm, avoid arguing with other drivers and limit what you say to insurance providers. Put your safety and well-being first; you can focus on the claims process after hiring an attorney.
How Long Do I Have to File a Car Accident Claim in Ontario?
Do not wait to file an injury claim after a harmful car accident in Ontario. You have a limited amount of time in which to file under California’s statute of limitations, Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1. As stated above, this law gives you a maximum of two years from the date of a car accident to file a related claim, with some exceptions.
If you wish to file a wrongful death claim for a fatal car accident in Ontario, your family will have two years from the date of death (rather than the date of the collision, if different). If your claim involves an at-fault party that is a government agency, you will have less than two years. Under the California Tort Claims Act, you will have just six months to initiate this type of claim.
Note that two years is the deadline for personal injury lawsuits only – not insurance claims. You should file a claim with a car insurance company much sooner; ideally, within a day or two of the car accident. Insurance providers typically have tight deadlines that, if exceeded, can invalidate the claim or make it more difficult to qualify for compensation.
The Attorneys at Jacoby & Meyers Law Offices are on Your Side
We will not back down under pressure from big insurance companies. We will fight for the highest settlement possible, and we are prepared to take your case all the way to court. Call our offices at (888) 522-6291 for a free consultation about your car accident case in Ontario. You can also contact us online 24/7.
Call or text 888-522-6291 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
