California bicycle shops and bicycling enthusiasts have taken up a new mission: many are now urging riders to ride with lights on whether daytime or nighttime. Currently, California law only requires cyclists to have a front lamp turned on during nighttime rides. That front lamp must emit a white light that is visible from 300 feet away. In addition, cyclists must have a rear red reflector or a rear flashing red light visible from 500 feet away. Nothing in California law currently requires daytime lights, but bike safety experts claim daytime lights can make a huge difference in safety and possibly prevent accidents between bicycles and motor vehicles.

This point was driven home by experts at last year’s Rider Safety Visibility Summit hosted by California Bicycle, Inc. Their message: cyclists need to adopt a habit of using lights during the daytime, as well as at night, in order to increase their visibility on the road and decease overall accidents. One bike shop sales manager recounted a story from several years back of an accident involving a car, a motorcycle, and a bicycle. The accident took place early in the morning, and the bicycle was the only one without daytime running lights. He believes that by encouraging cyclists to adopt a habit of daytime lights, the number of accidents involving bicycles during daylight hours will decrease over time.

Part of the difficulty with bicycles on the road is that they are smaller and quieter than either traditional vehicles or motorcycles. While daytime lights are not going to single-handedly prevent bicycle crashes on our roadways, the adoption of daytime lights is one step forward in cyclist safety. In addition, experts believe that every small step that leaves cyclists feeling safer on the road will embolden more cyclists to use our roadways. This is better for community health and better for the environment. An influx of cyclists using the roadways will also lead indirectly to increased funding for other safety initiatives, such as an increased number of bike paths.

If you or someone in your family has been injured while riding a bicycle on Los Angeles roadways, call an experienced Los Angeles personal injury lawyer. Steinberg Injury Lawyers has many Southern California law offices covering dozens of counties, including Los Angeles. Call us at 800-989-6385 today to find out how we can help.

Watch out, Southern California drivers and passengers. The Southland leads the state when it comes to deadly car crashes. This news is even worse when viewed in light of the fact that the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) already puts California at the top of the list of U.S. states when it comes to traffic fatalities. The most recent numbers available from the NHTSA are from 2016, but according to those statistics more than 1/10 of the deadly accidents reported in 2016 stem from the Golden State.

The Southern California offices of Steinberg Injury Lawyers receive dozens of calls per day looking for a Southern California car accident lawyer to represent victims in serious car crashes. Sadly, it does not appear as if the statistics for vehicle accidents will get better for Southern Californians anytime soon. According to the numbers made available by NHTSA, the five worst counties for car crashes are: Los Angeles County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, San Diego County, and Orange County. Over time, those numbers show an increase rather than a decrease.

Distracted driving and speeding are by far the worst offenders when it comes to traffic fatalities and serious injuries on our roadways. As smart phone technology advances, this is only made worse. Texting while driving has been commonplace, sadly, for many years now. We are even beginning to see accidents caused by drivers choosing to take selfies or short videos for social media – all while driving their vehicles.

If you or someone you love has been seriously injured in a vehicular accident, you need a Southern California car accident lawyer with experience on your side. Not only can Steinberg Injury Lawyers help you and your family receive compensation for medical bills, lost time at work, and pain and suffering, we can also help you show that a distracted driver was at fault. Call the Southern California car accident lawyers at Steinberg Injury Lawyers today at 800-989-6385. Consultations are free and our attorneys are waiting to assist you and your family. It takes just one call to find out how we can help.

Along with all the glorious perks of living in the Golden State, including year-round good weather, breathtaking scenery, and movie stars, Californians also have to (unfortunately) deal with some of the nation’s worst traffic. And with all those cars packing the roads, accidents are quite common. This means drivers should be aware of at least the basics of California accident compensation laws, but often aren’t. This short article walks you through a breakdown of the most important aspects of our state’s laws pertaining to accident compensation.

Basic Negligence Rules

California is an “at fault” system, which means that if you are in a car accident you must show fault on the part of the other driver if you want to successfully seek compensation. California is also a “pure comparative negligence” jurisdiction. This distinction means that a court of law will proportion out responsibility for shouldering the cost of an accident based upon a liability percentage assigned to each driver.

This is best shown through example. If Driver #1 suffers $10,000 worth of damage in a car accident but a judge or jury finds that they are 10% at fault for the accident, while Driver #2 shoulders 90% of the blame, then Driver #1 would only be awarded $9,000 in damages. This is pure comparative negligence. Of course, if Driver #1 is found to be blame-free and Driver #2 is found to be entirely at fault, then the first driver could be awarded the full $10,000.

Statute of Limitations

A statute of limitations is a deadline for bringing your claim in a court of law. With limited exceptions to the rule, when a plaintiff has an otherwise valid claim but fails to file a lawsuit within the requisite amount of time, the claim will fail as a matter of law. Here are the various statutes of limitations in California that pertain to car accidents:

• Personal injury claims: 2 years
• Property damage claims: 3 years
• Claims against a government agency: 6 months

Since it takes a good deal of preparation to get ready to file a lawsuit, it’s very important that you see a Southern California car accident lawyer as soon as possible after a car accident.

Types of Damages

Car accidents can produce a variety of both economic and non-economic damages. Here are examples of each:

• Economic damages are easily measured in money or cost, and include property damage, past and future medical care related to the accident, and lost wages from time you cannot be at work while recovering.
• Non-economic damages cannot be easily measured in terms of money, and include pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, and emotional distress.

If you or a loved one have been hurt in a car accident there is no time to waste. Since California’s statute of limitations impose a deadline on filing your claim in a court of law, you’ll want to call the Southern California car accident lawyers at Steinberg Injury Lawyers as soon as possible to get a free consultation and evaluation of your case. Our number is 800-989-6385. Call us today to find out how we can help. 

Running outside is a great way to exercise, and a popular sport here in the Golden State. In fact, weather in some areas of our state is conducive to running year-round. However, almost every serious runner has at least one story of a close encounter with a hostile canine. Dog attacks on runners are fairly common. The offices of Steinberg Injury Lawyers receive many calls each month related to dog bite injuries in Los Angeles alone, and many of these injuries could have been prevented by following more stringent safety tips. Here are some to follow the next time you lace up your running shoes and take to the streets or trails.

Be acutely aware of your environment. The more you are aware of what’s going on around you, the better prepared you will be for dangers. Know the route you plan to run and leave the headphones at home if you’re unfamiliar with the terrain. The sound of music in your ears can drown out auditory warnings, such as an oncoming car – or the growling of an angry dog nearby.

Avoid unsafe and unknown areas. Don’t run in places where dogs may be on the loose, including bad parts of town, areas near dog parks, or rural areas close to farms.

Keep distance between yourself and a loose dog. If you have the space to do so, try changing direction or crossing the street in order to put distance between you and any loose dog. Even one who does not appear hostile can change its temperament very suddenly, especially if it decides you are a threat once you come closer.

Read the dog’s body language. A hostile dog will provide you with telltale signs that it’s on the offensive. Look for loud growling, tense body with hackles up, erect ears, and a tail held high and stiff or wagging much too fast. Dogs also communicate via eye contact, so if the dog is staring intensely at you, try not to stare back. Instead, keep your head turned slightly away and keep track of the dog in your close peripheral vision.

Remember, if you are bitten by a dog while out running, the dog’s owner may have a duty to cover the costs of your injury as well as other costs, including pain and suffering or time you have to take off from work to deal with your injury. Call the Los Angeles dog bite lawyers at Steinberg Injury Lawyers if you find yourself in this situation. Our experienced staff can advise you on the best steps to take right after a dog bite injury. Our number is 800-989-6385 and our lawyers are standing by to help. ​

Slip and fall accidents can, and do, occur almost anywhere. Steinberg Injury Lawyers help many Los Angeles residents resolve these types of accidents every month. When you’ve encountered injuries as the result of a slip and fall, it’s important to seek the advice of a licensed attorney. What you absolutely don’t want to do is seek out or follow the casual advice of friends, or even a law student, like Kevin and Vanessa did on one of the episodes of this season’s Kevin Can Wait, a popular CBS television show.

In episode 8 of season 2 of Kevin Can Wait, Kevin and Vanessa throw an event for their security firm. Unfortunately, another character named Rootger slips and falls at this event and winds up in the hospital. Seeing Rootger in his neckbrace, Kevin and Vanessa immediately fear that he will sue them for his slip and fall injury. This fear is compounded when they discover he has been seeing a lawyer for an unknown reason.

In the show, Kevin and Vanessa – along with a host of other people – end up taking legal advice from Kendra, a law student working at a pizza restaurant. While these circumstances lead to many laughs on the show, in real life taking legal advice of this sort from anyone other than a Los Angeles slip and fall accident attorney would be no laughing matter. And indeed, Kendra’s intentions are good but her advice may be questionable.

I’ll let you watch the episode yourself to find out what’s in store for Kevin and Vanessa, but if you or a loved one find yourselves injured through a slip and fall accident I have some better advice for you than you’ll find for $20 in a pizza parlor. Here are some of the things to keep in mind immediately after a slip and fall accident.

• Take photos of the scene as soon as possible. If you are not too injured, or can let someone else do this for you, take cell phone photos before leaving the scene. Document with photographic evidence what it was that caused you to fall. If your injuries are severe and you are not able to take immediate photos, send someone back to the scene as soon afterwards as possible to take photos of the area.
• Get the contact information for possible witnesses. Again, if you are severely injured, this might not be possible immediately but contact information for witnesses will help to strengthen your case if you have to sue to recover damages for your injuries. A good slip and fall accident attorney can also help you to track down witnesses for their testimony.
• Contact a Los Angeles slip and fall accident attorney as soon as possible. The state of California has a statute of limitations for slip and fall injuries, so it’s important not to wait to contact an attorney. These types of cases take time. Waiting too long can cost you your chance to hold the responsible parties accountable for their actions or negligence.

Our Los Angeles slip and fall accident lawyers are experienced with all of the above issues and how they affect our clients’ cases. If you or a family member have been injured due to a slip and fall accident, please call Steinberg Injury Lawyers today at 800-989-6385 to find out how we can help.

Prom and graduation are rites of passage for teens transitioning into adulthood. They are important to both teens and their parents, but while teens tend to be wholly focused on the celebratory aspects, parents know that prom and graduation also represent a time ripe with the opportunity for their teens to make unwise choices. Teen driving, alcohol, and peer pressure often collide to contribute to the high rate of injuries and death for teens this time of year. In fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens and that one out of three of those crashes involves alcohol.

There are certain safety tips that parents can take advantage of to decrease the likelihood that their teens will be involved in a car crash the night of prom or graduation. By far, the best tip is to talk frankly with them about the dangers of reckless driving, alcohol, and following the crowd. Our parents may have simply given us the “If all of your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?” talk, but today’s teens are in many ways more sophisticated than their parents. Through the internet and social media, carried around daily in their pockets on smart phones, they encounter peer pressure that previous generations never even fathomed.

So, take the time to talk to your kids about what to expect on prom and graduation nights, and please follow these safety tips:

• Set rules in place to limit distractions while driving. This involves limiting the number of passengers in a teen-driven car and reminding your teen driver not to text or talk on the phone while on the road.
• Know who is driving your teen. The night of prom or graduation, will another teen be driving? A parent? An older sibling? Make sure your own teen has enough money to cover a cab or rideshare home if their driver consumes alcohol, or knows they can call you for an alternate ride.
• Set strict no drinking and no drug rules. While this is a no-brainer, it’s important to stress these rules to your teen and consider setting up a safety word they can text to you if they find themselves in an environment where they are being pressured to drink or try drugs.
• Set and maintain a curfew. Choose an hour with your teen that you’re comfortable with and get their promise to come home on time. If they ask for a time extension during the night, be sure to ask questions about where they are, who they are with, and when they will be home.
• Don’t rent hotel rooms without adult supervision. Renting a hotel room for teens to hang out in after prom or graduation has become popular in recent years, but it often leads to drinking, drug use, and sexual peer pressure. Make sure any hotel your teen will be hanging out in has adult supervision at all times and get the contact information for the adult in charge.

California has strict laws regarding distracted or drunken drivers. While Steinberg Injury Lawyers hopes that you and your teen will follow these safety tips and have a safe and happy celebration, should you find yourself or your child injured on the road because of another driver’s distracted or impaired driving, please call us at 800-989-6385 so we can help. Free consultations are available.

California has an astonishing 22 million licensed drivers, which helps to explain why driving laws in California tend to be very influential on surrounding states and even the nation’s laws. Since our state is known for progressive lawmaking, what works in California is often adopted in whole or in part in smaller states. One of the areas in which California laws have gone through a number of changes in recent years is distracted driving. The emphasis here has been on restrictions to the use of cell phones, since they are strongly linked to distracted driving and vehicular accidents. As your Southern California car accident lawyers, the team here at Steinberg Injury Lawyers wants to make sure our clients and readers are as aware of these laws as possible.

What are the California laws relating to cell phones and distracted driving?

There are four California laws regarding cell phone use while driving. Two of these laws completely ban handheld cell phone use while driving, no matter the age of the driver. The third law applies only to drivers under the age of 18 and makes it illegal for those drivers to use even hands-free calling devices. This prohibition includes Bluetooth or wired headsets, devices connecting a cell phone to the car’s speaker system, and even simply putting a cell phone call on the speaker setting to talk. The fourth law addresses a recurring distracted driver problem that the other three laws fail to cover by prohibiting texting while driving (no matter the age of the driver).

What are some of the exceptions to these laws?

While California distracted driving laws are fairly ubiquitous, there are a few exceptions to be aware of and take advantage of (as long as you are still being as safe as possible). Here are some you might need to know about:

• You can use a cell phone to call or text when you are doing it on your private property, such as your driveway, private road, or acreage.
• You can use a cell phone, either handheld or hands-free, to make a necessary call to police, fire, or other emergency services.
• You can use a cell phone while driving if you yourself are the authorized driver of an emergency services vehicle.
• Drivers 18 years of age and over can briefly use a handheld cell phone to dial a call, although they must then switch to a speaker or headset for the actual call.

With several different distracted driver laws, it can be difficult to determine when another driver involved in a car crash may have been breaking these laws at the time of the accident. If you’ve been involved in an accident of any type, call the accident attorneys at Steinberg Injury Lawyers today for a free consultation. Our number is 800-989-6385 and we are here to help.

In the world of workers comp claims, there is both good news and bad news. On the good side, rates of on-the-job illness and injury have fallen for the last 13 years according to the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. On the bad side, many industries continue to sustain rates of injury that are inherently alarming, and these same industries are often ignoring safety practices that would otherwise lead to a decrease in workers comp claims.

When companies view safety as a cost to be avoided rather than an investment into their people and business, corners get cut and workers get unnecessarily hurt. The Bureau’s most recent statistics show that last year around 3 million employees in the private sector suffered illness or injury reported by their employer. Half of these incidents resulted in significant time away from work, restrictions on work activities, or job transfers.

Certain industries are decidedly more injury-prone than others. These are the industries most in need of continued and advanced safety processes to protect their employees in inherently dangerous employment situations. When employers skimp on safety, the results for employees and their families can be devastating. While an experienced Southern California injury lawyer can often help these families to receive fair compensation afterwards, nothing takes the place of employer-mandated safety precautions that prevent injuries in the first place.

Here are the top five industries for on-the-job injuries according to the Bureau’s latest report. Injuries are reported per year and per 100 workers:

1. Nursing care and residential care facilities. Workers in this industry experience an extraordinary rate of injuries. In the private sector, there are about 6.5 injuries per 100 workers, however, in government-run facilities the injury rate skyrockets to 11.7 per 100 workers. When the two sectors are averaged, this industry has the highest rate of injuries.

2. Animal production. Workers responsible for raising and feeding animals for slaughter have the second-highest rate of injuries, with 6.6 injuries per 100 workers.

3. Couriers. Professional messengers, while a relatively small industry, experience 6.4 injuries per 100 workers.

4. Wood product manufacturing. Workers in plants and factories that assemble wood products originating as logs have an injury rate of 5.9 per 100 workers.

5. Air transportation. This industry includes workers that pilot aircraft, work on aircraft mechanics, and also work in supporting positions such as cargo and freight agents. Workers in this industry suffer 5.8 injuries per 100 workers.

If you or someone you love has been injured on the job, you should not wait to get an experienced Southern California injury lawyer involved from the very beginning. Steinberg Injury Lawyers can provide you with a free, no-strings-attached consultation. Just call us at 800-989-6385 and find out more about how we can help. 

Road rage, the display of angry and aggressive behavior by a driver, is all too common in Los Angeles. As Los Angeles accident attorneys, those of us here at Steinberg Injury Lawyers often deal with repercussions from some of the worst and most tragic instances of road rage.  The truth about road rage is that while everyone experiences it at some time or another, whether exhibiting it or on the receiving end of it, road rage is entirely preventable. In fact, there are some common-sense precautions you can take both before and after you get behind the wheel that will help you to control your emotions while driving. Here are a few tips to follow so that you don’t let road rage overtake you behind the wheel.

If you’re feeling emotional, take a breather before you start the car.

While this seems so practical that it hardly deserves a mention, many of us have an unfortunate tendency to storm off in our cars when provoked into anger. This is understandable. On the one hand, we’re typically escaping a situation we don’t want to be in in the first place. On the other hand, it also feels good to peel out of a driveway and put the pedal to the metal, so to speak. However, doing so can drastically increase the likelihood that we will end up taking out our frustrations on drivers or even pedestrians we encounter while driving. Instead, when you’re about to drive angry, force yourself to sit still behind the wheel for a few minutes until you’re able to control your emotions – and your driving.

Expect other drivers to make mistakes.

Even when we start off calm on a drive, it’s easy to get flustered when other drivers cut us off, tail us too closely, or swerve into our lane. The fact of the matter is, no driver is perfect and that includes ourselves. When we expect other drivers to make mistakes we are better able to watch out for them, and we are less likely to get angry and aggressive in response.

Listen to music or a podcast to center yourself.

No one has to tell us how bad Los Angeles traffic gets. In fact, it probably contributes to road rage more than any other factor, including individual driver behavior. When you feel like traffic is getting the worst of your emotions, try turning on music you like or a podcast you enjoy listening to. This will help you relax and center yourself so that you are less likely to lash out at others (who, let’s remember, are also stuck in traffic!).

With so many incidents of road rage, it’s no wonder that Los Angeles experiences a high rate of traffic accidents and injuries. If you’ve been involved in an accident, whether from road rage or otherwise, you should call the Los Angeles accident attorneys at Steinberg Injury Lawyers today for a free consultation. Our number is 800-989-6385 and we are here to help. 

More than two million people in the U.S. fall asleep while driving every single week, which translates to over a million accidents a year directly related to drowsy driving. One of the worst categories of culprits, unfortunately, are the truckers that drive food, goods, and materials cross country without adequate employer-mandated time for rest and sleep. This results in catastrophic truck accidents in Los Angeles and elsewhere, many of which could be avoided if truckers were not driving while drowsy.

Sleep is incredibly important to staying alert. If you’ve ever been driving home late at night after a shift at work, or a party that went overly long, you have probably experienced drowsy driving for yourself. Most people have had at least one instance of falling asleep at the wheel and jolting awake at the sound of a horn or the car’s vibration from straying off the road into dirt and grass. While it’s dangerous for a driver of any type of vehicle to fall asleep at the wheel, it’s particularly dangerous when the driver is steering several tons of commercial truck and its contents.

Statistics show that long-distance truckers have two-to-five times greater risk of an accident than the average driver. In addition, an average of 4.5 other people on the roadway are killed when a long-distance truck driver is involved in a fatal accident. While not all of these accidents are due to driving while drowsy, sleep-deprivation is a serious contributor to these statistics.

The truck accident attorneys at the Los Angeles office of Steinberg Injury Lawyers have seen it all and are experienced in representing victims of trucking accidents. In many cases, the party ultimately held responsible is the company that employed the truck driver and pressured them to continue driving while drowsy or had official or unofficial policies in place that discouraged adequate rest and contributed directly to the circumstances leading to the crash. If you or a loved one has been injured, please call the Los Angeles truck accident attorneys at Steinberg Injury Lawyers to see how we can help you with no upfront costs. A free consultation is always available if you’ve been injured in a truck accident. Call us today at 800-989-6385 to find out more information about your right to compensation.

Every year, National Walking Day occurs on the first Wednesday in April. This year, National Walking Day arrives on April 4. It’s a great reminder to get out of the house and get moving, and there’s no better place to celebrate National Walking Day than in sunny Southern California. On this day, everyone is encouraged to find some time in their day to take at least a 30-minute walk.

While you’re walking, you want to follow some basic safety tips. While statistics on pedestrian deaths should not discourage anyone from participating in National Walking Day, the truth is that pedestrian deaths rose by a sharp 17% in 2017. Even more startling, pedestrian deaths last year showed a stark 82% rise over 2015’s numbers. So, while it’s important to take advantage of the many benefits of walking, it’s also important to do so in a safe way. The Southern California personal injury lawyers at Steinberg Injury Lawyers want to offer you these 10 safety tips so you can get out and enjoy National Walking Day safely.

1. Wear comfortable shoes and bright or light-colored clothing so that drivers can see you.
2. Carry a flashlight and wear reflective clothing if walking at nighttime.
3. Always walk sober.
4. Never simply assume that drivers will see you and stop; always make eye contact and be sure they are slowing or stopping before you cross a roadway.
5. Don’t wear headphones or talk on a cell phone while walking, because these activities distract you from your environment in a dangerous way.
6. Look left, then right, then left again when crossing a roadway.
7. Always cross the street at marked crosswalks AND look carefully for vehicles who might not be following the rules of the road.
8. Do pay attention to crosswalk signals but don’t rely on them completely. Remember that vehicles sometimes drive through crosswalks when they should not.
9. Walk in groups whenever possible, because it’s easier for drivers to spot a group than an individual.
10. Walk on the sidewalk, and if there is no sidewalk then walk on the side of the street that allows you to face and see oncoming traffic.

The Southern California personal injury lawyers at Steinberg Injury Lawyers urge you to get out and participate in National Walking Day in a safe way. If you do find yourself injured by a motorist on this day, please call us at 800-989-6385 so we can help. A free consultation is always available. 

Riding a bicycle has never been safer than it is today. Unlike just a couple decades ago, we now have improved safety gear, motorist awareness, and uniformity of laws. In fact, all fifty states require cyclists to obey the same laws when riding on state and federal roadways as motorists do. Many states enact publicity campaigns aimed at motorists that make them aware of the necessity of safely sharing the road with cyclists. Bike lanes have made it increasingly safe and practical for commuters to choose cycling instead of driving. However, despite these advances, bicycling accidents still occur on a regular basis and many of them are serious – even fatal.

Los Angeles bicycle accident attorneys will tell you that following good safety tips can mean the difference between a serious accident or one where the cyclist stands up and walks away. Since our attorneys see many cyclist accidents throughout the year, we have compiled a list of some of the very best riding tips and rules of the road for safe cycling, as well as tips on what to do if you’re in a bicycle accident. Please keep these in mind when you are on your bicycle, and ride safe.

Before You Get on the Road

• Perform a Bicycle Safety Check – Visually inspect your tires, chains, brakes, gears, pedals, and other parts of your bike prior to each time you get on it.
• Wear a Helmet – Never ride your bike without a helmet. When fatal bicycle accidents occur, it is normally a head injury. Always protect the most important and vulnerable part of your body.
• Put on Reflective Clothing at Dawn, Dusk, and Evening – The most dangerous times to ride are at dawn and dusk. Having reflective clothing or reflective patches on your helmet and bike can make all the difference.

On the Road

• Use Bike Paths Whenever Possible – Many Southern California communities have designated bike paths. Whenever they are available, stick to the path to stay safest.
• Think and Act Like a Motorist – When you are riding your bike on the road, you have the same rights and obligations that a driver of a motor vehicle has. Obey all traffic laws and yield to cars and pedestrians just as a motorist would.
• Stay Alert – Riding a bike can be enjoyable and relaxing, but when you are riding in traffic you must stay alert at all times and not let your mind wander. Remember, unlike the motorists around you, you do not have a steel cage protecting you.

In the Event of a Bicycle Crash

• Move Away from Traffic – If you are able, move yourself out of the danger of traffic as quickly as possible. Do not check on your bicycle and certainly do not attempt to take it with you to safety, even if it appears undamaged. The bike is replaceable – you are not!
• Call 911 – Even if you are unsure of the extent of your injuries, it’s important to have a police record. Some injuries can be difficult to see or notice – such as internal bleeding – or take time to develop.
• Get Insurance and Contact Information from Anyone Involved – Even if you believe the crash was minor, always exchange contact information with anyone involved in the crash. Get license plate numbers of any vehicles, especially if the drivers refuse to give you their contact information.
• Take Photographs – If you are able, use your cellphone to take photographs of the accident scene and any injuries. If you do not have your cellphone on you or it is broken, ask to borrow someone else’s and then text the photos to your own number.

The Los Angeles bicycle accident attorneys at Steinberg Injury Lawyers are waiting to help if you or a loved one has been in a bicycle crash. To get more information and a free consultation of your case, simply call us at 800-989-6385. Attorneys are waiting to help. 

Many personal injury clients are hesitant to disclose to their attorneys any prior injuries that still pain them or affect them. From the viewpoint of an accident victim, it might seem as if disclosure of a prior injury could make them seem “already damaged” and thus decrease the seriousness with which others take the extent of their current injuries. Actually, when faced with this situation, the best thing to do is to disclose prior injuries as fully as possible to both your attorney and your treating physician. Hiding the existence of prior injuries can severely hurt your personal injury case, as well as hamper your ability to get the best medical care possible for your current injuries.

The Importance of Disclosure to Credibility

The Southern California personal injury lawyers of Steinberg Injury Lawyers work with accident victims every single day, and one of the first topics our lawyers generally cover is the client’s medical background. It is important to be honest with your attorney and disclose both the nature and extent of prior injuries, in addition to current ones. The defense side in a lawsuit will conduct an investigation into a plaintiff’s background to the furthest extent they are able. Any surprises during hearings and trial can cause the judge and jury to suspect the legitimacy of your current injuries.

Prior Injuries Give an Opportunity for Comparison

The existence of prior injuries can actually be helpful in a personal injury case. For instance, prior injuries generally mean prior diagnoses, x-rays, MRIs, CAT scans, or other diagnostic tests. If the current and prior injuries were in the same part of the body, a comparative review of the old tests and the new ones can show a judge and jury the extent of injury caused by the accident. Even if there was some lasting damage or other effect by the prior injury, this is not necessarily detrimental to a plaintiff’s case. Defendants in California personal injury cases take their plaintiffs as they are, meaning a defendant is not any less liable for injuries simply because the plaintiff was weakened or already unusually vulnerable to being injured.

If you’ve been in a personal injury accident in Southern California, or know someone who has, give the Steinberg Injury Lawyer offices a call. We can help you decide on the best course of action because our Southern California personal injury lawyers specialize in helping accident victims recover, both financially and otherwise, to the fullest extent possible. Call us today at 800-989-6385.

There’s no doubt that riding on a motorcycle is more dangerous, statistically speaking, than riding in a four-wheeled vehicle such as a car. However, the increased road hazards of riding are not great enough to sway bike enthusiasts away from their passion. If you are among them, then you know the thrill of the open road in a way that car drivers simply do not. At the same time, you need to know ways to best protect yourself from traffic accidents, since these accidents are far deadlier to you than to your car-driving counterparts.

Below are several of our best tips from Southern California motorcycle accident lawyers. In our profession, we see some of the worst motorcycle accident injuries. We also litigate them, which means we are intimately aware of which habits have a tendency to save riders’ lives.

Make sure car drivers can see you.

In the majority of accidents involving motorcycles, the drivers of cars never even saw the rider to begin with. Do everything possible to make it easy for drivers to see you, including using your high beams during the daytime and wearing bright protective clothing. As much as possible, try to say out of drivers’ blind spots.

Don’t engage road ragers.

Road rage exists, especially here in Southern California. Motorcycles and road rage are a deadly combination. If you even suspect that a car driver near you is angry or acting carelessly, steer yourself and your bike far away from them. And if you feel yourself coming down with a case of road rage, take some deep breaths and distance yourself and your bike from the driver causing it. Remember that they have a steel cage protecting them and you don’t!

Don’t drink and drive – ever.

It goes without saying that no one should drink then get into a car. It’s even worse to drink and get on your bike! Your risk of crashing increases exponentially when you drink alcohol even a couple of hours before riding. Stay sober and stay safe.

Be extra alert when off the freeway.

Despite the high speeds, you are actually less likely to get into a crash on the freeway than on surface streets. When you are driving on surface streets, be aware of the type of area you are in and what that means for drivers’ behavior. In shopping districts, be alert to cars that have a tendency to weave in and out of traffic trying to get ahead of the rush. When you’re in a residential area, know that the car in front of you might be looking for an address and could stop without warning or back up.

The Southern California motorcycle injury attorneys at Steinberg Injury Lawyers have decades of combined experience litigating motorcycle accidents. If you or a family member has been injured while riding, call our offices today at 800-989-6385 to find out how we can help. 

One of the most common accidents in the world of personal injury law is what’s known as a “slip and fall” accident. As Los Angeles personal injury lawyers, our offices see a great many of these cases each year. While the facts of most slip and fall accidents tend to be straightforward, the law concerning proving fault in a slip and fall accident can be confusing. Property owners are not always at fault, even when dangerous conditions on the property itself led directly or indirectly to the plaintiff’s injuries. If you’ve been hurt in a slip and fall accident, here is some valuable information about proving the fault of the property owner.

Property Owners’ Duty

In order to prove that the property owner is wholly or partly at fault for your slip and fall accident, it’s necessary to prove that they violated their duty to maintain the property in a reasonably safe condition. Property owners aren’t required by the law to eliminate all hazardous conditions on their property at all times. This would impose an unreasonable and unrealistic burden on everyone who owns a home or business. Instead, property owners must take reasonable precautions. Our experienced Los Angeles slip and fall attorneys can listen to the facts of your case and give an informed opinion on this issue.

Statute of Limitations

Even if the property owner has clearly violated their precautionary duty to keep premises in reasonably safe condition, California law imposes a time limit on when plaintiffs can bring a lawsuit. This time limit is known as the statute of limitations. For most personal injury cases, a two-year deadline applies for filing an action for injury to an individual caused by the wrongful or neglectful act of someone else. Slip and fall accidents, therefore, typically have a two-year time limit. This is why it is so important to talk to a Los Angeles slip and fall lawyer as soon after your accident as possible.

Comparative Negligence

Property owners can escape some or all liability for a slip and fall accident if they can prove to the court or jury that the plaintiff’s actions were also unreasonable or contributed to their injuries. For example, if you slip and fell while walking in an area where you had no right to be or were not allowed to be. Or, if you were wearing inappropriate footwear for the area. There are many circumstances where this issue, known as comparative negligence, comes into play and affects the outcome of the case.

Our Los Angeles-based slip and fall lawyers are experienced with all of the above issues and how they affect our clients’ cases. If you or a family member have been injured due to a slip and fall accident, please call Steinberg Injury Lawyers today at 800-989-6385 to find out how we can help.

Great news for California drivers this month, as the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, a Washington D.C.-based non-profit, rated our state among the very best when it comes to implementing laws to promote traffic safety and protect drivers, riders, and pedestrians on the road. California shares the honor of best traffic safety laws with five other states that scored exceptionally well: Oregon, Washington, Louisiana, Delaware, and Rhode Island.

The ratings are based upon a report, released every year by the non-profit, that examines how states have implemented the 16 road safety-related laws that the group considers most important in preventing injuries and deaths as a result of driving. These include laws relating to teen driving, drunk driving, and car seat use. California scored very well, for example, in the area of car seat and booster seat use for our youngest kids. We have room for improvement, despite our overall high score, in the area of drunk driving laws.

The report is called the 15^th Annual Roadmap of State Highway Safety Laws. This year, the preamble to the report mentions the promise of autonomous vehicles, or driverless cars, to potentially revolutionize the way we see traffic safety. Driverless cars have the potential to drastically reduce rates of drunk driving and of crashes caused by distracted drivers. However, the reality of driverless cars is likely years, if not decades, away. By maintaining a focus right now on constant improvement to our road safety laws, we don’t have to wait decades to improve our injury and death statistics.

As Los Angeles-based accident attorneys, our office sees first-hand the devastating consequences that result from drivers’ inability to follow the rules of the road, particularly when it comes to drunk driving and distracted driving. Approximately one in four crash deaths these days involve a drunk driver, and California is one of the many states that has not implemented ignition interlock devices for DUI offenders. While we can be proud that California is still leading the way when it comes to road safety laws, it’s important to remember that we have room for improvement. If you or a family member have been injured in a road-related accident or incident, please call the Los Angeles accident attorneys at Steinberg Injury Lawyers at 800-989-6385 to find out how we can help. 

If you’re into looking up and celebrating some of the more unusual and little-known holidays, you may have heard that February 24 is this year’s Open That Bottle Night. This night supposedly falls on the last Saturday of February each year, and is meant to be celebrated no earlier than 5 p.m. It was created by “Tastings” columnists Dorothy Gaither and John Becher in 2000. It’s meant to be an excuse for celebrants to get together with loved ones or people they haven’t seen in a while, open a nice bottle of wine (or other alcohol of preference), and reconnect with each other.

While there is nothing wrong with the sentiment and purpose behind Open That Bottle Night, holidays that revolve specifically around alcohol deserve a mention related to prevention of drunken driving. As your local Los Angeles accident attorneys, our office often sees a spike in DUI-related crashes around nights that center upon social drinking, such as New Year’s Eve, St. Patrick’s Day, and even Halloween. If you plan to get together with friends and loved ones to celebrate Open That Bottle Night this year, please remember a couple safety tips related to getting you – and your loved ones – home safely.

Celebrate in Moderation – There’s really no need to get carried away with drinking, and overdoing it often results in feeling groggy and hungover the following day. Space your drinks out to no more than one an hour as a general rule, and try to have a glass of water between alcoholic drinks. It will hydrate you and also give you something to sip on while you are in-between drinks.

Plan a Safe Way Home – The time to arrange a way home isn’t at 1 a.m. when you aren’t sure where to leave your vehicle and perhaps aren’t even thinking with a clear head. If you know you’ll be drinking, get a plan in place before you start. Calling a cab or a ride-share to get to your destination will remove the temptation of drunk driving at the end of the night.

Lastly, even if you do everything right, unfortunately it’s still possible to end up in a DUI-related crash at the end of the night due to someone else’s refusal to resist drunk driving. If you or a loved one have been injured as a result of someone else’s DUI, please call Steinberg Injury Lawyers, your Los Angeles accident attorneys, at 800-989-6385 to discuss how we can help. 

Thanks to increasingly friendly bicycle laws and a new public emphasis on health and well-being, many Southern Californians are turning to bicycles as a healthy and eco-friendly way to get around town. However, as bicycle use skyrockets in popularity it has also led to a drastic increase in the number of bicycle accidents. This, in turn, leads to soaring medical costs associated with such accidents. A recent study by University of California San Francisco estimated that medical costs directly related to bicycle accidents have reached $789 million annually.

The study was published in a 2017 issue of the journal Injury Prevention. It revealed that medical costs from bicycle accidents have risen steadily since 1997. In addition, since that time there has been a significant increase in accidents requiring ER visits and hospital admission. A key contributor to these statistics is the increasing rate at which bicycles are involved in crashes with motor vehicles on the road. When a bicycle accident involves a motor vehicle, the velocity of the crash is generally greater and so is the severity of the cyclist’s injury.

No one quite understands this issue the way that the Southern California personal injury lawyers at Steinberg Injury Lawyers do. We help dozens of cyclists a year who are involved in crashes. There are many things that cyclists can do to help avoid and prevent these types of crashes and injuries. Here are just a few of the most important tips:

Wear reflective clothing and patches when riding at night. If you plan to ride at night, purchase and wear suitable light-colored clothing and put reflective strips anywhere you can – your helmet, your bicycle, and even your jacket.

Learn and use manual turn signals to alert drivers of your actions. Unlike the motor vehicles around you, your bicycle does not have the advantage of blinking turn signals. Be sure to learn, practice, and use hand signals to alert drivers of when you will turn or stop.

Stay alert at all times. It’s easy to zone out and get into a comfortable “groove” when cycling. However, you must stay alert at all times because a cyclist has little forewarning when a motor vehicle is moving into their path.

Always yield to motor vehicles. Even if someone is frankly acting like a jerk, the road is not the place to test the durability of a bicycle against that of a motor vehicle. Instead, play it safe by slowing down and allowing them to pass you or move a significant distance away. Remember, they have a steel cage around them and you do not! Err on the side of caution.

If you’ve been involved in a bicycle crash with a motor vehicle, or know someone who has, it’s important to find out your rights without delay. Even if a police officer at the crash scene said that you were at fault, a court might disagree. Call the Southern California personal injury lawyers at 800-989-6385 to find out how our attorneys can help you receive just compensation for medical bills, pain, and suffering.

Ultimately, whether or not someone recovers against a defendant depends upon the decision of the jury, or in cases of a bench trial, the judge. Alternately, the case could settle long before going to trial, and indeed, most personal injury cases in Southern California and throughout the United States settle in this way. The Southern California personal injury lawyers at Steinberg Injury Lawyers have helped hundreds of people determine their chances of recovery against defendants. If you’ve been injured through the actions of another, you probably wonder whether your circumstances warrant a “case” against that other person. Here are a few questions that directly affect recoverability in personal injury cases. Reading through them can help you determine whether it’s likely that you have a good faith personal injury case against a possible defendant. However, there are sometimes exceptions to the rules of law, and when in doubt it is best to contact our office for a free consultation.

When did the action or injury occur?

This question helps you to formulate what is known in the legal world as the “statute of limitations.” The law of California puts a limit on how long after an injury the potential plaintiff can bring a lawsuit. In California, the statute of limitations for most personal injury cases is two years from the time of the injury. Essentially, if you do not actually file a lawsuit during this time period, you lose your right to sue. Since even a successful settlement depends upon the threat of the plaintiff to sue the defendant, this short period of time is most often your only window to pursue a monetary recovery against the responsible party. In cases against a government agency or municipality, the time period is as short as six months.

Who is the responsible party?

Defendants in California will often make an argument that you, the injured party, is actually to blame or at least contributed to the injury. If the facts indicate that you do share some of the liability for the occurrence, that can drastically impact your personal injury case. This determination is very fact-specific and the plaintiff and defense sides in a lawsuit will often argue their own versions. This is why it’s so important to have an experienced Southern California personal injury lawyer on your side from the very beginning of your case or claim.

What type of injury is it?

Many personal injury cases fall into distinct categories, such as dog bites, motor vehicle accidents, or premises liability (such as slip and fall cases). The type of liability, and the burden on the defendant, is different depending upon the type of case. For example, in California there is strict liability for dog owners when their animals bite someone. This means that a bitten plaintiff might recover against the dog owners even if they were not negligent and even if it’s the very first time that dog has bitten anyone.

If you believe that you or a family member may have a personal injury case, even if you aren’t sure, call the Southern California personal injury lawyers at Steinberg Injury Lawyers at 800-989-6385 to find out how we can help.

Our Los Angeles attorneys handle many slip and fall cases during the winter months. While Southern California is known for its nice weather, many Los Angeles residents visit colder parts of the state for vacation, work, or to visit relatives. Icy walkways are particularly hazardous to those who are not used to encountering them, which is why it is worth knowing what to do if you slip and fall in such icy conditions. While legal liability does not always attach to this type of slip and fall accident, in many cases there is someone who was responsible for de-icing or clearing the area and failed to do so.

Proving Negligence

To win a slip and fall case you must prove that someone (typically a property owner or a municipal entity) was negligent. Negligence simply means that they had a duty to do something and they failed to do it or did it incorrectly. For example, if a homeowner has a duty to clear icy conditions from the sidewalk fronting their home and fails to do so, this might result in an unreasonably unsafe condition – resulting in negligence liability for the homeowner if someone slips and injures themselves.

Document the Conditions

If you do fall in these conditions, the first thing to do is to take a photo to document that the area was unreasonably unsafe. You will need to prove both that there was a duty to clear the area and also that it was not cleared at the time you slipped and fell. Failure to document the area through photos means you may need to rely upon witnesses to provide evidence of the dangerous condition. Alternatively, it could become a “he said, she said” situation between you and the person legally responsible for clearing the area. Taking a picture immediately after the injury is best, if possible, but even sending someone back later in the day or the following day can be helpful.

Report the Injury

Just as properly documenting the condition can be powerful evidence, so can the fact that you reported the injury. There are two places you can report. First, you can call authorities such as the city or county to let them know of the dangerous condition and the fact that you have been injured. You can also alert the owner of the property. If you fall on private property such as the common grounds of an apartment building or the icy sidewalk outside a neighbor’s house, it is fairly easy to find the owner. If you fall on government property, call the police (non-emergency line) or city hall. Reporting the injury at the time it happens lends necessary credence to your experience, since a defendant could later argue that if you had been seriously hurt you would have reported it.