Car Accidents

Las Vegas Car Accident Lawyer Zachary D. Clayton Explains Motor Vehicle Accidents and Injuries

Car accidents are one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Thousands of people die each year in motor vehicle collisions. Tragically, car accident death rates have been rising in recent years, which means many more individuals and families know the devastation of permanent loss because of motor vehicle accidents.

When an auto accident occurs, victims of the collision need to understand their rights. Those who have been hurt in a car accident could pursue a claim to recover compensation from other drivers who were responsible for the crash; as well as from car manufacturers and even road designers under certain circumstances.

When a car crash is a fatal one, those who have been left behind could also pursue a claim for compensation.

Understanding your rights after car accidents is complicated, and you’ll be coping with your loved one’s death or with the serious injuries you have endured which makes it difficult to navigate the legal system.

You need Vegas car accident lawyers to help you to protect your right to obtain full and fair compensation for damages. You should give us a call today to find out about how our compassionate and knowledgeable legal team can assist you with pursuing a damage claim to get the money you deserve after a crash has occurred.

If you have been involved in a car accident, it is important to understand your legal rights. Under Nevada laws, you have the right to make a claim for damages against a driver who caused you to crash as a result of negligence or intentional wrongdoing.

If a driver broke the rules of the road designed to ensure safety, that driver can be presumed to have caused a crash because he was negligent and can be held liable for losses. Drivers can also be held accountable for crashes they cause if they were more careless than a hypothetical reasonable driver would have been under the circumstances.

Victims of car accidents need to prove that another driver was the cause of the crash so they can be compensated. In some cases, however, victims will pursue claims against others besides drivers, including against car manufacturers. There are different things car crash victims must show to get compensation if they pursue a claim based on a defective product or poorly maintained road, so getting legal help from car accident lawyers is important.

To pursue a claim, victims will need to file a lawsuit in civil court before the statute of limitations runs out. While many cases settle outside of court because the insurer of the driver who causes the crash makes an offer to settle, don’t assume you’ll always settle and fail to file your claim in time to pursue a legal remedy.

LV Personal Injury Lawyers firm can help you to make your case, handle court paperwork, and otherwise take any steps necessary to recover compensation for your car accident damages.

Aggressive driving is one of the leading causes of motor vehicle collisions. These types of accidents may occur due to:

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• Speeding drivers
• Drivers who pass unsafely
• Drivers who tailgate

There may also be other circumstances where a driver behaves aggressively, violating the rules of the road or operating the vehicle in such a careless manner that his actions are likely to cause a crash to occur. A victim of an aggressive driving accident can be fully compensated by the driver who was overly assertive, provided the victim can successfully demonstrate that the aggressive driver was unreasonably careless and caused the accident as a result.

Accidents involving drivers who are talking on cell phones, texting, or using electronic devices behind the wheel are the most common type of distracted driving crash. However, drivers can be distracted on the roads by a great many things, including talking to passengers, eating while driving, changing a song on the radio, or even simply daydreaming.

While there are many kinds of driver distractions, it can be easier for victims to pursue a claim for accident compensation if there is proof that a driver violated rules-of-the-road related to the use of electronic devices. When a driver has broken a safety rule, this creates a presumption of negligence so it becomes simpler to prove a claim.

Las Vegas car accident lawyer can help even in circumstances where a driver may have been distracted by things other than a phone by working with you to find eyewitnesses and experts who can show how the crash happened and why the unfocused driver was to blame.

Traffic safety laws require motorists to yield in certain circumstances in order to ensure traffic moves in an orderly fashion. For example, a driver who is making a left would need to yield to drivers traveling straight, absent a traffic light that gives the turning driver the right of way.

Drivers are also expected to yield to pedestrians at crosswalks and to follow rules for yielding at all-way stop signs.
In any circumstance where a driver was required to yield to other motorists but failed to do so, that driver should be held accountable for any resulting crash that occurred.

Fender benders are accidents where only minor damage to a vehicle occurred. While a fender bender is typically categorized as a non-serious accident, this is not always the case.

Many times, fender benders can still cause substantial damage to vehicles depending upon where the impact occurred, even if the outward damage does not seem very severe. Worse, fender benders can cause serious physical injury including conditions such as whiplash or soft tissue damage that is hard to diagnose.

Receiving full compensation for fender benders can be difficult because insurers may argue the lack of apparent accident severity undercuts your claim for compensation. Having a good lawyer is key to proving how badly you were damaged so you can be compensated appropriately for a fender bender.

When a road itself is dangerous and a crash occurs because of it, victims may face unique challenges in pursuing a claim for compensation. The problem is, often governmental entities are responsible for maintaining roads and there are sovereign immunity rules that limit when the government can be sued for negligence.

Nevada auto accident injuries lawyer Zachary D. Clayton has experience pursuing claims against governmental entities that have caused harm by failing to maintain safe roadways. If you have been hurt by hazardous conditions, we are here to provide the assistance you need to recover full and fair compensation.

Head-on crashes are among the most dangerous collisions that occur on Las Vegas roads. When you are involved in a head-on accident, you could suffer severe or even fatal injuries because the force of the impact is significantly magnified.

Head-on collisions often occur because of driver intoxication, driver distraction, or motorists who fall asleep behind the wheel. Drivers who take dangerous risks and cause serious head-on crashes need to be held accountable and made to compensate victims or their surviving family members.

Motorists are expected to remain at the crash scene after an accident happens, but unfortunately, some drivers fail to comply with this legal obligation. Police will launch an investigation after hit-and-run accidents, though, and these drivers are sometimes found.

If a hit-and-run driver hurts you and is identified, you can pursue a claim for compensation for losses. If the driver is not found, or if he has inadequate insurance coverage, your attorney can help you to explore whether uninsured or underinsured policies you may have purchased will provide you with the compensation you need after a collision.

Intersections are one of the most common places for collisions to occur because so many drivers come together. If any motorist is unreasonably careless, such as by failing to yield the right-of-way, running a signal, or turning without making sure the road is clear, that motorist should be liable for resulting losses.

Determining who was to blame for an intersection accident can be complicated, but an experienced attorney can assist with reconstructing the crash to identify the driver responsible for the harm.

Car accidents can also occur as a result of defects with vehicles. For example, if the brakes fail on a car or if the vehicle accelerates unintentionally, this can result in an accident occurring.

Injuries from accidents can also be made worse due to defective car parts, such as in cases where motorists have been killed because Takata airbags malfunctioned and sent metal parts flying throughout vehicles after accidents happened.

Manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, and sellers of defective vehicles can all be held accountable when an accident happens due to a car with problems. Product liability rules govern these cases, so victims can pursue a claim by showing a crash is linked to a defect even without proving negligence on the part of the carmaker.

While many accidents involve either a single vehicle or two vehicles, multi-vehicle or chain reaction accidents are also far too common. These accidents happen when three or more cars all become involved in a crash, often because the third car was unable to avoid hitting vehicles affected by an initial accident.

Determining who is to blame for chain reaction or multi-vehicle accidents can be problematic because there are many different vehicles and drivers involved.

A knowledgeable Las Vegas auto accident lawyer Zachary D. Clayton can help victims to use appropriate tools, including experts, to sort out how a crash happened and pursue a claim for compensation.

When single-vehicle accidents happen, only one car is involved in the crash. This does not mean the driver has no recourse, though. If the accident occurred due to road defects or happened because of a problem with the vehicle or its parts, an attorney can help the victim of the single-vehicle accident — or his surviving family members — to make a claim for compensation against the party responsible.

Read-end accidents often occur when one car follows another too closely or when one car cuts off another. The driver in the rear car is usually to blame and can be held liable for crash losses. However, there are cases where it is possible to overcome this presumption and show the lead driver shares at least partial fault for causing the crash to occur.

Drivers are expected not only to follow the rules of the road but also to exercise reasonable caution. If a driver behaves in an unsafe way — which could include driving too fast for road conditions or running signals or dangerous acts such as road racing — then the motorist who has been careless can be sued by victims of any crashes that result from his actions.

Rollover accidents are one of the most dangerous of all types of motor vehicle collisions. Unfortunately, rollovers can happen in both single-vehicle accidents as well as in collisions involving two or more cars. These accidents are especially likely to occur when a crash happens in a top-heavy vehicle such as a van or SUV.

If a car’s design caused a rollover to happen, victims can pursue a claim against the vehicle manufacturers. If the design or maintenance of the road or the negligence of another driver was the cause, then those who drove carelessly or who failed to fulfill their obligations with the roads can be held accountable for losses.

Sideswipe accidents happen when one vehicle hits the side of another car. Usually, this occurs when someone changes lanes unsafely, veers into the wrong lane, or takes too wide of a turn.

A driver who causes a sideswipe accident should provide compensation to her motorists involved in the crash. An attorney can help pursue a case for pain and suffering, loss of wages, emotional distress, medical costs, and other losses.

Speeding significantly increases the risk of collisions and also makes it far more likely that a crash will be a serious one. When a driver goes too fast, the motorist is more likely to lose control over the vehicle and less likely to be able to stop in time to avoid obstacles such as a person or entity in front of his car.

Because speeding results in a bigger impact when cars collide or when a driver strikes a bicyclist, motorcyclist, or pedestrian, it is also more likely that severe and even fatal injuries will occur if a driver is traveling at a high rate of speed.
Speed limit laws exist in Nevada to protect the safety and reduce the risk of serious crashes, so those who travel too fast on the roads can be held accountable and made to provide compensation to victims.

A t-bone crash happens when a driver hits the side of another vehicle, typically in the middle. The crash position resembles the letter T, which is how the accident gets its name. These accidents usually happen when one driver fails to stop for a red light or a stop sign, or otherwise fails to yield the right-of-way, and hits the side of another vehicle on the road.

T-bone accidents can be serious crashes that cause grave injuries because the side of a car offers little protection for vehicle occupants, unlike the front which can crumble and absorb some of the crash force. Victims need to ensure they pursue a claim against a Las Vegas driver who hurt them so they can get losses covered.

Texting and driving has been declared unlawful in an ever-increasing number of U.S. states because of the dangers associated with sending or reading texts while behind the wheel. Reading a text could require a motorist to look away from the road for long enough to drive the length of a football field or longer.

A driver who is texting, quite simply, cannot be a safe motorist in Nevada and should be held accountable for any losses that occur because of his risky actions.

Driving with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher is unlawful, as is driving when you’re too impaired by alcohol or drugs to operate a vehicle safely. If a motorist causes a crash while intoxicated, that driver can be held accountable for resulting damages. Providing proof of intoxication can create a presumption that a motorist is to blame for an accident occurring and should thus be liable for losses.

Motorists are expected to comply with Nevada’s requirements for securing auto insurance, including a liability insurance policy. Unfortunately, some drivers purchase no insurance at all and others buy only the minimum in coverage, which is often insufficient to pay for damages when a serious accident occurs.

If a driver causes a crash and has insufficient insurance to pay for losses, victims who were harmed may be able to pursue an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim from their own insurance company. These types of cases can be complicated, so having an attorney to represent you with your insurer can help you to get the money you need.

When a driver runs a red light, this is likely to create a significant risk of a collision since other motorists won’t expect that motorist to be in their path.

The driver who runs the red is presumed to be responsible for causing any resulting crash because he has violated the rules of the road. However, victims will still need to pursue a claim for damages and resolve their case either through settlement or through proving in court that the driver who ran the signal should be held accountable for the damage they have endured.

Car accidents are one of the leading causes of spinal cord damage in the United States. Becoming paralyzed as a result of a motor vehicle collision can be devastating, especially as the costs of dealing with paralysis can total millions of dollars.

If paralysis results from a crash, the victim or his family members should pursue a claim to get compensation from whoever was responsible for causing the accident to occur.

Motor vehicle collisions are also a leading cause of fatalities in this country, especially for small children and teens. When a car accident causes death, surviving family members may be compensated through a wrongful death claim.

Car accident compensation can include payment for:

• Medical costs, including future expenses
• Loss of wages, including any reduced earning potential in the future due to ongoing impairment
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Wrongful death damages including loss of the income provided by the deceased and lost companionship.

A Vegas car accident attorney can provide assistance in maximizing the compensation victims and their families receive after an accident has occurred.

Vegas car accident attorneys at LV Personal Injury Lawyers can provide the help and support that you need to pursue a claim if you’ve been hurt in a motor vehicle accident or if your loved one was killed.

We know how difficult and painful it can be to cope with losses from car accidents and we will fight on your behalf to help you get the funds you deserve from those who hurt you.

You deserve the highest possible quality of life after a collision and our legal team will work to help you get the money you need to move on. Call Zachary D. Clayton today to learn more.