Driving on the 405, 5, 10, 101 and every other multi-lane Southern California freeway can be downright dangerous, especially during peak traffic times. With the holiday season upon us, everyone seems to be in even more of a rush which is why there are always so many Los Angeles car accidents this time of year. Lane change car accidents are some of the most common car accidents we deal help our clients with. Why? Because they happen so easily on the busy multi-lane freeways where every driver is trying to get in the fastest lane possible and not always paying attention or indicating their intentions. The cause of lane change car accidents is varied from a drivers’ failure to signal, blind spot, speeding and reckless driving. Whatever the cause they can be very serious, even deadly.

If you were hit by another car in a Los Angeles lane change, how do you go about proving liability? For starters, you should not try to handle your case on your own– lane change car accidents can be a complicated liability analysis best left to personal injury attorneys. If you want to maximize your car accident financial recovery, be sure to get in touch with the attorneys at Walch Law as soon as possible. Now back to the question at hand…here’s a look at some of the key questions and factors that go into proving liability in a Los Angeles lane change car accident case:

1. What lane did the accident happen? Research shows that the right lane has the most lane merging accidents and the left lane has the least. Where the accident happened can also be a good indicator of who was to blame for the crash. Evidence is best fresh so following an accident be sure to write down your recollections of the crash as well as those of any passengers and other witnesses.
2. Did you play a role in the accident? Maybe both you and the other driver were trying to get into an empty lane and that was how the accident occurred? Or perhaps you hit another car after the first one hit you during their reckless lane change? California is a comparative negligence state which means that even if you were at fault for some of the accident, you can still recover from the other party the % that they played in the accident. We deal with scenarios like this all the time.
3. Was the other driver acting in a negligent manner?: There are a lot of requirements out there when it comes to safe driving including abiding by the posted speed limit, signaling when turning and paying attention to the road. These are not suggestions but legal requirements and if the other driver that hit you was doing or failing to do any of these things then they are at least partially responsible for the accident.

Dealing with a car accident is not just frustrating, it can be complicated too. At Walch Law, we know how stressful things are right now and we are here to make your life easier. Give us a call today to set up your initial free consultation and let’s begin working on your financial recovery. We take all our cases on a contingency fee basis so you don’t pay us a penny until we get you paid