A reckless driver’s mistake along Highway 178 might leave you spun around and in need of help. Once authorities arrive and you are treated, you might also have time to worry about who will pay your medical bills and compensate your lost time at work.
We help the victims of accidents on local highways, and we make sure insurers for at-fault drivers can’t escape accountability. Contact a Bakersfield Car Accident Lawyer for a free consultation to discuss your options and the potential to receive a large settlement check for your hardships.
Do You Need a Truck Accident Lawyer
Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Bakersfield is here for all victims if they need us. Victims can always file a claim without a lawyer, and if an accident only involves vehicle damage and minor injuries, they may be fine going it alone.
But when victims have serious injuries, they can often do much better with the help of a lawyer. There are more medical bills to pay, and that means it’s more important that victims hold out for a settlement that covers all of their damages. Unfortunately, the higher hospital costs go, the more car insurers fight to avoid blame. In fact, they’ll try to blame you, no matter what the accident report says.
A lawyer can help you strengthen your case and often wins you much more than you could by handling your case yourself. A lawyer is especially valuable if you come away with injuries involving something like bone fractures or torn ligaments. If you have a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) or a neck or back injury, a lawyer is a great advantage in your fight with insurers.
Take Advantage of a Free Case Consultation After a Bakersfield Accident
Every accident victim in Kern County can utilize a free case consultation with Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers. It’s a no-cost, no-obligation meeting with a real lawyer after a car accident on Route 178.
We understand that it can take weeks or months to recover physically and financially from a scary highway pileup. We want to help you answer your questions and stay informed of your rights so you don’t get cheated out of support by a shady car insurance company. We want you to have the best outcome for your case, even if you don’t end up needing our help to file a claim.
The Factors that Determine the Size of Your Car Accident Settlement Check
With your medical bills stacking up and your lost paychecks starting to cause a major financial crisis, the size of a potential settlement check can be at the top of your mind.
You may also be falling behind on your normal monthly bills, like a car payment and rent. It’s understandable that you’d become worried, especially if an insurance company is keeping you in the dark about their decision on your claim.
Fortunately, you don’t have to allow an insurance adjuster to decide if your claim is accepted and what it is worth. Our Bakersfield car accident attorneys would back your case with the facts and then demand everything that’s fair for what you’ve been put through.
These are some of the factors that would determine how high your settlement check could go:
- The total on your current medical bills
- The estimated costs for any care you may need in the years to come
- Support for the physical pain you’ve had to live with and may continue to struggle with
- Support for the emotional trauma you’ve been left to cope with
- Support for the loss of enjoyment of life caused by a debilitating injury
- Support for the paychecks and work benefits you’ve lost while being too injured to work
- Support to help you get job training and find a new career if a permanent disability keeps you from going back to your former employer
The Types of Mistakes That Lead to Accidents on Highways
Local drivers can take 178 through downtown and all the way up into the mountains and into Ridgecrest. Traffic levels will probably change along the way, but the one constant will be careless and reckless drivers.
Drivers on long highways often get lulled into a false sense of security. They can lose their focus on the road and end up causing accidents that involve several vehicles.
These are just a few of the types of drivers that can send you to the emergency room at Adventist Health Bakersfield:
- Merging Drivers: Drivers trying to get on or off the highway at busy interchanges like the Union Avenue on-and-off ramps can merge with traffic without paying proper attention. They can skip checking blind spots and cause a devastating sideswipe accident.
- Speeding drivers: The maximum speed on parts of Route 178 through Bakersfield is 55mph. But it’s common to see packs of cars traveling 70 or more. These drivers can more easily lose control. They have less time to hit the brakes if they come upon stalled traffic. They also have less time to dodge roadway hazards.
- Distracted Drivers: Drivers can take advantage of a straightaway on the highway to unlock their phones and look for a favorite song. In that time, they may have traveled the length of several football fields and not even notice that cars are coming to a stop for construction ahead.
- Impaired Drivers: Unfortunately, drivers who have had a few beers or have been using drugs can hop on a fast-moving highway like anyone else. It’s a reckless decision that often adds extreme speed to a DUI crash.
The Statistics Behind Accidents on Highway 178 in Kern County
In 2024, California’s Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS) documented 117 accidents involving injury along Highway 178 through Kern County. Those accidents led to at least 12 tragic deaths.
Over a recent 5-year span, Highway 178 through the county averaged around 100 serious accidents a year (2020-2024). In that time, the state route saw an average of 10.5 fatalities a year.
Contact a Bakersfield Highway 178 Accident Lawyer
If you have a serious injury from a scary Highway 178 crash, and a reckless driver caused your accident, contact us to schedule a free consultation. It’s a confidential, no-obligation review of your case with a real, local attorney.
Don’t stress over how you’ll afford a lawyer for your case. If you end up needing our assistance, you don’t have to worry about how you’ll get us paid. We don’t charge anything up front, and we only get paid if we win your case for you. Then our attorney’s fee comes out of the settlement check that an insurance company writes for you.