Victims of accidents involving emergency vehicles, such as a police car, an ambulance, or a fire truck, can seek support for their medical bills. The City of Bakersfield may be liable for an accident that a city employee causes. If an accident involves a privately owned ambulance service, the company would be liable.
Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Bakersfield offers a free, no-obligation consultation for all Bakersfield accident victims in Kern County. It’s a chance to find out what your injury is worth and how to make sure a government entity or a company is held fully responsible.
Can a Lawyer Help Me Earn More After Being Struck by an Emergency Vehicle?
If your accident leaves you with a serious injury, and a government department is to blame, a skilled attorney can often secure you much more in an accident claim than you could earn taking on the City of Bakersfield yourself. That means more money to cover 100% of your medical bills and replace every paycheck you’ve lost.
A serious injury, like a broken wrist or a severe concussion, comes with higher medical bills. These rising costs make city officials and insurance companies fight harder to avoid having to pick up the tab. They can look to blame you for the collision, or downplay your injuries, hoping to get you to accept less than you need to fully recover.
You’ll also be glad to have a legal professional to help you cut through the red tape. As we’ll see, cases involving government agencies are much more complex than normal car accident cases. Your lawyer can help you file your claim properly and avoid missing strict deadlines. Your lawyer empowers you to fight back against city attorneys working to devalue your case.
Your attorney investigates your case and collects all evidence to back your claim. Our Bakersfield car accident lawyers also employ accident reconstruction teams when necessary, to make sure blame can’t be shifted. Then our lawyers rely on experience at the negotiating table to earn you the maximum in compensation.
Why Are Accident Cases Involving The Government More Complex?
An accident involving an ambulance service provider like Hall Ambulance or Trinity Safety Company would be a more traditional case. Accident victims would file claims against the private company’s commercial insurance provider and hopefully secure support.
But an accident claim that must be filed against the City of Bakersfield or Kern County instantly comes with a higher degree of difficulty.
These are some of the reasons you may need a skilled lawyer’s help with your case:
- Fast Approaching Deadline. A normal car accident case generally comes with a two-year statute of limitations. But victims can’t wait nearly that long to file an injury claim after being hit by a government vehicle. Victims in government cases only have months to file, often around 6 months. Your lawyer would help you meet all sneaky deadlines. Victims should seek legal help sooner so that lawyers have more time to gather evidence and build a strong case.
- Complex paperwork that must be filed correctly. Your lawyer makes sure the forms and files are prepared correctly so government insurers can’t reject your case on a technicality.
- Evidence collection. You’ll need strong evidence to win against the government. You might not be able to collect the details you require when you are dealing with an injury. A lawyer would secure the proof necessary to force a government entity to turn over compensation.
- Government Legal Protections. Governments also require you notify them when you intend to file a claim. The City of Bakersfield or the State of California (in a case involving the California Highway Patrol) basically makes you seek permission to ask for help. It’s another hoop to jump through, but accident victims can’t forfeit support and a chance to earn justice.
Emergency Vehicle Accident Hazards Around Bakersfield
Bakersfield roads can get very busy, and emergency traffic along routes like Highway 99 or Chester Avenue sometimes raises the risk of an accident.
Emergency crews might not be on a call, but can still be proceeding carelessly in their heavy, large vehicles. A fire truck or an ambulance takes longer to slow down, and they take longer turns, which can put them in the path of other vehicles. Drivers can also be distracted by their cell phones or a call on the radio and cause a collision.
Police officers and paramedics are allowed to hit their siren and rush to the scene of an accident, but they must also proceed safely. You may be pulled over to let an emergency vehicle pass, only to still be forced into a collision. A collision can carry extra force with these vehicles and cause severe injuries. A city department may still be liable for your injuries.
Government workers can also get reckless and strike pedestrians along the side of the road, cyclists in bike lanes, and motorcyclists. They must be held accountable.
Maison Accident & Injuries Lawyers helps you prove that a city employee or a driver for a private ambulance service was to blame for an accident. Strong evidence can be critical to forcing owners and government officials to acknowledge the hardships you’ve suffered and provide financial relief.
What to Do After an Accident with an Ambulance or Police Car
Evidence is important in every car accident case, but even more so in a more complex case against a government department. An accident with a police vehicle may be investigated by the Bakersfield Police Department, which may introduce a conflict of interest into the case.
Your lawyer would be collecting all evidence once you hire one. But if possible, you should try to preserve accident from the scene of the accident that may be removed or cleaned up shortly afterward.
- Contact 911 and call for an ambulance if you are hurt in any way or if anyone else is hurt.
- Call 911 even if you are hit by a police officer or a California Highway Patrol officer. Another officer should be investigating the collision and filing a collision report.
- Get photos of every aspect of the scene. Show the damage to both vehicles, a wide shot of where the vehicles ended up, and take photos of your visible injuries.
- Get information from the other driver involved if it isn’t provided to you, including a badge number or employee number. If it’s a private ambulance business, note the company.
- Get witness contact information for your attorney to follow up on.
- If you must leave for the emergency room, ask someone with you or a helpful witness to gather some details for you.
This evidence from the moments after your accident, along with the information your lawyer uncovers, will result in a strong case.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kinds of things are paid for in an emergency vehicle accident settlement claim?
Accident victims should receive reimbursement for any medical bills they’ve already had to cover and get support for any follow-up care they may need in the future. Repair costs for a damaged vehicle or full replacement money should be a part of the settlement. The paychecks victims lose while missing work must be reimbursed. A skilled lawyer would also demand support for the victim’s physical pain and the emotional trauma victims must cope with.
What if I can’t afford to pay a car accident lawyer?
You won’t be charged anything upfront for our services. Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers works under a contingency agreement for you. It means we don’t get paid unless your case is successful. Then our fee comes out of the settlement check that the city’s insurance company sends you.
Can I seek recovery support if I’m partly to blame for an accident with an emergency vehicle?
Yes, in California, drivers can share in the fault for an accident. A police officer or a fire truck driver might get 50% blame in a collision, while you might receive the other 50%. You can still seek an award to help with your medical bills, but the final settlement would be reduced by the level of blame you received. As in the above example, the victim would lose 50% of the award. However, our lawyers would be arguing to get your percentage of liability as low as possible, and down to zero if you had no role in causing the crash.
Contact an Emergency Vehicle Accident Attorney Who Backs Your Claim with Evidence and Fights to Earn You More
If you have a serious injury, and a careless police officer, firefighter, or ambulance driver caused your accident, contact Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Bakersfield to schedule a free consultation. It’s a confidential, no-obligation review of your case with a real car accident lawyer.
We can help you deal with sneaky deadlines and complicated paperwork to hold the City of Bakersfield or another government entity fully accountable for an accident.
