We help local victims who are struck by careless drivers along Highway 204 in Bakersfield. If you have been hurt in a collision, contact us for a free consultation.
You can learn more about how we can help car accident victims earn the most in compensation possible on our Bakersfield Car Accident Lawyer page.
Deciding If You Need a Lawyer for Your Case
Your need for a lawyer’s help often hinges on how badly you are hurt. With minor injuries or just a crumpled car, you can often get by with handling your own case. But with a more serious injury, the stakes are raised, and car insurance companies make it much harder to secure support.
They want to avoid big payouts and use insurance tactics, like shifting the blame for an accident, to wiggle free of responsibility.
A lawyer can protect your rights and often earn you a better outcome under these circumstances:
- If you suffer a broken radius bone in the arm or a fibula bone in the leg, or any other bone fracture
- If you suffer a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), which, according to UCLA Medicine, can include a severe concussion
- If you endure a neck or back injury, including whiplash
- If you suffer a deep cut or wound
- If you suffer tendon or ligament damage, or any tissue damage
- If a loved one, perhaps a child, is hurt in an accident
- If a loved one is killed in a tragic highway collision
You can always file a claim yourself, but when a serious injury is involved, a lawyer can often win you much more than you could by fighting a giant insurance company alone.
A Free Consultation with a Real Bakersfield Car Accident Attorney
If it’s still unclear if you’ll need a lawyer for your case, you should just pick up the phone or send an email.
Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Bakersfield offers a free case consultation to all Kern County victims. There’s no obligation to you. Let’s talk over what happened to you and figure out the best path to getting your bills paid. If we can’t help you earn more, we’ll send you in the right direction to handle your claim yourself.
If you do need us, there’s no need to stress about how you’ll afford a lawyer. We work on a contingency basis. It means we don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our fee is covered by the settlement check that a car insurance company must send you.
The Type of Compensation You Should Demand After an Accident
Insurance companies will do everything they can to limit the support you receive. They might bring in company doctors to examine you and proclaim that you aren’t hurt as badly as your claim suggests.
They may claim you were injured before the accident. This can simply be an excuse to get away with paying for less than 100% of your hospital bills.
Your lawyer can provide physical evidence and medical documents to shut down these weak attempts to lower your expectations.
Your lawyer also completes the important step of listing every hardship you’ve endured, both financial and non-financial. This is a critical task because anything left out of a claim is something the insurance company can ignore and refuse to pay for.
These are just a few of the benefits your Bakersfield car accident attorney demands for you:
Economic Damages:
Your attorney seeks 100% compensation of your current medical bills and extra to cover the possibility of an injury relapse in the years ahead. Another loss that must be made whole is the income you lose out on while you are in too much pain to work. Your repair costs are another economic cost that must be covered.
Non-Economic Damage:
These damages are harder to put a price on, but represent major struggles for accident victims. Your attorney would help you add up the value of the pain you’ve been put through and may continue to deal with. The emotional distress you’ve had to endure, such as PTSD symptoms that have you replaying the moment of impact, must be compensated. Emotional trauma can also come in the form of anxiety attacks and depression, while you can’t participate in your favorite activities due to injury.
Wrongful Death Damages:
There’s also the devastating toll a family must face if a loved one is killed along Highway 204 in a deadly collision. The at-fault driver’s insurer should be responsible for funeral and burial expenses. Insurers must provide for the family in the coming years when they’ll be without the support a loved one may have provided each month through their job. Close relatives can also seek support for the loss of companionship and care they can no longer count on. This can include the absence of precious loved ones at major life events like weddings, Christmas celebrations, and the birth of children. A skilled Bakersfield wrongful death lawyer can represent the entire family and make sure justice is served and loved ones left behind are protected.
Highway 204 Accident Dangers
Hwy 204 runs for just a short span through Bakersfield, and yet it’s a busy commuter route and is the scene for many serious accidents a year. It also merges with some very busy roads like Union Avenue and Business 99.
There’s also the fact that there are intersections on this highway that contribute to even more accident risk. This can mean that pedestrians and cyclists are also put at risk in heavy traffic.
Drivers can focus on their mapping app instead of the road, leaving everyone using the lanes and crosswalks in danger. Aggressive drivers at massive intersections like 204 and Union Avenue can make ill-timed turns and threaten to cause multiple collisions. Drivers going too fast will have a harder time braking for traffic jams and end up rear-ending other travelers.
These hazards materialize into accidents every year along 204:
- Bakersfield recorded 14 accidents involving injuries along Highway 204 in 2024. There was at least one tragic death to report. In 2023, there were 19 serious accidents along the highway, leading to another traffic death. That’s according to California’s Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS).
Frequently Asked Questions
What Can I Do at the Accident Scene to Help Prove Who Was to Blame?
There will be some powerful evidence at the scene of your accident that should be collected if possible, before it’s cleared or cleaned up. If you feel okay and you are safe from traffic, get photos and video of the entire scene. Shoot the damage to vehicles, and debris and markings left on the pavement. Then, talk to witnesses about what they saw and get their contact information. Preserve any damaged or bloody clothing. Don’t wash the clothing. You should also cooperate with Bakersfield Police or the CHP. Tell them everything you observed before the accident so they can create an accurate collision report. Also, if you must leave for the hospital, ask someone with you or a helpful witness to gather some photos and information for you.
How long do I have to file a car accident claim in California?
You have two years to file your claim, but waiting can reduce your chances of success. Evidence can get lost or become harder to pin down. Witnesses could be harder to reach the longer you wait. Surveillance video and dashcam footage showing what happened may get erased. You’ll want to give your attorney a head start on building your case as strong as possible.
What type of documents should I give to my car accident lawyer?
Bring all your receipts from hospitals, physical therapists, surgeons, and doctors’ offices. Bring any medical charts you have printed out. If you requested the accident report from the investigating officer, bring a copy. Bring your pay stubs, too. This is a way to show how much income you’ve lost out on while being down with an injury. Don’t worry if you don’t have some of these documents. Your attorney will be tracking this information down for you.
Contact a Lawyer Helping Highway 204 Accident Victims in Bakersfield
If you have a serious injury after a scary crash on Highway 204, and a careless driver was at fault, contact us to schedule a free consultation. It’s a confidential, no-obligation review of your case with a real, local attorney.
Your full recovery becomes our number one mission. We don’t stop fighting until you are 100% healed and have the money you need to restore your normal life.
And after an accident, you should never have to choose between supporting yourself and your family and hiring a lawyer. If you need our help, you don’t owe us anything up front, and if we lose your case, you never have to pay us a dime. 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 must send you.