King City Rear End Car Accident Lawsuit Settled for Maximum Insurance Available
King City Rear End Car Accident Lawsuit Settled for Maximum Insurance Available
The personal injury attorneys at the Piccuta Law Group recently settled a car accident lawsuit they filed on behalf of their King City client. The case was resolved for the maximum insurance policy limits of the at-fault driver. The lawsuit was filed in the Monterey County Superior Court and entitled Olivas v. Ibarra (Case #: 18CV003402).
The client came to the firm just before the two-year statute of limitations was about to expire. A statute of limitations is a law that requires that a legal action or lawsuit be filed within a certain period of time after the event giving rise to the claim. If an action is not brought or a lawsuit not filed within the specified time, the individual loses the right to sue and win on his or her claim. Under California law there is a two years statute of limitations for a negligence claim.
A statute of limitations is a law that requires that a legal action or lawsuit be filed within a certain period of time after the event giving rise to the claim. …Under California law there is a two years statute of limitations for a negligence claim.
California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1 controls the time for commencing a civil action based upon negligence. This section states that the following actions or claims must be brought within two years: “An action for assault, battery, or injury to, or for the death of, an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another.”
Many personal injury claims and lawsuits are based upon negligence. This includes car accidents, truck accidents, bicycle accidents, trip and falls, slip and falls, etc. With respect to all these types of personal injury cases, the claim is that someone’s neglect (negligence) is what caused the injury. For example, a driver neglecting to operate a vehicle in a safe manner so as to avoid a car accident, a homeowner neglecting to fix a dangerous stair that broke and caused an injury, or a storeowner neglecting to perform necessary floor checks and sweeps resulting on a slip and fall on a puddle. The list goes on and on.
Since the client contacted our firm just before the statute of limitations, we immediately filed a lawsuit. Once the lawsuit was filed, the client’s rights were preserved and the statute of limitations (that would cut off her right to sue) was no longer a concern. After that, we worked diligently to prepare a case that would allow our client to recover for her injuries.
Our client’s case arose from a rear end accident that occurred on Front Street in an unincorporated part of Monterey County near King City. The at-fault driver crashed his full sized 2007 Dodge Ram into the back of our client’s 2002 Chevy Suburban with great force. The impact was at approximately 45-50 miles per hour and caused significant damage to both vehicles.
Emergency responders arrived to the scene and the client was transported to Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital under full spinal precautions by ambulance. At the hospital, the client reported rib pain, vertebral pain, sternal pain, and pain that radiated to her left leg. CT scans of her head, cervical spine, chest, abdomen and pelvis were performed. She had airbag burns and abrasions on her face. The client was diagnosed with whiplash, back strains and a chest wall contusion. Thankfully, the client made a swift recovery and did not require extensive physical therapy.
After we filed the lawsuit, we negotiated an offer for the entire insurance policy limits available from the at-fault driver. We also had the driver sign a declaration of no assets. The declaration stated that the driver did not have any other insurance policies or significant savings, assets or funds to contribute to the settlement. In other words, we made sure that the insurance policy was the only source of funds available to our client to compensate her for her injuries before accepting it. In every case our personal injury attorneys handle, where the value of the claim may exceed the available insurance, we make sure to secure evidence from the at fault party that we are receiving the only funds available.
In the end, the client was grateful for the work that we performed and the money she received. The client was scrambling to find help just before the statute of limitations cut off. Other attorneys did not want to help her because they did not want to file a lawsuit. We did and were able to achieve a result that put money in our client’s pocket. If you or a loved one has a car accident or negligence claim, contact one of our Monterey personal injury attorneys for a free consultation.
About the author: The content on this page was authored and prepared by Monterey personal injury and civil rights attorney Charles Tony Piccuta. He graduated with honors from Indiana University-Maurer School of Law in Bloomington in 2006 (Ranked Top 35 US News & World Report 2018). Piccuta took and passed the State bars of Arizona, California, Illinois and Nevada (all on the first try). He is a trial attorney that regularly handles serious personal injury cases and civil rights lawsuits. He has obtained six and seven figure verdicts in both state and federal court. He has been recognized by Super Lawyers for six years straight. He is a member of the Consumer Attorneys of California, American Association for Justice, National Police Accountability Project and Arizona Association of Justice, among other organizations.
Disclaimer: The information on this web site is for informational purposes only and does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, you should contact one of our attorneys and discuss your specific case and issues.
Source:[1]https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CCP§ionNum=335.1
