Car accidents can present significant challenges to those involved, causing losses such as serious injuries, expensive medical bills and extensive vehicle damage. Most car accidents are preventable and caused by someone else’s negligence, or the failure to act with proper care.
If you or a loved one has been injured due to the careless or reckless actions of another person, the Santa Ana car accident lawyers at Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian can help you seek justice and the financial compensation you need to move forward.
Our legal team has been a trusted source of car accident case representation for injured California victims and their families for many years. Contact us today at (866) 460-4445 for a free consultation about your case.
Why Choose Us?
- Our Orange County personal injury lawyers have more than 75 years of combined legal experience. This experience gives us an edge in and out of the courtroom.
- We know how to get real results for serious car accidents and injuries. We have recovered over $1 billion in successful settlements and jury verdicts for our clients.
- You will work closely with your lawyer throughout your case and never be left in the dark about its status. We do not pass cases off to paralegals or assistants.
- We operate on a contingency fee basis, meaning we charge $0 upfront. Our Santa Ana car accident lawyers don’t charge anything for their services unless we win the case.
About Our Car Accident Lawyers in Santa Ana, California
Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian has been a prominent source of personal injury case representation in Orange County since 1990. Our California trial attorneys have become nationally recognized for their outstanding case results and exceptional client service. We are committed to helping our clients recover from automobile accidents and take back their lives.
Our founding partner, Richard K. Bridgford, is a successful trial attorney and Orange County car accident lawyer with 40 years of experience. He has a history of handling challenging and high-value car accident cases. Michael H. Artinian also has extensive experience litigating personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout California.
How a Lawyer Can Help After a Santa Ana Car Accident
If you need to seek financial compensation for a car accident in Santa Ana, you will have to contend with one or more automobile insurance companies. Unfortunately, no matter what an insurance company says, it is not on your side.
Insurance companies operate as for-profit businesses. They are extremely experienced at convincing claimants to settle for the lowest possible amounts to save their investors as much money as possible. Hiring a Santa Ana car accident lawyer can help you protect your best interests and level the playing field.
Your lawyer can take over your claim and provide various legal services to help you seek justice, such as comprehensive crash investigation, evidence collection and settlement negotiations. Your attorney can use his or her experience to achieve the best possible settlement for your case. If necessary, a lawyer can also take your case to trial.
Types of Car Accident Cases We Accept in Santa Ana
The attorneys at Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian can give you peace of mind while you try to recover from a serious car accident. We have years of experience guiding crash victims and their loved ones through auto insurance claims.
The types of car accident cases we handle in Santa Ana include:
- Bicycle and pedestrian collisions
- Bus accidents
- Chain-reaction accidents
- Drunk driving accidents
- Fatal car accidents
- Head-on collisions
- Hit-and-run accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Multi-vehicle pileups
- Rear-end collisions
- Rollovers
- Sideswipe accidents
- Single-vehicle collisions
- T-bone collisions
- Truck accidents
- Uninsured motorist accidents
We understand many different types of automobile accidents and why they take place. We have connections to highly qualified investigators and experts who can strengthen your claim and help you achieve top results.
Areas We Serve
Our car accident lawyers at Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian handle cases from clients who are located in Santa Ana and all of California, including:
- Anaheim
- Fullerton
- Newport Beach
- Orange County
- Santa Barbara
- Santa Rosa
We have multiple offices conveniently located throughout California. Our Orange County office address is 26 Corporate Plaza, Suite 250, Newport Beach, CA 92660. Get directions.
How Much Does a Santa Ana Car Accident Lawyer Cost?
Car accidents can be expensive, with staggering medical bills and extensive motor vehicle damage. Our law firm does not wish to add to a client’s financial stress during this difficult time. We provide our services for no fees upfront. We only charge for our services if we win a case, and then only out of the settlement or jury verdict obtained, not out of the client’s pocket.
If we successfully collect an insurance settlement or judgment award during your car accident case, we will charge our fee as a percentage of the amount won. Typically, this is around one-third of the award, but it varies based on the case. We never take more than our client receives in financial compensation. With this arrangement, our law firm accepts 100 percent of the financial risk involved in pursuing a car accident claim.
California Car Accident Statistics
Motor vehicle accidents are one of the top causes of injuries and deaths in the United States. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that in 2022, an estimated 42,795 victims died in automobile accidents.
California is consistently among the top states in terms of motor vehicle fatalities. In 2022, California reported 4,428 traffic accident deaths. This equates to a “deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled” rate of 1.40 – higher than the national death rate of 1.33.
The majority of fatal car accidents in California (56 percent) were single-vehicle accidents. More than one-fourth (26 percent) of drivers killed had detectable blood alcohol content (BAC) levels, while 37 percent had BACs over the legal limit of 0.08 percent.
Why Do Car Accidents in Santa Ana Happen?
Motor vehicle accidents are preventable tragedies. They often result from human error and driver negligence. Drivers in California have a legal responsibility to pay attention to the road and obey traffic laws. Unfortunately, many drivers violate their duties of care and cause avoidable car accidents.
The most common causes of car accidents in Santa Ana include:
- Distracted driving
- Texting and driving
- Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- Speeding
- Drowsy driving
- Reckless driving
- Red-light running
- Following too closely
- Aggressive driving or road rage
- Failing to yield the right-of-way
- Making unsafe lane changes
- Inexperienced or elderly drivers
While the majority of automobile accidents are caused by careless and reckless drivers, some are the result of environmental conditions, such as potholes and road defects, animals crossing the road, and bad weather. Defective auto parts and mechanical failures can also contribute to motor vehicle accidents in California.
Is California a No-Fault State?
No, California is not a no-fault state. It uses an at-fault car insurance system, which allows crash victims to file claims against at-fault parties in pursuit of financial compensation or damages. In a no-fault state, on the other hand, all drivers seek benefits from their car insurance policies, regardless of fault.
Under California’s fault rule, a person who is involved in an automobile accident in Santa Ana must prove that someone else is at fault to qualify for financial damages from that driver’s car insurance provider. The burden of proof is a preponderance of the evidence, or more likely to be true than not true.
How to Prove Liability in a Car Accident Case
Proving a car accident case requires clear and convincing evidence of fault. In most cases, a car insurance company will not accept liability, or legal and financial responsibility, for an automobile accident unless the claimant can establish negligence.
Negligence contains four parts:
- Duty of care: the obligation that all drivers have to prevent car accidents
- Dereliction of duty: an act or omission that falls short of the duty of care and endangers others
- Direct cause: proof that the breach of duty caused the car accident
- Damages: real, compensable losses suffered by the crash victim
Establishing fault or liability for a car accident may involve evidence such as a police report, photographs and videos, eyewitness statements, cell phone records, a truck’s black box, a driver’s employment and driving records, medical documentation, expert testimony, and crash reconstruction. An attorney can help you establish fault by preserving and collecting key pieces of evidence to support your claim.
What Is California’s Comparative Negligence Law?
In some car accident cases, it is clear that one party caused the crash. In others, however, fault is more difficult to determine and could be shared among multiple parties. Comparative negligence is a defense that you may encounter in this situation. This defense means that an insurance company is attempting to blame you for the motor vehicle collision, at least in part.
The state’s comparative negligence law is found in Section 1714 of the California Civil Code, which states: “Everyone is responsible, not only for the result of his or her willful acts, but also for an injury occasioned to another by his or her want of ordinary care or skill in the management of his or her property or person, except so far as the latter has, willfully or by want of ordinary care, brought the injury upon himself or herself.”
In California, an injured party can collect damages even after being allocated a percentage of fault for an accident. However, the victim’s financial recovery will be diminished by an amount proportionate to his or her degree of fault. For example, if a victim is deemed to be 20 percent responsible for a car accident, a $100,000 recovery would be reduced by a matching 20 percent ($20,000) to a total of $80,000.
What Are Common Car Accident Injuries?
Motor vehicle accidents lead to thousands of emergency department visits in California each year. Car accidents are consistently a top cause of unintentional injuries and injury-related deaths in the state. Car accident injuries can be catastrophic or life-changing, and affect virtually any part of the body.
Examples include:
- Amputations/losses of limb
- Back injuries and herniated disks
- Bone fractures
- Bruises, contusions and hematomas
- Burn injuries
- Chest injuries and rib fractures
- Emotional and psychological trauma
- Head, face and dental injuries
- Internal injuries and organ damage
- Muscle sprains and strains
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Severe lacerations
- Soft-tissue injuries
- Spinal cord injuries, including paralysis
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Whiplash and other neck injuries
These injuries can result in significant pain and suffering, ongoing medical care, permanent disability, and emotional distress. At Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian, we represent individuals with all car accident injuries. We can fight to help you achieve the financial recovery you require for what may be months or even years of related consequences.
What Types of Compensation Should I Claim in a Car Accident Case?
California’s insurance system and the civil courts both offer legal remedies for victims who are injured by the negligence of others, including careless and distracted drivers. Filing a claim or lawsuit after a car accident in Santa Ana could lead to a recovery of the various costs associated with your crash.
You can seek compensation for all economic and noneconomic losses you suffered because of the auto accident, such as:
- Your past and future estimated medical costs
- Any medications, medical devices, therapies or rehabilitation you need
- Expenses associated with a short-term or long-term disability
- Lost wages and earning opportunities (including the capacity to earn)
- Your physical pain, emotional distress and trauma from the accident
- Property damage repairs or totaled vehicle replacement
- Travel and transportation costs
- The cost of renting a car while yours is in the shop
- Loss of consortium, or loss of a loved one’s care and companionship
- Wrongful death damages, if a loved one died in a fatal car crash
You may also qualify for punitive damages to punish a defendant for egregious acts of wrongdoing, depending on the circumstances. Work with an attorney when filing your car insurance claim to make sure you do not miss any opportunities for making a financial recovery.
Contact Our Santa Ana Car Accident Attorney for Free Today
You do not have to deal with the recovery process or contend with insurance companies on your own after a harmful car accident in Santa Ana. The attorneys at Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian are prepared to stand by your side and guide you through each step of your claim. We care about our clients and will make sure you and your family have everything you need along the way.
To request a free case evaluation with one of our knowledgeable and compassionate car accident attorneys in Santa Ana, call us at (866) 460-4445 or contact us online anytime and we will get back to you right away.