San Jose California Personal Injury Legal Blog

If you regularly drive in the Bay Area, there is a good chance that you have encountered road construction. In fact, California officials are tackling the largest road-improvement project in recent years. Still, if you are not careful, you may find yourself in the middle of a collision in a construction zone. 

Car crashes in construction zones are likely more common than you think. Because a collision in a construction area may leave you with a catastrophic injury, you must do what you can to avoid one altogether. Here are four tips: 

Though most people who ride motorcycles follow proper safety precautions, they can't always count on others to do the same. Since motorbikes are considerably smaller and offer less protection than passenger vehicles, bikers face increased risk when they get into a motorcycle accident. They are more likely to suffer a serious injury or even lose their life. This was the sad case for one California motorcyclist who died recently after being hit by a pickup truck.

Authorities say that the collision happened on a recent afternoon on a state route. They allege that the pickup truck was traveling north when he came upon a traffic stop, but didn't see it in time. The driver apparently swerved left and struck two other vehicles, crossing into the oncoming lane of traffic. Police say the truck then hit the 70-year-old motorcyclist, whose body then hit a 73-year-old rider on another motorbike. The first motorcyclist died at the scene while the second was rushed to a hospital with what thankfully turned out to be minor injuries.

It goes without saying that speeding can increase the chances of a person being involved in or causing a car accident in San Jose. Yet many people may miss the general purpose of speed limits. They might think that is the speed at which one traveling through an area must drive. Likewise, some might actually think that there is no speed limit through an area where none is officially posted. These assumptions may lead the person that caused your car accident to claim that they were not violating speed limit laws. A better understanding of general speed limit restrictions might suggest otherwise. 

According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, there are indeed default speed limits that should be followed. For example, on a divided two-lane highway where no speed limit is posted, the default speed limit is 55 mph. That is also the standard speed limit on such a road for vehicles hauling trailers. 

Those in San Jose who are involved in accidents that result in extensive injuries may have cause to pursue claims against the people that caused said accidents. Yet before they can initiate action, they typically need time to recover from their injuries. Many often wonder, then, what happens if those people ultimately die before being able to pursue their claims? The immediate assumption may be either that their claim dies with them, or those that they leave behind file a wrongful death lawsuit on their behalf. 

In many cases, neither may be true. Per the California Code of Civil Procedure, if a cause of action exists to pursue a personal injury claim, that cause survives the death of the person to whom it belongs. The deceased claimant’s personal representative can then pursue the claim on their behalf. This may sound to some to be exactly like a wrongful death lawsuit, and indeed both forms of litigation are similar. There are, however, some distinct differences between the two.