It’s easy enough for people to understand that the victims of accidents suffer physical injuries, but it’s sometimes not recognized how serious the psychological and emotional damage caused by a traumatic event can be.

The fact is that in the same way that serious injuries can leave a person with long-term or permanent disabilities, some incidents are so disruptive to a person’s life and can be so difficult to face psychologically that they leave a victim with long-term or even permanent problems. These difficulties might only manifest under specific circumstances, or they can afflict a victim in such a way that even facing normal activities is a challenge.

More Common Than Many Realize

Human beings are not frail creatures, but few of us go through life with an unlimited capacity to face hardship and suffering. It’s long been known that shocks and trauma can leave a person in a less steady psychological state, but a better understanding of this kind of psychic injury was only reached in the twentieth century.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was only added to the standard list of psychiatric diagnoses in 1980, despite having been described under other names and studied by medical professionals for more than a century. Reliable estimates now suggest that nearly 8 percent of all adults will suffer PTSD at some point in their lives, with as many as 3.5 percent suffering from it in a given year. PTSD is often what is at issue in an injury claim when pain and suffering is discussed.

No Trivial Diagnosis

PTSD and other emotional injuries should always be taken seriously. The incidents that cause them are not the routine hardships of daily life nor even the serious problems people face at times, such as a divorce, a bankruptcy, or a personal failure on the job. Serious psychological scarring is instead the result of those moments that are “outside the range of usual human experience.”

These are often traumatic and disruptive events, such as violent crimes and sudden physical harm, including unexpected work injuries and accidents or car crashes.

Valid Workers Compensation Condition

In addition to being a reason to claim and receive compensation in a personal injury suit, the State of California has recognized PTSD as a valid form of on-the-job injury, making a harmed worker eligible for benefits required for treatment, for more than two decades. As in the case of any injury, a worker must prove that the condition was the result of events that happened on the job.

Orange County PTSD Lawyer

When you’ve been harmed, it’s important to consider all forms that damage can take, both physical and psychological. If it’s time for you to consider a claim for PTSD, turn to the experienced attorneys at Kohan & Bablove, Injury Attorneys for a free, no-obligation review of your case. Call us at 1-844-404-2400 or contact us online through the form below to schedule an appointment.

An important part of any lawsuit is specifying the remedy being sought. In a personal injury claim, two of the important factors in every claim are the harm or injury that has been caused and the damages or reparations that are being requested. These two factors go into creating another important part of most personal injury lawsuits: the demand letter.

Important in All Cases

A demand letter (or demand package—in this post the terms are interchangeable) can be important in almost any kind of personal injury case. Whether the claim is centered on a slip-and-fall accident, a dog bite, or a car crash, the demand letter will serve a number of useful functions. For one thing, simply writing the letter will serve to collect all the details of your claim. It forces you, as the potential plaintiff, to specify exactly what wrong you’re seeking to right. The damage done, as well as the circumstances that caused it, will be outlined in your letter. It will also include the amount being sought to correct the harm that was done.

This is an excellent opportunity for you and your attorney to make sure that all your details are correct. Not only do you want to make sure that you can accurately describe what happened, but when you tally up the costs you seek to recover, you may discover that you’ve forgotten something.

Depending on who the letter is intended for, you may also need to include other information. When seeking compensation for an injury, for example, you might need copies of medical reports and receipts from treatment, in addition to those for related expenses such as transportation or a home health aide. This can begin to pile up (which is why calling it a “demand package” can be appropriate).

Why the Demand Letter Matters

A demand letter might seem like a formality, but it shows the other party that you’re serious about your claim. If the other party hasn’t been giving your claim the attention it deserves, the demand letter can be an effective wakeup call: Most cases settle before trial, but legal experts believe that about one-third of all civil disputes move to a settlement simply because of a demand letter.

Don’t Overstep

You’re legally entitled to make a demand for harm done to you, and it’s important to do so. However, California courts have ruled on more than one occasion that a demand letter has overstepped acceptable bounds and become an attempt at extortion. This happens not when a demand threatens legal action (which is often part of the demand process), but when a demand makes other threats that can be viewed as harassment, such as the filing of false criminal charges or the public release of potentially embarrassing materials unrelated to the case. A knowledgeable attorney will make sure that this kind of mistake doesn’t happen with your demand letter.

Orange County Personal Injury Lawyer

The experienced attorneys at Kohan & Bablove, Injury Attorneys have helped hundreds of clients navigate the sometimes complicated waters of personal injury claim filing. If you find yourself in a situation where pursuing a civil suit is a necessary step to correct a harm done to you, give us a call at 1-844-404-2400 or contact us online through the form below. We offer every client a free, no-obligation consultation to go over the specifics of his or her case and suggest how to move forward.

Are older drivers really a problem? All of our lives we’ve heard stories and jokes about their driving behavior and the problems they cause on the roads. But is this a real concern or just a case of stereotyping and ageism? If you are an older driver (age sixty-five and above), or you’re concerned about them, you want to know the facts. Let’s take a look.

More Seniors, More Accidents

In 2016, the most recent year with full data, the number of drivers sixty-five and older involved in fatal crashes was up 8.2 percent (noticeably more than the 5.6 percent increase in all fatal crashes for the year). The only category with a larger increase was young drivers (under age sixteen).

That increase by itself might not be alarming, but some underlying numbers could be. Over the past ten years, the number of drivers age sixty-five and over has increased by 33 percent, far more than the 7.5 percent overall increase. Drivers in that age category have been involved in a disproportionate increase in fatal crashes over that time period: They’re up 19.9 percent over ten years (they were down for every other age group, and down more than 7 percent overall).

California: Ahead of the Curve

Can you believe that as soon as eight years from now as many as one in four licensed drivers in California will be over the age of sixty-five? That’s a possibility the CHP noted not long ago in a press release announcing a new, free driver safety course for older drivers. The course is touted as a refresher, designed to help seniors evaluate their own abilities and improve their safe driving skills.

It’s too soon to tell if the message will get across. A report from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that 90 percent of older drivers have not installed any equipment on their vehicles to make them safer and easier to handle. These devices aren’t meant to be simple conveniences but are instead meant to improve vehicle safety while allowing seniors to continue driving as they age.

Safer for Seniors, Safer for Everyone

Older drivers face challenges, but so do all of us, and making driving safer for older drivers can help everyone. Some of the devices AAA looked at (such as extra mirrors to remove blind spots) would help all drivers.

Those who look at traffic safety know this well. Since 1998, the Federal Highway Administration has recognized that the “typical” driver and pedestrian in the twenty-first century are both likely to be sixty-five or over, and it regularly issues a road design handbook that takes this into account (while applying ideas and principles that improve roadway safety for all users).

Orange County Car Accident Lawyer

When you’ve been in a car crash, the most important thing to you isn’t knowing how old the other driver is, but knowing that you’ll be compensated for all repair costs and medical expenses that you face. Regardless of how the crash happened and who was driving, you need an experienced automobile accident attorney to help with your case.

At Kohan & Bablove, Injury Attorneys, we’ve helped hundreds of clients reach the settlements they need to put their lives back on track. Call us today at 1-844-404-2400 or contact us online through the form below to schedule a no-cost, no-obligation consultation to discuss your case.

You’ve been injured in a car accident in California. The other driver caused the crash. Now what? There’s a lot to understand, think about, and act on, but one thing to remember is that California is a tort or “fault” state when it comes to auto insurance.

You might have heard these terms before, but if you’ve never had to deal with an accident claim, you might not have given them much thought. What do they mean?

Tort (Fault) vs. No-Fault

About one quarter of US states have adopted what is known as a “no-fault” insurance system (California is not one of them). In these states, a system is in place to make sure that most car accident injury claims are handled without the need for lawsuits. The idea behind these systems was to take the burden of these suits out of the courts, to save everyone time and money. No-fault systems also make sure that those with serious injuries receive appropriate compensation.

The rest of the states (including California) still rely on a system that, by default, does nothing when someone is injured in a crash. If a victim wants to recover damages for his or her injuries—medical expenses, lost wages and income, rehabilitation costs, and so on—he or she needs to file a civil lawsuit (a tort) against the person who caused the accident.

What Insurance Is Required?

While California is not a no-fault state, there is still a state requirement that every driver have liability insurance. A driver needs $15,000/$30,000 coverage for death and bodily injury (the separate numbers are for a single victim and multiple victims). A driver also must have at least $5,000 in property damage coverage.

These are minimums, and a driver can carry much more insurance than this. But drivers must meet the minimums: If a driver is caught without insurance, he or she will be fined at least $100 (and it could be more). If lack of insurance is discovered at the scene of an accident, the penalties will be much stiffer: A driver could have his or her vehicle impounded and license suspended with much higher fines.

Who Do You Sue?

Since no action will happen unless you make it happen, you have to sue the driver who hit you. Your insurance company might help, but their interest is usually limited to the amount that driver is insured for.

Your injuries might be much more serious, however, and recovering the true costs associated with them may require a personal injury lawsuit. That’s where an experienced accident attorney comes in. They’ll gather evidence, develop a solid demand letter, and follow through on whatever legal filings need to be made to ensure that your claim has the best chance of succeeding. They’ll deal with the other driver’s insurance company, its investigators, and its experts.

You could do all this yourself, but bringing in an attorney is usually a much better idea. They have experience and expertise that you don’t, but—more importantly—pursuing your claim will be the lawyer’s job while you get on with the other things your life demands.

Orange County Car Accident Lawyer

If you’ve been the victim of a car crash, Kohan & Bablove, Injury Attorneys can help you with the many details involved in your automobile accident case (such as the statute of limitations). Give us a call today at 1-844-404-2400 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation to discuss your case.

A Lake Elsinore man was killed in a crash while riding his motorcycle earlier this month, reminding us of the hazards bikers face. The early evening crash in Lakeland Village on Friday the 15th also injured one other person. The collision happened on Grand Avenue when the biker crossed into the other lane and into the path of another vehicle. A passenger in that car was hospitalized with minor injuries.

Other Recent Crashes

A crash in Winchester on December 3 took the life of a Temecula motorcyclist and left a party van engulfed in flames, but there were no other injuries (only the van driver was aboard at the time). A crash on December 1 in Temecula left one biker seriously injured.

Another crash, in Moreno Valley and also on December 1, left a resident of that town dead after his motorcycle collided with another vehicle. Few details of that incident were publicized.

California Helmet Safety: Very Good News

Helmet use was not mentioned in any of the reports on these crashes, but California has seen very good compliance with helmet laws. The most recent federal report estimated that about 259 lives were saved each year thanks to helmets, but also noted that, because helmet use is already so high here, only about another eight lives would have been saved with 100 percent compliance.

Helmets aren’t foolproof, but they make crashes more survivable.

Bikers Still at Risk

California’s report for 2014 (the most recent for the state) recorded more than 12,000 bikers injured and 540 killed in traffic incidents that year. Motorcycle operators were determined to be at fault in a little more than half (55 percent) of injury-causing collisions and close to two-thirds (64 percent) of fatal crashes.

It’s not clear why there’s such a discrepancy or why motorcyclists are more often found to be at fault (in an ideal world, you’d expect all drivers to be at fault about half the time).

Bikers remain more vulnerable than other motorists in any case. The data in recent years seems shocking, but it doesn’t lie: Per mile traveled, motorcycle operators are close to five times more likely to be injured in a crash and an astounding twenty-nine times more likely to be in a fatal accident.

Everyone on the road needs to do a better job of looking out for motorcycles, but it’s imperative that bikers are extra aware of their situation to avoid potential crashes.

Riverside Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Motorcyclists are frequent accident victims, but just like other motorists, they sometimes cause crashes, too. As an experienced motorcycle accident law firm, Kohan & Bablove, Injury Attorneys can help you with either type of case. We put the victim first and do everything possible to make sure you’ll receive the compensation you need to get your life moving again.

Give us a call today at 1-844-404-2400 or fill out the form below to schedule a no-cost, no-obligation consultation to discuss your case.

It’s been a bad stretch for motor vehicle collisions with pedestrians in Orange County recently. There have been several high-profile incidents already this month, and with December usually ranked as one of the worst months for pedestrian crashes, we’re bound to see more before the new year.

Pedestrians are advised to be extra cautious at this time of year, and drivers—who, after all, are behind the wheels of the most dangerous element of the collision equation—are urged to be more alert than usual during the winter months.

Different Circumstances, Similar Results

The first crash happened in Huntington Beach on the 7th. A man who was walking in one of the northbound lanes of Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) near Seapoint Street was struck and killed around 5:30 in the morning. The driver who struck him stayed at the scene, and part of highway was closed for more than four hours.

The following evening, just a few miles farther north on PCH, a woman was struck and hospitalized in serious condition at First Street in Seal Beach. That driver also stayed on the scene.

Just a couple of hours earlier in Garden Grove, a seventy-one-year-old man was struck as he crossed Brookhurst Street near Bixby Ave. That victim, unfortunately, died at the scene. The driver in that collision also stayed on the scene.

The fact that all three of these drivers stayed on the scene is unusual but a welcome change, considering that, in recent years, California has had a big problem with hit-and-run drivers.

Seasonal Increase in Risk

In 2015, Orange County ranked a better-than-average forty-fourth among California counties in pedestrian injuries and fatalities, with 938 total incidents. Statewide, California saw 742 pedestrian deaths that year.

But those incidents aren’t evenly distributed from month to month. The shorter daylight hours at this time of year always bring more danger: During the winter months (December, January, and February), nearly two-thirds of all pedestrian fatalities occur between 3 p.m. and midnight. In fact, two of the three incidents mentioned above were in that time window.

Orange County Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

Despite the best intentions of ambitious programs like Road to Zero, pedestrian traffic fatalities are likely to be a concern well into the future. When you find yourself the victim of a car crash, whether as a motorist or a pedestrian, it’s important to work with a firm with years of experience helping clients secure fair compensation.

Kohan & Bablove, Injury Attorneys offers every client a free consultation. Give us a call at 1-844-404-2400 or fill out the online contact form below to schedule yours today.

Every member of the girls’ junior varsity basketball team from the Newport Christian School in Newport Beach was reportedly injured when their van failed to stop in traffic and rear-ended another vehicle, ultimately becoming part of a five-vehicle crash.

The November 16 crash on the 91 Freeway in Riverside, near the Adams Street exit, left all eastbound lanes closed for nearly an hour in the early afternoon. The road was partially reopened at that point, and the crash was completely cleared within two hours, although delays lingered.

Thirteen people, including all eleven girls on the team, were taken to area hospitals. The most seriously injured victim was said to have a broken bone. At least one driver of another vehicle involved in the crash was among those taken for medical treatment.

Bus Crashes a Daily Occurrence

Buses, including school buses and vans used to transport students, are involved in a lot more crashes than you might suspect. In 2015, there were about 53,000 crashes resulting in property damage, about 15,000 crashes with an injury, and 257 crashes that led to a fatal injury. Only 295 people died in bus crashes that year, compared to a total of more than 35,000 in all motor vehicle crashes.

The good news for bus passengers, but not for the pedestrians and other motorists involved in bus crashes, is that the majority of victims in those fatal bus crashes (246 of 295, or more than 83 percent) were outside a bus and not passengers on one. Even when an occupant of a bus is a victim, it’s more likely to be a bus driver than a passenger.

School Bus Crash Risk Low

School bus crashes are infrequent events, although they still happen. Historically, they account for less than 0.5 percent of all crashes and an even smaller portion of all traffic fatalities. It’s still not difficult to find examples, though, and we’ve seen a few recently that not only involved buses but affected other school sports teams.

A bus crash in Missouri in September claimed the life of a middle school running coach, while in October three people on a bus carrying a high school football team were injured when another vehicle crossed the median. (The driver of the other vehicle died in that collision.) The players from Newport Beach were fortunate that the end result of their crash was not so bad, although more vehicles were involved.

Orange County Bus Accident Lawyer

When you’ve been the victim in a motor vehicle accident of any kind, including a bus crash, call on the experienced team at Kohan & Bablove Injury Attorneys. We understand all the potential complications in this kind of case and have helped many clients settle their cases with those who caused them harm.

We also offer a free, no-obligation consultation to all new clients to discuss the details of their injuries. Give us a call today at 1-844-404-2400 or fill out the form below to learn more or schedule an appointment.

Two men were seriously injured last week when the quad ATV they were riding on was hit by another vehicle, which may have been fleeing a crime scene. An investigation is still underway, but the occupants of the truck might have just stolen marijuana plants from a nearby property.

The crash sent the two men on the ATV to the hospital via airlift. The vehicle, a pickup truck, fled the scene and has not yet been found. Add this incident to the ever-lengthening list documenting an ongoing problem in Riverside County: hit-and-run crashes.

Long List of Recent Incidents

On the last day of October, a two-vehicle hit-and-run in Thermal left one man dead and two other people hospitalized with serious injuries. The driver suspected of causing that crash was located and arrested a few hours later.

A few days later in Perris, a Corona man was killed in a collision between his motorcycle and a large truck, which the fled the scene. At last report, police are still seeking that driver.

Only a couple of days after that tragedy, a driver hit a motorcycle and two other vehicles on the 215 in Riverside but kept going. When that driver stopped, an off-duty LA County sheriff’s deputy held him at gunpoint until CHP arrived. That driver, from Corona, was driving on a suspended license. The good news in that particular case is that no one was injured.

A Statewide Problem

This list could easily go on. If it seems like there’s a serious hit-and-run in Riverside County nearly every day, that’s shockingly close to the truth. In 2014, the most recent year with available data from the California Office of Traffic Safety, Riverside County saw 625 combined serious injuries and deaths due to hit-and-run drivers. While that’s not a number to be proud of, there’s some consolation in knowing that it landed the county on the safer side when it came to hit-and-runs that year: Only six California counties saw fewer.

Leaving the scene of an accident is a serious offense which can be categorized as either a misdemeanor (for property damage) or a felony (for causing injury or death). The maximum penalty for a hit-and-run driver, besides paying any restitution, is four years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Riverside County Car Accident Lawyer

Those penalties apply in criminal court, but when you’ve been harmed in a car crash it’s usually in your best interest to also go after the person who caused the accident in civil court. Filing there improves your chance of receiving the compensation you deserve.

When you need to pursue restitution for any kind of motor vehicle accident, including a hit-and-run, turn to the experienced attorneys at Kohan & Bablove, Injury Attorneys. We understand what needs to be done to reach a successful settlement in an automobile accident case, and we offer a free consultation to all new clients. Pick up the phone and call us at 1-844-404-2400 or contact us online through the form below to make an appointment today.

A crash on Rubidoux Boulevard at Market Street in Jurupa Valley claimed the life of a young Riverside County woman last week. The driver of the other vehicle involved in the collision suffered minor injuries and was taken to a local hospital. There were no passengers in either vehicle.

Left Lane with Fatal Consequences

Riverside County Fire Department and Cal Fire spokespersons reported that the driver of one vehicle, a nineteen-year-old from Moreno Valley, was heading south on Rubidoux Boulevard around 9:15 p.m. on the evening of November 14. For unknown reasons, she drifted into oncoming traffic at the Market Street intersection, striking another vehicle head-on.

Investigators haven’t commented on whether the impact itself was immediately fatal, but the driver of the car that left its lane died at the scene. They have said, however, that drugs and alcohol do not appear to have been involved in the crash.

Head-On Crashes Are Frequent

Head-on collisions are shockingly frequent. Hardly a day goes by when we don’t see a report of one in one of the California counties where we practice, or at least somewhere in the state.

The same week as the crash in Jurupa Valley, we heard about two men seriously injured in a head-on in Santa Ynez, while a woman was killed and a seven-year-old injured in Boyes Hot Springs. At the end of September, both drivers were injured and a passenger killed in a head-on crash on University Avenue in Riverside.

In the last several weeks, there have been several head-on fatalities involving motorcyclists, the most recent when a biker veered into the path of a pickup truck in Mountain Center here in Riverside County.

They’re Also Deadly

Head-on crashes are also more dangerous than other types. Head-on collisions account for only 2 to 3 percent of all crashes, but they’re responsible for double or triple that number of fatalities (7 to 10 percent of all crash deaths).

They’re the opposite of rear-end crashes, which are the most common (around a third of all collisions) but are much less likely to end with a fatality (only about 5 to 7 percent of the time).

What Happened?

We can only speculate about how this crash happened, but a look at potential causes would have to include both drowsy driving (the crash happened at night) and distracted driving.

Between 800 and 1,000 crash deaths each year are known to be caused by drivers falling asleep at the wheel—but the true figure might be much higher. Distracted driving, which includes anything from fiddling with the radio to using a phone, has been on the rise and now accounts for close to 10 percent of all traffic fatalities.

Jurupa Valley Car Accident Lawyer

When you’ve been suddenly caught up in a car crash, whether it’s a head-on, a rear-end, a sideswipe, or any other configuration, it’s important for you to have the right team on your side as you pursue financial justice for your injuries.

At Kohan & Bablove, Injury Attorneys, our attorneys have years of experience in the practice of auto accident law, and we offer a free consultation to every client. We’ve helped many victims successfully resolve their cases, and we’re ready to help you. Give us a call at 1-844-404-2400 or enter your information into the form below to learn more.

Several cases asserting abuse in California nursing homes and assisted care facilities have recently raised important questions about the safety of elderly patients and residents.

As a personal injury law firm with an interest in helping the victims of elder abuse, we’ve been keeping an eye on these reports to understand how things might have gone wrong and allowed trusted caregivers to cause injury and even death to those in their care.

Fresno Facility Accused of Dumping Patients

In one case, a Fresno facility is being sued by a seventy-four-year-old former resident who says the nursing home dumped her outside her own home (from which she had earlier been removed because she was not capable of caring for herself).

Not only had she not been given the required thirty-day notice that she was being transferred, but the partially paralyzed stroke victim was then left on the curb after she got sick and soiled herself. That suit doesn’t end there. It also claims the facility allowed another patient to victimize her during her stay.

The state has already fined that facility $20,000 over this incident, which is one of three violations it was recently penalized for.

Oxnard Home Blamed for Death

The family of a woman who died at an Oxnard nursing home is suing that facility, claiming that neglect of the seventy-four-year-old patient, who had difficulty moving without help, led to her death.

Her family says she was admitted with mobility issues but that the home failed to monitor or treat her properly, leading to a series of new problems. The facility’s disregard for her health allegedly led to respiratory failure, pneumonia, the need for a feeding tube, and other complications and injuries.

At the time of her death, the suit alleges, she was undernourished and dehydrated, had terrible bed sores, and was in excruciating pain.

Inability to Provide Care an Issue

In yet another case, a Thousand Oaks facility has been accused of accepting a terminally ill patient, even though it was unable to provide the care she needed and was not licensed to deliver the appropriate treatment. The victim’s daughter says the eighty-eight-year-old cancer patient needed twenty-four-hour care and that she was admitted despite the facility’s shortcomings—purely for profit.

In this case and the others above, the accused businesses deny all the allegations.

Orange County Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

Elder abuse takes many forms, and it’s often not as extreme as the neglect and inadequate care at issue in the cases we described in this post. Senior citizens are sometimes abused psychologically or emotionally by those who have been trusted to care for them, and many are financially abused by someone who gains their trust.

Regardless of the specific type of abuse, when someone takes advantage of a vulnerable elderly person, it’s important to hold the abuser accountable. Kohan & Bablove, Injury Attorneys has experience with nursing home abuse cases, and we offer every client a free consultation. Give us a call at 1-844-404-2400 or complete the form below to schedule an appointment.