Pedestrian Killed by Car at Van Ness Avenue & Golden Gate, San Francisco, on 4/6/14

On Sunday night, April 6, 2014, a pedestrian crossing the intersection of Van Ness Avenue and Golden Gate in San Francisco, California, was struck by a car. The pedestrian died of his injuries.

The family of this victim has a right to seek compensation from the responsible car driver. Our firm has successfully handled numerous cases involving pedestrian deaths.

The personal injury attorneys at the Weber & Nierenberg law firm are well-experienced in pedestrian accidents, including those involving wrongful death, as well as automobile, motorcycle, bicycle, bus, and truck accident cases, and will work hard and competently to obtain complete compensation for your injuries and losses.

If you or someone you know needs to know their rights regarding a wrongful death from a pedestrian, auto, bicycle, motorcycle, , bus accident or other type of personal injury, call the attorneys at the Weber and Nierenberg law firm. Personal injury attorneys at Weber & Nierenberg will work hard to make sure your rights are vindicated. For a free consultation or to make an appointment, call 1-866-288-6010
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Bicyclist Struck by Car on James Donlon Blvd. in Antioch on 2/24/14

On Monday afternoon, February 24, 2014, a bicyclist pedaling along James Donlon Boulevard near G Street in Antioch was struck by a car. The unfortunate bicyclist was taken to the hospital for his injuries.

The victim has a right to seek compensation from the negligent motorist.

The personal injury attorneys at the Weber & Nierenberg law firm are well-experienced in bicycle and automobile accidents, including those involving wrongful death, as well as motorcycle, bus, truck, and pedestrian accident cases, and will work hard and competently to obtain complete compensation for your injuries and losses.

If you or someone you know needs to know their rights regarding a bicycle accident or auto, motorcycle, pedestrian, bus accident or other type of personal injury, call the attorneys at the Weber and Nierenberg law firm. Personal injury attorneys at Weber & Nierenberg will work hard to make sure your rights are vindicated. For a free consultation or to make an appointment, call 1-866-288-6010.

Horrific Car Crash Kills Three on Eastmoor Avenue in Daly City on 3/9/13

On the evening of March 9, 2013, on Eastmoor Avenue at its intersection with Randall Court in Daly City, three persons were killed as the result of a two-car collision. A fourth motorist was taken to the hospital. The cause of the collision has not yet been released.

Our sympathies go out to the members of the involved families.

Car accident claims involving wrongful death require expert legal assistance. The personal injury attorneys at Weber & Nierenberg law firm are well-experienced in serious injury and wrongful death cases and will work hard and competently to obtain complete compensation for your injuries and losses.

If you or someone you know needs to know their rights regarding an auto, motorcycle, bicycle accident or other type of personal injury, call the attorneys at the Weber and Nierenberg law firm. Personal injury attorneys at Weber & Nierenberg will work hard to make sure all aspects are thoroughly covered. For a free consultation or to make an appointment, call 1-866-288-6010.

Take the Right Steps in the Early Stages of a Car Accident Case

Car Accident Case

The decisions you make in the moments, hours and days after a California car accident can have important consequences for your legal and financial interests. A good way to protect yourself if you have been in a car accident is to know what steps to take and in what order.

Until you have the chance to discuss your case with an experienced lawyer, you’ll be acting on your own. Any serious mistakes you make can expose you to criminal punishment as well as hurting your chance of recovering damages from the other driver’s insurer or your own.

Six Essentials After a California Car Accident

The following recommendations will help you avoid problems while protecting your legal interests in the immediate aftermath of an auto accident in the Bay Area. Then it’s a good idea to discuss your situation with an attorney who can provide additional advice about your legal options. Contact the law firm of Weber & Nierenberg in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose or San Rafael for a free consultation.

Here’s what you need to do right after a car accident in California:

    1. Stop and Stay at the Scene. If you hit something or someone, stop. If someone hits you, stop. Leaving the scene of an accident until you take care of some essential business is a serious crime and could not only create major problems for your license, it could send you to jail.

 

    1. Do What You Can for Injured Persons. Before you leave an accident scene, you and the other driver (if any) should check to see if anyone was hurt and do what you can to help – call 911, render first aid, or take an injured person to the hospital as soon as possible. Don’t worry about getting sued for injuries caused by your efforts in an emergency situation — California’s Good Samaritan Law will protect you from liability.

 

    1. Exchange Information With the Other Driver. California law requires you to give the following information to the other driver: your name, address and phone number; your auto insurance carrier and contact information; and your license plate number. You have the right to receive the same information concerning any other driver involved with the accident. If any witnesses stopped, get their names and phone numbers, too. Do not express opinions about whether you are hurt, who caused the crash, or any other matters that could later come up as evidence in a lawsuit.
    2. Report the Accident to the DMV. State law requires you to report any motor vehicle accident that results in property damage over $750 or an injury of any kind to a person. You need to complete a DMV Form SR 1 (“Report of Accident Occurring in California”) and send it in within 10 days of the accident. It’s not enough to report the accident to local law enforcement, call 911 or give a statement to a police officer.

 

    1. Report the Accident to Your Insurance Company. Your auto insurance policy requires timely notification before you will be entitled to receive coverage under your own policy. You are also under an obligation to cooperate with your insurer in its investigation of your claim or any claim against you. That doesn’t mean you should answer all questions right away, though. Give your insurer a bare-bones report of the accident right away, then politely decline to give more detailed information until you have consulted with an attorney.

 

    1. If You Were Hurt in Any Way, Get Medical Treatment. In the most serious accidents, victims will be taken be taken by ambulance to the nearest emergency room, then perhaps transferred to a regional trauma center. In the less serious range of accidents, however, people will often be tempted to decline treatment and continue on their way. This is a mistake. Many low-impact car accidents cause apparently minor injuries that will not get better on their own. Get medical treatment right away, if only to get an idea of what symptoms to watch out for.

 

Once you take care of these six essential steps right after a car accident, it’s time to consider legal advice about your insurance coverage, your right to personal injury damages, or your own risk of getting sued. With four offices throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, the personal injury law firm of Weber & Nierenberg has a regional reputation for excellence in client service and case results in car accident litigation of all kinds.

For a free consultation about your legal options following a car accident anywhere in the Bay Area, contact Weber & Nierenberg in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose or San Rafael. To learn more about our lawyers’ experience and our firm’s approach to auto accident claims, see our website at www.weberandnierenberg.com.

Involved in a Lawsuit? Think before You Post on Facebook

San Francisco Personal Injury Car Accident Attorneys

Even though privacy experts have warned people to be careful about what they post on Facebook, hard lessons are still being learned regarding the consequences of using social media. While most of us have heard of creditors and collection agencies using information gathered from social media websites to locate and go after debtors, insurers are doing the same regarding personal injury lawsuits.

In fact, in a 2010 personal injury case, a judge ordered a woman to turn over materials she had protected with privacy settings on her Facebook page. The woman was in the process of suing a furniture store for injuries she claimed she sustained after falling off one of their chairs. The furniture company (Steelcase) claimed the publicly accessible areas of her Facebook page indicated the woman led an active robust life inconsistent with her injury claims.

Surprisingly, the judge agreed and ordered the woman to turn over materials she had protected with privacy settings.

Social Media Privacy – A False Sense of Security?

Most people are under the impression that if they have photos of themselves or other documents set aside behind privacy settings, their privacy is protected. While Facebook sided with the woman in the case above, arguing that the Stored Communications Act protected her from having to turn over the information, the judge argued users do not have an absolute expectation of privacy since in creating a Facebook or MySpace account, the woman consented to sharing information with others – regardless of her privacy settings.

While the judge’s Fourth Amendment reasoning seems less than convincing, it does indicate the degree to which nothing posted online is ever absolutely private.

Personal Injury Lawsuits, Facebook and MySpace

If you’ve been injured in a car accident, motorcycle accident, or pedestrian knockdown, the insurance company responsible for settling or paying your claim might be interested in what you have posted on your Facebook or MySpace page. Pictures of you able-bodied, participating in sports, or hiking along a ridge may be enough to convince a judge the insurer has a right to see what else you have on your Facebook account. While it may not ultimately change the outcome of the case, it could lead to unnecessary delays and the need to spend more time and money on establishing the seriousness of your injuries and prognosis.

Protect Yourself after You’ve been Injured – Contact Weber & Nierenberg

There are a number of things that need to be taken care of after a serious car or bicycle accident. For more information regarding the steps you need to take to protect yourself, contact San Francisco car accident attorneys at Weber & Nierenberg today.

Hydroplaning and Car Accidents

hydroplaning-car

San Francisco California Car Accident Attorneys

There’s a perception on the part of some drivers that rain simply means wet roads. As a result, drivers don’t always reduce their speed even though more water on the road means an increased risk of hydroplaning. What is hydroplaning? Put simply, hydroplaning occurs when the water in front of your car builds up faster than the weight of the car can push it out of the way. As a result, when a car hydroplanes, its tires lose all or most contact with the surface of the road and essentially float on a thin layer of water. When this happens, a car can fishtail, skid, or spin out of control.

Causes of Hydroplaning and Car Accidents

Hydroplaning is caused by different factors. In some cases, worn-out tires and a lack of proper treading increase the likelihood of hydroplaning under wet or rainy conditions. In other cases, under-inflated tires can make it difficult for the treads to properly remove water in front of the car as it moves forward. If it hasn’t rained for some time, oil may rise to the surface after a rainstorm, leaving the road surface slick and wet. Driver error can also cause hydroplaning, especially when a driver turns too quickly when driving in the rain. In the case of trucks, the wrong tires on an eighteen-wheeler can increase the likelihood of hydroplaning.

Car Accidents, Hydroplaning, Driver Negligence

Maybe you’ve recently been in an accident during or shortly after a rainstorm or foggy night. The other driver may try and deny responsibility, alleging road conditions are to blame for the accident. Of course, this begs the question as to whether or not their tires were properly inflated, were too worn, or whether they were driving in a manner appropriate for the conditions. Here, it’s important to investigate the circumstances surrounding a car, motorcycle, or bicycle accident involving hydroplaning to determine if there were other acts of negligence involved as well.

Contact San Francisco Bay Area Car Accident Attorneys

If you’ve been injured in a car accident due to another driver hydroplaning into you or into an intersection contact San Francisco car accident attorneys Weber & Nierenberg today. We have the resources needed to investigate car accidents that happen in the rain or fog and know what to look for when exposing driver error and negligence. Protect your rights and learn how we can help you – call today.

Vision Requirements and Driving in California

San Francisco Bay Area Impaired Driver Accident Attorney

In most car, truck, and pedestrian knockdown accidents, seldom does it occur to injury victims to ask if the driver who hit them should have been wearing glasses – if operating a car at all. While California state law lists vision requirements drivers must meet in order to drive legally, it may not be obvious at first glance whether a vehicle’s operator suffers from vision impairment. In fact, in California, drivers with a visual acuity of 20/200 or worse may not be licensed to drive. And, depending on the kind and severity of a driver’s vision impairment, certain restrictions may be placed on their license. Here, a driver may be restricted to driving between sunrise and sunset, required to wear corrective lenses, restricted from driving on the freeway, or required to put additional mirrors on their vehicle.

Vision Tests, the DMV, and the Evaluation Drivers must Undergo

In order to qualify for or get a driver’s license renewed in California, drivers must pass a vision test administered by the DMV. Drivers are first asked to read a line on an eye chart with both eyes open and then asked to read different lines with each eye individually. If a driver wears glasses (corrective lenses), they may take the vision test with their glasses or contact lenses.

If a driver has problems with their vision, the DMV will take into consideration the following factors before issuing them their license:

• The seriousness of the vision impairment
• The degree to which a vision condition affects a driver’s central and side vision
• Whether or not a vision condition affects one or both eyes
• Whether a vision condition can be corrected with glasses, contacts, or surgery
• Whether or not a vision condition is degenerative and will get worse

Vision Acuity Standards for Drivers in California

In order to meet the DMV’s visual acuity requirement, drivers must meet the following requirements:

• 20/40 with both eyes tested together and
• 20/40 in one eye and
• 20/70 (at a minimum) in the other eye

Drivers who are unable to meet the minimum visual acuity requirement must wear glasses or contacts that result in a better than 20/200 corrected in at least one eye. Drivers cannot wear bioptic telescopic lenses while driving.

Car Accidents and Vision Impairment

Vision impairments often translate into diminished visual acuity, especially at night. As a result, those who need glasses and haven’t been screened recently may have difficulty judging distances, negotiating lanes, or seeing peripherally. That’s why it’s important to determine if the driver who hit you has a vision impairment or should have been wearing glasses but wasn’t. Establishing vision impairment on the part of the other driver can help establish their fault in an accident, holding them fully financially accountable for your injuries.

If you’ve been involved in a car, truck, motorcycle, or pedestrian knockdown accident, contact San Francisco car accident attorneys at Weber & Nierenberg today.

 
 
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Locations

1 Sansome Street, Suite 3500 San Francisco, CA 94104
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P. 415-788-3900

1999 Harrison Street, Suite 1800 Oakland, CA 94612
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P. 510-663-6000