Limousine accidents are severe, and the injuries you experience after can be quite catastrophic. The main reason the accidents are serious is due to its lengthy make, which means it requires enough stopping time, which may not be possible in case of an emergency. You deserve compensation for the injuries, and our attorneys can help you fight for it. If you are in Los Angeles, walk to our Los Angeles Car Accident Attorney firm. We will diligently represent you and ensure you receive compensation for your injuries.
Types of Limousine Accidents
Limousine accidents become catastrophic depending on impact, how the driver maneuvers, and the vehicle’s position on the road. Below are the types of limousine accidents:
Roll-over Accidents
Roll-over accidents are catastrophic accidents that occur when the limo rolls over depending on its speed. Passengers and drivers sustain severe injuries because of how violently they hit each other and the inside of the limo. Roll-over accidents occur when a driver loses control, trying to avert a situation on the road or when it hits another vehicle at high speed. The injuries you sustain in the accident will depend on where you had worn your seatbelt. If you didn't have the seatbelt on, you could even be thrown out of the vehicle.
T-bone Accidents
T-bone accidents occur when the front of a vehicle strikes the limousine resulting in a ‘T’ shaped accident. The accident occurs mostly at intersections when one vehicle fails to stop or give way to another vehicle. The primary cause of T-bone accidents is driving while distracted. T-bone accidents can result in catastrophic injuries like amputations, head, back, and neck injuries.
Rear-End Collisions
Rear-end collisions occur when the driver fails to maintain a reasonable distance between the limo and the front vehicle. Failure to observe a reasonable distance means you won’t have enough time to avert a dangerous situation. The injuries from this type of accident will depend on the speed of the limousine.
Head-On Collision
Head-on collisions occur when the limo attempts to overtake a vehicle but hits the incoming car. It can also happen when a car veers off its lane when a motorist loses control of his/her vehicle leading to a collision with the limo. Head-on collisions are catastrophic, and they mostly occur when cars are speeding.
Multiple Car Crash Accidents
A limousine can also be involved in a multiple car crash accident, especially at an intersection when a motorist fails to check go-ahead signs from the traffic officer or the traffic lights. Also, when the limo occupies another lane without signaling the other vehicles, multiple vehicles can collide with it. You can easily sustain multiple severe injuries in the limo from multiple car crashes because the limo can be hit from all sides.
Causes of Catastrophic Limousines Accidents
Reckless Driving
A reckless driver is a dangerous driver. Reckless driving involves speeding, texting while driving, and running a red light. Over speeding minimizes the chances of stopping or averting an emergency.
Driving Under the Influence
Driving under the influence is a serious offense, which is the major contributor to California’s catastrophic accidents. A driver under the influence of drugs or alcohol cannot make rational decisions while on the road. Also, alcohol and drugs impair judgment, which increases the risk of accidents.
Hiring incompetent Drivers
Hiring an incompetent driver to manage and drive a limousine is also a contributor to accidents. An unqualified driver will fail to obey traffic rules and act recklessly, leading to a catastrophic accident.
Defective Parts
A limo with defective parts is likely to be involved in an accident more than those without defective ones. If the manufacturer releases a defective vehicle on the road, they cause the accident, and they should be held liable.
Bad Weather
Bad weather can also be the cause of limousine accidents. When it's raining or snowing, the roads can be slippery, causing the limo to lose control and veer off the road and hit something. Also, bad weather can contribute to poor visibility, making the driver fail to see an oncoming vehicle resulting in an accident. Some of the injuries you can sustain from accidents due to bad weather include spinal cord injuries, broken limbs, and brain injuries, which could leave you brain dead.
Liable Parties in a Limousine Accident
A limousine accident could have one or multiple parties responsible for the accident and the injuries. Your attorney needs to show who the liable party is to bring a successful personal injury lawsuit. Some of the liable parties in limousine accidents include:
The Driver
One of the apparent causes of a limo accident is the driver. He/she is responsible for the life and safety of the people inside the vehicle and those on the shared road. A driver is liable if he/she was negligent or failed to provide a duty of care while on the road. You can bring a lawsuit against the driver and demand compensation for the injuries you sustain in the accident.
The Maintenance Company
The company responsible for maintaining the limousine could also be held liable for the accident and the injuries you sustained after. The company is responsible for all the mechanical issues in the vehicle. If the accident was due to the car’s maintenance issue, you could sue the company.
Limousine Company
The limousine company is held liable when it fails to hire responsible drivers and staff. If it also has a defective vehicle, then you could sue it for any catastrophic injury you sustained. The company is also liable if it fails to implement all the safety procedures.
Manufacturer
The limousine manufacturer could also be responsible if it fails to properly ensure the limousine is fit to be driven on the road. Defective limousines could lead to severe and catastrophic accidents.
Steps to Take After a Limousine Accident
A limousine accident is traumatic for everyone involved. Immediately after the accident, you may be in shock, pain, and confusion. If you can, you should try to follow the following steps, especially if you expect compensation for your injuries.
Seek Medical Help
The first thing you should do after an accident is to seek medical support. Your health is your priority, no matter what. Seeking medical help will help rule out any unseen injuries, such as internal injuries or internal bleeding, if no one is there to help you, dial 911, and ask for medical assistance. Even if a hospital visit is not necessary, insist on seeing a doctor for evaluation. If there are other passengers inside the limo, you should help them, too, if you are in a position to do it.
Remember, a doctor's evaluation will help you when filing a personal injury lawsuit. The insurer may argue that the injuries you have are not from the accident if you fail to immediately seek medical help.
Call the Police
You should also call the police after the accident. The police will investigate the accident and write a report which contains information about the at-fault party and the other parties involved in the accident. Your attorney could use the report as a point of reference when filing a lawsuit.
Gather the Evidence
You should also gather evidence at the accident scene if possible. Some of the evidence you should collect include:
Photographs
Photographic evidence provides a visual representation of the scene and an accurate record of other evidence present at the scene. Ensure you take pictures of the skid marks, your injuries, the damages on the limo and other vehicles,s and any additional detail of the scene.
Witness Information
Witness statements are crucial in court. Write down the names of those involved in the accidents, including the people who witnessed the accident happening. You can write their addresses, place of residence, and contact information. Ensure you also take the license and the vehicle registration numbers of the cars involved and ensure they are correct.
Avoid Sharing Information With the Insurance Adjuster
Avoid sharing information with the insurer adjuster no matter how hard he/she insists. Keep in mind that the insurance adjuster will try to gain information to use against you. The insurance firm may not want to pay for the damages, so the adjuster may attempt to collect damaging information from you.
Call a Personal Injury Attorney
Call a personal injury attorney to help represent you in the case. An attorney will advise you on the ways to act and the questions to avoid. An attorney will also keep all the relevant records and use them in the future when seeking compensation.
Catastrophic Injuries from Limousine Accident
A catastrophic injury is any injury that is serious enough to prevent you from performing work that is considered gainful. Catastrophic injuries mainly affect the brain and the spinal cord leaving you with long-term functioning incapability. The treatment and care costs for the injuries are hefty and long-term. You will need constant care and medical help after experiencing these injuries. Most limo accidents are severe but not catastrophic. Here is how you can know whether the injuries you sustained are catastrophic:
- You are entirely unable to work like before.
- The injuries have left you with a permanent disability.
- You will need constant care for the rest of your life after the accident.
- You need amputation because of the effect of those injuries.
- The injuries resulted in permanent disfigurement.
- The injuries have left you with acute brain trauma.
- The injuries have caused you to experience paralysis.
The following are the types of catastrophic injuries:
Severe Burns
You could experience traumatic burns from the accident. Severe Burns occur when the limo catches fire or explodes due to leaking gasoline caused by accident. When there is no immediate response after a limousine has caught fire, you may experience third or fourth-degree burns.
Third or fourth-degree burns are severe burns that affect the dermis and the epidermis. The burns result in damage to the muscles, nerves, tissues, and even the internal organs. If you survive a limousine fire, you will have permanent scarring, chronic pain, and disfigurement. You will need a lifetime of medications, surgery, skin grafts to deal with those injuries.
Head Injuries
Head injuries are injuries that affect the scalp, skull, and brain. Head injuries occur when a blunt object hits the head. The injuries are so intense and catastrophic, and they could lead to permanent injuries search as brain damage, bruising, and tissue damage. If you have a head injury, you could lose the ability to perform simple things or understand simple concepts.
Spinal Cord Injuries
Severe spinal cord injuries are those that affect the vertebrae, ligaments, and spinal canal nerves. Spinal cord injuries have severe permanent effects on your sensation and body strength. The severity of the injuries is described as completeness. The injuries are classified as follows: complete and incomplete. A complete injury occurs when all the sensory and motor functions below the spinal cord are lost. The incomplete injury occurs when some of the sensory and motor functions below the injury’s location are lost.
Orthopedic Injuries
Orthopedic injuries are those that affect the musculoskeletal system. The injuries which affect the bones and the joints are catastrophic and need a lifetime of physical therapy. Some of the orthopedic injuries include dislocations and traumatic fractures.
Solid Organ Injuries
Solid organs include organs such as the spleen, kidney, liver, and heart. These organs are susceptible to lacerations in case of a severe accident. Tears of these organs result in internal bleeding, which is life-threatening if not treated.
Traumatic Amputation
Traumatic amputation is the loss of one or both of your limbs or a part of your body in an accident. The amputations could be partial or complete. A partial amputation is where the body part is not entirely severed; there is still some soft-tissue connection to the other body part. Complete amputations occur when the part of the body is completely severed. If the injuries are not tended to quickly, it could result in infection, bleeding, and shock. The amputated part could be reattached if you receive medical assistance early enough. Also, the severity of the injury could determine whether the part could be reattached.
Damages in a Catastrophic Limousine Accident
As a victim of a catastrophic limo accident, you deserve compensation for the injuries and the consequences after that. You deserve compensation for both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are those that can be computed, while non-economic are those that have abstract losses; they cannot be quantified.
The types of economic damages you can recover for the catastrophic injuries include:
Medical Expenses
Catastrophic injuries are devastating. When you are pulled out of the wreckage of the limo, you will be transported to the hospital by an ambulance. The doctors will treat you with different options, including surgeries depending on the injuries. You will also need extra care after the surgery.
All these expenses can drain your savings and possibly your health insurance leaving you broke. Also, some of the injuries require long-term treatment options. You deserve to be compensated for every medical expense, whether current or future. When calculating the medical costs, your attorney will compile all the receipts, including ambulance fees, doctor’s fees, hospital bed costs, surgery costs, and more.
Medical Care
When you have a severe injury, you need care, which involves going to the hospital from time to time and taking certain medications. You deserve compensation for all the continuous medical care you receive because of the catastrophic accident. You may also require specific medications to keep you alive.
Therapy
You may also need an occupation and physical therapy following a catastrophic accident. Physical therapy is any care that is meant to improve your way of life. The therapy involves exercises, education, and regular hands-on care. On the other hand, occupational therapy involves exercises that are to help you improve and recover the skills necessary to help you readjust to normalcy.
Counseling
You also deserve to be compensated for all the counseling needs you may require after the accident. Since a limo accident is traumatic and can leave you with emotional distress, you should have an expert help you deal with all the pain and turmoil. Since occupational therapy can be expensive and long term, the liable party should compensate you for that.
Medical Equipment
Sometimes you may sustain serious injuries that may not be irreversible even after medical help. The only remaining option is being put under medical equipment such as a wheelchair or a bed even at home. This equipment can be expensive, and they also need a trained person to help you move and tend to your needs. For this reason, you should be compensated.
Lost Capacity to Earn
Catastrophic injuries take away your chances of making a living. If you were the sole breadwinner, this could significantly affect your dependents in unimaginable ways. Therefore, the liable party should pay you for the lost earning ability and ensure you are well taken care of after the accident.
Non-economic damages, on the other hand, include:
Pain and Suffering
You deserve compensation for all the pain and suffering you endure after the accident. Pain and suffering include depression, emotional anguish, and anxiety.
Loss of Consortium
Catastrophic Injuries affect how families relate. It changes the dynamics of family and romantic relationships. Your family or spouse may feel neglected, which could lead to loneliness. Your attorney should show how your injuries have affected your relationship for you to receive compensation.
Loss of Life Enjoyment
When you sustain catastrophic injuries, you cannot do the fun things you used to do before. If you enjoyed dancing, it could be quite difficult if you lost all the legs. Therefore, the liable party should compensate you for the loss of the enjoyment of life.
Elements Showing the Liable Party in a Limousine Accident
To successfully win a personal injury lawsuit, your attorney should show who the liable party is and why they are liable. Some of the ways your attorney can prove this is by showing these elements:
Duty of Care
While on the road, every driver has a duty of care for the passengers, pedestrians, and other motorists. Duty of care means that you understand that lives are sacred, and you should be mindful of those on the road. Your attorney should prove that the limo driver had a duty of care.
Breach of the Duty
It is not enough that the driver has the duty of care. Your attorney should also show that the driver failed to abide by it. The driver breaches the duty of care through reckless driving, which includes texting while driving, running the red light, among others.
Damages
Your attorney should show proof that you deserve compensation. He/she can provide proof of your injuries and how they have affected your way of life. The attorney can also show how the injuries have prevented you from making a living.
Causation
Your attorney should show that the driver's actions were the cause of the accident. Even if other actions contributed to the accident, there should be proof that the driver's actions significantly impacted the accident’s occurrence.
Find a Limousine Accident Attorney Near Me
Limousine is a fun vehicle to ride in for most people. However, it can be a dangerous vehicle in case a catastrophic accident occurs. The injuries in a limousine can be catastrophic and alter your way of life. If involved in a limousine accident, you need help to file a lawsuit against the liable party. Our attorneys at the Los Angeles Car Accident Attorney are trained to handle all the cases involving limousine accidents. Reach us at 424-237-3600 if you have any questions.
