In California, auto accidents commonly occur when drivers do not pay attention and concentrate on their driving and surroundings on the road. Some drivers also do not properly obey the traffic laws. Some may not even know what it means to obey “the rules of the road.” They don’t drive defensively by watching their surroundings, knowing the speed limit, and not following too closely. It is important to stay at or under the speed limit and know what a good speed is for the current conditions, such as traffic and weather.
California’s laws on cellphone usage and driving are strict, but it is still a problem. Cellphone usage goes along with distracted driving. Anytime a driver uses their cellphone, plays around with the radio, engages in a conversation with someone in the car, or does anything that takes their concentration off of operating their vehicle safely, the driver is driving while distracted. Even though you can no longer have a cellphone in your hand while driving, it is still one of the biggest problems. You’re supposed to have two hands on the wheel to drive, which is something that people should be doing to be safe.
Fumbling around with a cellphone and trying to read and text keeps your eyes off the road. Your focus shifts downward, and that’s a huge problem. Again, it is against the law to have a cellphone in your hand. If caught, you can incur penalties or infractions.
The most common types of injuries that drivers and passengers sustain in serious auto wrecks are neck and back injuries, as well as contusions on the chest and hips from the seatbelts. A lot of times, there will be prolonged headaches, loss of sleep, anxiety, and depression, which can set in later following an accident.
Sometimes, when someone has sustained neck, back, and hip injuries, there will be fractures in the bones and connective tissue injuries. If ligaments were stretched and/or bones were moved out of place, it can cause the connective tissue to have problems. An accident can result in tightened and pulled muscles on different parts of the body, which can cause various levels of pain.
If you suffered a soft tissue injury, the insurance company could try to diminish your claim by improperly using the term “soft tissue.” First off, soft tissue is a very general term. It’s a term that is often misused. Soft tissue can be the brain or spinal cord. Those are soft tissues, and injuries to the brain and spinal cord can be quite severe and life-altering. Soft tissue injuries could also be severe burns to the skin, which can be extremely painful and life-altering as well. Connective tissue injuries such as sprains and strains are also soft tissue injuries. However, those can be quite mild with a quick turnaround in healing. Or, they can be more extensive and take longer to heal. If a person suffered a serious ligament injury or pulled muscles, that may require surgery. In which case, that can be quite pervasive and take a long time to heal. Once healed, the person may never be quite the same.
Insurance companies try to use the term “soft tissue” as much as possible to try to minimize an accident victim’s injuries in an effort to reduce the value of their claim or to avoid paying the claim. Therefore, the term is used improperly by insurance companies to reduce claims. It can make it much more difficult to get covered. For that reason, we try to use the term “connective tissue injuries” as much as possible.
For more information on Vehicular Accidents In California, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (661) 616-1177 today.
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