Oakland is located just east of San Francisco at the seat of Alameda County. Deemed “Sunny Side of the Bay,” Oakland boasts some of the best weather in the country, with an average of 260 days of sunshine a year. It serves as the eighth-largest city in California with a population of over 400,000  and is considered one of the most diverse cities in America.

Oakland hosts speakers of over 125 languages, 50 distinct neighborhoods, a gorgeous lake in the center of the city,  and is home to an eclectic mix of artists, entrepreneurs, CEOs, and world-renowned chefs. With miles of coastline to the west and beautiful rolling hills to the east, there is no shortage of breathtaking views or one-of-a-kind experiences in this incredible city by the bay.

Have you been injured in an accident in Oakland caused by someone else’s recklessness or negligence? If you have, you are likely in pain, stressed, and uncertain about what will happen next. There are several options to choose from, and one of them is to exercise your right to file a personal injury claim for accidents such as car accidents, truck accidents, dog bites, and nursing home abuse. You could be owed money for damages like lost wages from missed work, lost earning ability from being disabled, medical expenses, emotional trauma, mental anguish, and the loss of enjoyment of life.

Trusting an Oakland personal injury lawyer will significantly impact the outcome of your claim for the better. The lawyers at OnderLaw have been serving clients just like you and your family for nearly twenty years, both in Oakland and across the nation. In that time, we have secured over $3.5 billion, and we’re just getting started.

Do not delay. Call our office today or follow this link to our contact page for a free consultation.

How an Injury Lawyer Can Help If You’ve Been Hurt in Oakland 

If you’ve been hurt due to someone else’s negligence, hiring a personal injury lawyer will give you and your family the best chance to recover the maximum compensation possible. While the at-fault party’s insurance company will likely be responsible for paying you what you’re owed, getting the full and fair amount can often be challenging. Insurance companies are for-profit businesses, which means they will often do anything they can to deny or diminish your claim.

With a skilled injury lawyer on your side, you will have a better chance of leveling the playing field. Your lawyer will investigate the accident and secure vital evidence to build a strong claim on your behalf. They’ll aggressively negotiate with the insurer for a settlement that considers the impact your injuries have had and will have on your life.

If the insurance company refuses to pay, or if they offer you a lowball settlement hoping you’ll take it and go away, your lawyer might advise filing a lawsuit to seek damages in court.

It’s crucial to note that not every attorney has the right skills or motivation to get you the full amount of compensation you’re owed. Don’t trust your case to an apathetic or inexperienced lawyer. Turn to a team with a long track record of successful verdicts and settlements for people just like you. Turn to OnderLaw.

Common Injury Claims in Oakland

 At OnderLaw, our attorneys have handled a wide variety of injury claims, including:

Motor Vehicle Accidents

Accidents involving motor vehicles happen every day across Oakland. Some of the most common types of accidents we see include:

Premises Liability Accidents

If a property owner or manager is negligent, people could suffer severe or potentially fatal injuries. Some of the most common premises liability claims we handle include:

Worker’s Compensation Accidents

If you were hurt on the job, your employer likely has workers’ compensation insurance coverage. These policies are designed to pay benefits to help you get treatment and recover a portion of lost wages if you were hurt in a:

  • Motor vehicle accidents (car, truck, or commercial vehicle)
  • Slip and fall
  • Accidents from flying objects/falling debris
  • Accidents from heavy machinery
  • Exposure to hazardous chemicals/fumes
  • Workplace accidents involving physical violence/conflict

Nursing Home Abuse Accidents

Nursing home abuse happens more often than anyone would like to admit. Some of the most common types of abuse that occurs in eldercare facilities include:

  • Misdiagnosed illness
  • Delayed/neglected diagnosis for illnesses
  • Delayed/neglected diagnosis for injuries
  • Misdiagnosed injuries
  • Financial exploitation
  • Abandonment
  • Dehydration/Malnutrition
  • Slip and fall
  • Neglect
  • Physical abuse
  • Sexual abuse
  • Psychological abuse
  • Emotional abuse

Common Injuries Suffered in Accidents in Oakland

When someone fails to exercise adequate care and caution, they could cause a severe injury accident. Those who’ve been hurt could suffer lasting and in some cases, permanent injuries that can impact their lives and the lives of their loved ones. When this happens, the at-fault party could and should be held accountable for their actions. Some of the most common types of injuries suffered by accident victims in Oakland include:

Motor Vehicle Accident Injuries

If you were hurt in a car accident in Oakland, you might have suffered severe injuries including:

  • Lacerations
  • Scrapes
  • Head/neck
  • Brain injuries
  • Whiplash
  • Soft-tissue
  • Sprains/strains
  • Concussions
  • Spinal
  • Paralysis
  • Broken bones
  • Burn injuries

Premises Liability Accident Injuries

Injuries on someone else’s property could be severe. Some of the most common include:

  • Head/neck injuries
  • Spinal cord
  • Sprains/strains
  • Dislocated joints
  • Drowning
  • Brain injuries
  • Burn injuries
  • Dog bites
  • Cuts and scrapes
  • Fractured bones

Worker’s Compensation Accident Injuries

An injury in the workplace can have a lasting impact on your life. Some of the most common workplace injuries are:

  • Brain injuries
  • Soft-tissue injuries
  • Sprains/strains
  • Concussions
  • Dismemberment
  • Spinal cord injuries
  • Burn injuries
  • Amputation

Nursing Home Abuse

While no one wants to think about an elderly individual suffering harm at the hands of a caretaker, these injuries can and do occur. Some of the most common include:

  • Severe bruises
  • Neglected infections
  • Bedsores
  • Choking
  • Sexual abuse trauma
  • Medication overdose
  • Head/neck injuries
  • Fractured bones
  • Slip and fall
  • Emotional anguish

What Compensation Am I Owed?

 Compensation is designed to provide financial value for damages suffered from the accident. These damages are broken down into: economic damages, non-economic damages, and punitive damages.

Economic Damages

Economic damages account for any expenses that the accident has cost or will cost you in the future:

  • Medical bills/expenses- all money spent related to your healing. This includes medical bills, copay, prescription costs, and any other expense your healing has cost you. Confirm these expenses by documenting your medical records to show how the accident has impacted you and tracking every receipt to show how much this has cost you.
  • Lost earnings- all money lost as it relates to your employment because of the accident. This includes missed time for recovery, missed time for appointments, or lost earning potential because of a permanent disability. Tracking punch cards, check stubs, and disability records will be helpful in documenting these damages.
  • Damaged property- personal items that were damaged or destroyed in the accident. This includes vehicles and belongings. The best course of action is to take the damaged property item to an estimator to determine the cost of repair and keep the receipt. If the item was destroyed, provide the receipt for the item or proof of the cost to repair it. These actions will prove the costs of replacing/repairing the damaged property.

Non-economic Damages

Non-economic damages refer to any non-money-related suffering. This includes:

  • Physical pain- pain suffered from injuries you received in the accident.
  • Loss of enjoyment of life- losing the ability to find joy in the things you were able to do before the accident
  • Emotional trauma-any emotional trauma that resulted from the accident such as depression, fear, anxiety, or posttraumatic stress disorder.
  • Mental stress- the strain of living with an injury and the potential financial worries that come from not being able to work now or possibly in the future.

There are several effective ways of recording these kinds of damages. The first is to keep receipts from any therapies you have received regarding your emotional recovery. The other is to document these damages by tracking your pain, feelings, fears, and frustrations in a daily log like a journal or notebook. Doing so will help you keep track of how you’re feeling and will serve as direct evidence of how your suffering is impacting your life.

Punitive Damages

While awarded only in rare instances, punitive damages are designed to punish and curb malicious or significantly dangerous behavior. A jury will award these damages if there is very clear and indisputable evidence that proves the other party acted with severely reckless or negligent actions or intentions. 

California Accident Statistics

Injury accidents happen every day in Oakland and across the state of California. Here’s how accidents in our state look, by the numbers:

A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report found that accidents caused a total of 15,116 deaths in 2019.

In 2018, the California Office of Traffic Safety reported the following traffic accident death totals:

  • 1,069 drunk driving deaths
  • 42 percent of all traffic deaths were caused by drug-impaired driving
  • 488 motorcycle accident deaths
  • 893 pedestrian accident deaths
  • 155 bicyclist deaths

In 2018, the Centers for Disease Control also found that seniors 65 and above died from falling accidents at a rate of 40 per 100,000 people.

The State of California Department of Industrial Relations reported 451 workers were killed on the job in 2019.

The California DIR reported 483 workers were injured on the job that year in 2019.

The San Luis Obispo Tribune found that in 2017, there were 488 dog bites in the state of California, which was the highest total in the country for that year.

Statute of Limitations For Injury Claims in Oakland

In the state of California, there are time limits that you must follow in order for your accident claim to qualify for filing:

  • Two years from the date of the accident for almost all accident claims.
  • One year from the date of a medical malpractice accident.
  • Six months from the date of a government agency accident.

 Failure to file a lawsuit within this timeframe will mean that the court will be barred from hearing your case. That’s why it is crucial to hire a lawyer right away if you’ve been hurt. While a majority of injury claims settle long before a lawsuit is necessary, waiting too long to get a lawyer involved could mean trouble if you need to seek damages in court. Don’t wait until it is too late. Contact a lawyer as soon as possible after any injury accident in Oakland.

Resources For Accident Victims in Oakland

 If you or a loved one has been hurt in an accident in Oakland, the following resources will likely be essential to you:

Hospitals in Oakland

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center- Oakland, California

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center | Summit Campus

Address: 350 Hawthorne Ave, Oakland, CA 94609

Phone: (510) 655-4000

UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital - Oakland, California

UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital – Oakland

Address: 747 52nd St, Oakland, CA 94609

Phone: (510) 428-3000

Kaiser Permanente Oakland

Oakland Medical Center

Address: 275 W MacArthur Blvd, Oakland, CA 94611

Phone: (510) 752-1000

Highland Hospital Oakland

Highland Hospital

Address: 1411 E 31st St, Oakland, CA 94602

Phone: (510) 437-4800

Providence Hospital, Oakland California

Providence Hospital

Address: 3100 Summit St, Oakland, CA 94609

Phone: (510) 869-8400

 

Law Enforcement in Oakland

If you’ve been injured in an accident, it is recommended that you contact the police to ensure that an official accident report is filed. In Oakland, you will likely deal with either of these two departments:

Oakland Police Department

Oakland Police Department

Address: 455 7th St, Oakland, CA 94607

Phone: (510) 777-3333

Alameda County Sheriff's Office

Alameda County Sheriff’s Office

1401 Lakeside Drive, 12th Floor, Oakland, CA 94612-4305

(510) 272-6878

Oakland Department of Motorized Vehicles

If you were injured in a car accident in Oakland, you’ll want to get an official copy of your accident report. Follow the links below to report your crash or get a copy of your official accident report:

Hurt in an Accident? Turn to OnderLaw for Help

Did you suffer severe injuries in an accident that was not your fault? Did you lose a loved one in an accident caused by someone else’s recklessness or carelessness? If so, the Oakland injury lawyers at OnderLaw want to hear from you.

We never charge a fee for consultations, and when you hire us, we’ll represent you on a contingency-fee-basis. What does this mean? It means we won’t charge you anything for our legal services until we win your case. You have nothing to lose by reaching out to us, and everything to gain.

Call us today or follow the link to our contact page to learn how we can help.