• Personal Injury Law: Transportation
  • Automobile Accidents
  • Maritime Personal Injury
  • Railroad Accidents
  • Aviation Accidents
  • Resources

Though accidents can occur virtually anywhere and under any circumstances, some of the most serious and costly accidents occur while people are involved in transportation-related activities. Although some transportation accidents may subject the wrongdoer to criminal sanctions, injuries suffered in such an accident usually are compensable also through a personal injury civil lawsuit. The Personal Injury Law: General Chapter describes the framework of a personal injury suit. Most civil suits arising from transportation accidents are based in negligence. This chapter provides a brief overview of the laws and issues regarding automobile, maritime, railroad, and aviation accidents. Tort litigation involving transportation-related activities can be extremely complicated. Retaining an inexperienced lawyer may result in a plaintiff losing a lawsuit or not receiving the recovery that he or she deserves. It is important that a person injured in a transportation-related accident choose an attorney with appropriate experience and familiarity with the subject matter of the lawsuit.

Like any state, California has its share of serious automobile accidents. Recognizing that accidents can be costly, California requires that every driver and owner of a motor vehicle maintain at all times an approved form of financial responsibility and carry evidence of it in the vehicle. There are several ways a driver or owner may establish financial responsibility. The most obvious and common method is to obtain automobile insurance that meets the requirements of California law. Other methods include qualifying as a self-insurer (which is only available to people who own more than 25 vehicles); being an agent of the United States, a state, or a municipality; or depositing $35,000 cash with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

The law requires that automobile insurance issued in California contain minimum coverages. Insurance must provide at least $5000 coverage for property damage for one accident, $15,000 coverage for one person injured or killed in an accident, and $30,000 coverage for two or more persons injured or killed in an accident.

Any driver involved in an accident in which a person was injured or killed must report the accident to the California Highway Patrol and to the Department of Motor Vehicles. In addition, if the damage to either car was more than $500, both drivers must report the accident to the DMV within ten days of the accident. An SR-1 Report of Traffic Accident form can be obtained at any local DMV office, the California Highway Patrol office, a police station, or an insurance company.

Compensation for injuries and/or property damage depends on who was at fault in the accident. The liability insurance carrier of the driver who was at fault will pay the other driver for property damage and personal injuries up to the policy's limits. If both drivers were partly responsible, each may be able to collect part of their loss from the other's insurance. How much each driver collects from the other's insurance company depends on the amount of damages and how much each driver was at fault. If a driver has collision insurance in addition to liability insurance, it will pay for damage to the driver's car no matter who was at fault. If a driver is not satisfied with the amount offered by the other driver's insurance company and believes the other driver was at fault, he or she can sue. Usually it is a good idea to retain an attorney after any but the most minor of automobile accidents, so an experienced professional can deal with the insurance coverage issues and prevent disputes from arising.

If you are in an accident, particularly if someone is injured or there is a great deal of property damage, try to collect the following information from the other driver(s) involved in the accident:

• Name and address

• License plate number

• Make, model, and year of car

• Driver's license number

• Had any driver apparently been drinking?

• Any verbal statements made by other driver(s) as to the cause of the accident

• Names and addresses of passengers in other car(s)

Before moving any of the vehicle(s) involved in the accident, attempt to note:

• Position of your vehicle

• Position of any other vehicles

• Location of any tire marks, blood, broken glass, etc., on the road or side of the road

• Location of point of impact in relation to the center of the road

• Road conditions

• Traffic conditions

• Weather conditions

While the accident is still fresh in your memory, write down:

• Date and time of accident

• Location of accident

• Speed of your car just before the accident

• Direction of your car and other car(s) involved in the accident

• Was either car turning?

• Did the car turning have its turn signal on?

• If the accident occurred at night, did you have your vehicle lights on? Did the other car(s)?

• Any other pertinent facts

Recreational boaters, cruise ship passengers, sailors on commercial ships, longshore and harbor workers, and off-shore oil employees may at some point in time become injured and require the services of an attorney to sue the business or person they believe to be responsible. When choosing an attorney regarding a maritime matter, it is very important to choose someone experienced in maritime law. The law governing maritime issues is a complicated jumble of federal statutes, United States Supreme Court decisions, and centuries-old common law. For example, a suit for an injury occurring on a boat may be subject to federal maritime law or to state statutory law, depending on where the boat was in the water at the time of injury. A general practitioner unfamiliar with the dips and turns of maritime law may have difficulty properly representing a client.

The October 1995 deaths of seven high school students in Fox River, Illinois, whose school bus was hit by a commuter train at a railroad crossing, is a reminder that railroad accidents remain an all-too-frequent occurrence. By law, railroad carriers have a duty to maintain the reasonable safety of their tracks, particularly around railroad crossings. A railroad carrier can be held liable if an accident occurs where there are defective or insufficient numbers of warning lights and signs. Additionally, railroad engineers and crews have a duty to keep a lookout for potential problems and to sound the train's blowhorn when approaching potentially dangerous areas. Persons crossing or near railroad tracks also have a duty to act reasonably. California recognizes the doctrine of comparative negligence. If a person is partially responsible for an accident, any damage award he or she receives can be reduced by the extent to which he or she was responsible.

Railroad employees who are hurt on the job are entitled to recover damages from their employer under the Federal Employer's Liability Act (FELA). FELA is similar to a workers' compensation program for railroad employees. FELA enables railroad employees to recover for any injury "resulting in whole or in part from the negligence of any of the officers, agents, or employees of [the railroad], or by reason of any defect or insufficiency, due to its negligence, in its cars, engines, appliances, machinery, tracks, roadbeds, works, boats, wharves or other equipment." Recovery under FELA is the exclusive remedy for railroad employees injured on the job.

While travel by commercial aircraft remains the safest way to travel long distance, accidents do happen, and the litigation that follows an airline crash is notoriously complicated. Lawyers representing plaintiffs in airline cases face a variety of difficult issues. For example: What law (federal or state) should be used? Where is the best forum for the trial? Should lawsuits be filed individually or as a class action? Who should be sued (the aircraft manufacturer, operator, or owner; the airport operator; corporate officers; or component part manufacturers)? What is the best theory of recovery (strict liability, negligence, breach of warranty, statutory provisions)? What is the best method of proving damages? How should evidence of the crash be preserved? It is obvious, therefore, that a person choosing an attorney to represent his or her interests after an airplane accident should choose someone with experience in airline tort litigation.

For a free pamphlet on auto accidents, What Should I Do If I Have An Auto Accident?, write or call the State Bar of California, 555 Franklin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102-4498, (415) 561-8280.