You are minding your own business, buying apples at a grocery store or painting nails at a nail salon, and out of the blue, a car appears out of nowhere and hits you. Yes, you have just been injured by a car despite the fact that you were inside a building.
You may be surprised how common this type of car accident is in Los Angeles and all across California. Turns out, not only do you have to worry about being hit by a vehicle on the streets, but also when inside a store or building.
Do not be mistaken. Just because you are inside a building it does not necessarily mean that cars will not get you there. To get our point, just Google how many times cars crash into buildings and injure those insides.
Can you sue a car driver if you were injured inside a building?
Our car accident attorney in Los Angeles from the Compass Law Group, LLP has recently received the following question: “Can I file a personal injury claim against a car driver who hit me in his car while I was inside a building?”
For some reason, people think that car accidents in which drivers injure people inside buildings (not pedestrians outside or other car drivers inside their vehicles) are regulated by some different set of laws. In reality, however, you are equally entitled to seek compensation for your injuries and damages resulting from the negligent actions of a car driver regardless of whether you were inside or outside of a building at the time of the collision.
The risk of cars driving through buildings, especially those with glass storefronts, always exists no matter how protected and comfortable it feels inside a building. However, it is not always the car driver who drives into the building who is liable for your injuries, because he or she might have collided with another vehicle prior to crashing into the building.
Our experienced auto accident attorney in Los Angeles explains that accident reconstruction investigation is often required to establish liability and determine what caused such a destructive crash. More often than not, those who were injured by cars inside buildings successfully recover damages because there is no way they could be at-fault or violate any traffic laws while inside a building.
Determining liability and cause in your car accident
It is important to note that this type of car crashes is often caused by intoxicated drivers, those who travel at speeds above the speed limit, and distracted drivers. Poor weather or road conditions often lead to car crashes in which a vehicle drives through a building, too. Defective braking systems and mechanical errors are also common culprits behind this type of accidents.
Regardless of what was the cause of the crash, you will be required to prove that some other party was responsible for your injuries. It is not just the direct impact that causes injury to those inside buildings, but also the collapse of the building or the crash igniting the combustible and flammable fluids inside.
Let our best car accident lawyers in Los Angeles, California be by your side. Contact the Compass Law Group, LLP, to speak about your particular case and find out ways to establish liability and recover damages in your circumstances.
