Eight people were injured in a two-car accident that happened in West Los Angeles on Sunday.
The accident happened at about 2:15 p.m. at the corner of Santa Monica Blvd. and Beloit Ave. Two cars, a Mercedes Benz SUV and another SUV, collided, with one of them ending up being wrapped around a pole. According to on-scene investigators, one of the vehicles was exiting the southbound 405 Freeway and the other was eastbound on Santa Monica Blvd.
The Los Angeles Fire Department reported that five people in the cars and three pedestrians were injured. The injury victims included three children.
All eight victims were transported to local hospitals. Of the eight, four were reported to be in critical condition: a 27-year-old female pedestrian, a 27-year-old man, a 30-year-old man, and a 30-year-old woman. The four other victims were described as a 33-year-old man, an 8-year-old girl, and two other children, ages 3 and 6.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Considerations in a Multi-Victim Accident
From a personal injury lawyer's perspective, the first question we have once we know there were multiple injury victims in a car accident is: Does the at-fault driver have enough car insurance to cover everyone's injury claims?
The worst case scenario is that the at-fault driver has no auto insurance or minimal coverage (the lowest bodily injury policy limit that a driver can generally have in California is $15,000 per person/$30,000 per accident). If the at-fault driver in a multi-victim accident had minimal insurance coverage, then there is a good chance that there will not be enough money to pay everyone's injury claims.
The second question a personal injury attorney will ask is: does our client have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage under their own auto insurance policy? Even if our client is a pedestrian or child, they may be able to make a claim under their or their parent's auto insurance policy if they or their parents have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a multi-victim car crash, you should speak with a personal injury attorney to find out about your right to compensation. McGee, Lerer & Associates is a Westside personal injury law firm with four office locations: West LA (Olympic & Sawtelle), Santa Monica, Pasadena and Long Beach. A car accident lawyer at our firm is available 24/7 for a free consultation.