One person was killed and six were injured in a multi-vehicle crash on the 60 Freeway in Boyle Heights Friday.
The accident, which involved at least five vehicles, including a big rig (bobtail truck), happened about 5 pm on in the westbound lanes of the 605 Freeway, near the Lorena St. exit.
According to the California Highway Patrol, the cause of the crash remains under investigation.
#1 Issue Involved in a Multi-Vehicle Accident
A multi-car accident often means multiple injury victims. If one or two drivers bear responsibility for the crash, there is a reasonable likelihood that the at-fault drivers’ policy limits will be insufficient to pay everyone’s injury claims. The exception could be if one of the at-fault drivers was driving a commercial vehicle, which usually means a significant policy limit.
So one of the first questions that a personal injury lawyer will ask you is: do you have uninsured motorist coverage under your own auto insurance policy, and how much? Uninsured motorist coverage is the same as underinsured motorist coverage. If the at fault driver(s) does not have enough liability insurance to pay everyone’s injury claims, you may be able to look to your own car insurance carrier for compensation for your injury claim. Doing so will have zero impact on your premiums or renewability if you were not at fault for the accident.
At McGee, Lerer & Associates, we highly recommend (in fact, we implore) all drivers to carry uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage of at least $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident. Even better: $250,000 per person, $500,000 per accident. The unfortunate reality is that most people have no idea how important this coverage is until they get into a car accident. Insurance agents don’t press their customers to purchase this coverage, or to purchase enough of this coverage, because they are more focused on giving a low quote in order to win the business of the prospective customers.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a multi-vehicle accident, you should speak to a personal injuryattorney to learn about your rights.
The personal injury lawyers at McGee, Lerer & Associates are available 24-7 for a free consultation. We specialize in serious injury and wrongful death claims. We have five office locations: Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Long Beach and Pasadena.