By: MICHAEL CEFALI | September 23, 2026 | Uncategorized
California follows a pure comparative fault rule. If you are injured in an accident, you can recover compensation even if you were partly at fault, and even if you were mostly at fault. Your award is simply reduced by your percentage of fault. If your damages are $100,000 and you are found 30 percent responsible, [...]
By: MICHAEL CEFALI | September 22, 2026 | Uncategorized
If you were hurt in an accident that was not your fault, you have the right to recover damages. In California, those damages fall into two main categories: economic damages, which cover your measurable financial losses, and non-economic damages, which cover the human cost of an injury like pain and suffering. [...]
California has some of the strictest distracted-driving laws in the country, and they do more than generate tickets: when a distracted driver causes a crash, breaking these laws helps prove they were at fault. This guide explains the three Vehicle Code sections that govern phone use behind the wheel, what actually [...]
By: MICHAEL CEFALI | September 18, 2026 | Uncategorized
A car accident does not only injure the body. The fear, shock, and stress of a crash can leave lasting emotional and psychological effects, even when the physical injuries heal quickly. If you feel anxious, on edge, or unlike yourself after a crash, that reaction is common and it is real. This guide explains the [...]
By: MICHAEL CEFALI | September 9, 2026 | Uncategorized
Third-party liability insurance is the part of an auto policy that pays for injuries and damage the insured driver causes to other people, not to themselves. When you are hurt in a crash caused by someone else, you file a claim against their third-party liability coverage. This guide explains what third-party [...]
By: MICHAEL CEFALI | August 27, 2026 | Uncategorized
A wrongful death claim lets a deceased person's close family members recover compensation when another party's negligence or wrongful act caused the death. In California, the claim is governed by Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60, which defines exactly who is eligible to file and in what order. This guide [...]
By: MICHAEL CEFALI | August 26, 2026 | Uncategorized
A product liability lawyer represents people injured by defective or dangerous products and holds manufacturers, distributors, and retailers responsible under California's strict liability law. Because that law does not require proving the company was careless, a strong product case turns on identifying the defect, [...]
By: MICHAEL CEFALI | August 20, 2026 | Uncategorized
A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is damage to the brain caused by an external force, such as a blow to the head in a car crash, a fall, or a violent impact. TBIs range from a mild concussion to a severe, permanent injury, and because the brain does not heal like other tissue, the costs [...]
By: MICHAEL CEFALI | August 11, 2026 | Uncategorized
No. California does not allow you to "stack" uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage in the way most people expect. You cannot add the UM/UIM limits from several vehicles on your policy together for a single crash, and your underinsured motorist coverage does not sit on top of the at-fault driver's liability [...]
By: MICHAEL CEFALI | August 10, 2026 | Uncategorized
There is no single fixed settlement amount for an Uber or Lyft accident in California. What your claim is worth depends on how badly you were hurt, who was at fault, and, crucially, which insurance coverage applies at the moment of the crash. Minor-injury claims may settle for a few thousand dollars, while [...]