How Much Insurance Do You Need If You Are in a Car Accident in Los Angeles? Basic Liability Coverage
As car accident lawyers located in Woodland Hills, we review our client’s auto insurance policies all the time. By the time we do so, it is because someone has been in a car accident and has been injured. As personal injury lawyers handling auto accidents in the San Fernando Valley, we are here to make sure our clients are properly compensated for the injuries that were caused by the accident.
Unfortunately, at that point, it is too late to talk about what insurance they should have had.
One of the first steps in helping our clients is looking at their auto insurance coverage. California law requires that all drivers have basic liability coverage of at least $15,000. It is a misdemeanor to drive without insurance. In addition, you are required to notify the DMV if you are in an accident and let them know who your insurance company is. We handle this process for our clients. Without question, this is the easy part, everyone should/must have at least the minimum required insurance coverage of $15,000.
That is not the end of the question. Liability coverage, that is coverage which will be paid out to someone you may injure if you cause an accident and serves two important functions.
Protect Yourself and Your Family: First, insurance protects you and your family. If you cause a collision, if you do not have adequate coverage, the person you hit may be able to take the money you have been saving for retirement, your child’s college education, a new home, or whatever is important to you.
Second: It protects the person you hit. That is a good thing. We should all take responsibility for our own actions. If we are careless and we hurt somebody, they should be compensated for what we have done. That is fair. That is also part of the purpose of insurance, to make sure someone we accidentally hurt is cared for, without destroying our own life. To hurt someone is to take something away from them. Not to compensate them for their injury; paying for the damage to their car, paying their medical bills, and paying for the imposition on their life (pain and suffering), is like stealing.
However, when you accidentally hurt someone, that does not mean your life should be destroyed either. That is part of the purpose of insurance. It enables us to properly compensate someone we hit, without taking away from our own life.
That brings us back to the question, “How much insurance should I have.” The answer to that question is going to depend on your income and your savings. If you have limited assets and limited income, you can likely only afford basic coverage. You can drive legally and provide some protection to someone you injure. If you have a lot of assets, you should probably have an umbrella insurance policy. To qualify for an umbrella policy, you will have to have a certain amount of auto insurance. Those people will probably need to have $250,000 in liability coverage.

If you are in a position where you may have to place a loved one in a nursing home for care, there are some things you can do. First, do your homework. There are a number of resources on the internet about nursing homes in Los Angeles County. One is the “Long Term Care County Data Book,” which you will find at http://www.caads.org/ltcdata/ltc_data.html. Visit several nursing homes and interview the staff. Ask for references. Talking to the family members of other residents will let you know how satisfied, or not, they are with the care at the facility. Finally, contact DHHS to find out whether the nursing home is in compliance with State and federal laws and whether they are aware of any serious complaints about the facility. 
Last July, a new law came into effect which prohibits talking on a cell phone while holding it. It is worth commenting on this new law because as I drive around the streets I still see people holding their cell phone and talking while driving. I suppose much like when the seatbelt law came into effect, it will take some time before people figure out that this law does have a purpose and it makes sense.
The first thing you must understand is that California is an “at-will” state. That is, absent a written contract stating otherwise, you have your job at the will of your employer. Your employer may fire you at any time. They may or may not have a reason for firing you. They do not need to have a reason. If they have a reason, almost any reason is fine.

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