If a taxi accident in Bakersfield has left you with injuries, you have certain rights and protections under the law. One of those includes the right to receive compensation for any injuries caused by someone else’s negligence.
The path there isn’t simple, however. In a taxi accident, you’re not really up against the driver. By law, the employer of the taxi driver is responsible for the actions of its employees. This means if you want fair compensation, you’ll have to go up against their employer.
You don’t have to go at this alone. Experienced taxi accident attorneys in Bakersfield are prepared to handle the legal complexities on your behalf and advocate for the compensation you deserve. Call the Law Offices of Mickey Fine at (661) 333-3333 for a free, no-obligation consultation.
Why Put Our Team in Your Corner?
A Singular Focus on Injury Claims
At the Law Offices of Mickey Fine, personal injury law is all we do. This dedication means we channel all our resources, knowledge, and energy into building the strongest possible case for your recovery.
No Fees Unless We Win
Access to skilled legal representation should be accessible for everyone. That’s why we handle all taxi accident cases on a contingency fee basis. This means you pay no upfront costs or attorney’s fees. We only get paid when we secure a financial recovery for you. If we don’t win, you owe us nothing. Your initial case consultation is also completely free and carries no obligations, so you can understand your options without risk or pressure.
Deep Roots in the Bakersfield Community
We are not a satellite office for a firm headquartered somewhere else. We are part of the fabric of this community. Our office is in the heart of downtown Bakersfield, blocks from the Kern County Superior Court, making us accessible when you need us.
- Office Address: Law Offices of Mickey Fine, 930 Truxtun Ave, #110, Bakersfield, CA 93301
Our decades of work here mean we know the local courts, the judges, and the playbook used by taxi corporations (and their insurance companies) in Kern County.
Calculating the Full Cost of a Taxi Crash
An insurance adjuster’s first offer is a starting point, not a final number. It almost never covers the full spectrum of your losses right away. Our mission is to build a case that reflects the total impact the accident will have on your life, calculating every economic and non-economic damage you have suffered.
Economic Damages: The Concrete Costs
This covers every direct financial loss originating from the crash.
- Medical Expenses: This is far more than the ER bill. It includes surgery, hospital stays, physical therapy, medications, and any future care you will require.
- Lost Income and Earning Power: We pursue every dollar of wages you’ve lost. Crucially, we also assess if your injuries will permanently affect your ability to earn a living and claim damages for your diminished future capacity.
- Property Damage: This includes the cost to repair or replace your car and any other personal items destroyed in the crash, such as a phone or laptop.
- Out-of-Pocket Expenses: We tally all incidental costs, from paying for rides to your doctor’s appointments to hiring help for household chores you can no longer perform.
Non-Economic Damages: The Human Toll
These losses are harder to quantify but are just as real and often more devastating than the financial costs.
- Pain and Suffering: For the physical pain and discomfort your injuries cause daily.
- Emotional and Mental Anguish: This covers the anxiety, depression, sleepless nights, and the trauma of the event itself.
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): A violent crash can leave deep psychological scars. In California, you can recover damages for PTSD and other emotional distress even if you did not suffer a physical injury, as long as you can prove that the trauma was caused by the accident. While linking emotional harm to a physical injury may make your claim stronger, it is not required by law.
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: This compensates you for the inability to engage in the hobbies, activities, and life events that brought you joy before the accident.
Punitive Damages: A Penalty for Recklessness
In rare instances where a defendant’s conduct was malicious or intentionally reckless—for instance, a taxi company that knowingly employed a driver with multiple DUIs—a court may award punitive damages. These are not to compensate you, but to punish the defendant and deter similar behavior from others.
Bakersfield’s Danger Zones: Where Taxi Accidents Happen
A taxi crash can occur anywhere, but our experience shows that certain Bakersfield roads and intersections pose a greater threat due to high traffic volume, complex designs, and concentrated commercial activity.
Major Arterial Roads and Highways
The main arteries feeding traffic through the city are common collision sites.
- Highway 99: As Bakersfield’s primary north-south freeway, its high speeds and constant merging traffic create a continuous risk of serious crashes.
- Rosedale Highway (State Route 58): This major east-west commercial corridor is lined with businesses, resulting in frequent rear-end and T-bone collisions from cars entering and exiting the flow of traffic.
- Ming Avenue: Known for dense retail centers like the Valley Plaza Mall, this avenue sees a high number of crashes at its intersections.
High-Volume Intersections
A significant number of taxi accidents we handle happen at busy intersections, especially during peak hours. Intersections along California Avenue, Stockdale Highway, and Coffee Road are common areas we see time and time again.
Entertainment and Transit Hubs
Areas with a high density of taxi pickups and drop-offs naturally see more incidents. This includes the zones around the Mechanics Bank Arena, Theater & Convention Center and the Bakersfield Amtrak Station, with risks escalating at night and during major events.
Understanding the Impact: Taxi Accidents in Bakersfield
The data confirms the danger. Kern County’s car crash fatality rate per capita is nearly double the national average and more than double California’s overall rate. Speeding and alcohol are major contributors, making local roads statistically more hazardous than average.
The Anatomy of a Taxi Accident Case
Common Causes of Taxi Crashes
- Driver Negligence: This is the leading cause, from speeding to make more fares to distracted driving while using a GPS or dispatch device.
- Failure to Yield: Rushing taxi drivers may merge aggressively or make illegal U-turns to grab a fare, causing devastating collisions.
- Poor Vehicle Maintenance: The taxi company is responsible for the safety of its fleet. Brake failure, tire blowouts, and other equipment malfunctions point back to corporate negligence.
- Passenger Injuries Without a Collision: A crash isn’t necessary. A violent stop or sudden acceleration can throw passengers inside the cab, causing severe injuries without another vehicle ever being involved.
Frequent Injuries in Taxi Crashes
- Whiplash and Soft Tissue Injuries: Often minimized by insurers, these injuries to neck and back muscles can cause chronic pain and long-term limitations.
- Head and Brain Injuries: A passenger’s head can easily strike a window or the hard partition inside a taxi, causing concussions or even a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).
- Spinal Cord and Back Injuries: The force of a collision can herniate discs, fracture vertebrae, and cause other life-altering back injuries.
- Fractures: In side-impact or head-on crashes, arms, legs, hips, and ribs are all highly vulnerable to being broken.
Key Legal Principles You Should Know
- Common Carrier Duty of Care: Under California Civil Code § 2100, taxis are legally deemed “common carriers.” This means they must use the “utmost care and diligence” for passenger safety—a much stricter standard than the “reasonable care” required of ordinary drivers.
- Vicarious Liability: This doctrine can hold the taxi company financially responsible for its driver’s negligence. A key fight is sometimes over whether the driver is an employee or an independent contractor—a line we investigate thoroughly to establish company liability.
- Statute of Limitations: Do not wait. Under California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1, you generally have only two years from the accident date to file a personal injury lawsuit. If you miss this deadline, the court will almost certainly prohibit you from ever recovering compensation.
Dealing with the Insurance Company
Commercial insurers have a polished strategy for handling injury claims. Understanding what to do after the accident—especially when dealing with insurers—can significantly strengthen your case. Here are the main tactics we anticipate, and how we make sure they play fairly.
The Peril of Recorded Statements
Shortly after the accident, an adjuster will call to request your recorded statement. This conversation is not for your benefit. The questions may be designed to elicit statements that could negatively impact your case.
The magic phrase: “I am not providing a recorded statement until I have consulted with my attorney.”
You have no legal obligation to give them one. Repeat as necessary.
The Insufficient Settlement Offer
Within weeks, you may get an offer, sometimes with a check already in the mail. This is a strategic calculation. They want you to settle before you know the full extent of your injuries and financial needs. Cashing that check is a final settlement. You can never ask for more, even if you need surgery months later.
The Delay, Deny, Defend Strategy
They may delay your claim for months, requesting redundant paperwork and hoping financial pressure forces you to accept a tiny offer. They might deny the claim on a technicality. Finally, if you persist, they might aggressively defend the case in court, trying to wear you down until you give up.
Compensation Available for Taxi Accident Victims
With help from a taxi accident attorney, victims may recover compensation from a negligent taxi driver, taxi company, or another driver by filing a claim with the negligent party’s insurance provider. California requires passenger carriers with a seating capacity of seven or fewer to carry a minimum of $750,000 in liability insurance.
The compensation you might recover depends on the amount of your accident-related losses, including the following:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages and benefits if you must miss work during your recovery
- Future lost earnings if your injuries prevent you from returning to work
- Property losses
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of companionship
- Loss of consortium
- Mental anguish
- Emotional distress
- Loss of quality of life
- Disfigurement
If the negligent party’s insurer refuses to adequately compensate you for your injuries, a taxi accident attorney can file a personal injury lawsuit against the taxi driver, taxi company, another driver, or some other responsible entity to seek damages at trial.
Strategic Moves to Protect Your Claim
Mickey Fine, Taxi Accident Injury Attorney in Bakersfield
It goes without saying that priority #1 is to go see your doctor, even if you feel fine after the accident. Adrenaline masks pain, and some conditions (like whiplash) don’t start showing symptoms until weeks after. Once you’ve handled that, here are the steps we recommend you do right now to safeguard your case:
- Follow Your Treatment Plan Religiously. Your health is your priority. Follow every instruction from your doctors. Attend every physical therapy session and follow-up appointment. This not only helps your recovery but creates an undeniable medical record of your injuries.
- Become a Meticulous Archivist. Keep a dedicated physical or digital folder for everything related to the accident: medical bills, pharmacy receipts, insurance statements, and mileage logs for travel to appointments. Every document strengthens the foundation of your claim.
- Document Your Daily Life in a Journal. This provides powerful proof of your non-economic damages. Each day, note your pain levels, physical limitations (“could not lift groceries,” “needed help getting dressed”), and the emotional toll the accident is taking.
- Get the Official Police Report. The traffic collision report contains the officer’s initial findings, witness contact information, a diagram of the scene, and an initial assessment to determine who was at fault.
- Go Dark on Social Media. Assume every post is being monitored. Do not post anything about the accident, your injuries, or your activities. An investigator’s entire job is to find a photo of you smiling at a family barbecue to argue you aren’t as injured as you claim.
Frequently Asked Questions by Bakersfield Taxi Accident Victims
What if the taxi driver was an independent contractor?
This is a standard defense used by companies to dodge responsibility, but it is not an ironclad shield. Even if a driver is an independent contractor, the company can be held liable for its own negligence. This includes negligent hiring (failing to run a proper background check), providing poor training, or failing to maintain its fleet of vehicles in a safe condition. We investigate the real relationship between the driver and the company to expose all grounds for corporate liability.
I was a passenger, and the driver slammed on the brakes, injuring me. No other car was involved. Do I have a case?
Yes. As a common carrier, the taxi driver and company have a heightened duty to operate the vehicle safely for passengers. This duty applies whether another car is involved or not. If a sudden, aggressive maneuver—like braking violently without cause or taking a turn too fast—caused your injury, you have the right to file a claim. An attorney will review the details to determine if you have a case.
Take Control With the Law Offices of Mickey Fine
Let us take on the fight with the insurance giants, handle the legal paperwork, and gather the evidence so you can focus on what is most important: your health and your family.
Call the Law Offices of Mickey Fine today at (661) 333-3333 for your free, confidential case evaluation. We are ready to fight for you.
Law Offices of Mickey Fine – Bakersfield Office
930 Truxtun Ave, #110
Bakersfield, CA 93301
Phone: (661) 333-3333
Client Testimonials
I am grateful to Mickey Fine and his wonderful staff for their personal care and support throughout this entire ordeal. Tess and Michael were great his team definitely went the extra mile for me. I could not have chosen a better attorney and staff , Thank You guys from the bottom of my heart I will…
Katherine W.