Practice Areas Overview
Accidents are no joke. They are the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S., after heart disease, cancer, and in recent years, COVID-19. In 2020, Americans suffered over 200,000 accidental deaths, including over 42,000 due to falls and more than 40,000 caused by traffic accidents. Many hundreds of thousands more survived their ordeal but endured serious or catastrophic injuries that left them with painful disabilities, limiting their ability to work, function, and enjoy life.
At Machtinger Law, we focus our practice on helping victims and families of serious injury, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death in Los Angeles, Orange County, and throughout Southern California. With over 30 years of complex litigation experience including over 12 years exclusively representing serious injury victims, we have the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to win significant victories in the toughest cases. As a dedicated Southern California law firm, we keep our caseload small so we can give every client the attention they deserve.
See below for a brief description of our firm’s main areas of practice and how Machtinger Law can help. For immediate assistance, call 310-943-9300 to speak with a dedicated Southern California injury lawyer with a record of success helping people like you.
Pedestrian Accidents
Los Angeles County was the third most dangerous county for pedestrians in California in 2019; 5,931 pedestrians were injured or killed in LA that year. Orange County, on the other hand, was one of the safest, yet 728 pedestrians were injured or killed in OC traffic accidents. Statistically, Orange County was the safest county in the state for pedestrians under 15 years old, yet 77 young people got hurt or tragically lost their lives walking on city streets in Anaheim, Santa Ana, Irvine and other communities.
Bicycle Accidents
Drivers are required by law to share the road with cyclists and drive with caution around them. Too often, however, they drive negligently, recklessly, or aggressively without respect or concern for the serious danger they put bicyclists in by their actions.
Motorcycle Accidents
Motorcyclists face the extreme danger of serious, catastrophic injury or wrongful death in a collision with a larger, heavier motor vehicle. Drivers often fail to look for or notice a motorcycle before turning or changing lanes, or when they do see them, they misjudge the speed and distance of the oncoming bike and make a left turn directly into the motorcycle’s path.
Car Accidents
Hundreds of car accidents happen every day in Los Angeles and Orange County, yet almost all of them could be avoided if drivers drove with more care. We represent victims of serious crashes caused by distracted driving, drunk driving, drowsy driving, and the many other ways drivers cause accidents through their negligent and reckless driving.
Truck Accidents
Tractor-trailers outweigh passenger cars by about 20 times, and in any collision, the people in the passenger car are likely to suffer catastrophic injuries or wrongful death. Annual roadside inspections show about one in every five 18-wheelers on the road should be immediately pulled from service due to bad tires, brakes, and other emergency safety issues, yet trucking companies continue to put their drivers and the public at risk. We represent truck accident victims injured or killed in crashes caused by fatigued drivers, mechanical defects, improperly secured cargo, and negligent driving mistakes made by drivers of semi-trucks, box trucks, delivery vans, and other commercial vehicles.
Bus Accidents
Bus drivers owe a duty of care to other drivers and pedestrians on the road and an even higher duty to the passengers in their care, yet long hours of stressful driving, vehicle malfunctions, and inexperienced or careless mistakes are responsible for over ten percent of fatal traffic crashes every year. We represent drivers and pedestrians injured in bus accidents, as well as bus passengers while riding the bus or in a crash.
Premises Liability
Commercial property owners have a duty to routinely inspect their property and clean up spills or make repairs necessary for the safety of customers, or put up a warning about any non-obvious hazards. Our premises liability practice includes the representation of persons seriously injured in a slip and fall, trip and fall, or other premises accident. We help dog bite and dog attack victims recover compensation for the serious injuries and trauma they suffer. And we help victims of sexual assault and criminal attack obtain both justice and compensation from their attackers or property owners whose negligent security measures invited or allowed the attack to occur.
Products Liability
Product manufacturers are strictly liable for any injuries that result when they put defective products on the market. Consumers have no way of knowing the product they purchased is unsafe until it’s too late, which is why manufacturers are held to such a strict standard of liability. Machtinger Law has the experience, resources and determination needed to go up against large corporate defendants and hold them accountable for the harm they caused by putting their desire for profits ahead of product safety.
Treatment Centers
When people turn to treatment centers due to alcohol or drug dependence or eating disorders, they are already in a state of crisis. Treatment centers hold themselves out as safe places staffed and equipped with skilled and knowledgeable personnel to provide the help their patients need. Failures to provide proper security and supervision, and other negligence by the operators of these businesses, can result in serious or fatal consequences to their clients or others. Our firm is experienced in handling cases in this complex area of law.
Breach of Fiduciary Duty
On top of his 12+ years of personal injury experience, attorney John Machtinger also has 19 years of legal experience in civil litigation, including complex business tort cases involving fraud and theft of trade secrets, as well as breaches of loyalty, trust, and fair dealing required between parties in certain commercial or financial relationships. Machtinger Law represents clients harmed by a breach of fiduciary duty or business torts in cases involving significant economic damages.
How Machtinger Law Can Help
It’s a reality that the facts bear out time and time again: people who settle personal injury claims without an attorney get far less compensation than people who hire an attorney to represent them. Insurance company claims adjusters are expert, experienced negotiators with all the information on their side to convince you that their insured isn’t liable or to get you to accept a lowball settlement offer. Without the same information in your possession, how do you know if they are right or are treating you fairly? At Machtinger Law, APC, we know what your claim is worth and how to prove it. John Machtinger is an experienced negotiator and successful litigator who will work toward a settlement or jury verdict that fully compensates you for your future medical care, employment disability, pain and suffering, and the countless ways another’s negligence has negatively impacted your life.
Helping Southern California Injury Victims and Their Families in Los Angeles and Orange County
If you or a family member has suffered a serious or catastrophic injury in Los Angeles or Orange County, or if you lost a loved one in a fatal accident caused by another’s negligence in Southern California, call Machtinger Law at 310-943-9300. Backed by a reputation for determination and success, we’ll fight to secure justice and compensation on your behalf.
