‘Basic Instinct’ Star Sharon Stone Accused of Causing Freeway Accident in LA

The actress is scheduled to appear in court to answer allegations that her excessive speed and “unsafe turning movements” caused a June 2023 car crash.

Stone was reportedly driving southbound on the 101 freeway onto the Coldwater Canyon Avenue off-ramp in the Studio City area of Los Angeles when the incident occurred on July 30, 2023.

“At said time and place, defendant Sharon Vonne Stone was negligently owning, operating, driving, managing, and maintaining a vehicle so as to proximately cause the vehicle to strike plaintiff’s vehicle, and so thereby causing plaintiff to sustain personal injuries and property damage,” court documents stated.

“Defendant Sharon Vonne Stone caused the collision by driving too fast for traffic conditions and making an unsafe turning movement into the plaintiff’s lane of travel and colliding into the plaintiff’s vehicle.”

Stone’s attorney had no comment.

Starting a Case

In most car crashes like this, victims should seek support from Car Accident Injury Lawyers in California to handle the complexities better.

Whether he tortfeasor (negligent driver) is a movie star or a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer, a negligence case is based on the same basic principles:

• Duty: Most drivers have a duty of reasonable care. They must obey the formal rules of the road (maintaining a single lane) and informal rules of the road (driving at a safe speed given the conditions at the time).
• Breach: Aggressive driving clearly breaches the duty of care. So does impaired driving, such as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In fact, almost any driving error breaches the duty of reasonable care.
• Cause: A Los Angeles personal injury lawyer must connect the breach with the damages. California is a substantial cause state. Bad weather, like heavy rain, often contributes to car crashes. However, driver error, such as a failure to maintain a proper lookout, substantially causes these crashes.
• Damages: The damages in a vehicle collision case usually include compensation for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. Additional punitive damages may be available as well, in some extreme cases.

Tortfeasors are individually responsible for the wrecks they cause. A third party, such as an insurance company, is typically financially responsible for damages.

Ending a Case

Usually, attorneys file legal paperwork not to set up an emotional courtroom showdown but to pressure the other side into settling the case.

These resolutions benefit victims/plaintiffs. They give the parties more control over the outcome. More importantly, a settlement is a final resolution. A defendant cannot tie a settlement up in court for years to come.

Settlement is a process, not a result. This process starts early, with a thorough case analysis that allows a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer to set the claim’s settlement value.

Basically, the settlement value of a negligence case is like the sticker price of a new car. In each case, financial negotiations start at that number. If the settlement value is too high, the insurance company might not negotiate.

Our Personal Injury Lawyers Are There To Help!

If the settlement value is too low, the victim/plaintiff will probably end up settling for less. Accident victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a free consultation with experienced Car Accident Injury Lawyers, contact the Law Offices of Eslamboly Hakim. We do not charge upfront legal fees in these matters.

Photo credit : Photo by USN, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons