Personal Injury Attorney
Hello, I’m Brad, a dedicated personal injury attorney committed to safeguarding the rights of injured individuals in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Orange County. Our team of expert personal injury lawyers is wholeheartedly devoted to offering robust advocacy for our clients throughout California. Since 2006, our personal injury lawyers have taken pride in representing victims involved in various legal matters, including:
- Car accident: Our personal injury attorney can protect your rights and negotiate with insurance companies to get you the maximum compensation for your car accident injuries, including medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
- Semi truck accident: Our personal injury lawyer can provide legal services for semi truck accident victims by investigating the accident. If another truck driver caused the accident, our semi truck accident lawyer will file a lawsuit to get you the maximum money for your injuries.
- Motorcycle accident: Our motorcycle accident attorney helps injured motorcycle drivers by investigating the cause of the motorcycle accident and pursuing legal action to secure the maximum money for your injuries, medical expenses, and loss of wages.
- Neck injuries / whiplash: Our personal injury lawyer can assist victims suffering neck and back injuries by seeking the maximum money for medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, and ongoing care.
- Traumatic brain injury: Our personal injury attorney can protect accident victims suffering from traumatic brain injury by having a team of TBI experts testify about the medical expenses, rehabilitation, and long-term care.
- Dog bite injury: Our personal injury lawyer helps dog bite victims get compensation to cover medical bills, emotional trauma, and pain and suffering resulting from a dog bite.
- Accidental death: Our personal injury attorney helps families dealing with accidental death by providing compassionate legal guidance and filing a wrongful death lawsuit. Family members of an accident death victim can get money for the emotional loss, financial hardships, and expenses resulting from the tragic incident.
- Wrongful death: Our personal injury lawyer helps families with accidental death by filing wrongful death lawsuit, seeking compensation, and offering support during this challenging and emotional time.
- Slip and fall: Our personal injury attorney can support a person with a slip and fall injury by investing in the cause of the accident, who is at fault, and getting compensation to cover medical bills, rehabilitation, and pain and suffering.
- Trip and fall: Our personal injury lawyer can assist a person with a trip and fall injury by investigating the cause of the injury, determining liability, and seeking compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
- Rideshare accident: Our personal injury attorney helps persons injured in a rideshare accident by handling complex insurance claims and determining liability involving multiple parties. If necessary, our rideshare lawyer will seek compensation for medical expenses and pain and suffering resulting from rideshare accidents from companies such as Uber and Lyft.
Our mission is to enhance the quality of life for our clients after an accident, one client at a time. Our personal injury attorneys stand ready to assist you and your family in recovering the compensation needed to improve your life after an injury caused by another party.
Personal Injury Definition
When going through a personal injury lawsuit, having a grasp of key legal terminology is crucial. To make your journey easier, here is a collection of common terms that you one may hear in connection with personal injury lawsuits:
- Personal Injury: Personal injury means harm or damage caused to a person’s body or emotions caused by another person’s negligence or intentional act. This injury can result from car accidents, slip and falls, truck accidents, or slip and fall. Personal injury law allows an injured person to seek compensation for their losses, including medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost wages, by filing a lawsuit against the liable person.
- Negligence or negligent: Negligence refers to the failure to exercise responsible care or an act of carelessness. An individual is deemed negligent if the lack of care results in damage or harm to another person. Usage Examples:
- Defendant Alex’s negligence caused plaintiff Peter’s injury.
- Alex’s careless operation of the van in low visibility led to the collision with Peter’s parked car.
- Alex was negligent when he chose to drive his truck after consuming alcohol for four hours.
Negligence is a fundamental concept in tort law, requiring the plaintiff to establish four key elements in a personal injury case:
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- The defendant had a duty or obligation towards the plaintiff.
- The defendant violated or breached this duty.
- The violation or breach resulted in damages.
- Actual damages occurred.
- Personal Injury Lawsuit: A personal injury lawsuit is a legal process conducted in a court setting where a plaintiff, who has suffered harm or injury, seeks to hold an individual (defendant) accountable for a wrongful act or the inflicted harm. With the help of a personal injury lawyer, the plaintiff files a lawsuit against the defendant to claim damages, typically in the form of financial compensation, in an attempt to recover losses incurred.
- Plaintiff: The plaintiff is the individual who initiates legal proceedings before a judge, accusing another party of wrongdoing. This civil lawsuit is brought forth by the plaintiff, represented by a personal injury attorney, in response to being wronged or sustaining an injury.
- Defendant: The defendant is the entity or person against whom the lawsuit is filed when a plaintiff seeks redress for harm or injury. A defendant can an organization, an individual, a business, or even a governmental entity. It is important to note that a single lawsuit may involve multiple defendants and plaintiffs.
- Injury: The term “injury” in the legal context extends beyond physical harm, such as broken limbs or head injuries. It encompasses various forms of harm, including defamation of character (damage to one’s reputation through false statements), wrongful death (the demise of a relative due to another’s negligence), emotional injury (suffering and pain), and financial loss (e.g., loss of property, assets, savings).
It is crucial to recognize that a civil court aims to restore the plaintiff’s condition to what it was prior to the injury. While monetary compensation is often awarded, the court cannot fully restore certain aspects, such as reputation or the return of a deceased person. Although money may not remedy every aspect, it can contribute to the restoration of some of the plaintiff’s condition. A skilled personal injury lawyer can help a victim get the appropriate compensation for their injury.
Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit
Once you have made the decision to proceed with a civil personal injury lawsuit in California, your personal injury attorney will begin the legal process by submitting a complaint to the court. This document outlines each specific damage for which you seek compensation.
Following the filing of the complaint, the defendant is given a certain period to respond by submitting an answer. The answer is a formal legal response that communicates the defendant’s position regarding the allegations to both the court and the plaintiff.
- Damages: The plaintiff’s primary objective in a personal injury lawsuit is to recover monetary compensation for damages incurred. While damages are expressed in monetary terms, it is essential to understand the nature of what the compensation represents. Damages fall into three categories: non-economic damages, economic damages, and punitive damages. Economic damages include quantifiable losses such as medical expenses, wage loss, vehicle repair bills, and replacement services.
On the other hand, non-economic damages encompass subjective losses like suffering, pain, humiliation, and anxiety. For instance, in a car accident case, economic damages could be $2,000 in auto repair bills and a $6,000 hospital bill, while non-economic damages might be $4,000 for insomnia and anxiety resulting from the injuries. If the court assesses the defendant’s actions as reckless, punitive damages may also be awarded, constituting an extra financial award.
With the help of a personal injury lawyer, a victim can recover the damages needed to make them whole again.
- Statute of Limitations: The statute of limitations refers to the legal timeframe during which an individual may file a lawsuit claiming damages. This period is determined by state laws and the type of case. It is crucial to note that the statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits typically ranges from 2 to 3 years in most states, though exceptions exist, such as in cases of medical malpractice. The countdown begins from the date of the loss, diagnosis, or accident. In California, for example, the statute of limitations for personal injury suits is two years, as dictated by state law. To ensure that all deadlines are met, a victim should not hesitate to contact a personal injury lawyer.
- Liability: Liability can be defined as the legal obligation that an individual is compelled to fulfill. Whether it involves personal injury, property damage, or any other matter, a defendant’s liability is their duty according to the law. For example, consider renting out your house, and the tenant accidentally causes a fire by leaving the stove on. In this scenario, the tenant is responsible for the property loss. Similarly, someone operating a vehicle is legally obligated to drive safely and adhere to traffic rules; failing to do so makes them liable for damages to another person’s well-being or property. To assess liability in a specific scenario, one should not hesitate to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer.
- Intentional Tort and Tort: A tort encompasses any wrongful action that is a breach of contract but not a crime. Negligence, trespassing, wrongful death, and defamation fall under the category of tort. For example, an individual causing a auto accident has committed a tort.
Intentional tort, on the other hand, involves a person committing a deliberate wrongful act. Consider battery and assault, typically handled in criminal court but becoming intentional torts in civil actions. Also, defamation of someone’s character is an intentional tort, as it is a purposeful action by the defendant.
- Strict Liability: Strict liability is a legal concept stating that a defendant is held responsible regardless of fault or wrongdoing. For example, if a plaintiff files a lawsuit against a drug manufacturing business for severe side effects or internal injuries resulting from using a drug without proper side effects labeling, the defendant (the drug manufacturer) must prove in court that their drug did not cause the plaintiff’s injuries. To counter such a defense, a victim should be sure to retain a personal injury attorney.
- Contributory Negligence and Comparative Fault in Personal Injury Cases: In a personal injury lawsuit, the impact on damages can be mitigated or even eliminated through the application of contributory negligence and comparative fault standards. There are situations where both the defendant and the plaintiff share some level of responsibility, with the plaintiff’s percentage of fault typically being lesser.
Consider a scenario where there is spilled water on the floor, and instead of promptly cleaning it, the cleaner merely places a caution sign in front of the spill. In this case, the court might assign a portion of fault to the plaintiff for disregarding the caution sign. For example, the plaintiff might be deemed 20% at fault for the injuries, while the grocery market is considered 80% at fault for failing to clean the floor promptly. Consequently, if the plaintiff were initially entitled to $10,000 in damages, the judgment would be reduced to $8,000 to account for the assigned percentages of fault.
To ensure that one gets the maximum damages, it is recommended to contract the services of a personal injury lawyer.
