First Things First, FAQ
Personal injury laws allow injured humans to recover compensation for their injuries and seek justice. Also referred to as Tort Law, personal injury law covers cases involving accidents, intentional acts such as sexual assault, defective products and defamation. Every Los Angeles personal injury case has two (2) basic issues – liability and damages. Was someone liable for the injury or damages and what were the nature of the damages? Accident cases involve the concept of negligence. Negligence is a failure to exercise the care that a reasonable person would do in the circumstances relating to the accident. In order to establish negligence, four elements must be shown:
1. Duty
Duty is a legal obligation requiring that individuals or companies exercise a standard of reasonable care while performing actions that could harm others. This can encompass many things, such as a doctor providing care, or another motorist driving their car. The defendant does not have to know the plaintiff to owe them a duty.
2. Breach
Breach is a violation of that duty. The defendant breached that duty by failing to act as a “reasonably prudent person” should. In other words, the defendant should have known that their actions would likely cause injury to others.
3. Causation
Causation is the link between the breach of duty and the injury or harm suffered. For negligence to established, the injury must be a result of the breach.
4. Damages
Damages refer to actual injuries caused by the breach of duty.
I have been injured by someone else. Now what?
You need to hire a lawyer. Don’t bother wasting time trying to do it yourself. You are facing insurance professionals that know how to devalue cases. Their job is to devalue your claim and provide as little compensation as possible. A seasoned lawyer will know what to do. Find a firm, like Advo, that knows that they are doing.
At Advo, our Los Angeles personal injury lawyers take all cases on a contingency fee basis. Advo does not charge any fees unless we secure compensation on your behalf. Once we are successful, we charge a percentage of the recovery.
Every injury case is different. For example, no two car accidents are the same. The case is worth what a reasonable jury would determine the case to be worth. But here are some things an attorney will typically look at when trying to assess the potential value of your case:
- Medical expenses – This includes not just your past or present medical bills, but also the estimated costs of any future care you might require for your accident-related injuries.
- Lost income – If you are unable to return to work following a car accident, you are entitled to recover any lost past or future wages.
- Other Economic Damages – This covers any other readily quantifiable form of damages, such as the costs of repairing your car or replacing any other tangible property lost in the accident.
- Non-Economic Damages – This is commonly referred to as “pain and suffering,” and is meant to cover those damages that are real but not easily quantified. Some states actually limit the amount of non-economic damages that a car accident may recover. For example, in California medical malpractice cases where the limit is a shockingly low $250,000.
- Loss of Consortium – When you are injured in a car accident, your spouse may also have a claim against the negligent parties for the loss of your support and care.
A statute of limitations is the deadline for filing a lawsuit. Most lawsuits MUST be filed within a certain amount of time. In general, once the statute of limitations on a case “runs out,” the legal claim is not valid any longer. The period of time during which you can file a lawsuit varies depending on the type of legal claim. Here are the statutes of limitations for some common types of legal disputes:
- Personal injury: Generally two (2) years but it can be much sooner.
- Breach of a written contract: Generally Four (4) years from the date the contract was broken.
- Property damage: Generally Three (3) years from the date the damage occurred.
- Claims against government agencies: Generally, you must file a claim with the agency within 6 months (for some cases, 1 year) of the incident. If the claim is denied, you can then file your lawsuit in court but there are strict limits to when, so read the section on government claims and the chart on statute of limitations below.
Gather and preserve as much of the facts, witnesses and other evidence available. Then contact an experienced Advo lawyer.
