Los Angeles Personal Injury Frequently Asked Questions
Overview of Personal Injury Laws In California
Your lawyer might be the best source of information once you’ve filed a personal injury lawsuit. But if you’re deciding whether to hire a lawyer, if you have a case, and whether this is something worth pursuing, these answers can offer you the guidance you need to begin the process.
Q: What is a personal injury claim?
A Personal Injury Claim is a legal action taken against the at-fault party whose action or inaction caused your personal injury. A Personal Injury action can be initiated for any injury that you sustained as a result of another party’s negligence. Below is a basic overview of circumstances under which you may pursue legal action for your personal injuries:
- motor vehicle accident
- Sexual Harassment (emotional)
- Medical Malpractice
- Work-related injury or illness
- Medical malpractice
- Slip and Falls
- Defective Products
- Pharmacy Malpractice
- Nursing Home Abuse or malpractice
- Defective Drugs
- Defamation
- Emotional Abuse
- and more
Filing a personal injury claim is not limited to physical injuries, it also encompasses emotional distress. There doesn’t need to be an intention behind the circumstances surrounding your injuries; this means that whether or not the other party did something intentionally or not, whether they intended to cause harm or not, that harm and injury cased to you is cause for filing a personal injury claim.
Q: Is There A Deadline For Filing A Personal Injury Claim?
This may be one of the most important questions and the answer is yes. There is a deadline to file an action for a personal injury claim. In the state of California, the deadline to file a claim in most cases is 2 years from the date of the injury.
Q. What If I Didn’t Know That I had An Injury From An Accident I was In Until Long After?
In the case of discovering that you had an injury long after an accident, there is no guarantee that you can file a claim should the period to file have expired, however, there may be exceptions and it is best to speak to an experienced personal injury attorney about your injuries and the circumstances surrounding your case to learn whether or not you can file a claim.
Q: Who Covers My Expenses After My Accident?
This is by far one of the most common questions for personal injury lawyers. In many cases, your insurance carrier will be trying to work with the other driver’s carrier in order to facilitate covering the costs of your expenses. This is where it can get tricky; the other carrier may not be interested in cooperating and instead, they may put up some roadblocks. In the case where your carrier cannot get the other insurance carrier to agree to cover expenses caused by the other driver’s negligence, your insurance carrier may not be able to pursue further compensation and may instead offer you a settlement. The fact that you have your own insurance does not guarantee nor ensure that your own insurance company will look out for your best interest. A personal injury attorney will be able to guide you and fight on your behalf.
Q: What Do I Get In A Personal Injury Claim?
The shortest answer is that the injury claims the ultimate goal is a financial remedy for your damages. One element of filing a personal injury claim is to make you whole for certain damages brought about as a result of the at-fault parties’ negligence. How much you are entitled to depend on your specific circumstances. What you win in your claim will depend on various factors, i.e., what kind of accident it was, what kind of injuries you sustained, what income loss you had, etc. A personal injury attorney can help you calculate possible relief once they have been able to review your case with you.
Q. What Exactly Are Damages?
Damages as they pertain to a personal injury claim cover both economic, property and/or punitive damages. Here is a basic overview of what is considered damages.
Basic Overview of Common Damages:
- Property damage repair
- Wages lost from the inability to work
- Wages of future earnings
- Damages for the inability to work again
- Medical Care
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of Quality of Life
- Emotional Distress
- In some cases, Punitive Damages
Q. What Is Comparative Fault?
In the state of California, while most cases follow an At-Fault remedy, there is still the possibility of comparative fault in personal injury cases. The latter means that if the court finds any instance in which something that you did also contributed to your own injury, that instance would be ascribed a percentage of fault, and your injury claim award would be reduced by that percentage.
Q: What Does A Personal Injury Lawyer Cost?
In general, Personal Injury lawyers do not cost any upfront fees and are instead working on a contingency basis. This means that they do not get paid unless they help you win your case. The common fee is 33 1/3 of your settlement.