—
This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.
Both mild and fatal injuries have a serious impact on our lives. If someone else’s negligence is responsible for such suffering, we must seek justice from the courts. This is what the California personal injury law strives to do. It ensures that the victims get the right compensation for the physical and emotional damages caused by the offender.
Types of Injuries
Most personal injury cases in California are not intentional. If accidents happen because of someone’s careless conduct, it falls in the negligence category. Crashing cars after drinking alcohol is a perfect example. Here the offender’s intention wasn’t to harm anyone, but he was careless. Some accidents can occur without the defendant’s negligence, such as defective product injuries and pet attacks. They are known as strict liability cases. However, when the guilty party intentionally hurts other people for personal grudges or other reasons, it is an intentional tort.
Common injury claims
In California, the most filed lawsuits are vehicle accidents, fall & slip injuries, sexual assault, medical misdiagnosis, surgical errors, dog attacks, and construction incidents. Also, defamation and defective product cases are seen in courts. Victims can seek compensation for any injury, including broken bones, trauma, bleeding, bone dislocation, and wrongful death.
Types of Compensation
Damages are usually classified into two categories: compensatory and punitive. The first one is the awards to reimburse the loss of the victim. It includes medical expenses, current wage loss, future wage loss, damaged property cost, recovery cost, wrongful death damages, etc. On the other hand, punitive damages are for punishing wrongdoers for their negligence and despicable behavior. Sufferers can demand the amount they think they deserve, while the liable party has permission to defend themselves. The court makes decisions after considering the injury severity, overall loss, and both parties claims.
Shared fault laws
Sometimes, the injured party is held partially or fully responsible for their suffering. For example, going to a construction site ignoring the warning sign, driving in the wrong lane, and driving over the speed limit are mainly the victim’s fault. In such cases, a defendant can use this point against the plaintiff. If he can prove that both parties were at fault, it will affect the amount of monetary compensation. The court generally subtracts the cash equivalent to the victim’s negligence from the amount he would get if he had zero faults. Moreover, if several parties are liable for a person’s damages, the juries will decide the payable amount for everyone based on their degree of carelessness.
Time limits
Filing injury claims should be within 24 months from the occurrence of the injuries. However, the time limit will be decreased to six months if the lawsuits are against a state or government agency. Plaintiffs will need a helping hand in case they are too injured to go to court. Any family member can sue the people/ company/ organizations on their behalf. If the duration exceeds, the juries might refuse to accept their appeals. Then, they will never be able to get the recovery award.
Role of an injury lawyer
A lot of injury claims do not even reach the juries because the involved parties settle down the matter by themselves. Most often, the victims get way less value than they truly deserve due to their lack of knowledge. That’s why hiring a professional lawyer is important, even if you want to resolve it outside the court. Qualified attorneys like California personal injury lawyer Michael Cefali can help their clients recover millions every year. They calculate every type of damage you are facing or are more likely to face in the future. Most importantly, they will represent your case in front of the judges and fight for you.
—