So, you’ve been injured in an accident and now you’re unable to work and facing huge medical bills. You’re probably wondering how you can possibly pay all of your bills while you can’t work, so you may be wondering if you have a valid personal injury claim or if you can file a valid personal injury lawsuit.
Generally, you have a valid personal injury claim in California if:
- You were in an accident
- You were injured in an accident
- Someone else’s negligence at least partially caused the accident
- The accident happened in the last two years
- You possess evidence
If all of the above apply to you, then you have a valid personal injury claim. However, insurance companies will never compensate you fairly for your injuries if you don’t have strong, experienced personal injury lawyers at your side, and the insurance companies’ expensive lawyers will always beat you in court if you take them to court over a low ball offer.
Call us at 800-718-4658 or text us from this page for a free consultation if you think you may have a valid personal injury claim. We don’t charge a fee until and unless we obtain a recovery.
You Were In An Accident
Personal injury claims are filed on behalf of those who are in accidents. There are many types of accidents which can lead to a personal injury claim, including:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Train accidents
- Airplane accidents
- Boating accidents
- Amusement park accidents
- Construction accidents
- Dog bites
- Ladder accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Window falls
- Medical device failures
- Unintended medication side effects
- Defective product-related accidents
You Were Injured In An Accident
You must be injured in an accident to have a valid personal injury claim. Common types of injuries seen in personal injury claims include:
- Bone fractures
- Burns
- Neck pain
- Whiplash
- Back pain
- Spinal injuries
- Brain injuries
- Infections
- Strokes
- Heart attacks
- Damaged nerves
- Damaged kidneys
- Damaged liver
- Hearing loss
- Eyesight loss
- Sprains
- Strains
Personal injury claims and lawsuits seek financial compensation for damages related to injuries. Financial compensation can be sought for many types of damages, including:
- Any medical bills relating to your injuries
- The costs of any medications necessitated by your injuries
- Any wages you have been unable to earn due to your injuries
- Any future earning capacity you may have lost due to your injuries
- Damage to property, like your vehicle
- Physical and mental pain and suffering
- Scarring, disfigurement or permanent disability
- The loss of enjoyment of life
- Wrongful death of a loved one
- Loss of companionship of a loved one
Someone Else’s Negligence At Least Partially Caused The Accident
California Civil Jury Instructions define negligence as “the failure to use reasonable care to prevent harm to oneself or to others.” Negligence is either failing to do what a reasonably careful person would do in the same situation, or doing what a reasonably careful person would not do in the same situation.
California law holds those who injure others through negligence liable for any harm caused by their negligence.
Common examples of negligence in personal injury claims include:
- Violating traffic laws, e.g. speeding, running a red light, making illegal turns, etc.
- Knowing about a dangerous condition on your property and failing to fix or warn about it
- Knowing that a product you manufacture/sell is dangerous and failing to warn about it
Those who injure someone else by virtue of breaking the law commit negligence per se.
An accident does not need to be 100 percent the fault of others for you to have a valid personal injury claim in California, since California is a pure comparative negligence state. You can still have a valid personal injury claim in California as long as your accident was at least partially someone else’s fault.
The way this works is this: the damages you are awarded in a personal injury claim or lawsuit are simply reduced by the percentage of fault you share for the accident. Thus, if you are found to be 40 percent responsible for an accident, the damages you can recover for your injuries are reduced by 40 percent.
The Accident Happened In The Last Two Years
There is a deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit in California. This deadline is known as a statute of limitations.
The statute of limitations for most personal injury claims in California is two years from the date of the injury, or if the injury is not discovered immediately, one year from the date the injury was discovered, whichever comes later. Failure to file a lawsuit within this time frame can bar you from obtaining compensation for your injuries.
However, for personal injury claims against governmental agencies, the time limit is only six months.
You Possess Evidence
You cannot file a valid personal injury claim without evidence. No insurance company or court will award you compensation for damages if you do not have evidence that you were injured and that your injuries were caused by someone else’s negligence.
There are many types of evidence commonly seen in personal injury claims, including:
- Pictures
- Videos
- Eyewitness testimony
- Medical bills
- Medical records
- Physical evidence, like damage to your vehicle
- Police reports
- Documentation of wages you’ve lost due to your injuries
- Public records
The more evidence you collect to support your personal injury claim, the better your chances of obtaining financial compensation and the more financial compensation you can obtain. However, evidence collection can be a difficult, time-consuming process, especially while you’re recovering from your injuries.
Knowledgeable, battle-tested personal injury lawyers like Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers can help take care of the evidence collection process for you while you focus on recovering from your injuries.
What Do I Do If I Have A Valid Personal Injury Claim?
So, you have a valid personal injury claim. Now what?
It is vital that you contact aggressive personal injury lawyers with decades of experience like Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers if you want to recover as much money as you can for your injuries.
Not only will insurance companies not offer you a fair settlement if you don’t have a lawyer, but insurance companies are also trained to trick you into saying things that can reduce or eliminate their payments to you. It is extremely important to have a lawyer talk to the insurance companies for you so you don’t accidentally admit fault for an accident, or accidentally say something the insurance companies can say shows your injuries aren’t as serious as you claim.
Personal injury lawyers can also get you medical treatment on a lien, meaning you won’t have to pay for it until your case is over.
Our personal injury lawyers have been representing personal injury clients since 1990, and only charge a percentage of any recovery obtained as a fee. We do not charge a fee if we do not obtain a recovery.
Call us today at 800-718-4658 if you or a loved one was injured in an accident. You may be eligible for financial compensation.
