Personal injury accidents can take place in many types of settings and are caused by another party’s negligence. It is not uncommon for these types of accidents to cause both physical injuries and emotional distress, which vary in severity. When one of these unfortunate events happens, the victim is able to claim compensation for the consequences of the accident with the help of an experienced team of legal professionals, such as our Los Angeles personal injury attorneys.
| Quick Facts | |
|---|---|
| Types of injuries our Los Angeles personal injury attorneys provide assistance for |
– medical malpractice, – accident injuries, – slip and fall, – birth injuries, – motorcycle accident injuries and much more |
|
Services offered by our Los Angeles personal injury attorneys |
Complete legal representation during the settlement and the trial phase |
|
Assistance for wrongful death (Yes/No) |
Yes |
| Settlement calculator (Yes/No) | Yes |
| Included in the settlement calculation |
– immediate or present medical care, – future medical care, – lost income, – future lost income, – damages |
| Elements of negligence in Los Angeles |
– breach of duty of care, – causation, – damages directly inflicted by the accident |
| Evidence required to support the claim |
– accident scene evidence, – police documents, – witness testimonies, – photos and videos, – expert testimonies, etc. |
| Compensatory damages obtained with the help of our Los Angeles personal injury attorneys |
– medical care, – future medical care, – costs for treating the psychological effects of the accident, – lost wages |
| Non-economic damages |
– compensation for pain and suffering, – the loss of a loved one, – mental anguish, – post-traumatic stress disorder |
| Calculation method for non-economic damages | Multiplier, in most cases |
| Settlement possibility (Yes/No) |
Yes |
| Court proceedings duration in Los Angeles |
12 months or more |
| Statute of limitations |
2 years from the injury or 1 year if the injury was not discovered immediately |
| Comparative negligence rule in California |
Comparative fault of plaintiff (the plaintiff can be accused of having contributed to his or her own injury) |
| Estimated time to settlement with the help of our personal injury lawyers in Los Angeles | 6 – 12 months |
What are the services offered by our medical malpractice attorneys in Los Angeles?
Our medical malpractice attorney in Los Angeles can help you if you were injured by a doctor or another healthcare provider. Some examples of the situations in which we can help you include the following:
- Misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose;
- Misread or ignored medical tests/lab results, ignoring the patient’s relevant medical history;
- Unnecessary surgery and/or surgical errors or surgery performed in the incorrect place;
- Premature discharge and/or poor follow-up;
- Some types of birth injuries;
- Wrongful death, if this was caused through medical malpractice.
What kinds of personal injury accidents would be eligible for a compensation claim?
There are many personal injury accidents that are eligible for a personal injury claim in Los Angeles. The victim of the accident would usually receive money for his/her medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and the cost of rehabilitation based on the situation. Personal injury claims include:
- Brain and spinal cord injuries.
- Accidents resulting from careless or reckless driving;
- Motorcycle and truck accidents;
- Accidents involving pedestrians or bicyclists;
- Accidents because of slip and fall accidents in hazardous places;
- Work-related accidents;
- Injuries caused by animal attacks or dog bites;
- Injuries due to a defective product;
- Accidents from Uber and Lyft rideshares;
- Nursing home injuries;
Why use a personal injury calculator?
The damage calculator is an effective tool to use as soon as you receive an initial estimate of the medical expenses associated with the personal injury accident you suffered or after you’ve received the first medical bills. Whenever a plaintiff decides to negotiate a settlement for a personal injury accident, he/she will need to start the negotiation phase by bringing a settlement amount to the table.
Estimating a sufficient settlement amount can be hard enough when all of the injuries have not yet been treated and there are still future medical bills to be taken care of. Here is where the damage calculator can prove to be effective: in adding up what you already know in terms of expenses and including those that have been estimated up to a certain point.
The following video offers useful information about our services:
How can you prove fault in most types of personal injury accidents?
The most important step after a personal injury accident in any Californian city is to seek adequate medical attention, even if the initial injuries do not seem serious. A head injury, such as those that can be sustained in car accidents, can have important consequences, even if the signs are not immediately visible.
If you are in good condition immediately after the vehicle accident, you should try to take photos of the crash, the vehicle, and the damage. You should also note the traffic conditions, time of day, or other special events/conditions that could have contributed to the accident.
In order to prove fault in a vehicle accident, you should be able to show that the other party was involved in the accident and, moreover, that he/she was negligent.
How the specialized assistance from our personal injury attorneys in LA works?
Proving negligence in these types of cases means that the injured patient is the one who needs to prove that the physician was negligent and that this negligence was what caused the injury. Like in the case of other personal injury accidents, four elements are essential:
- Duty of care: the doctor’s duty of care towards the patient is a professional duty and can be argued that it is also outlined in the Hippocratic oath;
- Breach of duty of care: the patient will need to show that the doctor clearly breached his or her duty of care;
- Injury: the injury needs to have been clearly caused by the aforementioned breach of duty of care;
- Damages: the damages claimed need to have been caused by the injury.
What are the types of compensations for personal injuries?
Victims of personal injury accidents can claim compensation for two distinct types of damages: economic and non-economic ones.
Primary compensation areas include monetary compensation for the following:
- medical bills: the costs for the medical treatment after the accident are covered by the compensation; these are almost always the highest costs and, in some situations, will also include future medical care.
- the lost earnings: the wages lost by the victim as a result of not being able to work after the accident.
- future lost earnings: the victim can also claim compensation for the future lost income when the recovery period is longer or when he/she is an entrepreneur who can prove the lost business opportunities.
- the property damages: the costs for repairing/replacing the motorcycle as well as any other valuable property that might have been lost in the crash.
Why is immediate medical documentation necessary following an accident?
The medical document is one of the crucial evidences that could be used in personal injury cases. Postponement of treatment may have adverse impacts on the health of the victim as well as the claim. Some of the essential documentation includes:
- ER reports;
- X-rays, MRIs, and laboratory tests;
- Prescription medication;
- Physical therapy reports;
- Psychological counseling reports;
- Statements of medical experts.
How to calculate the settlement for a personal injury accident in Los Angeles?
Calculating the settlement for a personal injury accident is a task that requires the victim to have completed at least a part of the medical treatment. This is one of the reasons why it is important to make a personal injury claim after you have been discharged from the hospital. Nevertheless, the time between the accident and the moment you make your claim should not be too long: preparing the evidence and gathering all of the case files can take some time and California has a statute of limitations of two years from the date of the accident, meaning that the time you have to ask for a settlement amount is limited.
Victims can use a personal injury calculator prior to requesting legal aid.
How to decide if the settlement is suitable?
Victims of personal injury accidents can either choose to settle their case out of court or take the case to court to be trialed by a judge and jury. In most cases, it is quicker to settle than to go to court, however, this is a suitable choice only if advised by an experienced attorney. If you have better chances of obtaining a higher settlement in court, a Los Angeles personal injury attorney from our team will advise you on how to proceed.
What are the areas covered by our Los Angeles personal injury attorneys?
We cover a large area around L.A., including Long Beach, Riverside, Palmdale, San Diego etc. You can find out more details if you contact our law office via phone or e-mail.
Frequently asked questions
It is important for the victim to be able to prove that the injury was caused by the negligence of the other party. Our Los Angeles personal injury attorney can help you prove your case in court.
The first thing you should do after being involved in a personal injury accident is seeking immediate medical attention. If the injuries are not extensive, you can try to collect any piece of information from the scene of the accident. This can be crucial later on.
One of our Los Angeles personal injury attorneys will be able to help you gather the relevant evidence and build a solid case based on medical records, testimonials, and other sources. An expert will know exactly how the law applies in your case and what our rights are.
Negligence can be proved through evidence from the accident or medical records about certain lesions. However, you should pay close attention to shared fault cases: if you are also to blame for the accident, you will be given a smaller compensation.
Compensations are awarded for monetary or non-monetary damages: either for medical bills, to replace lost property or even for the pain and suffering sustained in the accident. The latter is a special category of compensations, also known in some cases as hedonic damages.
Limitations for compensations can apply, in cases of medical malpractice, and the victim should know that it is best to take legal action as soon as possible after the accident.
Our medical malpractice lawyer in Los Angeles can give you more information about these legal limitations that apply if you have been hurt through the negligence of your treating or emergency physician. You can claim compensations for various types of medical malpractice, such as surgical errors, as well as misdiagnosis or medication errors (receiving insufficient or improper medication).
The pure comparative fault rule applies when the defendant argues that he/she is not entirely to blame for the accident. In these cases, the percentage of compensation is divided among the parties according to the percentage of fault each of them had in the accident.
California has a statute of limitations of two years from the date of the accident. Victims who try to obtain compensations at a later date will most likely have their case rejected by the court. The California statute of limitations for medical malpractice cases is one year after the injured individual discovers the injury (or should have discovered the injury) or three years from the date of the injury, whichever occurs first.
The insurance companies have clauses covering common accidents like motorcycle accidents. The insurers might try to reduce the number of compensations in difficult cases that will require more medical attention like those that involve spinal cord injuries.
Negotiation can be very important, especially if both the plaintiff and the defendant are willing to agree upon a settlement and not go to court. This phase will be the only chance the victim has to obtain rightful compensations and the help of a personal injury lawyer can prove to be extremely important.
Individuals who engage in risky activities, such as extreme sports, will usually sign a consent that they are fully aware of the possible consequences of their actions. However, even if the individual took certain risks, he can file a personal injury claim if the injuries occurred in other circumstances and not from the causes he expressly agreed upon.
As a parent, you have the right to claim compensations for your child’s injuries occurred on an unsafe playground while he was playing in a public or private pool or even while he/she was on the local school bus. Personal injury cases involving children are more sensitive and a personal injury attorney specialized in these issues can provide you with important advice.
Footage shot with the help of a dashboard camera can be very useful to recreate the accident. While they can provide useful information, they may not be widely accepted as conclusive evidence. Nevertheless, if you were using a camera while being involved in a car accident, you can bring this evidence to support your case.
Yes, you can use a special personal injury calculator where you can introduce various elements related to your injury and see how much your case is worth. However, it is recommended to ask our Los Angeles personal injury attorneys to help you calculate the compensation in order to have the best outcome.
Liability in a personal injury case is based on negligence or lack of exercising the duty of care. If the latter can be pinned on the defendant in a lawsuit, negligence can also be used against the injured party.
You can recognize a low settlement when the insurance company rushes to make its first offer. You can calculate the compensation before going to the meeting with the insurance company. You can also make sure you are offered a low settlement if you go alone to the meeting with the insurer.
You can negotiate with an insurance company by yourself, but the outcome could be a poor one, as the insurer will try and settle for the lowest amount possible. However, if you have hired a personal injury lawyer, he or she can negotiate a right compensation based on the evidence they can bring to the attention of the insurer.
If you were injured under the care of a healthcare provider, you can discuss your case with our medical malpractice lawyer in Los Angeles.For more details on the above-mentioned questions please do not hesitate to contact our Los Angeles personal injury attorneys.