Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal injury is an important arm of the law that helps protect the rights of people who have been injured by someone else's negligence. If, for example, a distracted driver leaves you injured in a car accident, personal injury law allows you to seek compensation for your injuries and other losses. If you've been injured by someone else's negligence, working in close tandem with an experienced Bakersfield personal injury attorney is the surest path forward toward a beneficial case resolution.
Personal Injury Claims
Every personal injury claim involves its own unique circumstances, but there are some basic types of claims that are most common, including:
- Traffic accidents, such as car, rideshare, truck, motorcycle, bike, and pedestrian accidents
- Premises liability claims, including slip and falls, inadequate security, and more
- Pool drownings
- Dog bites
- Accidents that cause catastrophic injuries, such as limb loss
- Wrongful death claims
Personal Injury Law and Duty of Care
Personal injury law is based on the at-fault party’s breach of a duty of care owed to the accident victim. For example, motorists take on the responsibility – or duty of care – of driving safely and allowing the safe passage of others on the road. When a motorist is negligent, he or she breaches this duty of care and can face a personal injury claim if someone is injured in the process. Another example is that commercial property owners and managers are responsible for maintaining their premises in a reasonably safe condition for their customers, clients, and other guests. If they fail to uphold this responsibility, it amounts to a breach of their duty of care to those guests, and a personal injury claim can be the result.
Your Experienced Personal Injury Attorney
One of the most important steps you can take if you’ve been injured by someone else’s negligence is hiring an experienced personal injury attorney who will skillfully attend to all of the following:
- Gathering all relevant information and evidence in support of your claim
- Determining the full extent of your damages and ensuring they are well represented in your claim
- Skillfully negotiating with the insurance company for a settlement that compensates you fully for the damages you’ve suffered
- Guiding your case toward litigation and a court award if the insurance company refuses to engage in fair negotiations
Having a dedicated personal injury attorney in your corner can have an immense impact on the outcome of your claim.
Your Physical, Financial, and Emotional Damages
The damages you can seek in your personal injury claim are typically categorized as follows:
- Your medical bills, which can run the gamut from emergency care at the scene all the way to surgery, rehabilitation, pain management, and well beyond
- Your lost earnings, which can extend to a lost earning potential, to a stalled career trajectory, and even to permanent disability
- Your pain and suffering, which can have severe emotional repercussions that are difficult to overcome
Accounting for your damages in their entirety is an essential element of your personal injury claim.
Settlement Negotiations
As you move forward with your claim, you’ll need to attempt to negotiate a settlement with the insurance company involved (the insurance provider for the at-fault person or entity). The insurance company is a massive enterprise with a lot of power behind it, which can leave you at an unfair disadvantage. The insurance company’s top priority is profits, which generally means reducing settlements by whatever means available to them. Your accomplished personal injury attorney understands the insurance company’s tactics and is well-positioned to thwart them. Consider the following practices that insurance companies like to employ in their efforts to bolster profits:
- Deny claims in order to see what they can get rid of right off the top
- Make early, lowball settlement offers
- Complicate and prolong the claims process
- Shift blame
- Draw damage amounts into question
Your dedicated Bakersfield personal injury attorney understands how insurance companies operate and knows how to craft your strongest claim in pursuit of just compensation that covers your complete damages.
Statute of Limitations
In California, the statute of limitations – or time limit – for bringing a personal injury case against the at-fault party is two years from the date of the injury-causing accident (with some exceptions). While two years might strike you as plenty of time to move forward with a lawsuit, it’s important to remember that the insurance process alone can be lengthy. When you couple this with the fact that you are recovering from an injury, this two-year time limit can seemingly fly by. The sooner you consult with an experienced personal injury attorney, the better protected your case will be
Shared Fault
Some personal injury cases in California are compensated on a shared-fault basis. If, for example, you are injured in a car accident in which – due to the fact that you were speeding – you are deemed 20 percent responsible for the accident that left you injured, your compensation will be reduced by that 20 percent (something known as a pure comparative negligence rule).
Protecting Your Personal Injury Claim
While your case will be unique to you and the circumstances that make it up, there are some basic steps to protect your claim that apply to everyone in your situation, including:
- Seek medical attention immediately, and follow your doctor’s instructions carefully
- Work closely with an experienced personal injury attorney
- Stay off social media until your claim is behind you
- Allow your personal injury attorney to provide the insurance company with everything they need (you are not required to provide them with a statement, and it is in your best interest that you don’t)
Your dedicated Bakersfield personal injury attorney understands how insurance companies operate and knows how to craft your strongest claim in pursuit of just compensation that covers your complete damages.
Look to an Experienced Bakersfield Personal Injury Attorney for the Help You Need
The trusted Bakersfield personal injury attorneys at Los Angeles City Law are well equipped to help you obtain a favorable claim resolution. Your claim is important, so please don’t hesitate to reach out by contacting or calling us at 866-522-4895 to learn more about how we can help you today.
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Our Practice Areas
Our practice areas span the breadth of personal injury cases and legal services, including:
If you have a concern related to personal injury law, we are here to help.
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