
Consult a Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyer Today
Contact Us Today for a Free Consultation With One of Our Personal Injury Lawyers
After suffering catastrophic injuries due to someone else’s negligence you may have serious concerns about your future and how to make the liable party pay.
During these difficult times, you need a trusted legal advocate to guide you through the personal injury claims process and recover maximum compensation for your suffering. Contact us by calling (213) 652-5649 or filling out our contact form to schedule a free consultation with our reputable Los Angeles personal injury lawyers at West Coast Trial Lawyers.
Common Types of Personal Injury Claims in Los Angeles
Victims of personal injuries in Los Angeles do not pursue legal action as often as you might think. This is, in part, because of the fact that they are unsure whether they have grounds to pursue a case. There are two primary instances in which you have the right to pursue compensation through a personal injury case. These include:
- When someone else is or could be at fault for your injuries
- When your injuries have adversely affected your life
There are endless ways in which you could suffer an injury at the hands or decisions of another. Some of the more common types of personal injury claims we see in Los Angeles insurance claims and civil courts include:
- Car Accidents
- Uber and Lyft Accidents
- Motorcycle Accidents
- Truck Accidents
- Wrongful Death
- Burn Injury
- Bicycle Accidents
- Pedestrian Accidents
- Bus Accidents
- Spinal Cord Injury
- Scooter Accidents
- Food Delivery Accidents
- Brain Injury
- Dog Bites
- Premises Liability
If you suffered devastating injuries in an accident that was not listed above, you may still have the right to financial compensation. You can contact our office today to find out whether we have the ability to take on your Los Angeles personal injury claim.
How Can a Los Angeles Personal Injury Help You?
The last thing you may be thinking about in your Los Angeles emergency room bed following a critical accident is contacting an attorney. But if you want to protect your future and set yourself up to get the most out of your claim so that you can rebuild your life after suffering devastating Injuries, you need to get a Los Angeles personal injury attorney working on your case as soon as possible.
Some of the most important legal responsibilities your attorney will have and handling your personal injury case include:
- Reviewing the circumstances of your case
- Investigating the cause of your accident and injuries
- Gathering the evidence needed to build a case against the liable party
- Reviewing your damages to determine what your case is worth
- Filing claims with the insurance company
- Negotiating with profit-driven insurance companies
- Preparing your case for trial
- Representing your interests before the judge and jury in court
Los Angeles Personal Injuries to Sue for
There are many different types of injuries that you may have the right to pursue compensation for. But it is important to remember that it is not necessarily the type of injury you have sustained that will determine whether you can be awarded compensation in your case.
Instead, your lawyer will be looking at the multiple ways your life has been affected by your injuries in order to figure out whether you have grounds to pursue your case. However, there are many types of injuries that are seen more often in Los Angeles personal injury claims than others. These include:
- Spinal cord injuries
- Burn injuries
- Loss of limbs
- Concussion
- Internal injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Paralysis
- Head and back injuries
- Organ failure
- Death
These are only a few of the more common types of injuries our clients have endured in Los Angeles civil courts. If you have suffered an injury that was not listed above, be sure to contact our office to explore your legal options for financial recovery.
California Personal Injury Laws That Could Affect Your Case
There are many laws surrounding personal injury claims that you will need to be aware of as you attempt to pursue the compensation that is rightfully yours. You need to have a clear understanding of these laws and the way that they may impact your ability to win your case.
With that being said, here is more about how California’s pure comparative negligence laws, and the statute of limitations could influence the outcome of your Los Angeles personal injury claim.
How Does Comparative Negligence Work for Los Angeles Personal Injury Claims?
It is not uncommon for people who have been seriously injured in an accident to wonder how their ability to recover compensation will be affected by sharing fault. Fortunately, the state of California follows a pure comparative negligence system.
Here, if you share fault for the accident you were involved in or the injuries you sustained, then you can still recover compensation for your suffering. However, you should expect your injury settlement to reflect a deduction that correlates directly to your percentage of blame. Let’s look at an example:
Noah was critically injured in a devastating sideswipe car accident caused by a distracted driver. At trial, the defense argued that Noah was at fault for his injuries because he wasn’t wearing his seatbelt at the time of the collision.
The judge found Noah to be twenty percent at fault for his injuries. The jury ultimately awarded Noah $250,000. Due to CA’s pure comparative negligence laws, his award was reduced by twenty percent. Noah came away with a final personal injury settlement of $200,000.
Even sharing a small amount of fault for your injuries can have a dramatic impact on the amount of compensation you are awarded. For this reason, it is critical that you have a personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles making sure that the percentages of fault are accurately evaluated in your case.
Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawsuit Statute of Limitations
Are you getting ready to take legal action against the person or party responsible for your injuries? If so, it is critical that you act quickly. Although you may not feel pressured to take action on your case, there is an important deadline known as the statute of limitations that could have a significant impact on your ability to pursue your case.
Under California law, all personal injury claims must be filed within two years. The exact date in which the statute of limitations would expire for your case can often be confusing.
If your personal injury lawsuit is not filed before the statute of limitation expires, then you will no longer have the opportunity to seek restitution in civil court. You can avoid hassles like these by having an experienced Los Angeles personal injury attorney take on the legalities of your case.
What Is Your Los Angeles Personal Injury Claim Worth?
One of the main reasons why personal injury victims in Los Angeles are hesitant to seek the compensation they would otherwise deserve is because the effort that it takes to pursue cases like these often seems too much to bear.
But many injury survivors are unaware of just how much their losses are actually worth. This is, in part, because they may have been low balled by the insurance company, and do you not know that they can be compensated for more than just financially-driven damages.
Your attorney will need to take an inventory of the various ways your life has been affected by the accident or incident that you were involved in, and your injuries themselves. Here is more about the types of damages you could recover in your Los Angeles personal injury claim.
Economic Damages and Non-Economic Damages
In order to ensure that you are awarded full and fair compensation for your damages, your attorney will likely classify your losses into two primary categories. These include economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages consist of all of your financially-based losses. Some of the more common types of economic damages you could be awarded in your Los Angeles personal injury lawsuit include:
- Loss of income
- Loss of future potential earnings, including lost retirement contributions, bonuses, and salary increases
- Hospital bills
- Costs of prescription medications
- Costs of physical therapy
- Costs of mental health counseling
- Medical equipment fees
- Other medical bills
- Property Damages
- Unexpected child care expenses
- Costs of household upkeep and maintenance
Non-economic damages are more challenging to quantify because they do not have a fixed monetary value. Every person’s life is impacted by their accident and injuries in different ways. What one person enters another may not, and at different levels of severity.
With that being said, non-economic damages encompass all of the ways your life has been impacted by your accident and injuries. Some of the different non-economic damages that you could recover in your personal injury claim include:
- Loss of society and advice
- Loss of support and guidance
- Loss of love and companionship
- Physical pain and suffering
- Inconvenience
- Disfigurement and Scarring
- Damage to your personal and professional reputations
- Emotional distress
- Diminished quality of life
These are only a few of the different losses that you may be able to recover as part of your Los Angeles personal injury case. In order to find out how much your case could be worse, be sure to reach out to your attorney to discuss your damages in further detail.
Punitive Damages
When someone else’s negligence or misconduct has caused you to endure devastating injuries, they can be ordered to repay you for your compensatory damages. But punitive damages are something else entirely.
Punitive damages are not meant to compensate the injury victim, although such an award will increase the amount of the victims injury settlement. Instead, punitive damages are a way for the Los Angeles civil court system to further punish the liable party for actions that may be deemed egregious, reprehensible, or abhorrent.
In issuing an award of punitive damages, the courts can send a message that actions similar to that of the defendant in your case will not be tolerated. With that being said, it is important to note that punitive damages are not commonly awarded. You can speak with your attorney to find out more about whether you might be awarded punitive damages based on the details of your case.
Costs of Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer in Los Angeles
Many people who have suffered devastating injuries in an accident or incident are under the impression that they will not be able to seek compensation in their case. This is because they believe that the costs of hiring an attorney to represent them are far more than they can afford to cover.
When you are already struggling to cope financially, this is a real and relevant concern. The good news is, any reputable personal injury attorney in Los Angeles should work for you on contingency. This means that your lawyer will cover any of the costs of building your case upfront on your behalf.
You do not need to worry about being billed a penny for your attorney services unless or until we win your case at trial or through negotiations with the insurance company.
If we do not produce a recovery in your case, you do not need to worry about paying your Los Angeles personal injury attorney anything. This means that there is no risk to you and your family in attempting to get justice for the trauma you have been through.
Get Help From a Personal Injury Lawyer in Los Angeles Today
You may be intimidated by the thought of going up against a greedy insurance company or bringing your case to trial. But with an experienced Los Angeles personal injury lawyer at West Coast Trial Lawyers representing your interests, you can rest easier. Focus on recuperating and rebuilding your life while we handle the legal details of your case.
Our firm proudly offers no-cost, risk-free claim reviews to personal injury victims across Los Angeles and surrounding cities. Claim yours when you give our office a call at (213) 652-5649 or complete our quick contact form, and we will reach out to you to find out more about your Los Angeles personal injury case.
