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Every year in Bakersfield, people are injured due to the recklessness or carelessness of another person or company. Whether your injuries were caused by a vehicle accident, a construction accident, an accidental fall, a defective product, a dog bite, sexual assault, or some other cause, if someone else was at fault for your accident, you deserve just compensation for your injury.
Injured in an accident? Get a real trial lawyer. Get Gomez.
Contact a skilled Bakersfield personal injury attorney today at Gomez Trial Attorneys to review your case and discuss your recovery options.
If you have been injured, and it’s someone else’s fault, Gomez Trial Attorneys can help. We are an award-winning law firm and have recovered $750 million for personal injury victims over the past two decades. Our offices are right here in Bakersfield.
Our only focus is obtaining justice for people who have been injured or otherwise harmed through negligence or intentional misconduct. In the past year, for instance, we won a $16.2 million settlement for a slip and fall accident. While we cannot, of course, guarantee that any single personal injury case we take on will receive damage compensation that large, past results are a sign of how hard we fight for justice—and how hard we can fight for you. We seek the best outcome possible for every personal injury case.
We know that many hard-working people in Bakersfield may be hesitant to contact a personal injury attorney because they are anxious about payment. There is no need to worry: Our first consultation regarding your case is always free.
Hiring a Bakersfield Injury Attorney? What You Should Know
Every year in Bakersfield, people are injured due to the reckless and careless behavior of corporations and individuals.
Whether your injuries were caused by a vehicle accident, construction accident, accidental fall, defective product, dog bite, sexual assault, truck accident, motorcycle accident, or some other cause, you deserve fair compensation for your injury if someone else was negligent or at fault for your injuries. If you were injured by an individual or corporation who acted negligently and caused physical injuries, contact us today.
If you need a personal injury attorney in Bakersfield, Gomez Trial Attorneys can help. We are an award-winning law firm that has recovered over $500 million for personal injury victims over the past two decades.
Our office is conveniently located right here in Bakersfield. We have a team of personal injury attorneys and support staff that will happily assist you with your Bakersfield injury claim. Our goal is to play a large and positive role in this community. Our firm is active at Kern County Superior Court litigating many personal injury lawsuits.
Our only focus is obtaining justice for people who have been injured or otherwise harmed through negligence or intentional misconduct. In the past year, we won a $16.2 million settlement for a slip and fall accident, a $106 million wrongful death verdict, a $10.8 million verdict on a cervical fracture with a traumatic brain injury, a $7 million wrongful death verdict, and a $3.2 million verdict for whiplash and headaches.
This is just a small sample of our results. To learn more about our results for personal injury cases, click here. Gomez Trial Attorneys has over 30 verdicts and settlements in excess of $1 million. Call our law office to learn more.
While we cannot, of course, guarantee that any single personal injury case we take on will receive damage compensation, past results are a sign of how hard we fight for justice—and how hard we can fight for you. We seek the best outcome possible for every personal injury case.
Personal injury law covers injury to the body, emotions, or mind that another party caused. The other party can be another person, a company, or an organization, such as a nursing home.
Three elements need to exist in a personal injury case. First, the other party must have been negligent. Negligence, in legal terms, is failure to show the duty of care a reasonably prudent person shows.
Duty of care is a legal concept as well, and while most people may not have heard the term, we do know that we are expected to go through life not causing harm. When we get behind the wheel of a car, we are expected to operate it safely and not drive recklessly. That’s a driver’s duty of care. Construction companies are expected to make sure working conditions are as safe as possible. Store owners and landlords are expected to keep their property in good repair for customers and tenants. Doctors and nursing homes should exercise good judgment in medical care and perform their duties properly.
When a reasonable duty of care has not been observed, the law refers to it as a breach in the duty of care. Such a breach is negligence. It can most vividly be seen in examples. A car driver who gets behind the wheel drunk has breached a duty of care to drive safely. A construction company that fails to provide safety equipment and requires work in dangerous conditions has breached a duty of care. A store owner who doesn’t clean up spilled liquid properly and a landlord who doesn’t repair faulty wiring both their breach duties of care.
To successfully bring a personal injury case, you must show that
A negligent party is likely liable for your injuries when all these conditions are met.
While these are just a few examples of personal injury cases, the range of potential personal injury cases is broad Personal injury cases might include the following:
Personal injury covers any type of injury or harm that can occur as a result of accidents such as the above, from traumatic brain injury (TBI) in a car accident to burns from an exploding e-cigarette (a type of product liability). Here is a quick summary of common types of injuries that can occur in personal injury cases.
Accidents involving cars, bicycles, pedestrians, motorcycles, and trucks can include:
Construction sites are some of the most dangerous workplaces in the United States. Serious and fatal accidents unfortunately occur often enough that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) terms the following injuries the Fatal Four:
Other types of construction accidents can result from a lack of duty of care, such as not maintaining safe working conditions on the site.
Dog bites can cause serious injury, especially if the dog is large and the person bitten smaller (such as a child). California law holds that a dog’s owner is strictly liable if their dog bites someone in a public place or a private place where the victim lawfully was (such as a private home). Strictly liable means the owner is responsible for the injury regardless of the duty of care observed or intent to harm. Dog bites can cause cuts, bruises, internal injuries, spinal cord injuries, infections, scars, and disfigurement. Blood loss from a dog bite can be fatal.
Owners of premises are responsible for keeping the areas safe. Store owners, for instance, must keep stores safe for the public, as must hotel owners, shopping mall owners, and so on. Landlords must keep their buildings and grounds safe for tenants.
Slipping and falling in any kind of building (or grounds) can result in cuts, bruises, sprains, broken bones, TBIs, spinal cord injuries, and internal injuries.
If products cause injuries or harm to those who use them, the makers of those products can be liable for injuries. The range of injuries in product liability cases is very broad, just because products themselves vary so widely.
Some toys are unsafe and explode when used, for example. Some children’s pajamas are flammable. E-cigarettes can catch fire in a user’s pockets. Some commonly prescribed drugs and medical devices are dangerous and cause septic shock, high blood pressure, stroke, and other conditions. Some car tires blow out far before the tire should even have worn tread.
Because of the multiplicity of potential harm products can do, they can cause almost every type of injury, from internal bleeding and broken bones to TBIs.
More and more, society is taking sexual abuse and assault seriously—and understanding how widespread these types of personal injuries are.
Sexual abuse and assault can cause physical injuries such as cuts, bruises, internal injuries, sexually transmitted diseases, and infections. If the assaults are severe, they can cause broken bones, TBIs, and spinal cord injuries.
Sexual abuse and assault can also cause mental and emotional trauma that can last for years.
Nursing homes and assisted living facilities owe a duty to their residents to provide safe care and proper treatment for their conditions. But unfortunately, abuse of all types does occur in nursing homes.
Elder abuse is widespread in California and across the United States. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines elder abuse as “an intentional act, or failure to act, by a caregiver or another person in a relationship involving an expectation of trust that causes or creates a risk of harm to an older adult.”
Elder abuse includes the following:
Because these areas are so broad, elder abuse can cause a wide number of injuries.
Physical abuse, for example, can cause physical injuries, such as fractured bones or burns. Emotional abuse can cause mental anguish and cause the elderly to withdraw from all social interaction. Sexual abuse can result in sexually transmitted diseases and mental distress. Abandonment can be very dangerous to older adults, resulting in falls or illnesses caused by a lack of appropriate medication. Exploitation means using an older person’s money or access to them for personal gain (such as living in their house without an appropriate relationship or permission), so the injury can be emotional and financial.
Personal injury cases are designed to obtain economic justice for the harm an injury or other wrongdoing does.
While some personal injury cases, such as sexual abuse and assault or financial elder abuse, may also be crimes, a personal injury case does not attempt to convict the at-fault party for a crime. That is the responsibility of prosecutors and criminal courts. Personal injury lawyers operate in civil courts to bring claims on behalf of victims, for damage compensation.
If you or a loved one was been injured by a negligent party, you might seek compensation for both economic and non-economic damage, as follows:
In some cases, the court can award punitive damages if it considers the defendant’s behavior particularly harmful or egregious. As the term implies, the court hands down these damages to punish the defendant. A drug maker who knew a given medication was likely to cause harm but manufactured and sold the drug anyway while failing to warn either healthcare practitioners or patients, for example, may face punitive damages.
Personal injuries have the power to put your life on hold. They occur when negligent people, corporations, or organizations cause or contribute to preventable accidents. Those individuals’ actions may cause mild, serious, and sometimes catastrophic injuries. Injured people can experience emotional and psychological effects, as well. The financial costs of medical treatment, surgical intervention, rehabilitation, and disability may continue for a lifetime.
Personal injuries occur suddenly and accidentally. They occur everywhere, so they’re difficult to avoid. That’s why we’ve created this Bakersfield Personal Injury FAQ and provided answers. We believe our clients need to understand the personal and legal consequences of a personal injury.
When you’re injured due to someone else’s negligence, a personal injury attorney can listen to your story and help determine who is legally responsible. An attorney can explain your potential for recovering damages and your most viable recovery methods. If you decide to move forward with your case, a personal injury attorney will work to resolve your damage claim with the responsible parties and their insurers. Attorneys sometimes mediate cases to reach an agreement with the adverse parties. If an attorney can’t settle your claim informally, then he or she will sometimes file a lawsuit and let a judge or jury decide the case.
Sometimes, the responsible party’s insurance carrier decides that its insured is liable, and the company may contact you to settle your claim. While you have the right to proceed on your own, you shouldn’t expect insurance claim representatives to offer a fair initial settlement. Insurance companies are focused on their bottom lines. It’s their job to resolve claims, but often they settle cases as economically as possible.
When you sustain an injury, you must prove that a property owner (or the business owner who rents the property) is responsible. To prove legal liability, you must show that the owner’s actions were negligent based on a traditional negligence formula.
You must prove the following elements of negligence:
Negligence standards also apply to vehicle crashes. Each involved driver pays for damages based on his or her negligence percentage.
Evidence is the key to proving legal responsibility for a claim. That’s why it’s so important to preserve evidence as soon as possible after any type of accident or event. Whether you were injured in a slip-and-fall, an auto accident, or a product incident, you must do what you can to document the circumstances before everything changes.
If possible, take the following steps to preserve evidence immediately:
Attorneys will investigate their clients’ accidents as soon as possible. Attorneys understand that documenting evidence is one of the most important aspects of developing a liability case.
When you’re injured, you should review your insurance policies and make any required reports to your insurers. They may get involved in your liability case, depending on the type of coverage that you have.
Auto insurance. Vehicle insurance companies require you to report any claim to which your coverage might apply. If you delay your report and jeopardize their rights, they may reserve the right to deny coverage at a later time or deny coverage outright.
Insurance companies will request a copy of your accident report because:
Workers’ compensation insurance. Your employer owes medical bills and lost wages for on-the-job injuries. You should turn in a claim even if you believe you have a valid liability claim against someone else.
Health insurance. Even if you believe that the other person caused your injuries, medical providers don’t want to treat you until you show proof of your own insurance. If you file a claim against a responsible party, you need insurance to pay your bills during your recovery and up until the point where you settle your claim.
If your insurance company has a right to recover damages paid on your behalf, then it will expect you to cooperate and support its efforts. Most auto insurance policies have subrogation provisions that give insurers the right to recover paid damages. Insurers determine liability by investigating their insured’s claims. If insurance companies pay damages to their insured, and the other person is at fault, they will place the at-fault party on notice and attempt to recover the damages once they resolve their insured’s pending claims.
If the responsible party has liability insurance, a subrogation representative deals directly with the insurance company. If the other person doesn’t have liability insurance, the insurance company will recover damages informally or file a subrogation suit. As an insured, you must cooperate and protect your insurer’s subrogation rights if you file a lawsuit against the responsible party. If you receive a settlement for damages that your insurance company paid, you must pay your insurer back or work out a sharing agreement.
A personal injury attorney makes the personal injury process easier. When you deal directly with a liability insurance company, you have no way of knowing if the company is treating you fairly.
Personal injury attorneys understand the liability and damages issues, so they know how to properly evaluate your claim. When an attorney negotiates a settlement, he or she will recognize when an insurance company is not acting in good faith.
When you schedule a legal consultation with a Bakersfield personal injury attorney at Gomez Trial Attorneys, the appointment is free, and no one will pressure you to make an immediate decision. You simply discuss your accident and injuries with an attorney and learn more about your legal options.
Gomez Trial Attorneys are here if you were injured or harmed by another party in Bakersfield or anywhere else. The initial consultation to discuss your case is always free. We are paid only out of any settlement or judgment we receive on your behalf.
If we cannot recover compensation in your case, you do not owe us a thing. We are ready to fight for justice on your behalf.
John Gomez, Bakersfield Personal Injury Lawyer
Call today to schedule an initial consultation appointment at (619) 237-3490 or contact us online. Injured in an accident? Get a real trial lawyer. Get Gomez.
Gomez Trial Attorneys has a reputation as one of California’s best law firms, with numerous verdicts in excess of $1 million and multiple jury verdicts in excess of $10 million. John Gomez is a graduate of Yale University School of Law and formerly worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. He has been practicing law for 28 years and has tried numerous cases throughout California and Kern County. In 2010, Lawyers USA named him National Trial Lawyer of the year in the United States. He has been named a California Super Lawyer since 2010.
Gomez Trial Attorneys have several partners who are nationally recognized personal injury lawyers. As of date, our law firm has recovered over $600 million for our clients.
Gomez Trial Attorneys
1825, 18th Street
Bakersfield, CA 93301
(619) 237-3490
No Fees Unless We Recover Money On Your Behalf