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Personal injuries alter the lives of La Mesa residents every year. Because so many circumstances can lead to such injury, our La Mesa personal injury lawyers are a valuable resource. Personal injury attorneys can assist clients with a wide variety of cases. They may work with car accident victims, those who have suffered medical malpractice, and even individuals who have slipped and fallen on private property.
Injured in an accident? Get a real trial lawyer. Get Gomez.
Most victims experience anxiety and confusion in the time that follows an accident. Sustaining an injury is stressful enough. It’s easy to see why many accident victims shy away from the legal system.
If, however, you partner with our trustworthy La Mesa personal injury attorney, recovering compensation for a personal injury doesn’t need to be a difficult process. Below, we’ve outlined some of the basics of personal injury, what our personal injury attorneys can do for you, and the steps victims should take to protect themselves and their rights.
At Gomez Trial Attorneys, our team of La Mesa personal injury lawyers has decades’ worth of collective experience litigating personal injury cases. We regularly partner with clients who have experienced a broad range of injuries. Our team has recovered more than $500 million in compensation for local personal injury clients; and, if you’ll allow us, we would be honored to support you during your case as well.
We offer potential clients the advantage to engage in a FREE initial consultation. This discussion with a legal professional allows us to determine whether our team is the best fit for your case. If we partner with you to assist with your case, we will work diligently to assist you in achieving justice.
For more information and your free case evaluation, contact our La Mesa personal injury lawyers today. One of our friendly, empathetic, and knowledgeable team members will be happy to field your questions and concerns.
“Personal injury” is a pretty sizable umbrella term. It covers a wide range of occurrences and circumstances. In fact, many victims of personal injury are actually surprised to learn that they have legal standing. They may believe that their injuries are not serious enough to warrant compensation or that the nature of their circumstances somehow disqualifies them from it.
This is usually not the case. If you’ve suffered any injury due to somebody else’s negligence or recklessness, there’s a probability that you may be entitled to open a personal injury case.
Cornell Law School technically defines personal injury as any injury that occurs to the “body, mind, or emotions.” Much of the general public believes that personal injury laws only protect victims injured through physical altercation or some similar form of human contact. This is not the case.
Victims of personal injury may actually experience bodily or mental harm for any number of reasons. A broad range of circumstances qualify as instances of personal injury, including:
You cannot be certain of a case’s validity until you consult with a seasoned legal professional. Nobody else can tell you whether your case could hold up in court. The most important step that any personal injury victim can take is making the initial call to set up a consultation with our personal injury lawyers. Some victims are surprised to learn that their cases could hold serious weight in court.
Personal injury occurs when an individual causes injury to another individual. It technically requires that:
This is one reason why retaining a personal injury lawyer is so beneficial to most cases. It can prove time-consuming and difficult to gather ample evidence to prove these facts. Even though the process may seem simple or obvious to you, proving fault beyond a doubt in court is a tough job. Personal injury attorneys know exactly how to do this and which steps give them the best chance at achieving it.
Head and brain injuries can have serious consequences. Some victims even suffer permanent disability as a result of injuries like these. Our mental, cognitive, and sensory abilities all rely on full brain functionality. When an injury damages or disrupts that functionality, so are our abilities.
Victims of injuries like these (and those around them) need to look out for certain symptoms. Symptoms that appear after a head or brain injury can be especially important; many brain injuries result in death, so catching symptoms in a timely manner is crucial:
Think of a car accident. Car accident cases are, by far, some of the most common personal injury cases in America. Some of the initial resulting injuries that may come to mind likely involve broken bones or cuts (also known as lacerations) somewhere on the body.
Injuries like these—which can occur for a variety of reasons—can seriously impact a victim’s life. The average laceration may not change somebody’s way of living, but one large enough to require stitches and specialized medication might. Fractures may fail to heal properly in the future or may be severe enough that treatment takes extended effort.
Some people are injured under unique circumstances. Oftentimes, these have to do with a victim’s job. Electricians are at high risk of being electrocuted, for example—especially compared to somebody who’s never dealt with wiring or electricity in their life.
The most notable personal injuries that involve special circumstances are electrocution, burns injuries, and drowning. Each of these required a unique set of circumstances to occur, and each has the potential to cause life-threatening injuries.
As soon as possible.
No matter what sort of injury somebody sustains, an injured individual should always seek medical attention as soon as possible. You should even contact and visit your doctor if you received emergency or specialized medical treatment already. If, for example, you got in a car accident and got sent to the hospital, it’s still wise to set up an appointment with your primary care provider afterward.
This serves several purposes. Firstly, some injuries take time to present themselves. You (and your doctors) may not recognize that something is wrong until some time after an accident. A visit with your doctor allows him or her to determine your condition and monitor for delayed symptoms. It also helps keep your physician up-to-date regarding your wellbeing.
It’s critical to follow your doctor’s orders and keep records of important information. You may want to keep running notes for aftercare tips or suggestions, and you should always collect and file documentation as soon as possible. This streamlines the legal process later.
If you experience any sort of symptom after an injury, it’s always best to seek a medical opinion as soon as possible. Some symptoms, however, are known for being more indicative of danger than others. Victims of personal injury should seek urgent medical care if they experience:
Unfortunately, nobody can tell you with certainty.
The length a case takes to finish or settle depends on a myriad of factors. Each one is so unique that it’s impossible to guess how long it could take. Factors that influence a case’s length include injury severity, identification and resources of liable parties, time to recover, and how long it took you to seek legal assistance.
The fastest way to resolve your case favorably is to promptly hire a personal injury lawyer to represent you. Our experienced La Mesa personal injury attorneys know how to efficiently gather and present evidence in a compelling manner and convince the negligent parties that they have nothing to gain by dragging out the process.
Because each personal injury case is so unique, it can be difficult to offer generalized advice regarding the topic. There are, however, a handful of things that most personal injury victims should try to avoid. A personal injury lawyer can help shed more light on why or why not to take steps like these:
There are few things more frustrating than suffering an injury because of a third party who was acting negligently. No doubt you are worried about amounting medical bills, the time you are losing from work, and regaining your health. We have compiled some of the most frequently asked questions from victims of personal injury in California.
A personal injury lawsuit may be filed by a victim who has suffered an injury due to the negligence or deliberate action of another person. In a case where a victim has died, their spouse, children, parents, or other persons who were dependent upon their support may also file a personal injury lawsuit. These cases are called wrongful death lawsuits. Under California law, in the case of a minor child, a guardian ad litem is appointed to act in the best interest of the child. Any settlement received would be held in trust for the child.
No two personal injury cases are the same. Victims may file a personal injury lawsuit if they suffer permanent scarring, physical disability, broken bones, or other types of serious injury, including traumatic brain injuries (TBI).
Injured people file personal injury lawsuits as a result of:
A La Mesa personal injury attorney can advise you about any other incidents that cause injury to a victim that could result in compensation from the negligent person or company.
It does not matter if the person responsible for your injuries is facing a criminal charge. Personal injury cases are civil lawsuits. This means even if the person responsible is not held criminally responsible for your injuries, or the death of a loved one, they can still be held civilly liable. The two cases are not connected and because of the California statutes of limitations, you must file a civil case within two years of the injury.
First, you should seek medical care immediately following a car accident in which you were injured. You should also speak with a skilled car accident attorney before you speak with an insurance adjuster. These steps protect you under California’s laws.
Keep in mind, car accidents can be traumatic, and you may not know the extent of your injuries for a couple of days. Insurance companies have well-trained adjusters who will probably contact you soon after an accident and offer to settle your case. It is generally not advisable to accept the initial offer that an insurance company makes following a car accident.
Insurance companies may use several tactics to lower the amount they pay out in accident claims. Whether your injuries are the result of a car accident, a slip and fall accident, or from any type of other personal injury claim, there is likely to be an insurance company involved.
Remember, insurance companies make money by collecting premiums and they lose money when they pay claims. In the aftermath of a claim, they may try to get you to consider settling for what they believe is the lowest amount they can reasonably offer. This will result in the insurer avoiding any payment obligations for future claims, including medical expenses and lost wages you incur after the date of the settlement. If you get a settlement offer and you have not already spoken with a personal injury lawyer, call an experienced attorney immediately.
California’s businesses are generally required to carry Workers’ Compensation Insurance. In most cases, you cannot file a personal injury lawsuit against your employer. However, this does not mean that you would be unable to file a suit if there is a third party who is responsible for the injury. Some examples where this can happen include an independent contractor who is operating a forklift and causes an accident resulting in your injury.
Another instance of a work-related injury would be if you are working on a piece of equipment that turned out to be defective. Even though the accident occurred on the job, the defective equipment may be a result of a manufacturing problem or a maintenance problem, the manufacturer or an outside maintenance company could have caused. To ensure you understand your rights, speak with a personal injury lawyer who has experience handling the type of injuries that you have suffered.
Insurers may use this common tactic to minimize the amount of claims they pay out. What will happen is the insurance company could scour your medical records for preexisting conditions and claim the injury already existed to absolve their customers from liability. However, you can even aggravate an existing injury in a slip and fall accident, a car accident, or when you are injured at a construction site because of unsafe conditions.
Make sure you talk to your personal injury lawyer in La Mesa if the insurer claims that your injuries did not result from the accident. These types of situations can be very complicated, making it even more important you speak with a skilled personal injury lawyer who knows the law and has a proven record of success.
No two injuries are the same and no two people heal the same way. Numerous factors play a role in how much of a settlement you may be entitled to for your injuries. For example, the amount of medical care you would need plays a significant role. Victims who have a broken leg will recover more quickly than a victim suffering from traumatic brain injury.
Another factor is how your injuries affect your family. Victims do not bear the full brunt of the aftermath of a brain injury on their own. Because the victim needs more care and there is a great deal of uncertainty, it could affect their entire family. Each of these factors can play a role in how much of a financial settlement you may get for your injuries.
Whether you can recover anything will depend on the facts of your case, but generally, you might claim these financial expenses as part of your lawsuit:
You might include other losses, including damage to your motor vehicle or other personal items, when you file a personal injury lawsuit. Every accident claim is unique, and anyone who tells you they can guarantee what monetary damages you can expect is not telling you the truth. There is no hard and fast rule when it comes to the expenses you can claim in a lawsuit.
Just like the case of how much you can anticipate in damages, no one can determine the time it will take for a personal injury lawsuit to settle. Some of the factors that could play a role include when you file the lawsuit. While you may have time before the statute of limitations expires for filing, the sooner you file a lawsuit in La Mesa, the sooner it could settle.
The insurance company may offer you a settlement that you find acceptable versus going to court to have a trial. If the case goes to trial, there may be a longer period of time between filing your suit and settlement or judgment. If a trial is involved, the defense may appeal, which may mean it will take more time to get the result. Rest assured, however, that we will do everything to resolve your case as quickly and as fairly as possible.
Victims of an injury often want to know if they must hire an attorney to file a personal injury lawsuit. You can file a lawsuit without an attorney, but understand the risks associated with doing so. Keep in mind, if you are working with an insurance company, they may hope you do not hire a lawyer. Many insurers depend on the possibility that you will not understand your rights, and not understand the long-term consequences of accepting a lower settlement offer.
Regardless of whether you sue a person or business, they will generally have an attorney working for them. Insurers keep a high-profile legal team to fight personal injury claims because they know if they put a “final high offer” out there, many victims will take the offer and walk away. They also know once that offer is accepted, they are off the hook for any future injury-related damages that arise from your claim.
You should never go up against a lawyer or an insurance company without the help of a skilled personal injury attorney. Doing so presents the risk that you will not get the compensation you might otherwise be entitled to collect for your injuries. The more complicated your case, the more likely it is you should hire a lawyer. But, the bottom line is that you should not attempt to resolve a personal injury lawsuit without the help of an attorney. While the law does not require you to have an attorney, it is advisable to get one for your case.
We offer a free initial consultation and work on a contingency fee. You pay nothing for our services, and we only recover our fees and costs if we help you to obtain a judgment or settlement.
If you are a victim who suffered a personal injury, you probably have a lot of other questions. That is why you should take immediate steps to contact a California personal injury firm with experience in handling a wide variety of cases. Remember, the more serious your injuries, the more complicated your case is likely to be. Do not wait until it is too late to file a claim. Contact someone today to discuss your injuries and what steps you should take moving forward.
While victims focus on self-healing, their lawyers can focus on pursuing justice in court. You should be free to worry about your mental and physical well being; a personal injury attorney takes over the responsibility of managing a case and eases victims’ workloads.
This is just one reason why you need to seek our seasoned La Mesa lawyers to assist with your case. Many La Mesa personal injury victims attempt to navigate the complexities of our legal system on their own. Not only is the experience often frustrating and demoralizing, but it seldom leads to adequate compensation for victims. Most lose more in time spent supporting themselves than they’d lose paying an attorney—and most personal injury lawyers don’t actually charge their clients anything. Instead, they receive only a percentage of any compensation they help a client to recover.
Your personal injury attorney will help you communicate with insurance companies, gather and present evidence, and battle for your rights in court. There’s no reason to enter the legal system on your own. You deserve a trustworthy partner throughout the process.
Personal Injury Lawyer, John Gomez
If you or a loved one have suffered personal injuries due to someone else’s negligence or recklessness, contact our offices today or call us at (619) 237-3490.
The Gomez Trial Attorneys team works diligently to ensure that our clients are knowledgeable and emboldened throughout the legal process. We understand how life-altering personal injuries can be. Don’t allow those experiences to rob you of your future. Injured in an accident? Get a real trial lawyer. Get Gomez.
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