Anyone who has experienced a personal injury in California may be entitled to compensation by filing a California personal injury claim.
There are many kinds of accidents when personal injuries typically take place, like auto accidents, slip and falls, motor cycle accidents, truck accidents and many more.
As long as you are able to find sufficient evidence that proves the other driver or entity was at fault and caused your injury you should be eligible to file a personal injury claim in California which covers the financial hardship caused by the injury.
In California you can expect to receive the total cost of all medical treatment, the cost of repairs to your auto (if applicable), any loss of wages while you are unable to work and an amount calculated to cover pain and suffering which often exceeds the value of the medical treatment.
However, you may require some California personal injury help to help to ensure you get the personal injury compensation you deserve.
How Do I File a Claim in California?
Before deciding to file a personal injury claim you need to be certain you have enough evidence to back up your claim which proves you didn’t cause the accident.
You also need to consider the state’s statute of limitations which is the time you are given to file a personal injury claim. In California, someone who has been injured is given 2 years from the injury date to file a lawsuit against the person or entity that was at fault.
The time limit for claims against a California government entity such as a city, county or a California state government agency is just six months.
How Do I Prove Negligence in California?
Proving negligence in a personal injury claim could depend on the evidence you provide. These are several different types of evidence that can be used to support your personal injury claim such as:
- your doctor’s report with your diagnosis and likely recovery time;
- the police report about the accident;
- reports written by eye witnesses;
- receipts for medical treatment;
- photographs taken off nearby security cameras, if possible;
- photographs taken at the accident scene.
In a few personal injury cases, it may be argued that the person injured is actually to blame or partly to blame for causing the accident.
California follows a "pure comparative negligence" rule which means the amount of compensation you're eligible to receive will be reduced by an amount that is equal to your proportion of fault for the accident.
For example, if you have an auto accident with another motor vehicle who driver has run a stop sign and you are hit but you were driving over the speed limit for that area you may be considered 10% to blame while the other driver takes 90% of the fault.
So you will lose 10% of the amount you are awarded to take into account your percentage of the blame.
You will need personal injury help in California to help you negotiate California’s pure comparative negligence ruling.
What Kind of Compensation Can I Receive in California?
There are two main types of damages in a personal injury claim which are economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are countable in cash terms and are the amount of money the injured person has either lost due to the injury or is having to pay out due to the injury.
Economic damages may include the following:
- medical bills,
- property damage,
- lost wages
- lost earning capacity
Non-economic damages could include:
- disfigurement caused by the injury,
- emotional distress,
- inconvenience,
- loss of enjoyment in life.
- pain and suffering,
- physical impairment (such as loss of the use of a limb or organ),
Some states cap the amount of damages that can be claimed in a personal injury claim. California doesn’t, except in cases of medical malpractice, where the cap is set at $250,000 for pain and suffering and other non-economic damages.
How Do I Get Personal Injury Help in California?
What influences the winning of a successful personal injury claim the most in California is making sure the evidence provided proves without a reasonable doubt who or what caused your accident.
It is important to get personal injury help in California and a personal injury attorney has the experience to assess and win a favorable personal injury claim on your behalf.
The attorney will carefully go through all the evidence and provide all the personal injury help in California by putting in all the necessary effort to get the personal injury compensation you are entitled to receive.
