California Personal Injury Lawsuits: Concepts You Should Know

Personal injury law enables individuals to seek compensation for the negligent, wrongful, or intentional acts of others or entities. These laws include concepts such as strict products liability, which holds manufacturers and sellers of dangerous goods strictly accountable for injuries caused by their products. While states differ in many respects regarding what needs to be proven in a personal injury claim and what damages may be recovered, all states, including California, grant individuals a fundamental, constitutional right to redress against persons who cause injury or harm to them or their family.

Here are important concepts you should understand about personal injury law in California.

There Are Many Types of Personal Injury Claims

California authorizes many types of personal injury claims. These include dog bites, elder abuse, vehicle accidents, slip and falls on others’ premises, and many other types of personal injury claims. In all cases of personal injury, the plaintiff must essentially prove negligence or willful misconduct on the part of the other party. Proof requires evidence that:

• The other party owed you a duty of care
• That duty of care was breached
• The breach was the proximate cause of your injury, and
• You suffered compensable harm

The Statute of Limitations in California May Bar Your Case Forever

If you’ve been injured, you only have a limited period of time to bring a claim. For most personal injury claims in California, the statute of limitations is two years from the date of injury. In some cases, you may not immediately be aware that you were injured. For example, sometimes in medical malpractice cases where sponges or surgical instruments are left in the patient’s body cavity, it may take a period of time before the patient is aware of pain or discomfort. Similarly, after car accidents, sometimes it takes a period of time before someone starts experiencing whiplash or other physical symptoms from the accident.  In those types of cases, the statute of limitations clock starts to run when you discovered, or should have discovered, the negligence.  

Not that there are different statutes of limitations, also, for minors, people lacking mental capacity, and in the case of fraudulent behavior.

Most Personal Injury Lawyers Use The Contingency Fee Billing Method

Most lawyers charge by the hour, with hourly fees that range from several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars per hour. Personal injury lawyers, however, charge in a different way. They rarely charge by the hour. Instead, their fee equals a certain percentage of your eventual award. Legal fees don’t come due until your money arrives. And if you never receive compensation, you don’t have to pay your legal bills. In California, you will usually not see a contingency fee over 40% for most law firms. Contingency fee arrangements increase access to justice for clients who may not have the financial means to pursue legal representation and also outline the potential risks and rewards for lawyers involved in such arrangements.

The Role of Insurance Companies In Personal Injury Lawsuits

At the outset of a personal injury lawsuit, many plaintiffs don’t understand the role of an insurance company. Most businesses and individuals carry liability insurance that pays for certain accidents and injuries resulting from their negligence. So, for example, if you’re the owner of a hardware store and a customer slips and breaks his hip on your wet floor, it’s likely that insurance coverage will pay the damages. Similarly, most drivers carry insurance in the event they cause a crash. 

However, insurance companies are notorious for minimizing the payout. They do this using many tactics, including the following:

• Sometimes they quickly make an offer, but a low offer, in the hope that it will be accepted immediately by the plaintiff without consulting counsel. 
• Sometimes they dispute liability, arguing that a plaintiff’s injury was preexisting or the result of something other than the defendant’s negligence.
• Sometimes they try to delay, in the hope that the plaintiff will get frustrated and take any settlement that’s offered.

The Burden of Proof Is Different in a Personal Injury Suit Than in a Criminal Case

Some offenses are both criminal and civil in nature. A distracted driver who causes an accident resulting in injuries can face both criminal charges and a personal injury lawsuit. Criminal proceedings have a higher burden of proof than personal injury lawsuits, which are civil matters. That is why even if the defendant wins an acquittal in criminal court, you might still win a lawsuit against them on the same facts and evidence. 

Non-Economic Damages Often Significantly Exceed Economic Damages 

Some people are surprised to find out that economic damages are often substantially less than non-economic damages. Economic damages refer to out-of-pocket costs and expenses related to the personal injury, such as medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, and drug expenses, as well as lost wages and similar expenses. Non-economic damages are more complex to assess, as they encompass intangible aspects such as pain and suffering and emotional distress. There is no limit on non-economic damages in personal injury cases except in the area of medical malpractice. In many cases, non-economic damages are three to five times the amount of economic damages.

Comparative Negligence Can Reduce Your Recovery Even if You Win

The legal principle of comparative negligence applies if the plaintiff was partially responsible for his own injury. California is what’s known as a “pure comparative negligence” state. To apportion compensation, the court will assign each party a percentage of fault. A court might find that an accident was 60% the defendant’s fault and 40% the victim’s fault. Using these numbers, the victim’s compensation would be reduced by 40%. 

Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer at the Law Offices of Benjamin Arsenian Today

If you’ve suffered a personal injury, it’s important to contact an experienced, knowledgeable Santa Ana personal injury attorney as soon as possible to help assess the best steps forward for maximum compensation. Contact us today for a free consultation.