New Trends in Personal Injury Law

Personal injury cases occur in California when a person has suffered physical or psychological injury due to the wrongful conduct of another. The conduct can be negligence, or it can involve willful or intentional misconduct. Examples include car accidents, dog bites, premises liability, and wrongful death.

As times change, so do trends in personal injury law. Read on to learn more from a Santa Ana personal injury attorney about some of these important developments. 

Current New Trends

Technological Evidence in Claims

With the continuing rise in technology, the use of advanced evidence-gathering tools has become more commonplace in the litigation of personal injury claims. For example, dash cams are frequently used in motor vehicle accidents to provide footage of collisions. Black box data from vehicles, including cars and trucks, offers information on speed, braking, and other critical information during a crash. Police body cams can document driver behavior and scene conditions. All of these technologies provide concrete evidence, often clearly demonstrating liability and making it more difficult for insurance companies to deny liability. 

Rise in Uninsured Motorists

Economic challenges and rising insurance premiums have led to an increasing number of drivers opting out of insurance coverage. In fact, approximately 16% of motorists in California are uninsured. If an uninsured driver has injured you, you may face daunting difficulties in recovering damages. It’s crucial to have adequate uninsured motorist coverage to protect yourself in such scenarios. In California, uninsured motorist coverage (UM) and underinsured motorist coverage (UIM) step in to compensate you when the driver at fault doesn’t have insurance to cover your damages. 

Under California Insurance Code §11580.2, uninsured motorist coverage is required unless you waive it in writing. It covers medical expenses, lost wages, and even pain and suffering. If the other driver has some, but not enough, insurance, your underinsured motorist coverage will fill the gap.

More Attention on Mental Health

Most courts have typically allowed compensation for pain and suffering and the infliction of emotional distress. But personal injury cases increasingly include compensation for conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety. Note, however, that it is important to have solid documentation of these injuries through doctors’ opinions, medical records, and expert testimony.

Mandatory Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

Only a small percentage of personal injury claims end up being litigated. Methods like mediation and arbitration are becoming more common as they offer quicker and less costly resolutions than traditional court litigation. And judges may often order that the parties engage in an alternative dispute resolution process before proceeding to trial. Online dispute resolution platforms, which gained popularity during the pandemic, are also being used more frequently, adding convenience for all parties involved. 

New Legal Issues In Vehicle Liability

Cases involving emerging risks in vehicle liability, such as injuries in the growing rideshare services industry, are also on the rise. Understanding these sometimes complex claims, which often involve multiple parties, requires experienced legal guidance. For example, in the case of a rideshare injury by the driver, the driver will be a potentially negligent party. But what about rideshare companies like Uber, Lyft, or others? Do they have any liability in the event of an accident due to a malfunction of their software, or for failure to properly review a driver’s driving record? This is a growing area of case law, and states are addressing these issues through new statutory and regulatory requirements. 

Proving a Personal Injury Claim in California

Four elements must be proven to prevail on a personal injury claim in California. They are as follows:

• The defendant owed a duty to the plaintiff
• The defendant breached that duty
• The plaintiff suffered harm due to the defendant’s breach
• The harm is compensable

If a plaintiff can satisfy these four legal elements of a personal injury claim, then he or she is entitled to several types of damages. These include:

• Economic damages, which cover a winning plaintiff’s out-of-pocket costs. These are relatively easy to calculate and typically include lost wages, medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, and other costs directly caused by the personal injury. In some cases, this may also include assistance with care at home and financial support for years to come.
• Non-economic damages, which cover damages that are considered more speculative and therefore more difficult to quantify. These can include pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of consortium, loss of enjoyment of life, and other similar types of damages. In California, a jury determines the amount of non-economic damages based on jury instructions provided by the attorneys. 
• Punitive damages, in certain rare situations. Your Santa Ana personal injury attorney will help you understand if they may be appropriate in your case. To obtain punitive damages, you must be able to demonstrate with clear and convincing evidence that the defendant acted with oppression, fraud, or malice. 

Statute of Limitations

Be aware that you must bring your personal injury case within two years from the date of your injury, or else it will be forever time-barred. There are certain limited exceptions to this two-year period, such as if your case is for medical malpractice and you did not discover the malpractice immediately. There are also different rules for minor children who have suffered a personal injury. 

It’s important to react promptly for a number of reasons. First, it’s critical that you comply strictly with all mandatory legal deadlines. Additionally, you want to preserve evidence, your recollections, and those of your witnesses, which are freshest if you initiate the document process as soon as possible. 

Contact The Law Offices of Benjamin Arsenian Today

At the Law Offices of Benjamin Arsenian, our lawyers possess extensive experience in handling a wide range of personal injury claims. It is imperative to keep abreast of policy, legal, and regulatory changes that may have a bearing on your personal injury case. Contact us today for a free consultation.