Hiring a personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles, Orange County or San Diego.

 

It's always a good idea to work with a personal injury lawyer who works in the county where you reside. Besides the convenience of having a lawyer close to your place of residence, it's equally important to know that they have experience in filing personal injury claims in Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego County court systems. 

 

Often times, the insurance company refuses to settle a personal injury claim in good faith. Some of the most common injuries caused by accidents in the state of California include the following. 

 

Long-Term or Permanently Disabling Injuries

 

If you sustained serious injuries in an accident that will require long-term care or left you with permanent disabilities, you should immediately consult with a personal injury lawyer. Only an experienced lawyer can estimate how much your injuries are worth. Moreover, figuring out how your injuries will impact your earning capacity over time can be difficult and generally requires expert assistance and guidance. To get the most out of your personal injury claim or lawsuit, you need the best personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles and other cities in California who can pursue all available forms of compensation for your injuries and other losses.

 

You Suffered Severe Injuries

 

The amount of compensation you receive for your injuries largely depends on how severe your injuries are and how aggressively your personal injury lawyer fights for your rights in court. Insurance companies measure the severity of your injuries by the type of injuries you sustained, the medical bills you incurred, and the length of your recovery time.

 

As the amount of your potential compensation increases, the more likely you are to reach the insurance policy limits of the at-fault party’s insurance contract. If this is the case, the insurance company most likely only be able to pay you a fraction of what you deserve. In these types of cases, you should hire a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer to make sure you receive the total amount of compensation to which you are entitled. This requires working experience in personal injury litigation. 

 

There Are Other Parties Involved and Liability Is Not Clear

 

If you were involved in an accident in the state of California where multiple parties may be liable for your injuries, you should contact an experienced personal injury lawyer to make sure all parties at fault are accounted for. When multiple parties are involved in an accident, insurance companies usually play hardball by pointing fingers at each other.

 

In the event many people were injured, there may not be as much settlement funds available to cover your injuries. You could also be the subject of insurance claims from the other parties, ultimately having your settlement offer decreased to nothing because of your proportional fault for the accident and injury claim.

 

You should always contact an attorney if you have been injured in an accident and maybe partially at fault for the accident. An attorney can help protect you against common counterclaims in Los Angeles courts and cross-claims by the other parties who were involved in the accident.

 

The Insurance Company Refuses to Pay or Engages in Bad Faith Tactics

 

Often times, insurance companies that operate in Los Angeles county simply refuse to make a fair settlement offer or refuse to make any settlement offer at all. If you are unable to secure a fair settlement offer from the at-fault party’s insurance company on your own, or negotiations with the insurance company have broken down, you should immediately have your case reviewed by a local personal injury lawyer in California. 

 

There is also a chance that the insurance company is engaged in bad faith insurance tactics, also very common in the state of California. In that case, you will need assistance from a lawyer who has experience litigating bad faith insurance claims.

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If you're thinking of filing a California personal injury lawsuit — whether it's about an auto accident, a slip, and fall, motorcycle accident, or some other event where anyone else's negligence injured you — it's necessary to consider and comply with the statute of limitations on these kinds of cases. Read on for the specifics of this California law's filing deadline, why it's so relevant, and when the deadline might be extended. 

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For California Personal Injury Lawsuits, two years is the usual time limit for 

Section 335.1 of the California Code of Civil Procedure gives you two years to file a civil claim seeking compensation for "injury to, or for the death of, an individual perpetrated by the wrongful act or negligence of another, beginning from the date of the underlying accident or event." That covers almost all imaginable forms of personal injury litigation, as most are regulated by the wrongful act or neglect. 

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What if you miss the deadline for filing a personal injury claim? 

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If you decide to file a personal injury complaint after more than two years have passed after the underlying accident or incident, it is almost inevitable that the defendant (the individual you are suing) will point out this fact to the judge. The court will summarily dismiss the case.

 

If that happens, you will have lost the right to claim damages for your injuries, no matter how serious they might be, and no matter how plain the fault of the defendant; unless you are entitled under a rare exception to an extension of the statute of limitations (more information on these exceptions in the next section). 

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It's important to remember that if you've wanted to take your injury case to court in a formal complaint, the California personal injury statute of limitations is not just a consideration. The filing date laid down by this law is also vital to your position with the defendant and his or her insurance firm in personal injury settlement negotiations.

 

And if the two-year time limit set by the statute of limitations has expired, then it goes without saying that all your power would have been lost. After all, if the other side realizes that your bringing a case is now a procedural impossibility, 'I'll see you in court' is the very essence of an empty threat. 

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Exceptions To The Statute of Limitations of Personal Injury in California 

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California has described several different factual situations that could help to prolong the operation of the statute of limitations "clock" or stop the clock once it has begun to run, essentially extending the two-year filing deadline established by section 335.1. 

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Here are several examples of situations likely to change the traditional two-year timetable for the filing of a California personal injury lawsuit: 

The injured person did not learn that he or she had sustained damage caused by anyone else's unjust actions (this is known as the "delayed discovery" rule) and was not aware of any evidence that would have caused a rational person to believe it. 

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• At the time of the original accident that caused the injury (California Code of Civil Procedure section 352), the injured victim was under the age of 18 or was 'lacking the legal capacity to make decisions' (i.e., due to temporary or permanent mental illness) and 

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• At some point after the original accident, and before the case could be brought, the person who allegedly caused the injury (the defendant) fled the state of California (California Code of Civil Procedure section 351). 

 

It might be time to address your case with an experienced California personal injury attorney if you have concerns about how California's statute of limitations relates to your future personal injury lawsuit — especially if the deadline has expired or is looming.

 

How to Hire a reputable California Personal Injury Lawyer

 

If you were involved in any of the scenarios discussed above, you should contact a reputable Los Angeles personal injury attorney right away. Hiring a personal injury lawyer is a very important decision.

 

Your lawyer will protect your interests in settlement negotiations with the at-fault party’s insurance company, and will do so in court as well should you and your attorney decide that filing a personal injury lawsuit is a must. 

 

Additional information: Choosing the right personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles

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Common Personal Injury Claims in California