Santa Ana Injury Lawyers
Personal injury claims are filed for any number of reasons. When doctors make mistakes, when cars crash, when defective baby equipment leads to injury, and when people slip and fall in ill-maintained parking lots, personal injury suits are often filed in the wake of those injurious circumstances. If you’ve been injured as a result of another’s actions or inactions, it is important to understand what your legal options are, even if you’re uninterested in suing those responsible for the harm you have suffered. Depending on the circumstances surrounding your injuries, you may be entitled to insurance payouts, personal injury damages, workers’ compensation benefits, and/or other forms of legal and financial recourse. If you’ve been injured – even if that injury was partially your fault – and another party may have been partially or totally to blame for your injuries, you can explore your legal options in a free, confidential, and risk-free consultation setting with our experienced legal team. Some of the kinds of personal injury cases that our firm handles most often include:
- Car Accidents
- Medical Malpractice
- Premises Liability
- Truck Accidents
- Work Injuries
- Accidents Resulting in Wrongful Death
It is often difficult to determine whether you have strong grounds to file a personal injury case until you speak with an attorney. As some of your legal options may be time-sensitive, it’s important to schedule a consultation with our team as soon as you possibly can. That way, you’ll be empowered to make informed decisions about your case within the window of time that the law permits you to act upon your rights as an accident victim.
How Do I Build a Strong Personal Injury Case?
Generally speaking, our knowledgeable legal team will feel confident that you have strong grounds to file legal action via a personal injury lawsuit if three things can be proven in regards to your case:
01
The party or party that caused you harm owed you a so-called “duty of care” under California and/or federal law. This means that they were duty-bound under the law to treat you in a specific way. For example, healthcare providers are required to provide their patients with a certain level of care. Manufacturers of consumer products are required to adhere to federal safety guidelines when creating their wares so that the consumers who buy them don’t risk unreasonable harm when using them. Motorists are legally required to follow all traffic laws when operating their vehicles.
02
The party or parties that caused you harm “breached” the duty of care owed to you when they behaved in a negligent, reckless, or intentionally dangerous manner. For example, the motorist who hit you was drunk and texting while driving at the time of the crash. A drug manufacturer knowingly placed a dangerous medication on the marketplace without proper labeling. Your doctor failed to consult your medical history before prescribing you a medication that interacted with drugs you were already on.
03
The harm you’ve suffered resulted directly from the responsible party’s duty of care breach. For example, you can sue a drunk driver for hitting you and causing you injury. You can’t sue a drunk driver who was arrested for intoxicated driving but didn’t harm you directly as a result of operating their vehicle while intoxicated.
Can I Wait to Act Until I’m Feeling Better?
It can be tempting to wait to deal with your legal case until you’re feeling capable of handling the stresses that can potentially accompany a decision to take legal action. This is understandable, given that you are recovering from both injuries and the trauma of having those injuries caused by another’s actions or inactions. However, for better or for worse, it is important to speak with an attorney about your situation as soon as you possibly can after you’ve received initial medical treatment for your injuries. Oftentimes, the strength of a legal case may rest upon evidence that can be compromised in the hours, days, and weeks following injurious circumstances. Additionally, California law only permits personal injury victims a specific amount of time to pursue each of their legal options before the law will bar them from pursuing compensation. The sooner you speak with an attorney, the sooner our firm can begin protecting your rights and preserving your legal options.
During your free consultation, you will not be pressured into choosing any particular course of action. Depending on your circumstances, you may have some time to consider your options before committing to legal action, in the event that you choose to exercise this option. However, you cannot make informed decisions about how you would like to proceed until you have received an objective case assessment and have asked our knowledgeable legal team about your options. Acting sooner rather than later will place you in the best possible position to receive the maximum amount of any compensation you may be entitled to, should you choose to pursue one or more opportunities for legal and financial recourse when you’re ready to do so.
What if I Was Partially to Blame for My Injuries?
Many injury victims fail to speak with an attorney after they have suffered harm because they’re convinced that they are partially or totally responsible for the circumstances that led to their harm in the first place; and therefore have no grounds to file legal action successfully. Even if you believe that you were totally responsible for the harm you’ve suffered, it’s important to explore your legal options because causation and fault in personal injury scenarios aren’t always as they seem. For example, if you believe that your choice to text and drive caused your injurious car crash and you dismiss the idea that you could have grounds for a lawsuit, you may miss out on the opportunity to pursue compensation from the auto parts manufacturer that created the defective tires you were driving on at the time of your crash. Attending a free consultation costs nothing but time. You may learn that you’re entitled to compensation even if you believe that you’re owed none.
Additionally, California is a comparative negligence state. This means that if you were partially at fault for your accident and a third party whose negligent, reckless, or intentionally dangerous actions or inactions were also partially responsible for your accident, you remain entitled to seek compensation from that other party. In a contributory negligence state, injury victims are often barred from seeking compensation from others responsible for their circumstances if they are at all to blame for their circumstances as well. This is not the case in California. As a result, it is important to avoid making assumptions about the strengths and weaknesses of your legal options until you have spoken with an attorney. You may be entitled to far more compensation than you might initially believe yourself to be.