sweet home

Friday, October 7, 2011

Investigation and Protecting Evidence

Investigation and Protecting Evidence

When it comes to investigating the incident that caused your injuries and damages, it’s important to keep in mind that evidence can be difficult to locate as time passes. Objects get moved or removed from the accident scene. Skid marks wash away with rain and other evidence such as broken asphalt, walls, and buildings get repaired or replaced. Damage to vehicles may get repaired before being photographed and the memories of defendants and witnesses fade over time (or after being coached by the other side). In some cases these people simply “disappear”.

To avoid having this happen to you, photographs and video should be taken and all evidence preserved. Investigators should be used to talk to and record the statements of the people involved in your incident and to interview all witnesses.

In most cases, experts in areas such as accident reconstruction or bio-mechanical engineering should be retained and used to review the facts and help establish liability, force of impact, and damages in your case.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

What Happens Next in a Personal Injury Case?

When you or a family member is involved in a personal injury , it’s extremely important to act quickly and make smart decisions from the very beginning of your case.

Being seen and properly diagnosed by an experienced and well respected health care provider shortly after your accident or injury is important for two reasons. First, making sure you get proper medical treatment is important to your short and long-term recovery. Second, it’s absolutely necessary in personal injury cases to have your doctor's properly document (medical records, reports, photographs, x-rays, CT/MRI scans’) all of your injuries and treatment. This record or history will be used to confirm all of your injuries and injury related issues later in the claim, litigation, or trial process.

Doctors such as orthopedic surgeons, neurologists, physical therapists and chiropractors may be needed to help you recover as fast as possible. Economists, life-case planners, as well as experts in vocational rehab are sometimes necessary to help calculate, explain and prove your financial losses.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

What Does it Take to Be a Good Personal Injury Lawyer?

Well, first of all it takes many years and many cases before a lawyer "learns" how to properly handle and persuasively argue a personal injury case. By their very nature, the available damages in a personal injury case are not always quantifiable through formulas or expert testimony.

The extent of compensation a personal injury victim may be entitled to recover is normally related to the preparation and artfulness of the lawyers who are retained to help them. Convincing insurance companies and jurors to award all reasonable and necessary damages takes practice and experience. The ultimate amount recovered is normally directly related to the attorney's skills of persuasion and advocacy.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Can a Person Who Causes Harm to Another Human Being be Prosecuted for Both the Criminal Harm and the Civil Personal Injury?

The answer is yes. In some instances, a civil and criminal case can both be filed at the same time. People are routinely charged with the crimes of assault, battery, attempted murder and even murder. False imprisonment and fraud are other crimes that sometimes involve civil rights too.

In these cases, we work with the District Attorney's Office to coordinate their prosecution of the crime with our handling of the civil personal injury case.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Are There Any Special Time Limits to Asserting a California Personal Injury Case?

Yes there are. Time is of the essence in many personal injury actions. In civil personal injury cases, most states have a strict statute of limitations which means that court proceedings must be properly commenced within a certain period of time after the incident or the victim will lose his or her right to bring a claim.

Other time sensitive issues and areas of possible concern involve preserving evidence and identifying defendants, insurance coverage and assets. This normally requires retaining investigators and experts to commence investigations and evaluations as promptly as possible. In fact, our office has a checklist of more than 140 items that we review in every new case that comes in to our office.

For these reasons alone, most personal injury victims agree that hiring an experienced California personal injury lawyer should not be delayed.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

What is the Standard of Proof in a California Personal Injury Case?

The standard of proof in the United States is typically preponderance of the evidence as opposed to clear and convincing or beyond a reasonable doubt. Because proving a case beyond a preponderance of the evidence (slight tipping of scales) is usually easier than a criminal prosecution (beyond a reasonable doubt), most personal injury cases are handled in the civil court system.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

What Damages are Available in a California Personal Injury Case?

What Damages are Available in a California Personal Injury Case?

In most catastrophic personal injury cases, a victim may be entitled to monetary compensation for bodily injury and pain and suffering from the person or company whose negligent or wrongful conduct caused the injury. This includes a momentary lapse in judgment, a mistake or simple negligence.

Injuries caused by intentional, willful, wanton or reckless conduct may also allow an injured party to receive punitive damages which are designed to punish the responsible party. Over the past two decades, we've handled both types of case.

The primary damages you may be entitled to if you are a victim of personal injury are called compensatory or actual damages. These damages are intended to provide reimbursement or payment to you for your past and future "out of pocket" expenses or losses. Please keep in mind that an expert is normally required to help prove the full extent of your recoverable damages.

The most common compensatory damages include the following:

Medical Expenses- Past and future bills and expenses for health care services from an ambulance or emergency providers, hospitals, doctors, medication, and related services from nurses or other health care providers related to your injury, care and treatment.

Lost Earnings- If you were unable to work for a period of time after the incident, you are entitled to recover reimbursement of all lost wages.

Impaired Earning Capacity- Any reduction of your ability to earn a living (can't do the same job anymore) is recoverable. In many instances, an expert economist is retained to help determine what the actual loss of income is.

Future Medical Expenses- All reasonably necessary future medical care and treatment is recoverable. Again, this is normally proven with the help of experts.

Pain and Suffering- These damages are awarded to compensate an injury victim for all past and future pain and suffering related to the incident and injury.

Mental Anguish- Personal injury victims who have sustained extreme mental or emotional suffering or distress are entitled to compensation. In some cases, this may also include someone who has witnessed the severe injury or death of a loved one.

Loss of Consortium- If, because of a personal injury, the victim's spouse is unable to enjoy the benefits of marriage (companionship, affection, comfort, or sexual relations), a claim for monetary damages may be sought. Please note that these claims will normally "open the door" to many privacy issues.

Loss of Society and Companionship- In wrongful death cases, these damages are awarded to an heir for the loss of love, comfort, and companionship.

Property Damage- Any property damage to a vehicle or personal items may be recovered by the victim in a personal injury case.