What Makes Up a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Elk Grove
I’m Ed Smith, an Elk Grove personal injury lawyer. Personal injuries encompass a wide range of accidents. Although the types of physical and emotional harm may differ, the one thing all personal injuries have in common is that physical damage occurred due to the negligence of another person or entity such as a company. A personal injury lawsuit is pursued in civil court, and the law is designed to offer recourse to those who should be financially compensated for an act that never should have happened.
What Areas Are Covered Under Personal Injury Law?
Accidents can cause serious injuries, psychological damage, and financial loss. All too often, they can result in a fatality, and when caused by negligence, a wrongful death lawsuit can be used to recover damages. Following are some of the categories covered by personal injury:
- Car accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Motorcycle collisions
- Pedestrian accidents
- Big rig accidents
- Premises liability
- Products liability
- Medical malpractice
- Elder abuse
- Dog bites
What if I Was Partially Responsible for the Accident?
California is a comparative fault state. This means that even if you were partially responsible for a collision, you could still be entitled to recover damages. For example, one motorist decides to make a turn, but the vehicle’s signal light is inoperative. A second motorist, who is driving above the posted speed limit, crashes into the first car. Both drivers would be held liable for a percentage of the fault in the collision. That means each driver would still be able to collect the percentage of an award for which they were not personally liable.
What Damages Can I Recover in a Personal Injury Lawsuit?
Under California law, those filing to recover compensation for a personal injury are entitled to the following:
- Medical expenses, including ambulance service, hospitalization, physician visits, prescriptions, medical tests, physical therapy and more. Out of pocket expenses such as traveling to and from a doctor’s visit are also covered.
- Lost earning capacity includes future lost wages if the individual cannot return to work for a time or becomes unemployable due to the injury.
- Lost wages and any other income such as bonuses and the like are recoverable.
- Loss of consortium occurs because of an injury and can adversely affect a couple’s relationship.
- Pain and suffering include both the physical pain of the injury and the emotional and psychological damage. The amount awarded for these types of general damages depends on the physical injury and psychological problems faced. For example, someone who loses a limb will suffer much more pain, both physically and psychologically, than an individual who fractures an arm or leg.
- Scarring or disfigurement can adversely affect an individual’s life and cause embarrassment or humiliation. Compensation for this type of injury can also include cosmetic surgery to repair the damage.
How Can a Personal Injury Lawyer Help?
An experienced injury lawyer can compile all the records related to your accident such as police reports, witness accounts, film footage and others, and conduct an independent investigation. This may include accident reconstruction, expert witness, and other valuable sources. Once a strong case has been built for fair compensation, the lawyer will either negotiate with an insurance company for you or take the case to court so that your rights are upheld.
Elk Grove Personal Injury Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, an Elk Grove personal injury lawyer. An individual facing rising medical bills and reduced income because of an accident injury caused by someone else may obtain compensation to pay for those losses. If you or a loved one suffered an injury, please give me a call for free, friendly advice at (916) 694-0002 locally or (800) 404-5400 for long-distance.
As a milliondollaradvocates.com member of California, I belong to a group of top trial lawyers who have demonstrated a win in excess of $1 million for a client through a verdict or settlement.
It has been my honor for over 36 years to have helped numerous Roseville residents and those from surrounding areas of Northern California in obtaining fair compensation for all types of car accidents and other injuries, including wrongful death.
Learn more about my legal practice by seeing what others have had to say and looking over a list of some of our cases and their results at:
Photo Attribution: Depositphotos_10952398_l-2015
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