Every state has specific laws concerning personal injury actions – a tort that seeks monetary damages. In California, personal injury laws apply to different intentional torts including negligence torts associated with vehicle accidents, violent assault, and strict liability torts that encompass animal attacks and defective product injuries.
Personal injury laws in California
If you or your loved one has suffered an injury because another person’s breach of duty, negligence, or purposeful conduct, the law allows you to file a lawsuit against the responsible person. Also, you can get financial compensation for different losses such as reduced earning capacity, medical bills, rehab expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
Personal injury lawsuits are complicated and getting fair compensation requires you to have a perfect understanding of California’s personal injury law. This is the reason you should get in touch with one of the most reputable Oxnard personal injury lawyers who specialize in this legal field. A study was done by the Insurance Research Council, people who retain experienced personal injury attorneys can retain nearly three times more compensation than those who ignore the services of attorneys.
Statute of limitations
Basically, the statute of limitations is the time frame one has to file a lawsuit in court. Once that deadline expires, the California state law bars you from filing the lawsuit. Remember, the law allows you (the injured individual) two years from the time of the injury to file a complaint.
In some cases, an injured person may not discover the injury immediately. If this sounds familiar, you have one year (12 months) from the time you discovered the injury to file a personal injury claim. Generally, personal injury lawsuits are time-sensitive, and it is advisable to start collecting evidence immediately after the crash. It is also recommended to speak to an experienced attorney as soon as possible.
Shared fault: What does the law say?
According to California laws on comparative negligence, your compensation can be partly affected if you are partly to blame for the vehicle accident. For instance, if the court establishes that you were spending at the time of the crash and that makes you 20 percent liable for the accident, your compensation will be reduced by that percentage.
Note that the law bars uninsured drivers from seeking economic damages for suffering and pain following a vehicle crash even if the other driver was 100% at fault.
Seek legal help
Not every legal issue require you to hire a lawyer. Going to small claims courts and fighting a speeding ticket are two examples. However, a personal injury lawsuit is a complicated legal issue that requires you, the victim or perpetrator, to have a highly experienced attorney on your side.
Unless you are an attorney specializing in personal injury law, you have no business with acting like one in any case. The law is a complicated field, and even experienced attorneys don’t typically represent themselves in court. So, seek legal counsel and representation.
