Answers to the Twelve Most Frequently Asked Questions in Serious Personal Injury Cases (1)
1. What is a serious personal injury?
In California, legal cases can be brought for personal
injury whether serious or not. However, practioners generally
consider spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries,
amputations, significant burn injuries, fractures, herniated
disks and major psychological disorders as serious personal
injuries.
2. Who can sue for serious personal injuries?
Any person who is injured in California can bring a serious
personal injury case under California law. In the case of minors
or incompetents, the case must be brought for the minor or
incompetent by a parent or guardian appointed by the Court. This
is a very simple procedure.
3. Who can be sued in a serious personal injury case?
Any person or entity whose negligent or intentional wrongful
conduct contributed to the serious personal injury can be sued.
The only requirement is that the person or entity sued is at
least partially at fault.
4. What if I am partially at fault for causing my own injury?
California is a comparative fault state. A person can sue
for serious personal injury even if they are partially at fault.
As long as they can prove that one or more other parties are also
at fault. However, the amount of a plaintiff's recovery will be
reduced by the amount of their fault. Therefore, if someone is
awarded $5 million dollars in a serious personal injury case, but
are found to be fifty percent (50%) at fault, the recovery will
be limited to $2.5 million dollars.
5. What if I am injured at work?
Work injuries are common. Unfortunately, if the only entity
or person at fault for the injury is the employer, in almost all
circumstances, an employee cannot sue the employer in Civil
Court. The employee's damages are limited to Workers'
Compensation remedies. The good news is that Workers'
Compensation covers an employee who is injured at work even if
the accident is strictly the employee's fault, however, the bad
news is that Workers' Compensation benefits are extraordinarily
limited, rarely include a full recovery for a wage loss and allow
no recovery for loss of earning capacity ,pain and suffering and
emotional distress.
If the wrongful conduct of anybody other than the employer
contributed to the worker's injury, the worker can sue the
negligent party. For instance, in construction accidents,
frequently someone at a job site other than the employer is
responsible or partly responsible for the plaintiff's injuries.
In this situation a Plaintiff can recovery both Workers'
Compensation benefits and sue whoever else is responsible in
Civil Court.
6. Is it valuable to perform an investigation and to retain
experts in a serious personal injury case?
It is critical that a thorough investigation be performed,
usually by an investigator hired by an attorney in a serious
personal injury case. The sooner the investigation can be
performed the better, because more evidence will be available. A
good investigation should attempt to pin down the fault of a
potential defendant, and could potentially point to the existence
of other defendants who are responsible for the incident; and
establish that the plaintiff's fault is minimal or non-existent.
Expert witnesses are almost always retained by good law
firms in serious personal injury cases. Experts can help
establish the liability of a defendant(s); document the
plaintiff's injuries and predict a plaintiff's future medical
needs and loss of income.
7. What damages are recoverable in a serious personal injury
case?
Under California law a seriously injured plaintiff is
entitled to recover all of his or her past and future medical
expenses; past and future loss of income/earning capacity; past
and future pain, suffering and emotional distress and in cases in
which the defendant's conduct is particularly bad, punitive
damages the excess damages which are awarded to punish the
defendant.
8. Is insurance coverage important?
Insurance coverage is critical in any serious personal
injury case. Serious personal injuries, almost by definition,
will result in a potential damage award of hundreds of thousands
of dollars or perhaps millions of dollars. For plaintiff to
receive their full compensation it is critical that the defendant
is either an individual or a large corporation with considerable
assets or that there is sufficient insurance coverage. This is
why it is so important for the plaintiff's attorney to conduct a
thorough investigation to make sure that all possible defendants
are included in the case, which will increase the chances of
there being enough insurance coverage or money available to
compensate the plaintiff for their injuries.
Another means to insurance coverage may be the plaintiff's
own underinsured motorist policy. If the policy limits of the
plaintiff's own uninsured/underinsured motors policy are high
enough, the plaintiff will be able to recover against his or her
insurance company if they can prove that someone else is at fault
for the accident.
9. How long do I have to file a serious personal injury case?
Generally speaking, a serious personal injury victim has one
year from the date of the accident to bring a lawsuit. If the
case is against a public entity, a claim must be filed within six
months whether the plaintiff is a minor or adult. In the case of
minors, generally, a case can be brought on behalf of a minor up
until their nineteenth (19) birthday. There are exceptions to
all of these rules. Someone should seek the advice of an
attorney as soon as possible if they are suffering a severe or
serious personal injury.
10. Is it necessary to hire an attorney in a serious personal
injury case?
It is almost always a good idea to at least seek the advise
of an attorney in a serious personal injury case. A good
attorney will know how to perform the necessary investigation and
hire the right experts to help insure full compensation. In
addition, even in case with low insurance policy limits, the
attorney may be able to put together a case against another
defendant who will be more able to fully compensate a seriously
injured plaintiff for the full extent of their damages.
11. Will my case settle out of court?
Probably. 90% to 95% of serious personal injury cases
settle at some point before trial.
12. Is there a limit of how much money I can be awarded for my
serious personal injury?
No, except medical malpractice claims which limit pain,
suffering and emotional distress damages to 250,000 dollars.
1. Most legal questions require complex answers. The answers
provided here may not be complete or fully accurate but attempt
to provide consumers with abbreviated answers. For more
detailed answers to these questions, a consumer should check out
other articles in this section of this web site, research other
legal articles and texts on the subject matter or consult with an
attorney.
