The law of “torts” is the law that governs civil wrongdoing, as opposed to criminal acts. Personal injury law seeks to hold parties liable when they commit a tort that causes physical, emotional, or mental harm to another person. There are a number of negligent or wrongful acts that can give rise to a personal injury lawsuit, including an automobile accident, medical malpractice, defective products, a dog bite, a workplace accident, elder abuse or neglect or a defamatory statement (just to name a few). Under California Law, if a victim can prove his personal injury case, he may be entitled to compensation for his or her injury, healthcare costs, lost wages, future lost, future lost earnings and pain and suffering. In some cases, the victim’s family may also be entitled to certain compensation.
Tort Law and Personal Injury Claims encompass a wide variety of negligent or wrongful acts. Negligence is a type of tort that arises in most personal injury actions. Negligence occurs where a party has a duty to act in a certain manner, but fails to fulfill that duty, which results in an injury to another party. For example, the driver of a car has a duty to drive safely and to comply with traffic laws. When that driver fails to comply with a traffic law, he breaches that duty. If his breaching of his duty causes a car accident and damages property or injures another person, he has committed the tort of negligence and may be liable for personal injury.
Contact an Experienced Los Angeles Injury Lawyer
When an injured party can prove that negligence has occurred, he or she may be entitled to financial compensation from the party who acted carelessly or negligently, in an injury lawsuit. If you or a family member have been injured and believe that the injury was caused by another person’s wrongful or negligent conduct, it is important to contact an experienced Los Angeles injury lawyer to learn about your rights. In California, the statute of limitations for personal injury actions is two years, which means that victims must file their lawsuit within two years from the date of the accident or injury. Although two years may seem like a long time, it is important to engage the assistance of a California Personal Injury Attorney early on to ensure that you take all necessary steps to preserve your claim.
By contacting a Los Angeles injury lawyer early on, you will vastly increase the chances of recovering compensation from the negligent party.
Types Of Damages
The two basic types of damages in a California Personal Injury claim include economic and noneconomic damages. The types of damages listed may not be recoverable in all personal injury cases, but our dedicated Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorneys will work to ensure that you get the maximum damages that you are entitled to.
1. Economic Damages – Economic damages seek to compensate the victim for financial expenses or losses caused by the accident or injury, such as medical bills or prescription drug costs. Future economic damages are expenses those that the victim will incur in the future as a result of the accident or injury, including future medical expenses or future lost wages.
Medical expenses. Bills and expenses for medical treatment related to the injury, such emergency room costs, ambulance fees, prescription costs, surgery and nursing services.
Future medical expenses Costs for future treatment related to the injury.
Lost wages The money that the victim would have earned from the time of the injury until the date of the settlement or verdict.
Household services The cost of hiring somebody to do things around the house while the victim is recovering from an accident or injury, provided that the expense would not have been incurred had the plaintiff not been injured.
Loss of earning capacity A victim may be able to recover damages of lost earning capacity if he or she can prove that his or her ability to earn money in the future has been reduced by the accident or injury.
2. Non-economic damages: Non economic damages are also referred to as “pain and suffering” and compensates the victim for loss that cannot be quantified financially, such as the loss of enjoyment of certain aspects of one’s life or the inability to engage in everyday tasks.
General damages Compensation for physical and mental pain or loss of enjoyment of life resulting from an injury caused by an accident. An award of Pain and suffering may include past and future pain and suffering experienced by the victim caused by the accident or of wrongful death.
Loss of consortium When an injury from an accident deprives the victim’s spouse of certain benefits of a marriage, such as affection, companionship, society, help and assistance, and sexual relations, the spouse of the victim may be able to recover loss of consortium.
Burden of Proof
The burden of proof differs from a personal injury case to a criminal case. In a criminal case, the government must prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of wrongdoing. In a personal injury case (civil case) the injured party (plaintiff) only has to show a preponderance of evidence to prove liability. This means that the job of a Los Angeles injury attorney is far easier than that of a prosecutor and it’s much more likely that the injured party will get their compensation. Defendants in these cases often see it as unfair that to be found liable the injury attorney only needs to establish that it is more likely than not the defendant did wrong.
If you were the victim in a criminal case against somebody who has caused you harm, you may be able receive compensation for the injuries you have sustained as a result of the crime, even if the defendant was found “not guilty” of the crime. Contact us for more information and a free consultation.