The shock of an unexpected accident can understandably leave you with difficult questions. How will I pay these bills? Will I work again? How long will it take to recover from my injuries?
You may also wonder how to proceed, holding the right person responsible for causing so much disruption and heartache in your life.
A personal injury attorney in Torrance can help you make sense of this difficult situation and get you back to the point of healing and recovery.
Read on to learn more about personal injury law and how a Torrance personal injury lawyer can help you.
What Should I Do After an Accident?
The moments after an accident are overwhelming and frightening. You may lack the clarity to take the proper steps in those initial minutes. However, the more you can remember after an accident, the sooner your rights are protected.
Report the Accident
Call 9-1-1 after an accident if there’s an emergency. Typical situations requiring a call for emergency personnel or law enforcement assistance include car accidents, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, and any other accident where you or others suffer injuries.
In other situations, you should report the accident to the owner or operator of the premises or your employer.
Gather Information
Get the names, contact information, and insurance information for all parties involved with your accident. If there were any witnesses to the events, write down their contact information. If you can do so safely, take photographs documenting the accident scene and the surrounding area.
Seek Medical Attention
Even if you feel fine, seek medical attention. Many serious injuries are not immediately apparent but begin to show symptoms after an accident. Connecting the accident to your injuries is vital to recovering the compensation you deserve from the party that caused you harm.
Don’t Speak About Your Case
Though it may be tempting, don’t speak about your case on social media or other channels. Never admit fault for an accident to anyone.
Report to Insurance
Contact your insurance company in car, motorcycle, pedestrian, and bicycle accidents. When speaking to your insurer, only relay facts. It’s important not to say anything that could be an admission of fault.
Insurers may try to offer you an initial settlement offer in the hopes you’ll accept, but you shouldn’t. These initial offers rarely compensate victims for what they deserve and need to move forward.
Contact an Attorney
Speak to an attorney as soon as possible. When the dust settles, you may struggle with what to do next. A personal injury attorney in Torrance helps you feel more in control of your situation and allows you to focus on your recovery.
What Factors Impact My Settlement Value?
Every personal injury case is unique in its facts and circumstances. For this reason, a Torrance personal injury attorney rarely provides clients with an average settlement amount for personal injury cases.
Instead, your attorney analyzes common factors affecting settlement values and reviews these with you to determine an average value for your particular case.
Severity of Injuries
Usually, when a victim suffers severe injuries after a personal injury case, the larger the settlement value. For example, a broken arm in a car accident usually heals in a matter of months.
A fractured arm differs significantly from a workplace fall wherein the victim suffers a permanent injury to their spine, confining them to a wheelchair for the remainder of their life.
The more severe the injury, the higher the medical expenses, rehabilitation, physical therapy, and continuous medical attention may be required, resulting in higher settlement values.
Degree of Damages
Property damage, medical bills, pain and suffering, and emotional distress associated with a victim’s injuries affect a case’s settlement value.
The more significant an injury impacts a victim’s physical and emotional well-being, the greater the case’s value. Your personal injury attorney in Torrance calculates the value of your case, considering these factors to negotiate a settlement value that justly compensates you for your losses.
Insurance
Parties usually resolve most personal injury cases through settlements with insurance adjusters. However, when a defendant’s insurance policy limits fail to cover a victim’s total losses, the victim may need to file a personal injury lawsuit to recover the difference from the liable party.
Determination of Liability
When there is a precise determination of liability, this increases a case’s value. In personal injury cases, California operates under the theory of comparative negligence. Under this rule, injured victims can collect damages even if they are 99% at fault for their accident.
The law reduces their recoverable damages by their degree of fault. For example, if a victim suffered $100,000 in damages, but the court determined the victim was 25% responsible for the accident, their damage award is reduced by this percentage.
The victim still receives $75,000 in compensation from the defendant but not the total value of their demand. If the defendant is liable for causing the victim’s injuries, there is no reduction in a victim’s compensatory award.
What Is the Statute of Limitations?
California’s statute of limitations for most personal injury cases is two years from the accident date. Failing to file within these two years bars you from bringing a lawsuit against the liable party at a later date.
Exceptions exist to this statute of limitations wherein the period tolls or pauses until a specific event triggers the time to begin running again. These exceptions include:
- If the victim was a minor at the time of the accident, the statute of limitations tolls until the victim reaches the age of 18, and at that time, it begins running two years after that date;
- If the defendant leaves the state and cannot be personally served, the statute of limitations tolls until the defendant returns to California; and
- If the victim was unaware of their injuries or that the defendant caused their harm, the statute of limitations does not begin running until the victim becomes aware.
While two years may seem like plenty of time to file a lawsuit, plenty of preparation is needed before filing a lawsuit. As you recover from your injuries, this two-year period may come and go faster than you imagined.
A Torrance personal injury lawyer keeps track of these procedural deadlines while preparing your case so you can take advantage of your opportunity to seek justice.
What Damages Can I Recover?
Victims injured in California are entitled to receive compensatory damages through economic and noneconomic damages. Compensatory damages are awarded to make the victim whole again after suffering injuries and losses in an accident. Economic damages include the following financial losses:
- Past, present, and future medical expenses,
- Lost wages,
- Loss of future earnings, and
- Property damage.
Documentation like pay stubs, invoices, receipts, and other similar tangible evidence supports a victim’s demand for economic damages.
Noneconomic damages represent intangible losses resulting from the emotional and physical damages related to an injury. These losses include:
- Pain and suffering,
- Emotional distress,
- Loss of consortium,
- Loss of enjoyment of life, and
- Permanent disfigurement or disability.
Due to their subjective nature, non-economic damages are challenging to prove without the help of a Torrance personal injury attorney. However, you should not overlook these damages as they compensate a victim for losses that significantly impact their daily lives.
Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Experienced Injury Lawyers Today
At Peerali Law, we help good people get justice. With millions recovered for our satisfied clients, our legal team doesn’t rest until we get the results you deserve. Our firm specializes in crafting innovative and creative solutions in wrongful death and catastrophic personal injury matters.
We believe that persistence, passion, and creativity bring forth the best results for our clients. Contact us today by phone or email for a free consultation and learn how Peerali Law can help you.