If you have suffered severe injuries due to someone else’s carelessness, contact the Tustin Personal Injury Lawyers of Bisnar Chase.
Our passionate top-rated legal team works hard on your case so the only concern you have to have is recovering. Our law firm is fully equipped with top-notch trial lawyers and four litigation groups that have earned over $750 million dollars in wins for our clients.
If you or a loved one has endured an injury in Tustin from an accident call 949-203-3814 and receive a free consultation for your Orange County personal injury claim.
Tustin is in central Orange County and has about 80,000 residents. Tustin has a higher crime rate than some of its neighboring cities, around 79% higher and that includes hit and run and assault & battery cases. Our personal injury firm has decades in and out of Orange County courtrooms and is very familiar with the statutes protecting people in OC.
Tustin Personal Injury Resources
Definition of a Personal Injury Case
Personal injuries fall under the category of tort law. Tort law involves a person being physically, emotionally, and mentally harmed by a negligent entity. This practice of law seeks to hold wrongdoers accountable financially and by a punishable means.
It is crucial for the plaintiff’s legal representative to prove that the defendant owed what is known as a “duty of care” to the plaintiff. “Duty of care” is the legal term that refers to an individual or organization’s responsibility of keeping you safe. The institution is to have standards set in place to prevent any harmful incidents. Those who breach the “duty of care” are liable for the damages the victim has acquired.
FAQs About CA Personal Injury Claims
After experiencing a personal injury, it is essential that you seek medical attention. Notify the police right away so you can seek medical treatment immediately. If possible, pull over to the side of the road to avoid oncoming traffic.
Do not use an online personal injury claims calculator to determine the amount of compensation you will win in a settlement. There are various factors that are considered when determining how much you will recover in your settlement such as how many medical bills or property damage you have obtained since the incident.
When the other party’s insurance adjuster contacts you, you are not required to give a statement. In fact, it would not be beneficial for your personal injury case to not speak to the other driver’s insurance company. You could possibly be coerced in saying you were at fault for the accident.
The state of California operates under a comparative negligence system. This means that if you too were at fault for an injury or collision you can still file for compensation. What will dictate how much compensation you earn is dependent on how much of the accident you were at fault for.
The time that it will take to settle your personal injury case is unpredictable. Each accident case is different and certain stages of the lawsuit may take some time such as the investigation and discovery period. It depends on how much damage and the extent of the injuries were involved in the accident.
Damages That Can Be Recovered in Personal Injury Cases
The kinds of damages a personal injury victim can recover for their claim can be divided up into two groups which include compensatory damages and punitive damages. Compensatory damages are classified as monetary compensation for factors such as medical treatment and vehicle damage.
Punitive damages have nothing to do with the dollar amount a personal injury victim receives in their settlement. Instead, punitive damages behave as a tool to punish the wrongdoer.
At times, the punitive damages will exceed the amount of compensatory damages. This is intentional and inspires the negligent party never to commit these actions again.
Medical expenses
A personal injury can leave a person temporarily or permanently disabled. This injury can be painful and often lead to an accident victim needing round-the-clock care. Other costs that a claimant in a personal injury case may collect may include emergency room visits, prescription medications, rehabilitation treatments, x-rays, or primary care physician visits.
Property damage
Property damage can involve any object destroyed in the incident. This can include the vehicles that were damaged in the accident and personal items such as a cell phone, a laptop, or an important piece of jewelry. These can all be classified as property damage. You can prove that you acquired these types of losses by providing receipts of these items to your Tustin personal injury attorney.
Loss of wages
Frequently, victims of personal injury are left with multiple injuries that can leave them out of the job for weeks or even months. What can be included from a former employer to a claimant can be compensation for sick time, vacation time or overtime. Some accident victims can become paralyzed from a personal injury and have the inability to support themselves altogether.
Pain and suffering
There is not a set of qualifiers in place for each personal case to prove pain and suffering. Everyone’s suffering in a personal injury claim is unique. For example, a person who experiences pain and suffering from a dog bite may differ from a person who is experiencing depression from being completely paralyzed. There is a cap of how much compensation you can earn for pain and suffering as well. In California, the amount for pain and suffering that you can receive is $250,000.
Personal Injury Claims We Handle in Tustin, California
The way in which a personal injury victim can benefit from filing a claim is being able to gain compensation for damages such as lost wages and medical bills. There are several kinds of personal injury suits that many people do not know they can claim. Determining the type of case is important for you and your lawyer to better understand what the outcome would be for your legal dispute.
- Car accidents: The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reported that in one year, 3,259 fatal accidents occurred in California. Tustin, CA was reported to have 20 vehicles involved in fatal car crashes within a two-year period. Motor vehicle accidents can be a result of distracted driving, speeding, or a person driving under the influence.
- Semi-Truck collisions: There are an estimated amount of 2 million semi-trucks on the road in the United States. Just one 18-wheeler can weigh up to 35,000 pounds. The amount of weight can cause a huge amount of damage and multiple fatalities in an accident. Truck drivers and their superiors are to make sure they have the proper training and experience to operate a semi-truck.
- Motorcycle accidents: The San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported that in a one-year period, 566 people died in motorcycle accidents. It is important that riders wear the proper protective gear to minimize their injuries in an accident. Four-door vehicles should also be mindful of cyclists on the freeway just due to lane splitting.
- Dog bites: The state of California has a strict liability law that demands dog owners to pay for any medical expenses or losses if their dog were to bite a person. Dog bites may seem like a minor injury, but a person who experiences an animal attack can suffer severe puncture wounds, nerve damage and if the dog is not vaccinated, the victim can also contract an illness.
- Class action: A class-action lawsuit is defined as a group of people filing a lawsuit against a corporation or employer. There is not a standard number of people needed to file a class-action lawsuit. When there are hundreds of people involved in the class-action lawsuit though, this can strengthen the case and establish credibility against the wrongdoer.
- Employment law disputes: Employment lawsuits can cover a variety of topics. These kinds of lawsuits involve situations such as sexual harassment, wage and hour violations, discrimination, or breaches of employment contracts. When a company does not offer workers compensation when an employee is injured this can potentially be a basis for a lawsuit as well.
- Wrongful death: A person seeking to file a lawsuit for a wrongful death means that that person lost a loved one due to a negligent party. People who have the right to file a wrongful death claim could be a dependent, a surviving child or a surviving parent of the deceased. An example of a wrongful death could be someone dying during an operation due to a doctor not following proper safety procedures.
- Slip and falls: People who experience slip and falls can suffer from a traumatic brain injury, broken bones or become partially paralyzed. The National Safety Council claimed that in one year, 697 employees died from a slip and fall incident at work. People who worked in the construction industry suffered more injuries and deaths than any other work field.
- Defective product cases: There are three potential parties that can be held liable for a product defect case. These parties include the manufacture of the product, the designer, or the seller of the product. If you believe that your injuries were caused by a product defect call the Southern California personal injury attorneys of Bisnar Chase for a comprehensive, no-charge consultation.
Personal Injury vs. Bodily Injury
Your insurance policy will offer you various plans. Some of these may include personal injury or bodily injury coverage. The difference in these two lies in what part of your accident your insurance company will pay for.
Bodily injury coverage involves your insurance only paying for the injuries that the other motorist sustained. This type of policy does not cover your own injuries or wrongful death. The benefit is that it protects you from a lawsuit.
Personal injury protection (PIP) means that medical treatment and funeral expenses for you and others involved in the accident can be covered. If either of your coverages are not compensating you for any damage, contact the Tustin personal injury lawyers at Bisnar Chase. Upon your call, our Orange County personal injury lawyers can offer free legal advice on your accident and law claim.
Common Injuries Suffered in an Accident
Traumatic Brain Injuries and Head Wounds: The most frequent injury experienced is harm to the head and brain. In a vehicle accident, the injury is commonly brought upon by the head slamming against the steering wheel. Brain injuries can range from a minor concussion to severe internal bleeding. Medical attention is required immediately so that you may follow up and understand how to treat a head injury after the incident.
Internal Bleeding: If an accident victim endures serious trauma to the body this can result in internal bleeding. Internal bleeding is when blood vessels inside of the body are ripped apart due to a great force that the body has experienced. If the bleeding progresses, serious measures must be taken, such as surgery.
Spinal Cord Damage: Each year over 12,500 people are diagnosed with spinal cord injuries. The leading causes of spinal cord injuries are car accidents and falls. If the spine is ruptured it can lead to a person being immobile or worse, paralyzed.
Mistakes to Avoid When Filing a Claim
- Disclosing details of the case on social media: Limit sharing the details of your case to just your attorney. Any information that you place on social media concerning your case can be used against you and minimize the amount of compensation you can win.
- Signing your rights away: We urge you not to sign anything from the insurance company. You may be signing away your right to file a claim against the negligent entity. Hiring a lawyer to review the offer an insurance company provides you will benefit you in the long run.
- Not attending your doctor’s appointments: If an accident victim does not attend their medical appointments your injuries and the severity of your injuries will not be documented. You need documentation to prove to the court that you have obtained medical expenses from the incident. If you do not follow through with medical treatment you also can be viewed as uncooperative.
The Basics of Liability
Liability in the context of U.S. personal injury law is described as a person or company becoming legally obligated to compensate a victim for their losses and are held at-fault for an accident. In this practice of law, there are three categories of liability.
These categories include:
- Negligence: The most frequent type of tort that is associated with personal injury is negligence. A personal injury case that involves negligence involves the entity unintentionally causing injuries or property damages to an accident victim. The careless party failed to provide the victim with the standard “duty of care.”
- Intentional: Intentional torts include an individual or organization being purposely harmed. These cases can sometimes transfer to criminal law. Types of tort lawsuits can involve assault or defamation.
- Strict liability: Strict liability does not require proof of carelessness. If a person is hurt the defendant is directly at fault. An example of strict liability would be a person suffering from a dog bite. The owner of the dog is automatically at fault for not supervising their dog at the time of the incident.
Comparative Negligence
There are three types of comparative negligence doctrines which are known as comparative negligence, contributory negligence, and joint liability. California functions under a comparative fault process which allows the victim of an accident and the culprit of the accident to file a personal injury claim.
Even if a person was 90% liable for the incident, they can still fight to obtain compensation for their damages. In other states that operate under a contributory negligence system, if the victim was just 1% responsible then they will not earn any monetary amount for their losses.
The Tustin, CA. Personal Injury Claims Process
Many people after an accident usually are left with the question of “How do I file a personal injury claim?”The process of where to begin when filing a personal injury claim is difficult to navigate through. There are steps that can help guide you through this process.
Steps to take after suffering from a personal injury include:
- Contact your insurance company: You need to reach out to your insurance immediately to begin the claims process. The other driver’s insurance company can potentially accuse you of being the one at fault for the accident. If your vehicle is not drive-able you may have to rent a car that would add to the expenses you already have. Again, you are not required to speak to the other driver’s insurance company.
- Settlement negotiations: You do not have to settle for the first offer that the other party’s insurance company provides you. Often people have the misconception that they need to be aggressive towards the other driver’s insurance company to succeed in winning the maximum settlement. If you are well organized with your evidence, persistent and remain calm this will benefit your personal injury case later.
- Speak to a Tustin trial attorney: A trial attorney will not just be knowledgeable about the rights you have as an injury victim, but they will also be well experienced in a courtroom. Many personal injury lawyers have only handled cases in mediation. It is important that you obtain legal representation from a lawyer who knows how to speak and choose members of a jury.
Estimating Your Settlement
- Medical bills
- Future/past loss of wages
- Property damage
- Loss of consortium
- Emotional distress
- Mental anguish
"Brian is an excellent attorney that really understands the ins and outs of auto defects. In my case, the seatbelt latch broke and was defective. Brian always had time for all of my questions and he did a great job arguing my case and winning in my favor. Everyone in the office who I dealt with was professional and practically treated me like family."
Choosing the Right Legal Representation
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of attorneys within your region. Finding the right one to represent you can be a challenging process. It may be in your best interest to ask your friends for a recommendation. If you are searching online for a personal injury lawyers in Tustin here are some questions to ask yourself:
- Do they have a list of cases that they have recently handled?
- Is helpful information posted on their web sites?
- Do they have client reviews? What are their clients saying about them?
- Do they offer free consultations?
The best way to hire an injury attorney is by scheduling a meeting and talking face to face. This way you can decide if this particular law firm is a good fit for you.
Contact Our Tustin Personal Injury Lawyers
The experienced Tustin Personal Injury Lawyers at Bisnar Chase have a long and successful track record of representing seriously injured victims and their families. We specialize in personal injury cases. Our goal is to provide quality legal representation to our clients and help them achieve the best possible outcome.
If you or a loved one has suffered a serious personal injury as a result of someone else’s negligence or wrongdoing please contact us at 949-203-3814.
