Alameda Personal Injury Lawyer draft

After most accidents, people are able to walk away unharmed and with little to no property damage. Unfortunately, accidents do cause harm. It might even be severe harm, not just physically, but emotionally and financially too. When the accident that caused harm resulted from someone else’s carelessness or recklessness, the victim may be able to recover monetary compensation through a personal injury claim. California personal injury law allows victims to hold the responsible party accountable.

Personal injury is an area of civil law that encompasses cases where another person or entity harms someone. Victims can pursue monetary compensation for physical, emotional, and financial losses through an insurance claim or court verdict.

4 Most Common Types of Personal Injury Cases in Alameda

A person may file a personal injury claim when the accident that harmed them occurred because of another individual’s or entity’s actions or inactions. These accidents can happen anywhere, at any time, to anyone, and can have life-altering consequences for the victims. The four most common types of personal injury claims are:

Motor Vehicle Accidents

Not every motor vehicle accident requires the drivers to take legal action or call law enforcement to the scene. Most collisions require the drivers to trade insurance info and people think they drive away without injury. When an accident results in injuries and property damage, drivers should contact law enforcement and file an incident report to provide to their insurance company. This initial report will likely state who the responding officer believes is at fault for the accident. A responding officer may state a driver is at fault if they were behaving negligently at the time of the accident. Negligent behavior may be:

Speeding
Distracted driving
Drunk driving
Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol
Fatigued driving

Drivers who fail to consider their safety and the safety of others on the road should be held accountable for any harm they cause. Contact an Alameda car accident attorney if you suffered injuries in an accident because someone else on the road behaved negligently.

Premises Liability

Premises liability cases encompass accidents in which the harm was caused by unsafe or unkempt conditions on someone’s property. The most common form of premises liability is called slip-and-fall. Tripping, slipping, or falling due to unsafe property conditions may not appear to be a serious accident on the surface. However, these accidents can leave victims with severe head trauma, torn ligaments, and even nerve damage.

The thing about these kinds of accidents is that injuries may take time to develop and people may not seek the medical attention when they should. Even if you seem to walk away fine from a slip-and-fall accident, it’s still important to visit a doctor to ensure you’re in good health and protect your right to file a premises liability claim once your injuries start developing physical symptoms.

Product Liability

Product liability claims are filed when a dangerous, defective, or malfunctioning product harms someone. Someone might file a product liability claim if they were harmed by:

Defective toys
Defective car parts
Defective truck parts
Unsafe drugs
Defective medical devices
Products with toxic materials or chemicals
Defective disability aid devices

Responsible parties may be individuals, businesses, or government entities marketing, selling, or manufacturing unsafe products.

Wrongful Death

Families can file wrongful death claims if the death of their loved one was due to the negligence of someone else. For instance, if a person dies in a car accident, a negligent or reckless driver may be responsible. The surviving family can file a wrongful death claim to recover monetary compensation.

How to File an Alameda Personal Injury Claim

A victim has the right to file a personal injury claim whenever another individual or entity acted negligently, resulting in an accident that caused the victim’s injury. However, victims must adhere to California’s statute of limitations. Claims that are not filed within the allotted two years from the initial accident may not be pursued and victims lose their chance to recover financial compensation for their injuries. If the negligent person or entity is a government employee or entity the timeframe to file a claim is even shorter, typically six months. If you do file within the statute of limitations, there are three key steps to a personal injury claim in California.

1. Establishing Legal Standing

It’s important to note that just because you were injured in an accident does not mean you can automatically receive compensation. For a claim to be successful, there must be someone liable for the harm you sustained. Liability refers to the legal concept of fault, which indicates who is responsible for the accident.

It may seem that liability is straightforward. For instance, if one of the drivers in a car accident was drunk, the drunk driver must be liable. However, it is not often that simple, especially if the drunk driver’s insurance is trying to minimize their fault to minimize the amount they pay to the victim. Additionally, because California is a comparative negligence state, the victim may also be held liable for a percentage of the accident and have their damages reduced to compensate for their fault in the accident.

2. Determining the Venue for Your Claim

A venue refers to the place of your claim. You may file your claim in a county where:

The injury occurred
There are a majority of witnesses
The defendant lives or has their principal place of business
You live or have your principal place of business

There will likely be more than one venue appropriate for your claim. Your lawyer is the best person to advise you on which venue would be best.

3. Hiring an Alameda Personal Injury Lawyer

Hiring an experienced and skilled personal injury lawyer is the best way to ensure you have a strong claim and successful outcome. While you are entitled to compensation, insurance companies look out for their own interest, not yours. They may attempt to deny your claim because of minor deadlines or paperwork errors.

Insurance adjusters may also use California’s comparative negligence laws to minimize their insurer’s fault and place some fault on you so that they don’t have to pay you the maximum value of your claim. By working with a skilled Alameda personal injury lawyer, you can be sure there is someone in your corner making sure your rights and best interests are protected throughout the whole process.

Experienced Alameda Personal Injury Lawyers at Karns & Karns

If you’ve been injured or suffered any kind of harm because of someone else’s negligence, you deserve to be fairly compensated. Karns & Karns has dedicated over 65 years to helping injured victims throughout California recover the compensation they deserve. Our personal injury attorneys have successfully represented thousands of clients and helped them achieve settlements and verdicts for millions of dollars. Our goal is to protect your rights and recover the maximum value of your claim so you can get your life back on track.

To speak with one of our personal injury lawyers today, you can call (888) 381-8044 or fill out our contact form.

Hear what others have said about us

Thank you so much for all the work everyone contributed to bringing my case to a successful conclusion. I am truly grateful to everyone.

Stephanie C.

Very friendly, professional, knowledgeable and always kept me up-to-date on what was going on with my case. Thank you Karns & Karns!

Jean B.

Most knowledgeable and helpful personal injury firm in town. The best.

James T.

I have used the lawyers at Karns & Karns on a number of legal matters over the years. Their skill and expertise is unmatched in my opinion. When my family was the victim of fraud, I turned to the lawyers at Karns & Karns. After a long litigation battle which eventually went to arbitration, I was awarded over $1,500,000.00. The lawyers at Karns & Karns were extremely prepared and I would recommend them to anyone.

John B.

I was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. Bill Karns was with me every step of the way. Even though the other driver said the accident was my fault, I recovered over $1,300,000.00. Mr. Karns was professional, courteous, and skilled. I would recommend him and Karns & Karns to anyone involved in a major personal injury case.

Hank E.

After a horrible incident and life-changing event, Mike and Bill brought hope back into my life.

Mona L.

I was traumatically injured on the job by a negligent forklift driver. I reached out to Karns & Karns when I began to suspect that my other attorneys didn’t have the expertise to resolve a complicated case where the defendant, a massive organization, said I was at fault. I’m certainly glad I did. Bill and Mike treated me with respect, knew the law, and did exactly what was necessary to make the defendant accept responsibility for their bad acts. I recovered $1,000,000.00, and I have Karns & Karns to thank for that.

Ed B.

I can personally attest to the fact that Karns & Karns are perhaps the most responsive attorneys in California. To receive the sort of attention that I got from Mike and Bill is noteworthy.

Nelson A.

My experience with Karns & Karns is that they truly care. As a disabled veteran, I can’t ask for any better than two top gun lawyers whose main job is to get the best for me and my well-being.

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