Car accidents remain one of the leading causes of serious injury and death in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control, “Reducing motor vehicle crash deaths was one of the great public health achievements of the 20th century for the US. However, more than 32,000 people are killed and 2 million are injured each year from motor vehicle crashes.” But people are often injured in a number of situations that don’t involve motor vehicles. This includes instances of medical malpractice, animal bites, slip and fall accidents, and injuries resulting from defective products. 

When anyone is injured due to the negligence of another person or entity, they may be able to pursue damages through a personal injury claim. A serious injury can disrupt nearly every part of a person’s life including their ability to continue working. It is best to consult with an attorney as early as possible if you’ve been injured in an accident. The Los Angeles County personal injury attorneys at the Carrillo Law Firm, LLP are here to help. We can investigate the unique facts of your case free of cost and let you know if you have a claim that can be pursued. You can reach out to us anytime at 626-799-9375.

What Kinds of Claims Can A Personal Injury Attorney Help With?

Personal injury claims involve many different types of accidents. A large number of the people in need of a personal injury attorney are involved in motor vehicle collisions. This can include instances involving passenger vehicles. Victims can also be injured as pedestrians or while riding a bicycle. Many others are injured in accidents with commercial vehicles. What follows below are some of the other types of claims that a personal injury attorney may be able to help you with.

• Premises Liability Claims: Property owners have a legal obligation to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition, as outlined in California Civil Code 1714. When a person is injured by a dangerous condition on a property, they could seek aid through a premises liability claim. This could include slip and falls, ceiling collapses, and assaults due to negligent security. 
• Medical Malpractice Claims: Doctors and hospitals have a legal obligation to do everything that they can not to harm their patients. Medical malpractice occurs when a patient is injured by a doctor’s or hospital’s deviation from the standard of care. A patient may be injured when a doctor failed to diagnose their cancer or they could have been injured during a surgery.
• Train Accidents: A train accident could occur in a variety of different settings. Passengers could be injured in a derailment, which is what happened in Moorpark, California. Pedestrians could also be hit by trains if the conductor fails to slow down in time. Train conductors must operate at a reasonably safe speed and continuously scan the tracks ahead of them to avert collisions. 
• Aviation Accidents: The vast majority of plane crashes take place within private aviation. Smaller planes tend to lack the safety redundancies of larger commercial planes. Most plane crashes are due in part to pilot error, but they could also be cause by defective design or component failures. 
• Bus Accidents: Buses are considered common carriers and are held to a high standard in terms of safety. Pedestrians are particularly vulnerable in bus accidents. Buses have large blind spots that can easily obscure the presence of pedestrians and smaller vehicles. Rollover accidents are another major hazard because buses are top heavy and can easily overturn at higher speeds. 
• Truck Accidents: Commercial trucks make up a relatively small portion of the total number of vehicles on the roadway. But they are involved in a disproportionate number of fatal collisions. According to the National Safety Council, in 2021 alone 5,700 large trucks were involved in fatal collisions.

No matter how you were injured, a personal injury attorney may be able to help you. This is true even if you were partially at fault for an accident. California is one of a handful of states that operates under a pure comparative negligence model. Even if a person is partially at fault for an accident, they can still recover damages through a personal injury claim. But the amount that is recovered will typically be reduced proportionally. It’s always best to consult with an attorney after any accident. Never simply assume that you don’t have a valid claim. 

Demonstrating Liability For A Personal Injury Claim

In order to win a personal injury claim, the plaintiff will need to demonstrate the defendant was somehow negligent. Negligence is the failure to operate with the level of care that someone with ordinary prudence would have utilized in the same situation. Negligence typically consists of actions that a person takes. But it can also consist of omissions when a person has an affirmative duty to act. There are four elements required to establish a prima facie case of negligence. 

• The defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care. 
• The defendant breached that duty of care. 
• The plaintiff sustained an injury. 
• The defendant’s breach was the proximate cause of the injury. 

In most situations it will not be hard to demonstrate that a defendant owed a duty of care. Drivers owe a duty of care to their passengers and other drivers. Doctors owe a duty of care to their patients. Schools owe a duty of care to the children they look after. What tends to be more difficult to demonstrate is that a defendant breached their duty of care and that this breached caused any injury. Evidence is essential in answering this question. This could include surveillance footage that shows a driver speeding prior to an accident. Or it may involve emails showing that a landlord was made aware of a dangerous condition on their property. A personal injury attorney can compile all of the evidence related to your accident in order to build  a strong legal claim. 

Why You Should Consider Hiring A Personal Injury Attorney

It can be hard to know where to begin after any serious accident. Most people will need to take at least some time off of work. This can impact their ability to care for themselves and their family. It is also common for accident victims to be left with permanent injuries which can impact their mobility and quality of life. There are very good reasons to consider hiring a personal injury attorney after any accident. 

• Knowledge: Personal injury attorneys have extensive knowledge of the law which they can use to help build a strong case. This can include addressing the most common objections that insurance providers are likely to make. 
• Gathering Evidence: A personal injury attorney has the legal power to gather all of the evidence that your case will need to move forward. For example, they may need to subpoena records from the opposing party. In other situations, they can hire experts in any particular field to evaluate evidence and make arguments. 
• Calculating Damages: Personal injury attorneys can calculate the full extent of your damages based on your medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering and the future expenses related to your injury. 
• Better Compensation: A personal injury attorney can help negotiate a better settlement on your behalf. This may entail taking any case to trial if the insurance carrier is unwilling to offer a fair and just settlement. 
• No Up-Front Costs: Trying to negotiate a claim on your own can be prohibitively expensive. One of the best parts of hiring a personal injury attorney is that they pay for all costs associated with the case up-front. Their payment comes from the opposing party if they are able to successfully resolve your claim. 

At the end of the day, having an experienced legal advocate on your side can help give you peace of mind. They can take over the most difficult parts of moving your case forward and help you avoid costly mistakes. An attorney can also answer all of your questions and keep you informed throughout the legal process. Hiring a personal injury attorney saves you time and can make an otherwise very difficult situation much more manageable. 

Getting Legal Help With Your Personal Injury Claim

Insurance providers will often do everything in their power to deny liability when their client injures someone. They have their own team of attorneys that are looking out for their interests. A personal injury attorney can help level the playing field and ensure that your interests are being protected. Winning or losing a claim often comes down to having skilled legal representation that can take on difficult challenges. This is where we can help.  At the Carrillo Law Firm, LLP, we are committed to winning on behalf of our clients and will do everything within our power to hold defendants accountable for their actions. 

Have you or someone that you care about been injured in Los Angeles County? Our team of Los Angeles County personal injury attorneys are here for you. We work tirelessly to get our clients the compensation that they are owed for their injuries.  It doesn’t cost anything up-front to hire our law firm. We work entirely off of a contingency fee basis and only get paid from the opposing party. There is a reason so many clients have entrusted us to handle their case when they really needed help. It’s because we really care. Whether you just have legal questions or need any type of support after an accident we are here for you. You can reach out to us anytime at  626-799-9375.

FAQ

How much does it cost to hire a personal injury attorney? There are no up-front charges to hiring a personal injury attorney and they work off of a contingency fee basis. 

What kind of claims can a personal injury attorney help me with? A personal injury attorney can help with a number of different types of claims including car accidents, premises liability claims, medical malpractice and product liability claims. 

Can I pursue a claim even if I am partially at fault for an accident? Under California law, you can still pursue a personal injury claim even if you were partially at fault for an accident.

How long do I have to pursue a personal injury claim after an accident? For most California personal injury cases, the statute of limitations is typically two years.

How can a personal injury attorney help me? A personal injury attorney can help maximize the value of your case through skilled legal representation.