When someone else has caused you harm as a result of their negligence or intentional actions, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against them. You can recover financial compensation for injuries or property damage, as well as for your emotional distress. However, this area of law can be complicated, and you should not try to sue someone without advice.
Moody Law is prepared to consult with you and explain your options. You can work directly with an experienced Victorville personal injury lawyer who will assess your case. Our team will support you from start to finish, working on a contingency basis. This means we do not get paid until and unless you win your lawsuit.
Types of Personal Injury Claims
When you or a loved one is hurt or experiences property damage because someone else acted negligently, you can file a personal injury claim. There is a wide range of situations where this can apply. For example, car accidents, domestic violence, and crimes can all be considered personal injury.
Some other types of personal injury claims include:
- Animal attacks, including dog bites
- Automotive accidents, including car, bus, truck, bicycle, and motorcycle collisions
- Birth injuries
- Burns and chemical damage
- Crimes such as assault, robbery, carjacking, or sexual violence
- Construction accidents
- Equipment and heavy machinery accidents
- Food poisoning
- Pedestrian accidents
- Product liability cases
- Slip-and-fall accidents
- Workplace injuries not covered by workers’ compensation
Any of these situations could result in a severe injury that may permanently disable you. You may need extensive medical treatment that lasts for months or years. You will also likely suffer mental anguish and other non-economic losses that require compensation. A skilled personal injury lawyer in Victorville can assist in all these circumstances.
Premises Liability Cases
Premises liability cases are widespread because they involve injury to victims from hazards on someone else’s property. California Civil Code §1714(a) requires you prove certain factors to successfully bring a case against a property owner for negligence. You and your personal injury lawyers must show:
- The defendant owned, occupied, leased, or controlled the property.
- The defendant knew or should have known about an existing hazard.
- The defendant did not correct the hazard or warn visitors/customers about the problem.
- You were injured as a direct result of the property owner’s negligence.
The owner or operator of any premises is responsible for maintaining a duty of care to the public. They must keep up the property based on what a reasonable person would do in the same situation. Other factors can be considered by the court when you sue, such as:
- The severity of your injuries
- The potential for someone to be hurt
- The likelihood that someone would be hurt
- The property owner’s knowledge or expected knowledge of the hazard
- The owner’s control over the hazardous condition
- Whether the property owner took steps to correct the condition
- Whether the owner warned customers about the hazard
Premises liability cases can result from spilled liquids, falling boxes, uneven flooring, icy sidewalks, potholes in parking lots, or insufficient lighting. Anything that contributes to someone injuring themselves when the situation should have been fixed could become a premises liability case.
Product Liability Claims
Another very common type of personal injury claim is from product failures. A product can be poorly designed, incorrectly manufactured, or improperly marketed. You should be able to trust that anything for sale has been tested and is safe. When you use it correctly, but it causes harm, you may have a product liability claim.
Because proving liability hinges on showing that the product is faulty, these cases can be very complex and difficult to argue successfully. You will need personal injury lawyers who have handled similar cases and know how to research the circumstances thoroughly.
You may have the option to sue the manufacturer, the distributors, the vendors, and the marketing companies associated with the product. Most cases are a matter of seeking compensation for medical injuries, but in extreme cases, the product may cause a more drastic issue, such as a house fire or fatality. These claims will require compensation for property damage or the loss of a loved one.
Determining Who Is Responsible for Your Injury
In some situations, you may fall and injure yourself from your own mistake. However, things are not so simple if you are on someone else’s property or you are using a product that is defective. It can be overwhelming to untangle who contributed to your injury, especially when you may be focusing on getting better.
For example, if you fall in a parking lot because the property owner did not fill in the potholes, that is not just you being clumsy. You deserve to seek compensation for being hurt by a hazard they did not address. A competent Victorville personal injury attorney will seek out footage from sources such as security cameras and witness statements to demonstrate negligence.
The team at Moody Law will put our extensive connections to work investigating and collecting the evidence needed to establish who is responsible for what you have suffered. We dedicate ourselves to developing a strong foundation for your personal injury claim.
Proving Negligence Is the Key to Securing Compensation
Your Victorville personal injury lawyers will concentrate on creating a portfolio of facts and evidence to show that the person at fault was negligent. This allows us to hold them responsible for your injuries and property damage through an insurance claim or in court.
We will demonstrate the four elements of negligence, which are:
- The defendant owed you a duty of care.
- They breached or failed in that duty.
- You have suffered injuries and other losses as a direct result of their negligence.
- You have incurred expenses related to your losses that need to be repaid.
We will rely on a variety of sources for documentation to support your case, such as cleaning records, manufacturer recall notices, photos and videos, expert testimony, witness statements, accident reports, and driving histories. If the injury occurred as part of a criminal act, we could access evidence from the prosecuting attorney for use in your civil lawsuit.
You Deserve Full Compensation for Your Losses
It can be easy to think you know every loss you may suffer from a personal injury. However, there are many expenses you could overlook that will pile up as time goes by. At Moody Law, our Victorville personal injury attorneys have years of experience calculating damages to ensure our clients demand every penny they are owed.
You can aid your claim by keeping a record of all expenses you incur related to your injury. It can also be helpful to start a pain journal to document your discomfort and recovery as you heal. This can be valuable for supporting your non-economic losses. To help your attorney create a complete picture of the damages, you should track every cost you would not have had if not for the injury.
Lost Wages
If your injury is so severe that you cannot work, you could risk losing your job. Whether temporary or permanent, your disability could lead to lost wages and a loss of earning potential. You can also lose much more than just your paycheck as you may rely on your employer for your health or other insurance.
The team of Victorville personal injury attorneys at Moody Law will review all the details of your work and compensation package. They can connect you with medical experts who can assess whether you can return to your previous work. Retraining and other educational requirements can become part of your losses, along with benefits such as:
- Bonuses
- Health insurance costs
- Holiday or overtime pay
- Paid time off
- Salary raises
- Vacation days
- 401(k) or retirement savings contributions
Let us suppose that a professional athlete is injured as a result of a drunk driver. The athlete had a large income potential across their career that could now be drastically reduced. If they can no longer play the sport they excelled in, how will they support themselves? They could lose their earnings and the inheritance their heirs would have received.
Medical Expenses
Medical costs are usually the most significant part of a compensation claim. If you are injured, you need payment for the bills that will pile up. If your injuries are severe, you may need months of rehabilitation or surgery.
Consider a teenager who loses a limb to a defective product. Not only must they adjust to this new way of life, but they must also seek compensation that will allow them to live comfortably for the rest of their lives with a disability. Your personal injury lawyer will connect you with medical experts who can provide a treatment plan so you can include every expense you will face.
Personal Property Repair or Replacement
If you lose personal property in an accident, you deserve reimbursement for every item. This can include your car, computer, cell phone, luggage, clothing, and more. In some situations, it may be more than the physical item that needs to be compensated. If your computer contains all the documents and information required to manage your business, you could be unable to work until it is replaced.
If a defective product burns your house down, you must seek compensation for a new place to live until your home is rebuilt. You and your family may need all new clothes and personal items, as well. If you lose a family pet, you deserve financial relief for the emotional distress and grief you will suffer.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages do not come with a fixed monetary value. However, they are part of the suffering you experience from a personal injury. If you slip and fall in a grocery store, you can be limited in your activities until you heal. These restrictions can significantly affect your mental health.
Your personal injury lawyer will compassionately ask you questions about how your life has been impacted to understand how you are feeling. They will connect you with therapists and other sources to aid in your recovery. They will suggest non-economic losses to pursue, such as reimbursement for experiencing:
- Amputation
- Chronic pain
- Disfigurement
- Emotional distress
- Humiliation
- Isolation
- Loss of care and guidance for your children or others
- Loss of consortium with your spouse or partner
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of personal or professional reputation
- Mood disorders such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD
- Pain and suffering
- Permanent disability
- Scarring
California’s Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations in California for personal injury lawsuits is generally two years from the date of the accident. You must file your claim with the court within this timeframe, or you can risk losing the right to seek compensation. If the statute of limitations runs out, your claim is no longer valid and will be thrown out.
There are some instances where you can have even less time, such as filing a claim against a government agency. Regardless of what rules apply to your case, you should not delay hiring a personal injury attorney to begin your case. It takes a long time to properly prepare a strong case, and every moment you wait could cause you to lose the chance to seek justice.
Call a Victorville Personal Injury Lawyer From Moody Law Today
When you are hurt by someone else’s negligence or malice, you do not need to suffer in silence. The bills that come in should not put you in financial distress when you can pursue reimbursement with the assistance of a reputable Victorville personal injury lawyer.
At Moody Law, we are committed to serving every client with expertise, skill, and deep knowledge of the law. When you or a loved one have been injured, we will guide you through the legal complexities and take the burden off your shoulders. You can focus on getting back to your life while we aggressively litigate on your behalf.
All it takes is for you to reach out to us for a free, no-risk consultation today.