Best San Diego Personal Injury Lawyer

The most important priority is getting medical attention if you have been injured in an accident. You should not admit fault or apologize to anyone else who was involved, even if it seems like a polite thing to do. Anything that you say in the aftermath of an accident can be used against you if you pursue a claim or lawsuit later. If you suspect that someone else may have been at fault, you should set up a consultation with an attorney to discuss your options.

This will depend on the statute of limitations in your state. A personal injury case may need to be filed within a year of the accident, or you may have as many as four years to file. You should check the rules in your state to make sure that you do not accidentally waive your rights. There are some exceptions to the statute of limitations, but they are very narrow, so you should not assume that an exception applies. As a practical matter, moreover, you should try to pursue a claim as soon as possible while the evidence is still fresh. This will help you prove liability and the scope of your damages.

The main type of damages is known as compensatory damages, which is further divided into economic damages and non-economic damages. Economic damages are based on tangible, relatively objective costs and losses, such as medical bills, lost income and earning capacity, property damage, and the costs of future treatment. Non-economic damages are more subjective, covering items such as pain and suffering, mental anguish, and lost enjoyment of life. Damages must be reasonably quantifiable to be awarded rather than being speculative. If the defendant has acted in an especially egregious manner, you may be able to recover punitive damages in addition to compensatory damages. These are meant to punish the defendant and deter this type of conduct. Punitive damages are rarely awarded but can be substantial, although there are constitutional limits on how much they can exceed compensatory damages.

The damages that you can recover if you were partly at fault depend on the state where you live. Only a few states use a contributory negligence rule, which provides that a victim can’t recover damages if they are at fault. In some states, you will be able to recover damages as long as you are not 50 percent or more (or sometimes 51 percent or more) at fault. In other states, you will be able to recover damages as long as you are not completely at fault. The damages will be proportionate to the defendant’s degree of fault. If there are multiple defendants in a case, some states provide that each defendant will be liable for the defendants’ total share of fault if you cannot collect from all of the defendants. The rules in this area are technical and state-specific, so you should consult our expert personal injury attorney for further guidance.

Some simple personal injury cases can be resolved without an attorney. For example, perhaps you were in a rear-end collision in which the rear driver was clearly at fault and in which neither driver was severely injured. You might be able to resolve this claim fairly by negotiating with the insurance companies on your own. However, you probably need a skilled personal injury attorney if the facts of the accident are complex, your injuries are significant or unusual, or the at-fault party is contesting liability. If a lot of money is at stake, you should not take a chance to go without the best personal injury attorney. Also, an injury attorney will be needed in cases that require expert testimony, such as most medical malpractice and product liability cases.