Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP: Proven Lawyers Who Defend Your Rights

A personal injury case is based on personal injury law, which is a legal framework that provides a means for injury victims to recover compensation for their injuries and seek justice. Also referred to as Tort Law, personal injury law covers cases involving accidents, intentional acts such as sexual assault, defective products and defamation. Every Los Angeles personal injury claim has two core issues – liability and damages. Was someone liable for the injury or damages and what were the nature of the damages? Accident cases involve the concept of negligence. Negligence is a failure to exercise the care that a reasonable person would do in the circumstances relating to the accident. In order to establish negligence, four elements must be shown:

1. Duty
Duty is a legal obligation requiring that individuals or companies exercise a standard of reasonable care while performing actions that could harm others. This can encompass many things, such as a doctor providing care, or another motorist driving their car. The defendant does not have to know the plaintiff to owe them a duty.

2. Breach
Breach is a violation of that duty. The defendant breached that duty by failing to act as a “reasonably prudent person” should. In other words, the defendant should have known that their actions would likely cause injury to others.

3. Causation
Causation is the link between the breach of duty and the injury or harm suffered. For negligence to established, the injury must be a result of the breach.

4. Damages
Damages refer to actual injuries caused by the breach of duty.

At Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP, our Los Angeles personal injury lawyers handle all cases on a contingency fee basis. This means we never charge any fees unless we secure compensation on our client’s behalf – there are absolutely no out of pocket fees when we take a case. Once we are successful, we charge a percentage of the recovery.

While it’s not the only requirement, the injury needs to have been someone else’s fault, and caused by their negligence. Physically visible injuries are not necessary for a personal injury claim; attacks of defamation, emotional distress, or the expectation of harm would all be grounds for filing a personal injury lawsuit against that person. Another thing to consider is whether the injury created compensatory damages, such as medical expenses and bills or lost wages. If all of these things are true, then you have a personal injury case. It is recommended that you speak with one of our skilled Los Angeles injury lawyers immediately.

When the willful or negligent act of another person or entities cause someone to suffer an injury, that person may file a claim under personal injury law. Each state has different laws detailing what qualifies as a personal injury. For example, workers’ compensation covers any injury that occurs at work. To better determine whether your situation qualifies under California law, contact the Los Angeles accident lawyers at Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP to schedule a free consultation.

California is a comparative negligence state. Comparative negligence laws provide a means to divide fault and assign fault between all the parties involved. Under these laws, a plaintiff can be awarded damages even if their own negligence contributed to the accident. In a lawsuit, a plaintiff’s damages would be reduced based on their share of fault – for example, if you are found to be 25% at fault in a $100,000 settlement, you would receive $75,000. An example of this would be a drunk driving defendant proving negligence on the part of the plaintiff because they had a tail light out. California also follows the pure comparative fault rule, which means that even if the defendant is found to be 99 percent at fault, they can still collect on damages.