San Jose Personal Injury Lawyers
Experienced Representation Proudly Serving San Jose Personal Injury Victims
If you or a loved one has suffered harm as a result of another’s negligent, reckless, or intentionally dangerous actions or inactions, you may have grounds to sue that third party via a personal injury lawsuit. Personal injury is the area of civil law concerned with the rights of those who have been physically, mentally, or emotionally harmed by others and who may be entitled to financial compensation as a result of their injuries.
If you have suffered harm as a result of an accident, the preventable loss of a loved one, work-related injuries or illnesses, or other injurious treatment at the hands of others – whether they be individuals, corporations, or other legal entities – you may have grounds to sue those responsible for your injuries. It isn’t always easy to know at a glance whether your circumstances warrant legal action and that’s okay. Our firm chooses to offer case evaluations for free and with no strings attached for this exact reason – it is the job of a legal professional to help individuals understand and exercise their rights under the law. You don’t need to know the ins and outs of federal, California, and local law before you explore your options; we’ll handle that. All you need to do is invest an hour or two of your time attending consultation to better determine whether your circumstances are legally actionable so that you can make whatever informed decision concerning your options is right for you and your family at this time.
You may connect with our firm for a free case evaluation regardless of how your injuries were sustained. However, it is worth noting that some of the most common kinds of personal injury cases that our firm handles include:
Why Should I Schedule a Free Consultation?
No two personal injury cases are ever exactly the same, so no two cases ever unfold in exactly the same ways. However, there are many common experiences that personal injury victims tend to share when they are exercising their legal options. Understanding what to expect from the personal injury process can help to relieve stress related to “the unknown.” As a result, we will do our utmost to ensure that you understand what to expect from every step in the personal injury process as it applies to your unique situation.
The first step in almost any case involves attending a free consultation at our office. Some clients need us to meet them at an accident scene, at the hospital, or at a long-term care facility such as a nursing home. However, most of the time, consultations occur in our office. During your consultation, we will ask you questions about the circumstances that led to your harm. Asking you questions and reviewing any evidence that you have brought along for us to look over will allow our team to provide you with personalized legal guidance and an objective analysis of your legal options. We will also be able to give you an overview of the potential pros and cons associated with exercising each of these options in turn. It will then be up to you to decide which legal options to pursue.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Can I Expect if I Choose to Take Action?
Depending upon your ultimate plan of action, we will then begin investigating the circumstances that led to your injury in order to build the strongest possible case on your behalf. With your permission, we will also begin negotiating with insurance representatives and, if applicable, filing a workers’ compensation benefits claim on your behalf. Depending upon the circumstances that led to your harm, we may also help you report your situation confidentially to relevant authorities, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
If you opt to file a personal injury lawsuit, we will then begin the process of ensuring that your case is ready for trial, even as we enter into negotiations with opposing counsel. Statistically speaking, nine out of every 10 personal injury cases is settled before going to trial becomes necessary. However, it is important to prepare a case for trial so that it has the greatest possible potential for success in the event that trial becomes a necessity. Again, every case is different, so some of these steps and expectations may not apply to your unique situation. For example, it is not uncommon for auto accident victims to work with us solely for the purpose is of ensuring that they receive a fairly valued insurance settlement without delay.
No matter how you choose to exercise your legal options, if you choose to become a client, you can trust that we will be upfront and communicative at every stop along the way. Additionally, we will treat you and your case with the respect that you and your case both deserve. When you work with our experienced, client-focused team, you will never be made to feel like “just another client.”
How Will I Know if My Case Is Likely to Succeed?
In order to be successfully awarded financial damages in a personal injury case, a victim must prove that one or more third parties owed them a duty of care under the law and in breaching that duty, directly contributed to the cause of their injuries. Specifically, it must be proven that a defendant’s negligent, reckless, or intentionally dangerous behavior served as a substantial factor in the direct causation of the injuries in question. For example, if a motorist crashes their vehicle into a motorcycle rider and the motorcycle rider is injured as a result of that collision, the attorney that represents the rider will ask why the accident occurred and whose fault it was. If it is determined that the accident occurred because the motorist – who is duty-bound to operate their vehicle safely – was driving drunk, the rider can successfully hold that motorist accountable for the harm that they have caused as a result of the injuries sustained in the crash.
for the harm that they have caused as a result of the injuries sustained in the crash.
It is important to avoid making any assumptions about the cause of your harm and/or the strength of your case until you have spoken with our legal team. Too often, injury victims throw away the opportunity to collect compensation to which they are owed because they assume that their situation doesn’t meet the criteria required for a successful personal injury case. California law broadly protects the rights of accident victims. You may be entitled to significant compensation and not yet know it. Once you’ve received a free, objective analysis of your case, you’ll be able to make informed decisions accordingly.
Does Fault Matter in Personal Injury Actions?
Because California honors the theory of comparative negligence, you may be entitled to compensation from those partially responsible for causing your harm even if you also contributed to the circumstances that led to your injuries. You may have heard that if you contributed to your injurious circumstances in any way that you are not entitled to compensation under the law. This is indeed the case for accident victims who reside in contributory negligence states. However, California protects accident victims by ascribing to the comparative negligence theory. Therefore, do not dismiss the idea that you are entitled to compensation simply because you may have also been partially to blame for your injuries. If you are deemed to have been partially at fault, the major consequence of that reality is that you will simply be entitled to collect less compensation from others than you would if they were completely at fault for causing your harm.
Should I Also File for Workers’ Compensation Benefits?
If your injuries are work-related, you may not be able to file a personal injury suit like you would if the harm that you suffered was not work-related. Individuals who are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits are only allowed to file personal injury actions if a third party other than their employer behaved in negligent, reckless, or intentionally dangerous ways that led to their harm. If your work-related harm was your employer’s fault, your fault, and/or no one’s fault, your only opportunity for financial recourse is likely to be workers’ compensation benefits. This is because employers are protected from most kinds of legal liability related to injuries and illnesses sustained on the job. When you arrive for your free consultation, make sure to tell our legal team that the harm you suffered was work-related. We will then determine whether you are eligible to file a workers’ compensation claim, a personal injury claim, or both kinds of legal action.
How Long Do I Have to File a Claim?
It is important to schedule your free consultation as soon as you possibly can for several reasons. These reasons include:
Statutes of Limitations
The law doesn’t permit injury victims an endless filing period. Depending on the circumstances surrounding your harm, you may have to take action in as few as 30 days or you may be afforded up to two years to exercise certain legal options before you’ll be barred from seeking the compensation to which you are entitled. Acting quickly to explore your options will help to ensure that you can make informed decisions about pursuing compensation within the time period allowed by law.
Evidence
Many personal injury cases are won or lost based on the strength of evidence presented by both sides. Acting quickly to alert our firm to your legal situation will allow us to begin preserving critical evidence that may “make or break” your chance to receive the full amount of compensation to which you are due.
Financial Consequences
Suffering injuries as a result of another’s actions or inactions may lead to medical bills, lost wages, and a host of other financial challenges. If you wait too long to explore your legal options, your family’s financial wellbeing may suffer unnecessarily. If another’s negligence, reckless, or intentionally dangerous conduct caused your injuries, they should be saddled with these associated financial burdens, not you.
Peace of Mind
After sustaining injuries, you are likely under a great deal of stress. Knowing what your rights are and understanding the potential benefits and drawbacks of exercising any/all of your legal options will help you to avoid the challenges associated with worrying and wondering, “What if?” Also, in the event that your harm was caused by someone who was truly reckless or was intentionally trying to harm you, seeking justice can do wonders for your wellbeing.