To win your personal injury case in California, you cannot rely solely on showing your injuries. You must also demonstrate that another individual’s negligence caused those injuries and that your damages can be quantified.
“Many people think that if they get hurt, they will automatically get paid. But in reality, the strength of your claim is all about the proof, timing, and how you follow through on all aspects of an incident that led to the injury,” says personal injury lawyer Ralph S. Curtis of Curtis Legal Group in California.
To protect yourself and build your case, it is important to understand what courts and insurance companies want, and this guide helps you with just that.
Legal Basis and Time Limits
All personal injury cases begin with one central question. Did anyone act negligently? Negligence is failing to act with reasonable care and causing harm to others. To succeed, you must build your claim upon four pillars of law: duty, breach, causation, and harm.
Another crucial aspect is the statute of limitations in California. For most cases, you get only two years from the time of injury to bring your claim. Forget this deadline, and even if you have a solid claim, you may end up with nothing.
Quality of Evidence
Evidence will strengthen and lend credibility to your claim. Photographs, testimony, police reports, and/or medical documents provide evidence of what has occurred and its impact upon you. Organize and back up all your information, including invoices and repair estimates.
Preservation is as significant as collecting the evidence. The accident site changes quickly, and electronic files can be lost or deleted. So, keep copies of emails, text messages, and receipts in different places. Also, secure video recordings and witness statements immediately. The better your evidence, the better your attorney will be able to defend your rights and ensure insurance adjusters or judges do not discredit your story.
Consistency of Your Actions and Statements
What you and others think and do may build or undermine your case as a whole. Inconsistent statements to doctors, insurers, or police reports raise doubts about your credibility. Insurers compare your entire story, searching for holes to exploit and minimize awards.
Be straightforward, honest, and consistent about what led to your accident and what your injuries involve. Ideally, your medical documents, your testimony, and testimony from witnesses should be consistent with each other.
Keeping a journal detailing your symptoms, doctor visits, and progress can also help ensure your personal injury claim is accurate and valid.
Extent of Damages
The severity of your injuries is also an important part of what makes your personal injury claim seem valid. One can reasonably argue that if you suffer from minor injuries such as bruises and cuts, your claim may not be convincing enough to insurance companies and the court, as your damages might not seem significant enough.
Documenting your treatment, healing time, and aftermath can be an effective way to quantify your pain in legal terms. The better you can illustrate the actual effect your injury has had on your life, the harder it will be for your insurance provider to consider your claim frivolous.
Legal Guidance and Fair Compensation
Even if your claim is valid, that does not mean you will automatically receive fair compensation. Insurance firms love to offer minimal payments, dispute medical procedures, and drag out negotiations until claimants withdraw their claims.
A skilled lawyer knows what must be done to accurately assess your case, negotiate with your insurance company, and present your case with enough evidence to support fault and damages.
Additionally, they can escalate your case to court if there are complications in reaching an agreement. To find an attorney for your case, consider consulting one who specializes in personal injury law and has handled similar cases in California. Before you sign anything, meet them in person, ask about similar cases they have handled, and make sure they communicate clearly and keep you informed.