|
   
   
· Our attorneys
have litigated hundreds of injury and accident
cases!
· We handle cases
involving negligence and intentional misconduct
such as assaults.
· Our attorneys
can help you recover money for damage to your
property, injuries to your body, and wrongful
death.
· Whether you were
injured in a car, in a business, on the street,
or somewhere else, no accident is too big or too
small.
· We have never
lost a jury trial!
· We will represent
you for FREE until you recover. If you don’t
win, we don’t charge!
|
|
home
>>
Injuries
& Accidents >> Cars, Trucks &
Bikes
Attorney
Representation in San Francisco, California since
1989
SAN
FRANCISCO AUTO ACCIDENT ATTORNEY
Car,
Truck & Motorcyle Accidents
The
fact that mishaps are fairly commonplace does
not detract from the pain and confusion that can
result when an accident or injury happens to you
or a loved one. This is especially true when any
harm could have been avoided if others had not
acted carelessly. If you decide to take steps
toward protecting your legal rights after an accident
or injury, you may have a number of general questions
about personal injury cases.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a auto
accident, contact the personal injury attorneys
at Walston Law.
The
Basics of a Personal Injury Case
Personal
injury cases are legal disputes when one person
suffers harm that was caused by someone else.
A personal injury case is a court proceeding that
seeks to find someone legally responsible for
paying for the injuries of a person he or she
harmed. There are several stages of these proceedings,
and it is important to have excellent attorneys
representing you.
The
Personal Injury Process
First,
your personal injury attorney will file a lawsuit.
A formal personal injury case begins when a private
individual (the plaintiff) files complaint against
another person, business, corporation, or government
agency (the defendant), alleging that the defendant
caused an injury.
Early
Settlement in a Personal Injury Case
Next,
the parties may consider early settlement. In
reality, most disputes over fault for an accident
or injury are resolved through informal early
settlement, usually among those personally involved
in the dispute, their insurers, and personal injury
attorneys representing both sides. A settlement
commonly takes the form of negotiation, followed
by a written agreement in which both sides forgo
any further action (such as a lawsuit), choosing
instead to resolve the matter through payment
of an agreeable amount of money.
Discovery and Motions in a Personal Injury
Case
If
the case is not resolved by early settlement,
it goes through pretrial litigation. This involves
“discovery” (the process of each party
asserting their rights to relevant information
and evidence in possession of the other party),
and “motions practice” (the process
of parties making arguments to the court about
how the case should proceed). This phase will
generally last approximately six months to a year,
and may be longer.
After
discovery and motions (and if the case still has
not settled by now), the case will go to “trial.”
This is the time when the parties will present
the facts of their case to a judge and jury, who
will decide whether plaintiff is entitled to the
compensation he or she seeks.
Economic
Recovery for Accidents and Injuries
If
you have suffered harm as a result of an accident
or injury, you may be entitled to receive economic
recovery from those who are at fault. What you
can recover will depend upon the kind of damages
you experienced because of the accident or injury
-- both during and after the incident. In some
cases, your family members may also be entitled
to recover, to the extent that your injury affected
their relationship with you.
Determining the Types of Damages
To get an idea of the types of damages for which
legal recovery is possible, browse the following
glossary, which defines almost every type of legal
compensation available to a plaintiff in a personal
injury case. Remember that an experienced personal
injury attorney will explain your options, and
will work to ensure that you receive all compensation
to which you are entitled under the law in your
state.
Disfigurement.
When an accident or injury has left a
person deformed or disfigured, e.g., by scars
or other permanent effects on personal appearance,
the injured person (the "plaintiff")
may be able to collect damages for any mental
suffering that arises due to awareness of the
disfigurement. These damages are sometimes included
as an element of other types of damages, such
as mental anguish.
Future
medical expenses. This type of recovery
is permitted if the plaintiff proves that he or
she will need continued medical care as a result
of the accident or injury. The proof must be sufficient
for the jury to make an approximate estimate of
the cost, i.e. through the medical opinion of
a treating doctor.
General
damages. Compensation for harm that ordinarily
results from wrongful conduct, such as physical
and mental pain, and loss of enjoyment of life
after an accident or injury. These damages cannot
be proved with any clear specificity, but are
awarded based on the fact that they normally follow
from an accident or injury.
Household
services. The cost of hiring somebody
to do things around the house while the plaintiff
is recuperating from an accident or injury, provided
that the expense would not have been incurred
had the plaintiff not been injured. These kinds
of damages are sometimes included as part of medical
expenses.
Loss
of consortium. Deprivation of the benefits
of married life after an accident or injury --
affection, solace, comfort, companionship, society,
help and assistance, and sexual relations between
spouses. Usually the uninjured spouse makes the
claim and his or her financial recovery will depend
on whether the injured spouse recovers any damages.
In some cases, the injured person will make the
claim as well. A value is placed on this loss
by considering the couple's individual life expectancies,
whether the marriage was stable, how much care
and companionship was bestowed upon the uninjured
spouse (or vice versa), and the extent to which
the benefits of married life have been lost.
Loss
of consortium of a child. Parents may
be able to recover damages when their child is
injured, and the injuries are severe enough that
they interfere with the normal relationship between
parents and their children
Loss
of enjoyment of life. A diminished ability
to enjoy the day-to-day pleasures of life, "loss
of enjoyment" is usually an item of general
damages, meaning there is no precise way to place
a monetary value on it. Some states treat it as
a form of pain and suffering, others treat it
as a distinct kind of damage in an accident or
injury case.
Loss
of society and companionship. In wrongful
death cases, loss of society and companionship
damages represent the positive benefits flowing
from the love, comfort, companionship, and closeness
that the plaintiff(s) (immediate family members)
would have enjoyed had the decedent lived. A jury
considers evidence that a harmonious relationship
existed between the plaintiff and the decedent,
their living arrangements, common interests and
activities, and whether the decedent and plaintiff
were separated for extended periods. See "loss
of consortium" and "loss of consortium
of a child." 
Lost
earning capacity. After an accident or
injury, these damages may be recovered if the
plaintiff proves that his or her ability to earn
money in the future has been impaired or diminished
by the injuries. Factors that help determine whether
an award should be made include the plaintiff's
age, health, life expectancy, occupation, talents,
skill, experience, and training. Past earnings
are a factor in determining the appropriate amount
of compensation for lost earning capacity, but
the claim really focuses on what might have been
earned were it not for the accident or injury.
Lost
wages. These damages represent the amount
of money a plaintiff would have earned -- from
the time of the injury to the date of settlement
or judgment. An unemployed person may be permitted
to recover lost wages if he or she can prove what
could have been earned during the same period.
Medical
expenses. Bills and expenses for medical
services such as doctors, hospital stays, emergency
room treatment, ambulance fees, and nursing services.
A plaintiff must show that the expenses are related
to medical conditions resulting from his or her
injury. The total amount of medical expenses is
sometimes used as a rough guide to decide whether
the overall award of damages is reasonable. Note
that the cost of a medical examination for purposes
of litigation is not ordinarily recoverable as
a medical expense.
Medical
surveillance. The cost of monitoring
plaintiff's medical condition after the plaintiff
was exposed to a hazardous substance, so that
any illness or injury might be detected early.
Mental
anguish. Any mental suffering or emotional
distress associated with an accident or injury,
including fright, terror, apprehension, nervousness,
anxiety, worry, humiliation, mortification, feeling
of lost dignity, embarrassment, grief, and shock.
Pain
and suffering. An award for past and
future physical pain in connection with an accident
or injury. To place a monetary value on pain and
suffering, the jury considers the nature of the
injury, the certainty of future pain, its severity,
and how long the plaintiff is likely to be in
pain. Some states allow the jury to assume that
if a bodily injury has occurred there has been
some pain and suffering, and some require that
the plaintiff be conscious for some time period
during the injury.
Permanent
disability. These damages are best proved
by medical testimony, and ordinarily a doctor
must examine a plaintiff claiming permanent disability.
Some courts have held that permanent disability
damages can include not only disabilities that
are objectively determined, but also disabilities
that the plaintiff subjectively perceives.
Present
cash value. The current value of projected
future earnings; the amount that, if invested
wisely, will over time produce the amount the
plaintiff would have earned had he or she not
been injured.
Special
damages. This is a general category of
damages that covers all monetary losses, including
medical expenses after an accident or injury.
Recovery requires detailed proof that the losses
were sustained, and a showing of how much money
was involved.
Contact
an Experienced San Francisco Personal Injury Attorney
The
personal injury attorneys at
Walston Legal Group are focused on aggressively
representing our clients and quickly and cost-effectively
obtaining their goals.
Practice
Areas:
Criminal
law: including San
Francisco criminal attorney representation
for Drunk
Driving, DUI, DWI,
White Collar Crimes, Drug
Crimes, Computer
Crime, Identity
Theft, Violent
Crimes
Injuries
& Accidents: including San
Francisco attorney representation for Cars,
Trucks & Bike accidents, Wrongful
Death, Assault
& Battery, Premises
Liability, Animal
Attacks, Medical
Malpractice, Dangerous
Products
Civil
Rights:
including attorney representation for
Constitutional Law, Police
Misconduct, Discrimination
Litigation
Defense: including San Francisco
attorney representation for Insurance
Defense,
Personal Injury, Premises
Liability, and Medical
Malpractice
|
