Glendale, CA Personal Injury Lawyer

Accidents happen all the time, but they are often preventable. You may be badly hurt, and the person who caused the accident should be held responsible. Contact an attorney to discuss the accident and how you can obtain fair financial compensation.

To begin your case, contact a lawyer as soon as possible. Your attorney should help you review the facts of the accident, your damages, and what your claims are worth. They can then help you file a formal complaint in court to begin a lawsuit. Your claims should include all the ways you were injured, suffered, or experienced losses, including medical bills, property damage, pain and suffering, and more.

Request a free, confidential legal review from our personal injury lawyers by calling the Law Office of John J. Perlstein at (213) 252-1070.

How to Begin a Personal Injury Lawsuit

To start your case, you should call a lawyer for help as soon as possible. You may need time to gather information and build a case before your lawyer can file anything in court.

Call a Lawyer

Speak to an attorney about the accident and your injuries as soon as possible. Focus on getting emergency medical attention first, but make it a point to call a lawyer as soon as you feel able. Remember, if your case is complicated or more heavily disputed, your attorney may need more time to prepare.

Gather Information

You and your lawyer can get started by finding evidence to support your claims and gathering as much information about the accident and the defendant as possible. Details about other people involved in the accident, witnesses, your injuries, and anything else that seems relevant should be assessed as soon as possible.

File the Necessary Paperwork

To officially begin the case, we must file the appropriate paperwork with the court.

The complaint is the formal legal document that spells out your allegations against the defendant and the compensation you believe you deserve. Our personal injury lawyers must include information about how the accident happened, who we believe is responsible, your injuries, and evidence to back up your claims.

We must also file a formal summons with the court clerk. Once the summons is approved and stamped, the plaintiff must serve it on the defendant as legally required notice. You may serve the defendant by hiring a process server to deliver it in person. You may also send the notice by certified mail. Your lawyer can help you determine the most effective method.

If you do not serve notice, or serve it improperly, your case may end before it begins.

When is the Right Time to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

You should speak to a lawyer and begin preparing your lawsuit as soon as possible after an accident. In California, plaintiffs have only 2 years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. If we do not file on time, you may be barred from filing the case.

Recoverable Damages in a Glendale, CA Personal Injury Case

Damages vary based on a plaintiff’s injuries and various factors surrounding the accident. Below are some common examples of damages, although you should review your specific damages with your lawyer.

Hospital Bills

If you have any injuries at all, go to the hospital right away. The costs of medical care should be accounted for in your damages. This includes everything from emergency room visits to surgery and prescription medication.

Lost Income

While recovering from your injuries, you likely need to step away from your job. Unfortunately, this likely means that you will lose income as you recover. The longer you cannot work, the more income you may lose, and the higher your claim for damages should be.

Property Damage

Accidents often injure more than a victim’s body. You might have lost personal property in the accident, especially if it was a large-scale accident like a car crash. Take stock of all your property that was damaged or destroyed in the accident, no matter how small.

Pain and Suffering

An accident may inflict physical damage in addition to psychological damage. When accidents are traumatic, victims may live with conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, panic disorders, and more.

While placing a value on physical and psychological pain and suffering can be tricky, it is possible, and you should consider these damages carefully when talking to your lawyer.

How Much Compensation Are Personal Injury Cases Usually Worth in Glendale, CA?

The value of your claims depends on a myriad of factors. Generally, more severe injuries and damages lead to greater claims for damages, and many cases are worth thousands of dollars or more. Even in minor accidents where injuries are relatively minimal and victims are expected to recover quickly and fully, damages can still exceed several thousand dollars. In more severe cases, claims often reach tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.

How to Prove Fault in a Personal Injury Case

Proving fault for an accident requires evidence, which can be tricky to obtain, depending on your situation. Your lawyer should be able to gather enough evidence to build a strong claim for damages for you.

Photos and Videos

People often take pictures of accident scenes, usually to send to insurance companies or to have proof of what happened. If you took any photos of the accident scene, share them with your lawyer immediately.

We should also investigate for video footage of the accident. Cell phone videos, security camera footage, or even dashcam footage in car accident cases may be very helpful to your case.

Witness Testimony

It is a good idea to speak to as many people involved in the accident as possible. You should also speak to people who were not involved but were nearby and may have witnessed the accident. The more people who can testify on your behalf, the stronger your claims.

Records Related to the Accident

We should also review records related to the accident. Records are often important if you are suing a business or organization. For example, if you were hurt in a crash with a delivery van, the company that owns the van should have records about the driver, van maintenance, and any safety issues regarding the van.

Ask Our Personal Injury Attorneys in Glendale, CA for Legal Help Now

Request a free, confidential legal review from our personal injury lawyers by calling the Law Office of John J. Perlstein at (213) 252-1070.