Last Updated On: 3 January 2017

Personal Injury Facts in California

Personal injury cases are those where someone is injured and suffers damages due to the negligence of another person. The victim then files a personal injury case to recover their losses. For those involved in the process, it is crucial to understand these cases and the laws that govern it.

Here are just a few of the laws that effect personal injury cases in California:

Limits on the personal injury law suits in California:
After the victim has suffered harm or an injury due to the negligence of another person, all states have a set limit on the amount of time the victim has to go to court and file a case. In California, the plaintiff has two years during which they can file a case. If one fails to go to court within those two years, the court can refuse to hear the case. This also means that if one does not go to court within that time, their right to compensation will be lost as well.

Shared fault law:
Sometimes in a personal injury case, the defendant argues that the injury sustained was not their fault and the victim is liable or at least partially liable. If it is proved that the plaintiff is partially liable, it will affect the compensation amount. In California, a pure comparative negligence is used. This means that the amount of compensation the victim will receive will be reduced equal to the percentage of fault in the accident. However, this fully depends on how the attorneys of both the plaintiff and the defendant handle the case.

Liability for dog bites or attack cases:
A dog owner is legally responsible if their dog bites or attacks someone. Whether it is a public or private place, the owner is liable regardless of former viciousness of the dog or the owner’s knowledge of such viciousness.

These are just a select few of many guidelines that these cases follow in court and are many other rules that are applied by the personal injury law in California.

Here are a few more important facts:

Car accidents that cause disfigurement and physical impairment are some of the largest personal injury cases that are handled in court.

Product liabilities where the faulty products have caused damages have separate laws that govern over them.

Though similar to personal injury, if an employee gets injured at work due to the negligence of the employer or another employee, they can file a workers’ compensation case.

All of these cases require doctors to treat the victims and many of these victims are unable to pay upfront. Therefore, they require doctors who agree to see the patient on a lien basis. The doctors and other medical services,such as pharmacies, are paid after the case is settled in court from the settled compensation amount. Even if the case is not ruled in the plaintiff’s favor, the medical bills will still need to be paid so that the doctor receives fair payment for all services provided.

Power Liens is the largest online directory of doctors on liens. Personal injury cases in California are on the rise and the demand for doctors willing to take a lien is rapidly increasing. Become a preferred provider on Power Liens, grow your practice and see more patients! We are a free service from attorneys and from the moment the doctor and attorney are connected, we stay out of it.