If you were injured in Santa Ana, CA, you may be able to recover compensation for your losses. The Simon Law Group has a team of skilled Santa Ana personal injury attorneys ready to help. Contact our office online or at (714) 581 8546 to schedule a free consultation about your case.
An experienced personal injury attorney can help you pursue compensation for your injuries. They can focus on your case so you can spend time doing more of what matters to you.
How Can The Simon Law Group Help With My Personal Injury Claim in Santa Ana?
At the Simon Law Group, we have over 250 years of combined experience representing injured victims. We’ve recovered over $600 million for our injured clients.
We’ll put our experience to work for you to seek full compensation for your injuries in Santa Ana, CA.
We may take the following steps while working on your case:
- Listen to your description of the accident
- Investigate the accident further
- Gather evidence, such as photographs and medical reports
- Contact witnesses and take their statements
- Assess the extent of your damages
- Contact the insurance company to negotiate a settlement on your behalf
- File your case in court if a favorable settlement can’t be reached
Contact our injury attorneys to discuss the next steps in your case. Your initial consultation is free.
What Is My Santa Ana Personal Injury Case Worth?
There’s no simple formula for calculating the value of your personal injury case. Several factors will influence the value of your claim. Consult an experienced personal injury lawyer to get an accurate idea of what your case is worth.
Your injury attorney will review the following factors in your case:
- The extent of your injuries
- The circumstances of the accident
- The expected future consequences of your injuries
- The value of your medical bills and property damage
- The psychological impact of the accident on your life
- The insurance policy limits in your case
- Whether you were partly to blame for the accident
It’s impossible to estimate the value of your personal injury case without reviewing the specific details of your case. Contact our skilled personal injury lawyers to discuss the potential value of your case.
What Kind of Damages Are Available to Personal Injury Victims?
Compensatory damages are intended to compensate a victim for their injuries. The two main types of damages available to personal injury victims are economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages relate to the monetary costs a victim incurs because of an accident or injury. Some jurisdictions call them special damages or tangible damages.
Economic damages include:
- Past and future medical costs
- Lost wages
- Vehicle damage
- Other property damage
- Transportation costs
- Decreased earning potential
- Out-of-pocket expenses
You can calculate the value of your economic damages by totaling your expenses. This is straightforward for expenses you’ve incurred, as there will be receipts or invoices to support them. Future expenses, like decreased future income or future medical treatment, are harder to calculate.
Your attorney can help calculate all of your economic damages.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages refer to other consequences a victim suffers after an accident or injury. Some jurisdictions refer to non-economic damages as intangible or general damages.
Non-economic damages include:
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Loss of consortium or companionship
- Diminished quality of life
- Scarring or disfigurement
Non-economic damages are harder to calculate than economic damages. They aren’t related to specific transactions and can’t be calculated by totaling receipts. Instead, your attorney will consider the extent of your injuries and the circumstances of the accident to assess your economic damages.
How Much Does It Cost To Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer in Santa Ana?
Personal injury lawyers in Santa Ana and nationwide usually get paid a contingency fee. Unlike hourly or flat-rate legal fees, contingency fees are only paid if the attorney is successful in the case. If the attorney recovers compensation for their client through a settlement or jury verdict, they are paid a fee. The attorney doesn’t get paid unless you do.
Most contingency fees are between 30% and 40%. The exact fee may depend on the complexity of the case, how long the case takes, whether the case goes to trial, and the lawyer’s level of experience. Your attorney will explain their contingent fee policy at the beginning of your representation.
In short, the cost of hiring a personal injury lawyer in Santa Ana will depend on the extent of your damages and how much compensation you recover.
Can I Recover Compensation if I’m Being Blamed for an Accident in Santa Ana, CA?
Personal injury defendants will often argue that the plaintiff was partly to blame for the accident. In some cases, this may be true. For example, if you were rear-ended by a speeding driver while backing out of a parking space, and you were looking at your phone at the time, your actions may have contributed to the accident.
California has a pure comparative negligence law, which means you can recover compensation even if you were partially responsible for the accident. In California, each party will be assigned a percentage of fault—which can be as low as 0% if you weren’t to blame at all. Your compensation will be reduced in proportion to your degree of responsibility.
Being blamed for an accident can have a huge impact on your potential compensation. Imagine if you were injured in a car accident and suffered $100,000 in damages. If you are found to be 50% at fault, you can recover up to $50,000. If you are found to be 75% at fault, you can only recover up to $25,000.
Our personal injury lawyers will defend you from undue claims of blame and fight for you to receive maximum compensation for your injuries.
What Is Negligence And How Do I Prove It?
Personal injury claims are typically based on negligence. In legal contexts, negligence is failing to do what a reasonably prudent person would do in the same situation, or doing something that a reasonably prudent person would not do in that situation.
A negligence claim has four elements. To win your negligence claim, you have to prove each of them. They are duty of care, breach, causation, and damages. You must prove each of these elements “by a preponderance of the evidence,” which means that more likely than not, your claims against the defendant are true.
Duty of Care
You must prove that the defendant owed you a duty of care, which is a legal requirement to act with a certain level of care and consideration for the safety of others. In most situations, we owe others a duty to act reasonably under the circumstances.
Breach of Duty
You must prove that the defendant breached their required duty. This usually means failing to act reasonably under the circumstances.
Causation
You must prove that the defendant caused your injuries. This element has two subparts. You must prove that the defendant was the actual cause and the proximate cause of your injuries.
The actual cause means the accident or injury occurred as a direct result of the defendant’s actions. Without the defendant’s actions, the accident would not have occurred.
The proximate cause means the plaintiff’s injuries were a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the defendant’s actions.
Damages
You must also prove that you suffered injuries, emotional suffering, or financial losses as a result of the at-fault party’s negligence.
How Long Do I Have To File a Lawsuit In California?
Each state has a statute of limitations that states how long you have to file a lawsuit. In most cases, you must file your lawsuit within two years of the accident. It’s essential to file your case timely because the court will dismiss your case if it is not filed on time.
Filing a personal injury lawsuit doesn’t mean your case will go to trial. Most personal injury cases settle before the case goes to trial. However, the ability to file a lawsuit is an important tool when negotiating with an insurance company.
Calculating filing deadlines isn’t always straightforward and can differ by court and location. Your attorney will calculate the filing deadline and ensure that your case is filed on time.
Contact Our Santa Ana Personal Injury Lawyer for a Free Consultation
If an accident in Santa Ana, CA, has taken your time, money, and physical or emotional well-being, let our experienced Santa Ana personal injury attorneys help you seek compensation. We’ll advocate for you to receive full compensation from the responsible party or their insurance company.
The Simon Law Group has the experience you need to get the results you deserve. Contact our office today at (714) 581 8546 to schedule your free consultation.
