Dealing with an injury caused by negligence can be difficult, but choosing the right San Jose personal injury lawyer can make a significant difference in obtaining the compensation you deserve to help you manage the situation.
Understanding how personal injury claims are typically handled in San Jose and the rest of California is essential in determining the most appropriate action for obtaining compensation for your injury. Here is an overview of some of the most important things to know about filing a personal injury claim in San Jose and how working with Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos can simplify the process.
Our San Jose Personal Injury law Firm
Choosing the right personal injury accident lawyer is essential in obtaining as much compensation as possible. Our strong track record of assisting residents of San Jose, San Mateo, and nearby cities with a wide range of car accident claims has made us an easy choice for quickly and efficiently obtaining the damages you deserve.
We frequently increase our clients’ total compensation far beyond what insurance companies initially offer, including those that were partially at fault. This means that working with us is a far more successful option than attempting to file a claim on your own.
How to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in San Jose
Filing a personal injury lawsuit in San Jose is as simple as going to your local courthouse and filling out the necessary paperwork to obtain compensation from the person or organization responsible for your injury. However, it is generally better to find an experienced lawyer to work with before starting the process to ensure that all procedures are followed correctly, and you seek the maximum compensation you may qualify for.
You must consider four primary points when determining whether you have a solid personal injury case that you are likely to win, and we can work through them with you to determine the best course of action.
- To file a successful personal injury lawsuit in San Jose, you must first be able to provide evidence that the person or organization you are filing a claim against owed you a specific duty of care. This can include anything from following a specific law to performing an aspect of their job correctly. It identifies the party that you are looking to obtain compensation.
- You must then be able to provide evidence that the responsible party failed to uphold that duty of care. This requirement describes what the person or organization did or did not do that caused you to be injured and identifies why you seek compensation.
- You need to be able to identify specific damages that occurred, such as providing evidence of specific injuries or other damages you received. Simply stating that you were injured is not enough, as this is too vague and does not clearly explain what happened.
- Finally, you must provide sufficient evidence that the person or organization you seek compensation from was clearly at fault.
At Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos, our team of experienced personal injury lawyers can help you work through these questions to determine whether you have a strong case. We can then use the specific details surrounding each of these four points to help you determine the course of action that will help you obtain the best compensation.
Types of Personal Injury Lawsuits
Many types of injuries can result in compensation by filing a personal injury lawsuit, but some types of injuries are more likely to be eligible for compensation than others. Here are some of the most common personal injury lawsuits frequently resulting in a significant settlement.
Car Accidents and Truck Collisions
Vehicle accidents are among the most common causes of personal injury lawsuits. The vast majority of these cases are preventable and the apparent fault of one or more parties. Regardless of whether an accident results from a simple error or obvious negligence, you will often be able to file a claim to obtain compensation from the other driver’s insurance company if they are determined to be at fault. Schedule a free consultation with one of our experienced attorneys today to discuss your type of motor vehicle claims, or review some of our practices:
- Car Accidents
- Rideshare Accidents
- Truck Accidents
- Motorcycle Accidents
- Pedestrian Accidents
- Bicycle Accidents
Workplace Accidents
Many workplaces can present a variety of safety hazards for employees, and employers are responsible for making sure reasonable precautions are in place to prevent injuries. Employers may be liable if they do not provide protective clothing and gear, continue to use known broken equipment, require employees to work an unsafe number of consecutive hours, or otherwise create circumstances that make their employees more likely to be injured at work.
Your employer should also provide some form of workers’ compensation that can be used to cover medical expenses and lost pay if you are injured at work, but this does not necessarily mean that you cannot file a claim for additional compensation if your injury was the result of your employer’s negligence.
Types of Workplace Claims:
Slips and Falls
Property owners are responsible for ensuring that public areas are in reasonably good repair and kept clean and free of debris to prevent falls and other injuries. This category can include everything from fixing broken or rotting stairs and appropriately blocking off areas where repairs are being made to clean up broken chunks of pavement or spilled paint promptly.
Although slipping is generally less of a concern in San Jose than in areas that rarely get above freezing during the winter, landlords and other property owners also need to make a reasonable effort to deal with ice if it does occur.
Animal Bites and Attacks
Owners of pets, farm animals, and zoo animals are responsible for ensuring they do not bite, attack, or otherwise injure humans or other animals. Although animals can be unpredictable, owners who do not make a reasonable effort to ensure that their animals are safe to be around may be liable for damages if their animal injures someone.
Under certain circumstances, you can hold landlords liable for injuries because they failed to deal with pests in their properties, such as bites or illnesses from rats, mice, bats, or similar animals.
Product Defects
Broken or otherwise defective products can cause various injuries, such as burns, serious cuts, and falls. Depending on the size and purpose of the product in question, this can involve anything from minor injuries that need little to no further action to serious injuries that are likely to qualify you to obtain a significant amount of compensation from the product’s designer or manufacturer.
Defective products that injure many people will likely be recalled and may eventually qualify you for additional compensation through a class action lawsuit. Still, you may also be able to file a claim against a company.
Areas in San Jose With High Accident Potential
Accidents can occur anywhere, but certain areas tend to be linked to the highest number of personal injury cases. Busy or poorly marked streets are more likely to cause vehicle accidents than others, certain hazardous places of employment can come with a particularly high risk, and common areas of apartments that are poorly maintained can put residents at especially high risk.
Frequently Asked Questions About Personal Injury Lawsuits
Every personal injury lawsuit is different, and several variables can determine how you can expect your specific case to be handled. Here are some of the most common questions people considering a personal injury lawsuit may have.
Does My Injury Qualify for Compensation?
Not all injuries automatically qualify for compensation, especially if no one is clearly at fault for your injury. However, it is worth your time to consult a personal injury lawyer about the most appropriate next steps, which might be following nearly any type of injury if you believe that someone else is at least partially responsible for your injury.
Certain types of injuries are typically more likely to result in a settlement than others. Still, we can work with you to increase your likelihood of obtaining compensation for medical expenses, missed work, and other damages that a particular person or company is liable for.
No matter what type of injury you have experienced, contacting us as soon as possible after you are injured and providing as much evidence as possible about what happened are important steps in helping us build a case with the best chance of obtaining the results you want.
How Can I Pay My Medical Bills Until My Lawsuit Is Settled?
You will likely have medical bills due before your personal injury lawsuit is settled, especially if your injury is severe and likely to result in a particularly long legal process. While your end goal is obtaining funds from the responsible person or organization’s insurance company to cover your expenses, this will not happen until the process is finished and your compensation has been settled.
You may be able to use your insurance, workers’ compensation benefits, Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage, or a personal loan from your bank to cover these payments in the meantime, but you will need to keep track of these payments so that the organization that temporarily covered the funds can be reimbursed once your lawsuit is settled.
How Soon Will I Need to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit?
Beginning a complex legal process may not be the first thing on your mind immediately following an injury, especially if your injury is serious and requires a long recovery process before you can return to your normal life. In San Jose, you will need to file a personal injury lawsuit within two years of the day you are injured to be eligible to continue seeking compensation.
This means that you will be able to put your recovery first during the days and weeks following an injury and still have plenty of time to consider your options before moving forward with a lawsuit. Still, you will need to be mindful of this statute of limitations if you and your family decide that seeking compensation is the best decision for you.
Not all injuries are obvious immediately, and this two-year limitation may be extended if it becomes apparent that you are injured more seriously than you thought you were at a later date. If you do not think that you are injured badly enough to see a doctor immediately following an accident, you will have two years from the date that an injury is found to file a lawsuit if the effects of a personal injury appear several days, weeks, or longer after you are injured.
How Long Should I Expect Settling My Personal Injury Claim to Take?
Every personal injury case is different, and a wide range of factors determine how much time you can expect to pass between the date you file your lawsuit and the date you receive your settlement check. Many less serious claims will be able to be handled by your insurance company.
They can be settled much quicker than claims involving serious injuries, multiple injured people, negligence, or other liability concerns. The most complex cases can take over a year to settle. In contrast, most other personal injury cases require less time to sort out the details and determine an appropriate amount of compensation. However, providing an accurate estimate without knowing more details about your situation is difficult.
Contact Our San Jose Personal Injury Lawyers Today
At Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos, we are here to help residents of San Jose and surrounding cities that experience nearly any type of personal injury obtain compensation for damages. Although every case is different, and we cannot guarantee the outcome you desire, choosing us is the first step in obtaining compensation to help you manage your injury.
Contact us today at (650) 345-8484 to learn more about the types of personal injuries we handle and receive your free consultation today.
Galine, Frye, Fitting, & Frangos, LLP
Phone: (650) 345-8484