Who Can File Personal Injury Lawsuits?

If you have recently been injured as a result of a car accident, work accident, or any other scenario that wasn’t your fault, you may understandably be wondering about your legal options. it is important to understand that no two cases ever unfold under exactly the same circumstances, so your case is not guaranteed any specific outcome. With that said, it is also important to understand that California broadly protects the rights of personal injury victims. As a result, you may be entitled to far more compensation than you have initially been led to believe or allowed yourself to imagine.

Injury Victims Who Have Been Wronged

As an experienced personal injury lawyer San Fernando Valley, CA – including those who practice at Unidos Legales – can explain in detail, only some injury victims are entitled to file personal injury lawsuits. Generally speaking, you will not have grounds upon which to file a personal injury lawsuit if you were totally to blame for the situation that caused your harm. If you were totally to blame for your situation, you may have other options available to you, such as workers’ compensation. As a result, it may still be worth your while to speak with an attorney about your options even if you are not in a position to file a personal injury suit.

However, you may have strong grounds upon which to file a personal injury lawsuit if a third party contributed to the cause of your harm as a result of their negligent, reckless, or intentionally dangerous conduct. You may be able to sue a person, business, company, or even a government entity, depending upon the circumstances of your case.

Most of the time, personal injury victims must prove that those who are named as defendants in their lawsuits owed them a duty of care under the law, breach that duty through reckless, negligent, or intentionally dangerous conduct, and caused them to suffer injury as a direct result of that conduct. However, the circumstances of your case may be unique enough that a different standard proof may apply to your case. Speaking with an attorney will help you to clarify your options and the potential strength of your case.

A lawyer can also help you understand how much your case is worth. Generally, you will be entitled to the most compensation if your injuries were severe and you were not at fault for your harm or were only minimally to blame. While California allows injury victims who are partially at fault for their own harm to recover compensation from other at-fault parties, you won’t be able to recover as much compensation from others if you were partially to blame for what happened to you.

Personal injury lawsuits may be filed by injury victims who are young, old, wealthy, low-income, documented, and undocumented. If another’s behavior or choices directly caused you harm, chances are good that you’re in a position to hold them accountable in civil court. Speak with an attorney today to learn more.