Chula Vista Car Accident Attorney

California law requires the parties involved to report an auto accident that causes more than $1,000 in property damage, injury, or death. Regardless of legal requirements, reporting a serious accident is usually in your best interests. A police report provides proof that the accident occurred, the identity and insurance information of those involved, and witness statements and contact. When building a case, these reports are a starting point for your Chula Vista, personal injury attorney.

You need to report the accident to your insurance company, but do not feel you must cover all details. A basic report of what happened suffices. For serious injury accidents, consult an attorney to help you decide what to share with the insurance adjuster.

No legal obligation exists for you to speak to the opposing insurance company. Do not. Insurance companies train their adjusters to search for reasons to reduce claims payouts or even deny them. But, like an opposing attorney, these insurance company employees make a living undermining your interests. The best practice is to hire a personal injury attorney and let them handle communications with the other side.

Remember that California personal injury law bases itself on the pure comparative negligence standard. Under this doctrine, every percentage of blame the opposing insurance company can transfer to you reduces your award. For example, if your damages stand at $50,000 and a court finds you 0% at fault, your award is the whole $50,000. However, if the other insurance company can establish that you were 20% at fault, your award is reduced to $40,000.

Your statements to the other party’s insurance company could give them the justification they need to trim your award or even eliminate it. For instance, the other party may have been at fault for proceeding into an intersection when you had the right of way. However, suppose you admit to an insurance adjuster that you were speeding, even a little bit. In that case, they could argue that your excessive use of speed contributed to the cause and severity of the accident.

Insurance companies instruct their adjusters to record statements made by the parties of an accident. They do this, in part, because naive accident victims often believe the insurance company representative is sincerely concerned about their injury and wants to help. In addition, the accident victim may inadvertently say something detrimental to their case, misstate something, or answer a leading question intended to damage their claim.

The only way to prevent such a mistake is to refer all insurance company calls to your attorney.

California law uses a pure comparative negligence standard. Under this legal approach, a plaintiff is entitled to damages even if 99% at fault. However, the award is reduced by the percentage of fault a court finds. So if you were 99% at fault for an accident and your damages were $10,000, your award would be $100.

Unlike California, many states use a modified comparative negligence standard that requires plaintiffs to be less than 51% at fault to collect damages. However, a few states take the opposite approach and bar plaintiffs from financial remedies even if they are 1% at fault.

If an accident is partly your fault, your case may still be strong, especially if the other side’s argument that you are partly at fault is weak. To reduce settlements and verdicts, insurance companies often try to claim plaintiffs are partly at fault when they share no blame or artificially magnify their contribution to the accident. Your San Diego car accident lawyer will fight back against these attempts and win the settlement you deserve.

Though a percentage of fault reduces your award, it can still outweigh your medical and other expenses, depending on the general damages awarded in the case. A California personal injury verdict consists of compensatory and general damages. A few also include punitive damages.

Compensatory damages are the direct financial burdens of the accident: medical bills, physical therapy, lost income, and the like. General damages consist of the intangible consequences of the injury, including pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and inconvenience. Courts award general damages as a multiplier of the compensatory damages between 1.5 and 5. A high multiplier can result in an award far above the compensatory damages, even if you are partly at fault.

For example, imagine a jury finds you 30% at fault for an accident, your compensatory damages totaled $100,000, and your general damages multiplier is 3. In that case, your award is $400,000 times .70, or $280,000. Though the 30% finding of fault substantially reduces the award, you still receive an amount well over your out-of-pocket costs.

The question of liability is often a point of contention in Chula Vista car accident cases. Some instances result in the clear full liability of one party, such as a rear-end collision or a drunk driver crossing a double yellow line and striking another vehicle. However, many cases result in mixed liability, where each party is assigned a percentage of fault and monetary awards adjusted to reflect them.

For instance, a driver passing straight through an intersection on a green light has the right of way. A driver making a turn collating with the oncoming vehicle is likely primarily at fault. However, what if the driver going straight was speeding? Is it not fair that the turning driver had a reasonable expectation that oncoming traffic was proceeding within the speed limit and that they would have had ample time to complete the turn if the other driver were obeying the law?

This instance could result in a mixed liability verdict under California’s pure comparative negligence law. For instance, a jury may conclude that the turning driver was mostly at fault but that the other driver’s excessive speed also contributed and find an 80%/20% comparative negligence verdict.

California law establishes a two-year time limit on filing a personal injury claim. However, there are some exceptions, but they rarely apply to auto accident cases.

The two-year “clock” starts later or is paused for a time if the plaintiff has delayed discovery of the injury, is legally incapable of deciding to sue, or the defendant has left the state.

Delayed discovery is unlikely in an auto accident case because people know when they are in a collision. Diminished capacity may apply if the plaintiff is under 18 or suffers from mental impairment.

Since most drivers carry insurance, cases will likely be settled even if the defendant leaves the state. However, for instance, if an uninsured driver fled California and a summons could not be delivered, an extension of the statute of limitations may apply.

Most cases settle for some time during the discovery process. Discovery is a phase of litigation where both sides have the legal right to subpoena evidence and interview witnesses. Once discovery is complete, the case is slated for trial.

Some cases settle without the need to file a lawsuit. However, these are often smaller value claims with relatively clear fact patterns. Cases at this level can be settled in months. Most larger and complex cases require filing a lawsuit for the insurance company to offer a reasonable settlement. Discovery provides personal injury lawyers with powerful tools for establishing their cases. During this phase, lawyers find evidence to negate false comparative negligence claims and formulate convincing arguments for larger damages. When convinced they face an adverse result at trial, insurance companies offer generous settlements.

When settled before trial, cases tend to take 1 to 2 years. Trials resolve disputed facts as to fault or damage amounts. While necessary in some instances, trials extend litigation to two years or more. After trial, the case may go to appeals. The case can settle during the appellate process or go through the appeals courts and the California of United States Supreme Court. Appeals can add several years to the process, though few personal injury cases go to this level.

Califonia sets a two-year statute of limitations on personal injury cases. A few exceptions apply:

Unaware of the Injury
While this rarely applies to auto accidents, California does extend the statute of limitations when a plaintiff was unaware of the injury for a long period.

Under 18
Minors receive longer periods to file personal injury cases.

Diminished Capacity
People suffering diminished capacity may receive more time to file a lawsuit.

Absent Defendant(s)
If a defendant leaves the state, a court may allow an exception to the statute of limitations.

Car accident settlements in California average $21,000, but the distribution of claim amounts varies widely from the mean. Many car accidents result in only minor property damage and settle for a few thousand dollars. However, when a serious personal injury occurs, the settlement amounts usually exceed $21,000 by a very large margin.

Car accident settlements compensate victims for property damage, medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other financial and non-economic costs. Compensatory damages can reach the tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Shamon Law’s car accident lawyers cost nothing out of pocket. We work on a contingency fee, which means we get paid after our clients get paid. Contingency fee arrangements allow plaintiffs to access legal counsel without fronting large legal fees. Most car accident victims face heavy medical debt and may lose substantial income because the injury puts them out of work. Our contingency fee programs make it easier for our clients to bear the financial burden of a civil action.