When you are injured in an accident with other individuals partially or fully at fault, the state of California allows you to claim a certain amount of compensation to cover your expenses, pain, and suffering. This is granted by personal injury law. It can be overwhelming to suffer from expensive medical bills and property damage while recovering from an accidental injury. In an accident caused by another party’s negligence or intentional tort, the victim deserves a fair settlement with the defendant’s insurance company.
Insurance companies often take advantage of the vulnerability of the situation and unfairly reducing the claim to the minimum amount on behalf of the defendant. Being mistreated and abused by the situation when one isn’t aware of their legal rights is common. In fact, different causes of personal injuries had different policies regarding the amount of compensation. The strategies companies apply differ based on the situation; some are simpler to identify faults and make fair settlements, while others are more complicated.
According to a data provided by the US Bureau of Justice Statistics, on average, there is a 61% success rate of receiving fair and deserving compensation for vehicle accidents. Such accidents have concrete proof, and the determination of faults is evident. In contrast, it was found that there is only a 19% success rate for personal injury claims related to medical malpractice due to the complexity of gathering proper and concrete evidence. Therefore, it is necessary to understand different types of accidents if you are looking to file a personal injury claim.
We have ranked the top 10 most common personal injury cases in San Diego. Shamon law has been representing such cases for almost a decade. Contact us for a free consultation to determine the type, severity and amount of claim of your case.
Most common personal injury cases in San Diego:
1. Car Accidents
Car accidents are the most common cause of personal injury in San Diego. According to the NHTSA Fatality and Injury 10-year Reporting System, it was found that an average of 3,322 people die in car accidents in California every year.
A car accident can happen between a car and a pedestrian, as well as among two or more cars. Some of the most common causes are drunk driving, driving under the influence, texting and driving, speeding, improper overtaking or turning, etc. Personal injury claims related to car accidents require a proper investigation of the scene of the accident and sharing of fault to determine the amount of compensation.
2. Motorcycle Accidents
California has the highest population of motorcycle riders in the US. Motorcycle accidents are the second most common personal injury cause. 22% of such accidents lead to severe or fatal injuries, while the chances of severe injury from car accidents is only 4%. If you suffer from a personal injury caused by a motorcycle accident, there is a big chance the injuries are severe as the attack has been impacted straight to the body, with no layer of protection in between. The personal claim can be much higher, and you need a motorcycle accident lawyer to represent you.
3. Bicycle Accidents
Bicycle Accidents are another common accident in San Diego. In 2021, there were around 48,000 injury victims of such accidents in the state of California. Bicycle accidents are mostly caused in shared lanes of bikers and motor vehicles, often the motor vehicles head-on or rear-end colliding with the bicycles. In some cases, however, the negligence of bicycles can also cause an accident.
4. Wrongful Death
Wrongful deaths are caused when an individual loses their life in an accident caused by the negligence, carelessness, or misconduct of another individual or company. This can include vehicle accidents from intentional torts, death after using a damaged product, or death under the care of another individual or company. For example, if your child passes away in daycare due to the caretaker’s negligence, you can file a wrongful death personal injury lawsuit against the caretaker. Similarly, if a product contains toxic chemicals fatal to the human body and someone passes away after using it, it is also considered wrongful death. Simply put, any death that happens under the responsibility of another party, and they had the time, opportunity, and choice to prevent it but didn’t, is considered wrongful death.
5. Truck Accidents
Truck accidents can cause severe injuries and damages because of their large and heavy build. On average, a truck driver in California must work around 14 hours a day due to a shortage of human resources. Long continuous driving hours lead to speeding, aggressive driving, and fatigue. The truck’s rear view doesn’t show some parts of the road. Severe accidents are caused when other motor vehicles or pedestrians come on the wrong side of the truck where the driver cannot see them.
6. Slip & Fall
Slip and Fall accidents happen when one falls and injures themselves because of a fault in someone else’s property. For example, if you fall from a staircase with no railings and break your back, it is considered a slip and fall personal injury, and the building owner has to compensate for your injuries. The property owner or homeowner must consider the safety of their guest, employees, or the public when designing their property accordingly and fix any problems.
7. Dog Bite
When someone else’s pet dog bites you in public, and you seek medical treatment, the dog owner is liable for your injury. Personal injury caused by dog bites makes the dog’s owner the defendant, and you are to file an injury claim against their insurance company. It comes under the responsibility of a dog owner to prevent their dogs from biting or hurting another person. If a dog owner trains a dog to bite someone else, it is considered an intentional tort, and they must pay punitive damages.
8. Pedestrian Accidents
Personal injuries caused by pedestrian accidents can be extremely severe, even during a low-force impact. Unlike car accidents, pedestrians have no protection, and the impact is directly on their bodies. You can be doing something as simple as walking on the sidewalk when a swerving car comes and hits you. The driver’s faults cause most Pedestrian accidents in San Diego. But in some cases, if the pedestrian defies the traffic rules by crossing the road on a freeway or a green light, they can be faulty too.
9. Real Estate
Real estate personal injury cases are associated with real estate property damage. Suppose you have been sold a property, and after signing the lease, you discover serious damage caused before you bought the property. In that case, it can be property damage at someone else’s fault. The cause of the property damage can be an accident or negligence by the previous owners, sellers, or the real estate agent. You can file a personal injury claim if you can prove the damage’s fault.
10. Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice refers to the carelessness or negligence of medical treatment by a medical practitioner that leads to an individual being injured or suffering adverse health effects. Every medical practitioner is required to follow a standard code in the process of diagnosing and treating a patient. If they show negligence in properly diagnosing a patient or performing the treatment, and the patient sustains an injury, health issues, pain, and suffering, it is considered medical malpractice. For instance, if you have been prescribed a wrong medicine for your diagnosis and it causes side effects, you are eligible to file a claim against the doctor or the hospital.
Contact a Top-Rated San Diego Car Accident Attorney Today.
If you have been injured in such accidents, you should seek legal help immediately. Different personal injury cases require different legal strategies to proceed accordingly. Evidence has to be gathered by taking a different approach and there are multiple factors to consider when it comes to declaring the sharing or fault and the amount of compensation. Shamon law has a team of personal injury attorneys with expertise in all such injury cases. We provide an in-depth investigation and extensive resources to defend your injury claim.
Final Thought / Conclusions
We walked you through the top 10 most common personal injury cases in San Diego in this blog post. It is evident that injuries caused by car accidents are the most common causes of personal injury throughout California. At the same time, medical malpractice is comparatively rare in the city. No matter the accident type’s status, the effects demand negotiation and defending to claim a deserving amount as compensation. Every type of cause requires investigation to determine the fault distribution of the injury. You need a professional lawyer to understand your case and grant you the compensation you deserve.
Personal Injury Cases in San Diego FAQs
What Do Personal Injury Lawyers Do?
Personal injury lawyers review your personal injury case, investigate the sharing of fault in the accident, negotiate with the defendant’s insurance company to claim a deserving amount of compensation, and, if necessary, represent you in court.
What Is Considered Personal Injury in California?
An accidental injury caused by the negligence or intentional tort of another party/parties is considered personal injury in California. The responsible party must compensate for the treatment of the injury, property damage, and the victim’s suffering from their insurance, as per the personal injury law.
What is the average personal injury settlement in California?
The amount of compensation in a personal injury settlement is based on the sharing of faults of the accident, aka, comparative negligence. In the investigation, your lawyer will determine how the fault is distributed among all the parties involved. It is measured and divided in percentage, and that percent of compensation is designated for them.
For instance, if you are injured while crossing the road without a crosswalk and a speeding driver hits you, through investigation, the faults are divided in percentage according to the concept of comparative negligence. Let’s say, you are 40% at fault and the driver is 60% at fault. Now, you are to receive 70% compensation from the driver’s insurance, and they are to receive 40% compensation from your insurance company.
How are pain and suffering calculated in California?
In California, pain and suffering is calculated by multiplying the amount of monetary damages (medical expense, loss of wages, etc) one to five times depending on the severity of the injury, the pain it caused and the long-term pain it is to cause. They come under non economic damages. In some cases, a certain amount is added every day the victim suffers from pain.
