Personal Injury

San Diego Personal Injury Lawyer Answers Frequently Asked California Personal Injury Law Questions

California personal injury law claims are so varied and complex that it is often hard to make generalizations about them. Personal injury claimants and other interested persons are urged to consult our web site's information regarding their specific type of personal injury claim (e.g. auto accident, product liability, medical malpractice) for information specifically applicable to the type of personal injury which they or those they know may have suffered.

What is that statute of limitations for a personal injury claim?
Personal injury statutes of limitation vary widely according to which specific type of injury claim a accident injury victim may have suffered. Personal injury accident victims should take action immediately. Accident victims should never assume that they have more time (or no more time) in which to pursue their claims - you should consult with an experienced San Diego personal injury lawyer right away. Regardless of what personal injury statute of limitation applies to your accident injury claim, it is always to the injury accident victim's advantage to take immediate action to pursue their personal injury claim. Contact the Law Offices of Jeffrey R. Frank right away if you or someone you know has been the victim of a personal injury accident to arrange for your free initial consultation with a qualified San Diego personal injury lawyer.

Personal Injury – Damages - What can I be compensated for in a personal injury case – what are my "damages"?
The major categories of damages to which you may typically be entitled in a personal injury case are:

1. Medical Bills (part of Bodily Injury "Special" Damages) - the reasonable and necessary costs of medical care to restore you to pre-injury status; including both your present and estimated future medical bills stemming from your injuries;
2. Lost Earnings (part of Bodily Injury "Special" Damages) - the amount of monies you have lost from missed work, vacation, sick or other compensated time.
3. Pain and Suffering or Emotional Distress (Bodily Injury "General" Damages) -a lump sum to compensate you for pain, suffering and inconvenience; including the pain and suffering you may be anticipated to suffer in the future; and

Other common elements of damages include:

1. Loss of Future Earning Capacity - the amount of monies you will lose in the future if you must change to a lower-paying job or are out of work long term or permanently
2. Vocational Rehabilitation - the costs of retraining you to another job position should your injuries make returning to your prior job impractical or impossible.
3. Loss of Consortium - monies to compensate a spouse for the pain, suffering and inconvenience they suffer as a result of their spouse's injury;
4. "Vicarious" general damages - compensation for mental distress suffered from witnessing an injury to an immediate family member.

Personal Injury – Damages - Does the responsible party have to pay all of my medical bills?
A defendant (and their insurance company) is responsible for all reasonable and necessary medical expenses occasioned by your injury. Since what it "reasonable and necessary" is something arguable, the insurance company will almost always try to reduce the amount they will pay to something below the bill's face value, contending that some or all of the expenses were not reasonable or necessary. Many times, doctors and other medical providers will hold you responsible for whatever amount the insurance company refuses to pay.

Personal Injury – Damages - What does "reasonable and necessary" mean?
Most simply put, it means the insurance company or responsible party defendant doesn't automatically have to pay the face value of each and every bill or claim presented to them by the injury claimant. They only have to pay expenses and damages that are "reasonable and necessary." In practice, an insurance company will almost always claim that the face value of any damages you claim is more than what was really "reasonable and necessary." They may claim the charges for the services you received are unreasonably high. They may claim that you had too many doctor visits or that some of your medical care wasn't needed (necessary). They may claim some of your care wasn't related to injuries caused in the accident. For instance, they might say you had a medical condition prior to the accident, or that you developed problems afterward that weren't caused by the accident. In property damage claims, they may claim that some of the damage you are claiming actually existed before the accident (like prior damage to your car or home).

These situations, which arise in almost every injury claim, represent only one of the many areas where having legal representation is critically important. Issues of what are "reasonable and necessary" damages are complex and very subjective - they depend as much on what each side thinks it can prove as they do on what the facts really are. Your San Diego personal injury lawyer knows what sort of expenses are reasonable and necessary and how to present the evidence to prove it. Without professional assistance, you can lose substantial value from your case

BE WARNED of a situation we've often seen. You call the defendant's insurance carrier, tell them you're hurt, and they tell you to "go to a doctor" or "go to the hospital." The fact they told you to seek treatment does not mean that they intend, or are obligated, to pay the bills. Insurance companies most often decide what bills they are going to pay, and how much of them, after the fact, and this decision is most often made by someone other than your initial contact person at the insurance company.

Do they have to pay all of my lost wages?
The insurance company will pay only those lost wages which they believe you could prove were reasonably related to your injury. If your job is physically demanding, they will likely pay more for your lost wages than if you have a desk job. Keep in mind that the defense injury lawyers always compare what you are claiming against what they think you could eventually prove to a jury. Even if they don't intend to go to trial with you, their evaluations always factor in your chances to prove what you claim.

What can I expect for pain and suffering?
In short, the answer is whatever the insurance company believes you can prove to a jury. There is no hard and fast rule for this beyond "what the jury finds reasonable and fair."

The only rule typically given to the jury in a California personal injury law case is the standard jury instruction for awarding general damages, which is as follows:

3905A. Physical Pain, Mental Suffering, and Emotional Distress (Noneconomic Damage)

(Insert number, e.g., "1.") (Past) (and) (future) (physical pain / mental suffering / loss of enjoyment of life / disfigurement/physical impairment / inconvenience / grief / anxiety / humiliation / emotional distress (insert other damages)).

(To recover for future (insert item of pain and suffering), (name of plaintiff) must prove that (he/she) is reasonably certain to suffer that harm.)

No fixed standard exists for deciding the amount of these damages. You must use your judgment to decide a reasonable amount based on the evidence and your common sense.

(Your award for noneconomic damages should not be reduced to present cash value.)

We've added our own emphasis here to stress the fact that the jury's judgment and common sense are the only standards that apply under this instruction.