San Diego Personal Injury Attorney

What Do Personal Injury Lawyers in San Diego Do?

The lawyers hired by clients seeking representation due to personal injury are well trained, very skilled, and highly qualified in the many-layered legalities of personal injury law. They are tasked with defending individuals who have been hurt, require alternate means of financial sustenance, and deserve compensation so they can live as independently as possible.

Personal injury cases can be difficult to prove. The ability to discern, for example, negative surgical outcomes from the expected side effects of a condition that necessitated surgery in the first place, can be rather elusive. That is why hiring a San Diego personal injury lawyer who is fluent in legal statutes and medical protocols, is a necessary and vital part of your defense arsenal.

In addition to their legal know-how, personal injury attorneys can help with a number of other things with which injured parties typically need assistance.

Professionalism and Objectivity

Pain and suffering often accompany injuries, whether they are the result of medical traumas, car accidents, or mechanical error. While these phenomena can take a toll on how you function throughout your day-to-day life, they can also greatly impact how you think, perceive, and respond to information presented to you. A San Diego personal injury attorney, however, can act as a voice of reason, calmly explain how your case is likely to proceed, be realistic about anticipated outcomes, and help you soundly navigate through legal procedures.

Receipt of Appropriate Medical Care

In order to file a personal injury claim, you must be thoroughly and carefully examined by a medical provider in a timely fashion. Your San Diego personal injury advocate can work with your medical team to ensure that legal, as well as medical concerns, are being addressed. In addition, a personal injury attorney who possesses a solid understanding of these laws can also help you meet with additional medical providers if necessary. In fact, they may even be able to recommend doctors and ancillary service providers who are the best in the specialties in which you require care.

Explain Your Legal Options

Although being in pain and requiring sufficient compensation for your or your loved ones are both logical reasons to pursue a personal injury case, they do not necessarily carry legal weight. When you hire an accomplished personal injury attorney whose demonstrated legal proficiency speaks for itself, you can rest easy—or at least easier—knowing that your legal options and due will be explained, laid out, and aggressively pursued.

Help Filing Claims Within the Statutes of Limitation

A good deal of legalese is necessary in order to complete the requisite paperwork for a personal injury claim. And not only is there a need to understand the judicial guidelines and parameters within which your personal injury case lay. You must also be able to complete ongoing administrative tasks while going to the doctor, receiving necessary therapies, filling prescriptions, sorting lost wages, and navigating the emotional toll the entire process is bound to take. With so much going on for, around, and within you, your personal injury lawyer’s services can be truly invaluable.

Careful Evaluation of the Defendant’s Case Presentation

Personal injury lawyers in San Diego are skilled litigators, trained evaluators, avid listeners, and compassionate attendants. Not only do they need to understand and be able to convey the breadth and depth of your medical concerns, but those of the defendant as well.

Generally speaking, insurance carriers and the parties who are alleged to have caused your injuries, try hard to refute claims, deny full compensation, and in some cases, lay blame at the feet of the victim. A personal injury attorney who is worth their salt, will know how to navigate through the legal muck so that you are awarded restitution that is just, fair, and sufficient.

Peace of Mind

Recovery after an accident is hard work: fraught with pain, discomfort, learning how to re-adapt to your environment, frequent medical appointments, and a new way of living—whether temporary or permanent. The changes that you experience after a serious injury can be nothing short of life-altering, which is why having an experienced personal injury lawyer on your side can make the difference between getting the compensation you need and struggling more than you should.

Data Collection and Records Management

Personal injury cases, like any lawsuit, require extensive documentation. This includes, but is not limited to, police reports, eyewitness statements, medical records, insurance forms, medical equipment orders, pharmacy receipts, copies of your prescriptions, hospital, nursing home, rehabilitation, or long term nursing facility records, and travel expenses. And because you are likely to have been unable to work during your convalescence, you may be required to submit records of your lost wages, tax statements, and copies of your unemployment forms. Taken individually or collectively, that is a lot of paperwork to deal with while also feeling ill and in pain. Having a personal injury attorney in San Diego, California can truly make the difference between excess stress and at least a modicum of calm during what is sure to be a difficult time for all involved.

What Does it Mean When Your Insurance Company Acts in Bad Faith?

Insurance companies are expected to pay victims and survivors in nearly all personal injury cases. Perhaps not all that shockingly however, insurance companies tend not to want to pay the full amount a plaintiff has been awarded. In fact, some insurance companies may delay payments, refuse to cover additional medical costs, choose not to pay at all, pay less than they are supposed to, and in general, add to the stress and pain of your original injury. This is not to color “all” insurance companies in a negative light. Nevertheless, there are, unfortunately, insurance companies that behave in such a manner and are deemed to be acting in “bad faith.”

What Does it Mean When Your Insurance Company Acts in Bad Faith?

Your San Diego, California personal injury attorney must prove, according to the State of California Civil Code, Division IV, Part I, Title II, Chapter I, Article III, Section 3294, that there is clear and conclusive evidence that the insurance company has acted out of malice and fraud, as a means to subjecting the already injured party to more injury. That is a mouthful for sure but if it can be proven, you may receive not only the restitution you are due from your initial claim, but damages for the additional pain, suffering, and demeaning behavior to which you were unnecessarily subjected.

What Kinds of Injuries Require a Personal Injury Attorney?

In order for a case to qualify as a personal injury claim, it must meet certain criteria set forth by the law. While the law seeks to protect and provide for individuals who have experienced such injuries, there must be guidelines followed that define the types of occurrences personal injury attorneys in San Diego, California can represent. Personal injury law covers a wide scope of injuries that may include anything from vehicular accidents, animal bites, deficiencies in product manufacturing, and criminal attacks. If you have experienced any of the situations and injuries listed below, it is highly recommended that you seek the services of a personal injury lawyer. Remember that while this is not an exhaustive list by any means, it does provide solid examples upon which claims are often based.