Stockton Personal Injury Lawyer

Stockton Personal Injury Attorney

The term “personal injury” defines any situation in which one party harms another. Most personal injuries reported in Stockton and throughout California are the results of negligence, or failure to exercise reasonable care in a given situation. Some occur because of intentional and illegal actions, leading to criminal charges against the at-fault parties along with civil claims for damages from their victims. If you recently suffered an injury in Stockton, CA due to the actions of another party, it is vital for you to know what the personal injury laws entail when it comes to your recovery options.

Compassionate Personal Injury Counsel for Stockton, CA, Clients

An experienced Stockton personal injury attorney can help identify those responsible for your damages, accurately calculate those damages, and guide you through the process of recovering from your losses. The Law Offices of David Davidi, APLC, can assist you in the aftermath of a personal injury, helping you prove fault and establish the full extent of your claimable damages. The sooner you connect with an attorney you can trust, the more likely you are to maximize your final case award.

Common Types of Personal Injury Cases We Handle in Stockton

When you are looking for a Stockton personal injury attorney to represent you, it is essential to evaluate not only their overall legal experience but also their level of specific experience handling cases like yours. At the Law Offices of David Davidi, APLC, we routinely help Stockton area clients with all types of personal injury claims, including:

• Motor vehicle accident cases. We represent victims of all types of vehicle accidents in Stockton, including car, truck, and motorcycle accidents. We have also helped many clients recover from rideshare accidents, bicycle accidents, and pedestrian accidents. Our team knows how to gather the evidence you need to firmly prove liability for your damages, how to navigate the auto insurance claim filing process, and how to build an effective personal injury case against the driver who caused your recent accident.
• Premises liability claims. If you suffered a slip and fall injury on someone else’s property, or if you were injured by any other hazard on a private property that the property owner should have addressed, you likely have grounds for a premises liability suit against the property owner. Success with this type of personal injury case requires proof that you were legally present on the property and that the hazard that caused your injury was a foreseeable safety issue the property owner should have addressed.
• Dog bite claims. California uses the strict liability rule for dog attacks, meaning a dog owner is strictly liable for all of the harm their pet causes to another party, regardless of whether the dog has any known history of aggression. As long as the victim did not provoke the attack in any way and they were legally present at the location where the attack occurred, strict liability applies.
• Catastrophic injury claims. A personal injury is classified as catastrophic when the victim has been permanently injured in some way. If another party caused an injury resulting in permanent disability, a permanent medical condition, severe disfigurement, or any other long-term trauma, you likely have grounds to seek more compensation than you may expect. Our team strives for maximum recovery in catastrophic injury claims, and we know how to uncover all available avenues of compensation for our clients.

Experienced Attorney Is Invaluable in Personal Injury Cases

An experienced Stockton personal injury attorney is an invaluable asset for whatever type of personal injury case you are preparing to file. The Law Offices of David Davidi, APLC, has gained a reputation as a leading choice for personal injury counsel in the Stockton area due to our record of successful cases and a firm commitment to client-focused representation. When you choose our firm as your legal representative, we will take time to learn as much as possible about the details of your injury, helping you understand the various legal challenges you might face in your efforts to recover the compensation you legally deserve.

Building Your Personal Injury Claim in Stockton

Success with your personal injury case will first require accurate identification of the party or parties responsible for causing your injury. Depending on how your personal injury occurred, you may need several types of evidence to firmly establish liability. For example, if you are filing a personal injury claim in response to a car accident, you must identify the driver responsible for causing the crash and prove that they are directly responsible for your damages. This will likely require a combination of different types of evidence, such as vehicle computer data, testimony from eyewitnesses, traffic camera footage, and possibly the other driver’s cell phone records.

Once you have established fault for your injury you can proceed with claiming compensation for the damages you suffered. Under the state’s personal injury laws, you must firmly establish liability before collecting any compensation, and you may only collect compensation for the losses the defendant directly caused. Your Stockton personal injury attorney can not only be invaluable for their assistance in proving liability for your damages but also in establishing causation. You must prove the defendant directly caused your claimed losses and they did not occur from any other cause.

There is a two-year statute of limitations that applies to most personal injury cases in the state. This means you have a two-year time limit after the date your injury occurred in which to file your case. Failure to file your personal injury claim within this timeframe could amount to losing your chance to recover recompense for your damages. Two years may seem like more than enough time, but it may take longer than you expect to gather the materials needed to file your claim. Reaching out to an experienced Stockton personal injury attorney as soon as possible is the optimal way to ensure you can file your case on time.

Claiming Economic Damages in Your Personal Injury Case

The main objective of a personal injury case is for the plaintiff to recover the compensation they need to be as whole as possible again following the harm done by the defendant. The average personal injury plaintiff is able to recover various forms of economic losses, including:

• Medical expenses. If you suffered a physical injury due to the actions of another party, they are responsible for the cost of all the medical treatment you need to heal. Your Stockton personal injury attorney can not only assist you in recovering compensation for all the medical bills you have already incurred following the injury the defendant caused, but also those you are likely to incur in the future. The defendant is liable for all immediate and future medical treatment costs you face as a result of their negligence or misconduct.
• Lost income. If your personal injury has prevented you from working, the defendant is liable for the income you have been unable to earn due to their actions. Similar to your medical expenses, you will also have the right to seek compensation for future income you can no longer earn because of the defendant’s actions. If you have been permanently disabled and will not be able to return to work in the future, or if your earning power has diminished because of the injury the defendant inflicted, the defendant is liable for the lost future income you would have otherwise been able to earn.
• Property losses. Some personal injury cases pertain to property damage. The defendant who damaged your personal property, such as your home, your vehicle, or other belongings, is liable for the cost of repairing or replacing this property.

The average personal injury plaintiff in Stockton will likely have a grasp of their immediately recognizable economic damages, but they may struggle to accurately calculate the full extent of the long-term damages the defendant caused with their negligence or misconduct. If you want to maximize your recovery of your immediate and future economic damages it is essential to have an experienced Stockton personal injury attorney representing you.

Claiming Pain and Suffering and Other Compensation for Your Personal Injury

Most people will hear the term “pain and suffering” and wonder how intangible losses can translate to monetary value. While it may seem difficult to place a dollar value on the physical pain and emotional trauma you experienced from your personal injury, you have the right to claim as much as you deem appropriate to reflect these losses. California law only limits pain and suffering compensation in medical malpractice claims, so as long as your personal injury case falls outside the purview of medical malpractice there is no limit to how much pain and suffering compensation you can seek from the defendant.

Your Stockton personal injury attorney can help determine a suitable amount in various ways. If you are likely to recover from your injury in the near future they may use the per diem method, setting a daily compensation rate and then multiplying this amount by the number of days it takes for you to reach maximum medical improvement. When a plaintiff has suffered life-changing injuries and permanent harm, their attorney is more likely to use a multiplier, adding up the total of their economic damages and then multiplying the result by a factor that reflects the severity of the client’s condition.

It is also possible for a personal injury claim to yield punitive damages for the plaintiff. The plaintiff may not directly claim these damages. Instead, the judge awards punitive damages to punish the defendant for egregious negligence and/or intentional and illegal misconduct. The amount the plaintiff receives in punitive damages generally depends on the defendant’s financial status and the severity of their actions.

Resolving Your Personal Injury Claim in Stockton

If you intend to pursue a personal injury claim in Stockton, it is natural to wonder whether you must spend time in the courtroom resolving your case. While litigation may be necessary to resolve some complex personal injury cases, the vast majority of personal injury claims are resolved through private settlement negotiations. When the defendant is clearly liable for a personal injury, it behooves them to seek a settlement, avoiding the time commitment and additional legal expenses that litigation would entail.

During settlement, the plaintiff, defendant, and their respective attorneys meet privately to talk about terms that would be acceptable to resolve the case. A plaintiff could receive a little less compensation than a trial might give them, but they can resolve the case much more quickly. On the other side of the table, the defendant may be willing to part with slightly more compensation in exchange for saving time and money they would otherwise spend on litigation costs. Ultimately, as long as both parties are willing to compromise, settlement offers a much more streamlined path to resolving a personal injury case.

When you choose the Law Offices of David Davidi, APLC, to represent your personal injury claim in Stockton we can immediately get to work gathering the evidence and testimony you will need to firmly prove liability for your damages. Our goal is to help our client recover as fully as possible in the shortest possible time, so we generally aim for settlement. We can guide you through your settlement negotiations and help maximize the compensation you win from the defendant. If litigation is necessary to resolve your case, you can count on our team to represent you in the courtroom.

FAQs About Stockton, CA Personal Injury Laws

How Do I Prove Liability for a Personal Injury in Stockton?

Before the plaintiff in a personal injury case can secure any compensation for their damages, they must identify the party or parties responsible for causing those damages and prove how they caused them. The evidence you will require for proving fault in your personal injury case depends on how your injury happened. Physical evidence, digital records, witness testimony, and input from relevant expert witnesses could all come into play as you make your case in Stockton.

How Long Will It Take to Finalize a Personal Injury Case?

The time a personal injury case requires to complete largely depends on the extent of the plaintiff’s damages and the defendant’s willingness to accept liability for their actions. Most of the personal injury claims filed in Stockton and surrounding communities end in private settlement negotiation. The settlement process allows both the plaintiff and the defendant to resolve their case more quickly than they could in litigation, and it may only take a few weeks to complete settlement if you have an experienced Stockton personal injury attorney representing you.

Can I Recover Compensation for a Personal Injury That I Partially Caused?

Yes, it is possible for a plaintiff to bear partial responsibility for causing their personal injury and still recover compensation for their damages. However, they will lose a percentage of their final case award to reflect their shared liability. For example, if you are found 30% at fault, you would lose 30% of the total compensation claimed from the defendant. Your Stockton personal injury attorney can help leverage the facts of your case to minimize any shared fault you hold and preserve your final case award as much as possible.

Why Do I Need to Hire a Stockton Personal Injury Attorney?

Do not assume that if fault for your case is clear and you have a firm grasp of the damages you can claim that you should try to handle your personal injury case alone. The average person will meet procedural challenges they will not know how to address and could unintentionally accept a much smaller settlement than they legally deserve. Hiring a Stockton personal injury attorney to represent your case increases your chances of success with the claim, allows you to focus on your recovery while your attorney handles your legal affairs, and increases your chances of maximizing your recovery.

What Will It Cost to Hire a Stockton Personal Injury Attorney?

The Law Offices of David Davidi, APLC, will not add to your financial troubles in the aftermath of a personal injury by charging expensive hourly rates. We only collect our fee from a client after we win their case, and this contingency fee is a percentage of the total amount we recover on their behalf. If our firm is unable to secure recompense for your damages, there is no fee at all, so there is no risk in choosing our firm as your legal counsel in a Stockton personal injury case.

Every personal injury claim filed in Stockton is unique, and every plaintiff will face different challenges as they seek compensation for the losses they suffered. The team at the Law Offices of David Davidi, APLC, is ready to provide the compassionate and meticulous legal counsel you need on your side to approach your case with peace of mind. Contact our firm today to schedule a free consultation with a Stockton personal injury attorney to learn more about the legal services we provide.