Motor Vehicle Collision Attorney Assisting Los Angeles Residents

Pursuing Compensation after a Car Accident

As a victim suing for damages after a car crash, you probably would need to establish the following elements by a preponderance of the evidence: the defendant’s duty of care, a breach of duty, causation, and actual damages. All drivers in California owe a duty of reasonable care to other drivers, and simply failing to pay attention to the road can be a breach of duty. For example, a defendant may breach the duty to use reasonable care by making phone calls while driving, drunk driving, or speeding in bad weather.

However, in some cases, the party at fault is the owner of a dangerous or defective road, which may be the government or a construction company doing roadwork. Proving duty and breach of duty in those cases may be more complicated. If you need to sue a governmental entity for a car accident arising out of the entity’s negligence, you should be aware that the timeline within which to provide notice to the government is very short, and you should retain an attorney immediately after the accident.

Sometimes more than one person is at fault for an accident. In some cases, a defendant may try to argue that the plaintiff was comparatively negligent. If the defendant raises this defense, the jury will determine the amount of damages while assigning a percentage of fault to both the defendant and the plaintiff, and the plaintiff’s award will be reduced by an amount proportionate to his or her fault. For example, if the jury determines the damages are $200,000, and the plaintiff was 30% at fault, the plaintiff still can recover up to $140,000 from the defendant.

Compensatory damages include both general (non-economic) damages and special damages in California. After a car accident, some examples of special damages include medical bills, lost earnings, and property damage. General damages may include pain and suffering and lost enjoyment of activities, and they can vary dramatically based on the full scope of a particular victim’s losses. An experienced attorney can illuminate all the ways in which an accident has changed your life.

Discuss Your Car Accident Case with a Los Angeles Lawyer