Fontana Personal Injury Lawyer

Fontana Personal Injury Attorney

If you have been involved in a motorcycle accident or car accident or suffered any form of personal injury, a Fontana personal injury lawyer can help you. A personal injury lawyer can review your case and help provide you with guidance as to how to get the compensation you deserve for your injuries. An experienced personal injury attorney can often be the difference between winning and losing your case.

What Can a Personal Injury Lawyer Do for You?

An experienced personal injury lawyer can help to ensure that you get a fair and equitable case. A lawyer can discuss the accident and the injuries suffered with you and help you weigh your legal options. From discussing your options to filing your claim to successfully negotiating on your behalf, a qualified personal injury attorney can work hard for you to help you get a settlement that will help you on your way to recovery.

Protecting Your Rights

The first step in successfully filing a personal injury claim in Fontana, CA, is to ensure that your rights are protected. It is not uncommon for insurance companies to get heavily involved in personal injury cases and try to shift some of the blame onto the victim. Our firm can take over all communications with the insurance companies to ensure that you do not have to speak directly with them.

Along with this, our firm can ensure that all of the evidence and the facts relating to the case are preserved and properly documented. During this traumatic time, it can often feel overwhelming to try to communicate and coordinate with multiple parties. Our firm can help relieve that burden from your shoulders so that you can focus on your road to recovery as soon as possible.

Medical Treatment

Another step in the process of a personal injury case is to make sure that you receive the necessary medical treatment you require. Your health is the most important thing to take care of. An experienced personal injury lawyer will have medical professionals that they can connect you with and facilitate a treatment plan that is paid out of your settlement. This way, you will not have to pay anything out of pocket.

All medical treatment information relevant to the personal injury case will be documented by the legal team and will be used as evidence to strengthen the personal injury case.

Negotiation

The negotiation phase of the personal injury case involves the legal counsel of both parties. This is where it is vitally important that you engage the counsel of a qualified and experienced personal injury attorney who possesses the acumen to aggressively negotiate on your behalf to get you the proper settlement that you deserve.

During the negotiation process, all supporting documentation will be organized and presented to the opposing counsel. This can be referred to as a demand package. The opposing counsel or their insurance company will review the demand package and provide a response. The response could be an acceptance of the demands, a counteroffer, or simply a rejection.

Pre-Litigation Settlement

A pre-litigation settlement occurs when all parties can agree to a settlement without having to go before a court. If the negotiation process is successful and you feel that the offer from the defendant is fair and reasonable, then the case can be settled. This process involves a settlement release that will be signed by you, and it officially closes your personal injury case. Most personal injury cases are settled in the pre-litigation stage.

Coming to an agreed settlement can be beneficial because you avoid the court hearings associated with going to trial. Going to trial can add to more court fees and attorney expenses. It will most likely also add more time to how long the case will take. However, it is beneficial to come to an early settlement and also to avoid court fees. If the pre-litigation settlement is not in alignment with the compensation that you deserve based on your injuries, then going to trial is necessary.

Once you sign the settlement release papers, your case is closed, and it cannot be reopened. It is common for victims in a personal injury case to be pressured to settle early by the defense. It is important to engage the help of a personal injury attorney to develop a plan to stick to so you are prepared for this scenario.

Statute of Limitations

Under California law, the statute of limitations for personal injury cases is two years from the date of the injury. In the event that the personal injury was not discovered immediately, then the statute of limitations is one year from the discovery date. Once the statute of limitations has passed, then you no longer have the legal right to pursue compensation for personal injuries.

This means that you have two years from the date of the injury to pursue legal compensation or one year from the date that the injury was discovered. For example, if you were involved in a car accident on March 1st, 2024, and suffered a serious injury, you have until March 1st, 2026, to file a personal injury claim.

Note that it is possible to pursue compensation for injuries that happened once the statute of limitation has passed. However, any attempt to do this is most likely doomed to fail. The defendant’s number one defense will most likely be that the statute of limitations has expired, and the judge will more often than not rule in the defendant’s favor.

Statute of Limitations Exception

There is, however, an exception to the two-year statute of limitations. This exception is if the defendant or would-be defendant flees the state before you file your personal injury claim. In this instance, you cannot serve the defendant, and therefore, the claim cannot be started. Under this circumstance, the two-year clock is effectively paused during the time in which the defendant is out of the state of California. Once the defendant returns to the state of California, then the two-year timeline resumes.

Costs of a California Personal Injury Lawyer

The costs of a personal injury lawyer can vary depending on a variety of different factors. Personal injury lawyers can have different fee structures that they implement. The most common fee structure for personal injury cases is a contingency fee. This means that the personal injury lawyer will take a percentage of the total settlement amount awarded. The lawyer fee is contingent upon successfully winning the personal injury case. The lawyer does not get paid unless you get paid.

This contingency fee is often anywhere from 33% to 40% of the total settlement. The amount of the contingency fee can often depend on the complexity of the case and the potential risks involved in the case. For example, if the total awarded settlement amount is $100,000 and the lawyer’s contingency fee is 33%, the lawyer will be paid $33,000, and the remaining $67,000 will be paid out to the victim.

There are also cases in which a personal injury attorney can charge a sliding scale fee. This means that the contingency fee percentage could be lower if the case is settled earlier in the pre-litigation stage, or the contingency fee percentage could be higher if the case has to proceed to trial. As noted earlier, most personal injury cases are settled in the pre-litigation stage, so the sliding scale fee is much less common with these types of cases.

What Are You Paying For?

Personal injury attorney fees can cover the attorney’s wide range of services provided and the expenses associated with processing your claim. Attorney costs can compensate the attorney for providing the legal answers and direction that they can provide from their valuable legal experience. Costs can also cover the expenses of properly investigating your case. Investigating the case can include everything from hiring an investigator to interviewing and deposing witnesses.

Thoroughly investigating your case is essential to building a strong argument for you to receive the full amount of compensation that you deserve. Other services that are provided by the personal injury attorney can include administrative and operational costs needed to process your claim.

These costs can include overhead costs, hourly work provided by legal staff, and any other expenses that arise while actively working on your personal injury case. These costs are fairly standard for any legal practice in the state of California.

Also, if your case ends up having to go to trial, the attorney fees would cover all court-related expenses that are likely to be incurred. These expenses can include court hearings, court appearances, court filings, and any other court-related fees. Depending on the severity of your injuries and the amount of compensation that you are seeking, paying for quality legal representation could be the biggest decision influencing the success of your case.

FAQs About Fontana, CA Personal Injury Laws

Q: What Percentage Do Most Personal Injury Lawyers Take?

A: Each personal injury case can contain different details and aspects that can influence the percentage of the settlement that is paid out to the lawyer. In general, personal injury lawyers receive about a third of the awarded settlement amount. The specific percentage amount can vary, but it mostly ranges from 33 to 40% of the total settlement. However, for instances in which the case goes to trial, there could be additional lawyer fees included.

Q: Is Pain and Suffering the Same as Personal Injury?

A: Pain and suffering are injuries that result from a personal injury case. For example, if you have been involved in a car accident, pain and suffering damages could relate to the physical pain, emotional stress, or mental stress incurred as a result of the injuries. It can be difficult to place a dollar amount on the pain and suffering damages, but it is common for each personal injury case to include pain and suffering damages.

Q: What Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Explain?

A: A California personal injury attorney can help advocate for your rights and ensure that you receive a fair and equitable settlement for your injuries and damages. A personal injury lawyer can help explain the different options available to you under California law.

The concepts of negligence and liability can be difficult to understand without the guidance and support of an experienced personal injury attorney. It can bring some people relief in knowing that they have qualified help on their side fighting for them to receive fair compensation for their injuries.

Q: What Can I Claim Compensation For?

A: You can claim compensation for a multitude of damages and injuries suffered. You can claim compensation for medical expenses and treatment incurred from the injuries. If you were forced to take a leave from work or were forced to stop working, then you could claim compensation for lost wages.

If there was a death, then a wrongful death claim could be filed. Also, any punitive damages or any pain and suffering damages could be included. Pain and suffering often refer to non-economic damages incurred, such as trauma, physician pain, or emotional distress.

A Law Firm You Can Trust

Personal injury cases are serious matters, and they require the care and attention of experienced counsel. These injuries can have lifelong effects on your way of life, and it is vitally important that you receive the compensation you deserve to support you through the recovery process. Recovery can take several months to several years in some cases, and it is important that you receive the necessary compensation for that.

At The Law Offices of Christian J. Amendt, we have a dedicated legal team with over 24 years of experience faithfully serving the Los Angeles area and surrounding communities. We can assist with any personal injury case that you may be facing. Our legal team is ready to answer any questions you may have or provide any direction you may need to get your case resolved in a way that is beneficial to you. Contact our offices today so we can set up a consultation to see how we can provide assistance.