Torrance Personal Injury Attorney
A Trusted Personal Injury Attorney in Torrance, CA
In 2021 alone, there were 224,935 preventable deaths, 62 million injuries, and over $1 billion in costs in the U.S. Suffering from a personal injury is much more common than you think.
If you were seriously injured in an auto accident, your best option for recovering damages is to consult with a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. In most situations, negligence plays a role in personal injury accidents; however, the negligent party is not forthcoming in compensating victims for the damage they caused.
Our personal injury attorney in Torrance knows how to hold these guilty parties accountable. Are you interested in learning more? Schedule your free consultation with our personal injury law firm today.
Why South Bay Accident Lawyers is Your Best Choice
When you’ve been struck by a massive vehicle, you’d expect everyone to see you as the true victim, but you’d be surprised at how much pushback you’ll get from insurance adjusters, other drivers, and other third parties. It’s not advised that you attempt to go up against these parties on your own, especially if you’re dealing with physical injuries on top of the stress of getting the compensation you deserve.
Here at South Bay Accident Lawyers, our personal injury law firm has represented numerous injured victims who’ve been involved in car accidents here in Torrance. We’ve got a track record of success, as is clear by our past case results. If you’re wondering where to turn after your car accident, then look no further. We have tons of experience in local courts, and we can help you get in touch with a medical expert who can testify on your behalf if you’re going to struggle with long-term injuries.
Further, we won’t charge you to talk about your case. We offer free consultations, which means you can tell us what happened in your accident and we won’t charge you anything for this discussion. Personal injury claims handled by our personal injury lawyers are based on a contingency fee arrangement. A contingency payment structure means we will ask you for a percentage of your settlement, but you won’t have to pay us if we do not win your case.
Our Torrance personal injury attorney will help you build a very strong case and help you secure the evidence you’ll need to prove your claims in court. We’ll negotiate with insurance providers, the other driver, and any legal representatives hired by other parties. If your case ends up going to trial, then we are fully prepared for litigation or to represent you in court.
The Advantages of Hiring a Torrance Personal Injury Lawyer
Without a quality attorney by your side, it will be very challenging to get the compensation you deserve. First of all, you’ll need to know what your legal options are and from who you can legally seek out compensation. Next, you’ll need to have a good idea of how much your personal injury claim is worth before speaking with anyone else. Otherwise, you may end up agreeing to a settlement that’s far less than what you deserve. Finally, you need to be prepared to take things a step further and pursue a personal injury lawsuit if the other party refuses to provide you with the compensation you deserve.
The main advantage of hiring legal representation is that your lawyer can handle all those factors for you. They can help advise you on your rights and options, document evidence that proves your personal injury claims, value your claim, and help negotiate with the responsible parties. If those efforts aren’t successful, then a personal injury lawyer will know how to file the proper paperwork and initiate a legal claim for the money you deserve.
As all of this is going on, you’ll also still be dealing with your injury. That’s because you only have a limited amount of time to seek out a claim after your accident. The typical statute of limitations gives you two years from the accident to file a claim. In other words, you don’t really have time to heal up before starting the claim. An expert personal injury lawyer will take care of all the details of your case so that you can focus on healing.
How Much a Personal Injury Claim is Worth?
So, how much is your personal injury claim worth? The answer hinges on the severity of your injury and the extent of your losses. If you were bumped by a vehicle in a shopping center’s parking lot and sustained a minor scrape, for instance, then you probably don’t have a claim at all. After all, treatment for a scrape won’t cost much, so it won’t be worth it to seek out any type of claim.
If you needed significant medical care, missed time from work, or had personal property that was completely damaged, then those losses would be worth pursuing. To get an estimate of how much your personal injury claim is worth, add up all your losses. If that figure seems substantial, then contact a lawyer to get a better idea of other losses you might not have accounted for.
For accidents involving a fatality, our Torrance personal injury attorneys have also helped families pursue wrongful death claims to recover damages they deserve.
Common Causes of Personal Injury Accidents
Most accidents are a result of negligence. If fact, some of the most common types of personal injury cases involve negligent behavior exhibited from one party to another. Ultimately, to be negligent (in legal terms), is when one person’s carelessness causes losses (injury or property damage).
A huge amount of pedestrian and bicycle accidents (75%) happen when it’s dark outside. With that in mind, low visibility is one of the most common causes of pedestrian and bicycle accidents involving motor vehicles. Here are a few other common causes of these types of personal injury accidents:
- Distracted driving
- Jaywalking
- Intoxicated driving
- Speeding
- Reckless driving
- Running red lights or speeding through intersections
Determining Liability After a Personal Injury Accident
If you were involved in an accident, then courts in Torrance will assign liability to the party based on their degree of negligence in the accident. By law, negligence in a personal injury case has four elements:
1. Duty of Care
Whether the defendant owed a legal duty of care to the plaintiff under the circumstances.
2. Breach of Duty
Whether the defendant breached that legal duty by failing to exercise reasonable care in fulfilling the duty to the plaintiff.
3. Causation
Whether the defendant’s actions directly caused the injury to the plaintiff.
4. Damages
Whether the defendant’s failure to exercise reasonable care resulted in actual damages to the plaintiff.
While you might be able to prove that the driver was negligent, there’s a good chance that they’ll attempt to brush some of that fault on you. Even if you were partially at fault, you can still collect compensation. Your percentage of fault in the accident will reduce the final settlement amount. However, accomplishing this will require extensive legal knowledge of California’s comparative fault laws, which is what experienced personal injury attorneys can provide.
Common Personal Injuries After an Accident
Victims who are involved in an accident with a vehicle often sustain some very serious injuries. Here are the most common injuries:
- Broken bones
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Sprains, strains, fractures
- Soft tissue injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Neck injuries
- Road rash
- Internal injuries
- Facial fractures
- Dental fractures
- Broken ribs
What to Do After a Personal Injury Accident
Immediately following your personal injury accident, you need to call the authorities to the scene of the accident. Let the officers know to bring emergency medical responders if you think you need immediate treatment at the scene of the accident. In many cases, this type of treatment is necessary because of the sheer force and size of a car versus a pedestrian accident. Once a medical team arrives, get the care you need while the police sort out the rest. And, be sure to get a police report, documenting the personal injury accident.
Then, make sure you see a physician. As you get medical treatment, be sure to ask your doctor about your diagnosis. Understand the timeline of how long it will take you to heal and whether you’ll be able to return to work. Ask about the limitations you’ll face in your daily life. Then, ask your doctor to confirm all those questions in writing. Keep a copy of any bills you receive, too.
If your injuries don’t require much treatment or a recovery period, then you might not need to seek out compensation. If your injuries are serious, then your next step should be to get in touch with a personal injury attorney as soon as possible.
Contact Our Torrance Personal Injury Lawyers
While it may take you a long time to recover physically from a serious injury, you’re on a deadline to seek out that financial compensation you deserve. By hiring our Torrance personal injury lawyer, you can rest assured that your attorney will handle the details of your case so that you can focus on healing up. Though it may be easy to browse through your local personal injury attorney listings to find the assistance of any legal professional, the attorney you hire will have a huge impact on how your claim will go. You will want to make sure that you hire the best possible personal injury lawyer that you can.
Our personal injury law firm offers top-tier legal services. Don’t settle for a low settlement offer that an insurance company will try to get you to agree to. An experienced personal injury attorney can help you navigate your claim as seamlessly as possible. When you’re ready to move forward with your personal injury claim, give our office a call for a free consultation. Together, we’ll go over exactly what happened and determine whether seeking out a lawsuit is in your best interests.