Santa Monica Personal Injury Lawyer

Personal Injury Attorney in Santa Monica, CA

A personal injury occurs whenever one party’s actions harm another party. A personal injury claim may involve physical injury, economic damage, and more, and you need to know what to do if another party is responsible for causing you or a loved one any type of personal injury. A Santa Monica personal injury attorney is the best asset anyone can have in this situation. The aftermath of a damaging accident can be stressful and debilitating, and it can also be very frustrating when you know the incident is the result of another party’s illegal misbehavior or failure to exercise reasonable care.

Compassionate Personal Injury Representation in Santa Monica

If you or a loved one has suffered a personal injury due to the actions of another party, your Santa Monica personal injury attorney can guide you through the challenging legal proceedings ahead of you. California law allows the victim of any personal injury to seek accountability for their damages from the party responsible for causing them, but this process is more challenging than many people expect. Even if you think the fault for your personal injury is abundantly clear and you have a firm understanding of the full scope of your claimable damages, it is always best to have legal counsel you can trust for this type of case.

Heimanson& Wolf, LLP, has a team of experienced Santa Monica personal injury attorneys with a solid professional record of successful cases behind our firm. We take a client-focused approach in every case we accept, helping identify each client’s most pressing areas of concern and exploring the full scope of recovery options available to them. Whatever your personal injury claim may entail, it is crucial to have legal counsel you can trust advising you throughout the proceedings ahead of you.

Common Types of Personal Injury Claims Our Firm Represents

When you must hire legal counsel to assist you with a personal injury claim, it is essential that you choose an attorney experienced in handling cases like yours. Any personal injury claim can involve complex details the average person will not know how to address on their own, and the procedural requirements of filing a successful civil claim are very demanding for any plaintiff who does not have reliable legal counsel on their side. The team at Heimanson& Wolf, LLP, has years of experience handling a wide range of personal injury claims for clients in the Santa Monica area:

• Car accidents are a top cause of accidental injuries throughout the United States each year, and the state is notorious for dangerous drivers, excessive speeding, and one of the highest rates of uninsured drivers in the country. When a car accident happens in Santa Monica, the driver who caused the accident is liable for the damage they caused. A victim can file a claim against their auto insurance policy, but when the claim payout does not fully cover their losses, they will need to file a personal injury claim to recover the remainder.
• Truck accidents are less common than standard passenger vehicle accidents but tend to cause more severe damage and raise more difficult questions of liability. It’s possible for a truck driver to bear sole responsibility for a truck accident, but it is also possible for vicarious liability to come into play if their employer shares any level of fault for their actions. For example, if they failed to conduct a proper background check before hiring the driver, this could implicate the employer is vicariouslyliable for the incident.
• Motorcycle accidents are highly likely to result in catastrophic or fatal injuries. While less common than car accidents, they are far more fatal, and even the best safety gear can only mitigate injuries, not prevent them entirely. We have helped many motorcycle accident victims recover their damages from these incidents, including compensation for long-term medical expenses and diminished earning capacity for those left permanently disabled.
• Rideshare accidents. Uber and Lyft are popular in Santa Monica, but the insurance-related issues that often arise after rideshare accidents can be very difficult to navigate on your own. Our firm has helped many clients recover as fully as the law allows from rideshare accidents, and we are experienced in dealing with difficult insurance claim adjusters from the insurance carriers covering rideshare companies.
• Premises liability claims arise whenever property owners fail to address foreseeable safety hazards on their properties. If you or a loved one suffered a slip and fall or any other injury while legally visiting another person’s property, they are liable for your damages if they failed to take appropriate steps to fix the problem that caused your injury or if they failed to notify you of the problem.
• Construction accidents, which can lead to difficult workers’ compensation claims and further civil court proceedings depending on the details of how these accidents happen. The state requires all employers to carry workers’ compensation insurance, and construction is statistically the most dangerous industry based on the number of workplace injuries and deaths reported each year.
• Medical malpractice. Unfortunately, despite the fact that thousands of Americans trust their medical providers to administer safe and effective care, medical malpractice is one of the leading causes of accidental injuries and deaths each year. To make matters worse for victims of medical malpractice, state law limits the compensation they can seek from the medical professionals responsible for their injuries and there are special procedural rules for filing medical malpractice claims that do not apply to most other personal injury claims.

These are all examples of the cases our firm has handled on behalf of Santa Monica clients, and we can leverage our skills and resources on your behalf to help you recover from your recent personal injury as fully as the law allows.

How to Prove Liability for a Personal Injury in Santa Monica, CA

Before you can recover any kind of compensation, you must be prepared to prove exactly how it happened and who caused it. Your Santa Monica personal injury attorney will be a crucial asset in this effort, and the right attorney is likely to uncover evidence to support your claim that you are likely to have overlooked on your own. When you file a personal injury claim in Santa Monica in response to negligence, you must prove the defendant failed to uphold a duty of care in a manner resulting in the injury in question.

The term “negligence” in the legal world involves four key components:

1. Duty of care. To assert negligence in a personal injury claim, the plaintiff has to identify the defendant they believe to be responsible for their losses and prove the defendant owed them a specific duty of care. For example, a driver faces the duty of care to avoid distractions while operating their vehicle.
2. Breach of duty. Next, the plaintiff must show how the defendant failed to uphold their duty of care. This may be through a specific action like driving under the influence, or inaction when another reasonable party would likely have acted in a manner to prevent injury to others. An example of this would be a property owner failing to mark a wet or damaged floor to prevent slip and fall injuries.
3. Damage. The plaintiff must have suffered “actual harm” to file a personal injury claim against a defendant. This means the plaintiff must produce evidence of economic and/or non-economic harm to file a claim against a defendant.
4. Causation. Finally, it is crucial to establish a clear link between the defendant’s claimed negligence and the plaintiff’s damages. In other words, if you intend to hold a defendant accountable for the losses you suffered, you must be prepared to prove they directly caused those losses.

A Santa Monica personal injury attorney can help their client gather the evidence needed to establish these four components of negligence and ensure accountability for their losses. Once fault is proven, the next step in a personal injury case is firmly establishing the full scope of the plaintiff’s claimable damages.

If you can successfully prove the defendant or defendants you have cited are directly responsible for your claimed damages, you have the right to recover the full scope of the financial losses they caused as well as recompense for your pain and suffering. Heimanson& Wolf, LLP, has experienced personal injury attorneys who excel at guiding clients through difficult cases and maximizing their recoveries. When you choose our firm to handle your personal injury case, we will do everything we possibly can to streamline your proceedings as much as possible and maximize your final case award to the fullest extent under state law.

FAQs About Santa Monica, CA Personal Injury Law

What If You Can’t Afford a Lawyer for a Personal Injury Case?

Most people mistakenly believe that legal counsel will be prohibitively expensive, and this, unfortunately, discourages many people who suffer personal injuries from seeking legal representation. The attorneys at Heimanson& Wolf, LLP, make personal injury representation accessible to those who need it most with contingency fee billing. When our firm handles your case, we take no upfront or ongoing legal fees, and you owe us nothing if we cannot secure compensation on your behalf. If we win your case, your fee is a percentage of the final case award, ensuring your recovery.

Will I Win a Larger Settlement With a Santa Monica Personal Injury Attorney Representing My Case?

Most people will be able to assess their immediately recognizable economic damages after an accident, but they are likely to struggle when it comes to calculating long-term and ongoing losses. Having an experienced Santa Monica attorney represent your case will significantly improve your chances of maximizing your final recovery, and your attorney is likely to uncover channels of compensation you might have missed on your own. Even after accounting for the cost of hiring them, your attorney can make a tremendous difference in the amount of compensation you obtain.

How Long Does a Personal Injury Claim Take to Resolve?

The time required to complete a personal injury case in Santa Monica hinges on several variables, including the clearness of liability, the extent of the compensation sought by the defendant, and whether the plaintiff bears any fault for the incident in question. When a defendant is clearly to blame and they accept liability, a swift settlement suits their interests along with the plaintiff’s, and it’s possible for the parties involved to resolve the case more quickly than they may have initially expected. When a personal injury case must be resolved through litigation this will take much longer.

What Happens If a Plaintiff Is Partially at Fault for a Personal Injury?

The state enforces a pure comparative negligence rule. When multiple parties share fault for a personal injury, liability for the resulting damage is divided according to each party’s fault percentage. When a plaintiff is found partially liable, they will have a fault percentage as well, and this percentage is deducted from their final case award to reflect their shared liability. For example, if a plaintiff is found 20% at fault in a $100,000 case, this would mean losing $20,000 of their case award.

Is It Worth Hiring a Santa Monica Personal Injury Attorney?

Investing in legal counsel you trust makes every aspect of your impending personal injury claim easier to handle and more likely to generate positive results. Your attorney can handle your case proceedings on your behalf and keep you updated as the case progresses while you focus on your recovery, your family, and your household. If you are concerned about the attorney’s contingency fee, remember that they are likely to secure far more compensation than you could manage on your own, and your final case award is likely to be greater than what you could secure by yourself, even after accounting for the contingency fee.

Contact Us

The attorneys at Heimanson& Wolf, LLP, have the experience necessary to handle the toughest personal injury claims in Santa Monica. Our team has helped many past clients navigate very complex cases with confidence, and we are ready to extend the full scope of our professional resources in handling your case. If you are ready to discuss your claim with an experienced Santa Monica personal injury attorney, contact our firm today and schedule a consultation to learn how we can be of help.