Get a Just Settlement With An Experienced Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorney
Sustaining an injury caused by the careless, negligent, or intentional actions of another person, company, or entity can be devastating. Not only do individuals have to worry about physical and emotional pain and suffering, but they have to
deal with tremendous expenses that can jeopardize their financial livelihood. At ABDI & Associates, we are here to help if you need a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer by your side. We have extensive experience handling complex injury
claims throughout California, and we want to make sure that you recover total compensation for your losses.
Why Turn to ABDI & Associates for a Personal Injury Claim?
After sustaining a personal injury in the Los Angeles area, you need to turn to an attorney you can trust to handle every aspect of your claim. · At ABDI & Associates, we are dedicated to providing a client-centered approach to every
case that we take, which means we listen to your goals and needs as we formulate your case strategy. · We have handled complex injury claims throughout the state of California and have recovered significant insurance settlements and jury
verdicts on behalf of our clients. · We can come to where you are if you cannot get to us. Not only do we provide remote consultations, but we can visit you in the hospital or at your home if necessary.
Why You Need a Lawyer for Your Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawsuit
Personal injury claims can be challenging, particularly when individuals have limited resources at their disposal. When a Los Angeles personal injury attorney gets involved with your case, they will take over completely. You will be able to
focus on recovering from your injuries while an attorney focuses on: · Fully investigating every aspect of the claim · Gathering evidence that can prove liability · Working with trusted medical and financial experts to evaluate the client ·
Negotiating with the insurance carrier or legal teams involved · Fully preparing the claim for a personal injury trial if necessary
Types of Personal Injury Claims We Handle
We are able to handle a wide range of personal injury claims that arise in and around the Los Angeles area. This can include, but is not limited to, the following: · Car accidents. Information available from the
California Office of Traffic Safety indicates that there were more than 268,000 individuals who sustained injuries
in vehicle accidents across the state during the latest reporting year. Most of these incidents occurred in crowded urban areas like Los Angeles. Car accidents are commonly caused by the negligence of other drivers, including distracted
driving, impaired driving, failing to follow traffic laws, speeding, and more. · Commercial truck accidents. Accidents involving larger commercial trucks typically result in incredibly severe injuries for those inside
traditional passenger vehicles. Commercial trucks are much larger than smaller passenger cars, and these incidents are regularly caused by the negligence of a truck driver or trucking carrier. · Motorcycle accidents.
California has more motorcycles than any other state in the nation, and motorcyclists often face unwarranted negative biases from other parties, including insurance carriers. It is crucial for injured motorcyclists to work with an attorney
who can help them recover compensation. · Bicycle and pedestrian accidents. Pedestrians and bicyclists are considered vulnerable roadway users, which means they typically sustain severe injuries in the event they are
injured due to the negligence of another driver. · Dog bite incidents. Dog bite incidents can lead to severe injuries for those involved, particularly for children and the elderly. Individuals who sustained dog bite
injuries should be able to recover compensation from the dog owner’s homeowners insurance. · Third-party workplace injuries. Workplace injuries occur every day in Los Angeles. Typically, individuals are able to rely on
workers’ compensation insurance in these situations, but that is not always the case. Sometimes, it may be necessary to file a third-party personal injury lawsuit against an at-fault party to secure compensation for a workplace injury. ·
Premises liability incidents. Property owners have a duty to ensure the safety of their premises for those who have a right to be there, and their negligence could lead to severe injuries. Slip and fall incidents are one of
the leading causes of premises liability claims, but these cases can also arise due to improper facility maintenance, exposure to dangerous toxins or chemicals, poorly built or maintained stairs or elevators, and more. If you do not see the
cause of your particular injury on this list, please contact our office so we can help guide you towards the best path for your particular situation.
Most Common Personal Injuries
At ABDI & Associates, we are able to help individuals who have sustained a wide range of injuries due to the negligence of other parties. This includes, but is not limited to, the following: · Fractured or dislocated bones · Traumatic
brain injuries · Concussions · Open head or facial wounds · Spinal cord injuries with paralysis · Whiplash · Other severe neck or back injuries · Lacerations or puncture wounds · Internal bleeding or organ damage · Significant scarring and
disfigurement · Amputations · Crush injuries In addition to these acute traumatic injuries, we also recognize that individuals can sustain significant emotional and psychological trauma caused by the injury incident as well as the recovery
process. This can include feelings of anxiety, fear, stress, sleeplessness, and more. Some Los Angeles personal injury victims may even suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Our goal is to help clients recover total
compensation for their traumatic physical injuries as well as the unseen emotional and psychological trauma they sustain.
Types of Compensation Available in a Los Angeles Personal Injury Case
There may be various types of compensation available to those who sustain injuries as a result of the negligence of others. At ABDI & Associates, our team works diligently to recover both economic and non-economic types of compensation
for every client. Economic compensation, which we can refer to as “special damages,” revolves around the calculable losses Los Angeles personal injury victims are likely to sustain. This includes, but is not limited to, a person’s: ·
Medical bills · Physical therapy and rehabilitation expenses · Lost income if they cannot work · Loss of expected future earnings · Property damage expenses · Out-of-pocket expenses Non-economic damages, which we can also refer to as
“general damage,” revolve around the more immeasurable aspects a Los Angeles personal injury victim is likely to experience after an incident occurs. Non-economic damages in these situations refer to a person’s: · Emotional and
psychological distress · Physical pain and suffering damages · Loss of enjoyment of life damages · Loss of companionship or consortium damages for a spouse or family members
How Much Compensation Will You Receive?
There is no set amount of money that a personal injury victim in Los Angeles will receive if their claim or lawsuit is successful. Rather, the total amount of compensation will vary depending on the facts related to each particular
incident. Some of the main factors that can affect compensation amounts include injury severity, recovery time, whether or not an individual can work, possible partial or permanent disabilities, and the documentable level of pain and
suffering. Adequately calculating economic and non-economic losses can be challenging. An attorney will work with trusted financial and medical experts who can evaluate the client and help determine current and future expected losses.
The Four Elements of Negligence: How They Affect Your Los Angeles Personal Injury Claim
In order for a personal injury claim to be successful in civil court, there are four elements of negligence that must be proven. Briefly described, these elements include the following: 1. Duty. It must be shown that there
was a duty of care established between the plaintiff (the injury victim) and the defendant (the negligent party). A duty of care will look different depending on the particular situation at hand. For example, every driver on the roadway in
Los Angeles owes a duty of care to others around them. This means that they have to operate the vehicle lawfully to ensure the safety of others. Property owners owe a different type of duty of care in that they must ensure that their
premises are free from any hazards that could cause harm to those who have a right to be there. 2. Breach. After a duty of care has been established between the plaintiff and the defendant, it must be proven that the
defendant breached this duty of care somehow. Again, the breach of duty will look different depending on the particular Los Angeles injury claim at hand. For example, a driver operating with a blood alcohol content level (BAC) above the
legal limit of .08% will have breached their duty of care to others on the roadway. If a property owner knows about a spill of hazardous materials on a pedestrian walkway and fails to clean it up promptly, this would likely constitute a
breach of duty. 3. Causation. After it has been established that the defendant breached their duty of care to the plaintiff, it must be shown that this breach directly caused the plaintiff’s injuries. It is not simply
enough to show that there was a breach of duty. If a drunk driver was simply involved in an accident that was caused by another party, their breach of duty by being intoxicated will not necessarily have caused the incident. However, if the
drunk driver ran a stop sign because of their intoxication and caused an accident, this will likely be enough to prove causation. 4. Damages. Finally, it must be established that the plaintiff suffered some sort of monetary
loss as a result of the defendant’s breach of duty. This can include medical expenses, lost wages, property damage expenses, pain and suffering losses, and more.
How Does Partial Liability Affect a Claim?
It is not uncommon for there to be more than one party responsible for causing an injury. In some cases, an injury victim may even be partially responsible for the incident. Even those who are partially responsible for causing their own
injuries may still be able to recover compensation for their losses. California operates under what is called a “pure comparative negligence” theory. This means that individuals can recover compensation even if they are up to 99% at fault
for the incident. However, the total amount of compensation a person receives will be reduced based on their percentage of fault. For example, let us suppose that an individual sustains $1 million in personal injury expenses, lost wages,
and property damage as a result of a severe vehicle accident that causes a spinal cord injury. However, what would happen if a jury determines that the injury victim was 30% responsible for causing the incident because they were distracted
while operating their vehicle? In this particular situation, the individual would receive $700,000 instead of the full $1,000,000 to account for their percentage of fault. This illustrates why it is so crucial to work with a Los Angeles
personal injury attorney in these situations. An attorney can conduct a thorough investigation into the case and push back against any allegations of partial liability from the insurance carriers or at-fault party.
How Long do You Have to File Your Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawsuit?
It is crucial for any personal injury victim in Los Angeles to know that they have a limited amount of time to file their case in court. The California personal injury statute of limitations is two years from the date an injury occurs. If
an injury victim fails to file a civil claim within this two-year timeframe, their case will be dismissed by the court and they will be unable to recover the compensation they are entitled to. It is also important to remember that if there
are any insurance carriers involved in the case, there will be other deadlines in place. Insurance carriers typically require that an injury be reported within a day or two after the incident occurs (workplace injury claims usually have a
little longer). Failing to report an injury with an insurance carrier promptly could result in the claim running into significant delays or even being denied altogether.
Will Your Personal Injury Claim go to Trial?
There’s no way to know up front whether or not your personal injury claim in Los Angeles will have to go to trial. The majority of injury cases are resolved through settlements with insurance carriers. However, if an insurance carrier
refuses to offer a fair settlement, or if they deny the claim altogether, it may be necessary for the victim to file a personal injury lawsuit in civil court against the alleged negligent party. Even after a civil lawsuit has been filed,
this does not necessarily mean that your Los Angeles personal injury claim will go all the way to a jury. A lawsuit triggers various steps that must take place before a jury ever hears the case. This includes the discovery process, where
both sides will gather evidence and exchange this evidence with one another, take depositions from witnesses, and even continue negotiations between parties. Only if the two sides cannot come to a fair settlement agreement will the case
have to go to trial.
Steps to Take After Sustaining a Personal Injury in Los Angeles
There are various steps that you can take after sustaining an injury caused by another party that could help you secure more compensation for your losses. While we understand that it may not be possible to take every one of these steps in
this exact order, it is crucial that you do as much as possible to help your case so that your Los Angeles personal injury attorney will have the best chance at securing compensation on your behalf. These steps include: 1.
Seeking immediate medical care. The number one priority after sustaining an injury in the Los Angeles area is seeking medical treatment as soon as possible. This may include letting EMS personnel take you to the hospital
for emergency treatment. However, even if your injuries do not seem very severe at first, you still need to receive an evaluation from a trusted medical professional. The signs and symptoms of some accident injuries are not immediately
apparent, but seeking medical care will ensure your well-being and also establish a link between the incident and your injuries. 2. Reporting the incident to the appropriate authorities. You need to report the injury to the
appropriate authorities, which will vary depending on the circumstances surrounding your injury. If the incident occurs in the workplace, then you need to alert your supervisor and employer. If your injury was caused by a vehicle accident,
law enforcement officials need to be involved. There needs to be some sort of official documentation so that the insurance carriers can process your claim. 3. Gathering as much evidence as possible. The evidence-gathering
process for an injury claim in Los Angeles will begin right after the incident occurs. If the scene is relatively safe, and if an individual has not sustained severe injuries, they can use their phones or another type of camera to take
photographs of everything. This includes injuries, property damage, debris around the scene, possible causes of the injury, and more. Additionally, if there were any eyewitnesses to the injury incident, their names and contact information
need to be written down so they can be contacted at a later date to give their statements. 4. Limiting conversations with other parties. It is very important for injury victims to limit the conversations they have with
other parties after the incident occurs. This includes the alleged negligent party as well as any insurance claims adjusters that call. Insurance carriers have one goal in mind, and that is to limit how much money they pay out in a
settlement. Claims adjusters will use various tactics, including small talk, to try and get you to say something that could jeopardize your claim. If you are contacted by any other party involved in the case, refer them to your personal
injury lawyer in Los Angeles. 5. Staying off of social media. As tempting as it can be to post about an accident on various social media platforms, you need to avoid doing so. This includes staying off of Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, or any blog you may have. You can be sure that insurance carriers and attorneys for the other party will find this information, and this could be used against you to limit how much money you were paid or even
deny your claim altogether. Even if you have your social media settings set to private, please understand that your friends or family members could share your posts and make them visible to others. 6.
Continuing all medical treatment. You need to continue all medical treatment until after your doctor says you have reached a point where further medical care will not improve your condition. If you choose to discontinue
care before a doctor says you should, this could give insurance carriers a reason to deny your claim. 7. Setting up a free consultation with an attorney. You need to speak to a skilled injury lawyer in Los Angeles as soon
as possible after the incident occurs. An attorney can get involved quickly and handle every aspect of the claim on your behalf.
Call a Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyer Today
If you or somebody you love has sustained an injury caused by the negligent or intentional actions of another party in the Los Angeles area, reach out to the team at ABDI & Associates for help immediately. We have the resources
necessary to handle all aspects of your claim, and our goal is to make sure that you recover full compensation for your losses. We will go head-to-head with aggressive insurance carriers, and we have no problem taking your case to trial if
necessary. When you need a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer, you can contact us for a free consultation by filling out the contact form at the
bottom of this page, or you can call us at (888) 772-2529.