Maison Law’s California personal injury lawyers can represent you if you’ve been hurt in an accident in Oakdale. There’s a range of potential accidents and injuries that can leave you facing significant challenges. You don’t have to face them alone, though. Contact our team for a free consultation to talk about your options.
Should You Hire a Lawyer?
Yes, there’s a wide range of potential accidents you could find yourself in over the course of your daily life in Oakdale. But whether or not you need a lawyer depends on your particular situation. Hopefully, your accident or injuries are only minor, and won’t require the legal process at all.
Unfortunately though, the more hurt you are, the more help you’ll probably need. Our team will be there with this vital support. We’ll investigate your accident, explain your options, help you gather evidence, then guide you through the claims process. Better yet, we work on a contingency-fee basis, meaning there’s no upfront cost for you. Overall, we just want to make things as easy as possible for you.
Common Accidents in Oakdale
Any accident situation can result in an injury, but just like anything else, there’s a wide variety of the types of accidents we typically see. It’s not just about things that can happen to you while you’re driving your car or riding a bike, although those are fairly plentiful. Virtually any scenario can result in an accident, even just shopping at a grocery store or swimming at a friend’s house.
- Car accidents, when two or more vehicles collide, often resulting in serious injuries or fatalities. These are among the most common types of accidents we see in Oakdale.
- Motorcycle accidents, which involve motorcycles crashing into other vehicles or objects, these accidents frequently result in severe injuries or death due to the lack of protection for motorcyclists.
- Bicycle accidents, which are very similar to motorcycle accidents. When you’re on a bicycle and it collides with another vehicle or object, it can cause significant head, brain, or spinal injuries among others.
- Truck accidents, where collisions with large semi-trucks can result in severe injuries due to their relative size and weight to your normal vehicle.
- Slip and fall accidents, which happen when you slip, trip, or fall on a hazardous surface, often in businesses or public places, leading to injuries like broken bones or head injuries.
- Workplace accidents, where you get hurt while on the job, often due to unsafe equipment, hazardous materials, or inadequate training.
- Product and premises liability accidents, which result in injuries from faulty products or dangerous conditions on someone else’s property. These can include burns, cuts, or poisoning.
- Dog bites, which happen when you get bitten by a dog. These can be very traumatic and leave you facing bite wounds, infections, rabies, and other damage.
- Nursing home abuse or neglect, where nursing home residents are subjected to physical, emotional, or financial abuse. These can result in serious injuries or death for your elderly loved ones.
Being in any type of accident can be scary, particularly when it leaves you or someone you love injured. And the worse the accident is, the more trauma it can bring. However, part of your legal options is filing an injury claim, but the process starts in the immediate aftermath of the accident itself.
What You Need to do After an Accident
Having rights isn’t the only part of your legal options. While you do have the law on your side, it’s up to you to show the extent of your injuries and other damages from the accident. More to the point, whenever you’re hurt and file a claim, an insurance company is going to get involved. This means that they’re going to take any opportunity they can to pay you as little as possible. So, it becomes incumbent on you to take the right steps to protect your health and your potential claim. Here’s what you need to do, regardless of the type of accident you’re in:
- Remain calm – It’s perfectly natural to feel scared and overwhelmed after your accident. However, try your best to remain calm so you can think clearly. This will also help you remember important details.
- Report the accident – Once you’re safe, tell whoever’s in charge about the accident. This could be the police in the event of a car accident or a homeowner if there’s a dog bite or similar incident. This alerts them to the issue and hopefully compels them to fix the problem.
- Get medical attention – This is vital for your health. Call 911 so an ambulance can respond and take care of any immediate injuries, then get further care at a hospital or urgent care for more extensive injuries.
- Document the accident scene – Take pictures and videos of the scene if your phone still works. This will document the scene and show the damage and injuries you experienced.
Once your health and safety are taken care of, you can start thinking about your legal options. The first step in the process is figuring out who’s liable for the accident itself.
Who’s Responsible For My Damages?
Before getting to the actual legal process, you have to figure out who’s responsible for the accident and by extension, your damages. While this can be tricky in real life, legally it’s fairly straightforward. Liability hinges on negligence, which is a legal concept that establishes a few key points:
- Duty of care, which is the legal responsibility to act with care to not cause injuries
- Breach of duty, which happens when someone is careless
- Causation, where the breach of duty has to cause the accident
- Damages, where your injuries are from the accident in question
This, obviously, depends on the type of accident and other circumstances. But this gives us a baseline as to who pays for your damages. This can be a variety of different parties:
- Drivers
- Pedestrians
- Employers
- Product manufacturers
- Store owners or managers
- Landlords
- Dog owners
- City or state government agencies
Figuring out liability is a huge step in any case. Ultimately, it sets the course of how your particular claim may play out. While your case is unique, there’s some general financial support that is available.
What Are My Damages?
There’s two ways to look at “damages” in a typical personal injury case: your physical and mental damages and legal damages. This is another part that’s dependent on the circumstances, as certain accidents are more likely to lead to certain injuries. In general, you could face the following:
- Broken bones
- Burns
- Bite wounds
- Muscle or ligament tears
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
- Head injuries
- Internal organ damage
- Psychological and emotional trauma
Legal damages
In terms of your legal damages, it’s going to closely relate to your injuries and other losses. In most cases, the following damages are available to be recovered in a claim:
- Medical expenses – Financial coverage for medical treatment and ongoing care.
- Lost income – Financial consideration for any income lost due to the injury, including future earning potential.
- Property loss – Financial assistance for repairing or replacing damaged belongings.
- Pain and suffering – Financial support for physical pain and mental suffering resulting from the injury.
- Emotional distress – Financial assistance for psychological or emotional trauma stemming from the accident.
- Loss of enjoyment of life – Financial support for the inability to partake in activities previously enjoyed.
- Loss of companionship – Financial assistance for strained relationships and loss of support from loved ones.
- Wrongful death expenses – Financial support for funeral and burial expenses, as well as loss of companionship for the surviving family.
The amount of damages you can recover hinges on the skills of your lawyer, who will construct a strong case and negotiate on your behalf. Acting swiftly is crucial to meeting legal requirements and effectively representing your claim. In California, you have a two-year statute of limitations to file your claim. Miss this deadline, and you can’t recover damages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are you required to have a lawyer in a personal injury case?
No. There’s no requirement in California that says you need a lawyer. But facing the legal process on your own could mean you don’t get everything you need to recover.
How much is my case worth?
This depends on the circumstances and how hurt you are. While every case is different, generally the more extensive your injuries, the higher your damages could be. It all depends on how strongly you present your case, though.
How do I know if I have a viable personal injury case?
Generally, if the accident you’re hurt in is caused by someone else’s negligence, you have the legal right to file an injury claim. Our team can help explain the process and what you need to do in a free initial consultation.
Dedicated Oakdale Personal Injury Lawyers
Being injured in an accident can be overwhelming. It causes physical pain, affects your health and mobility, and may lead to mental trauma and financial strain. However, accidents happen frequently, often at inconvenient times. Maison Law is committed to you with respect and attention. With years of experience, our Oakdale personal injury lawyers will work tirelessly to protect your rights. Contact us today for a free consultation.
