Personal Injury

Personal Injury cases provide injured victims a powerful tool to recover monetary compensation for injuries caused by another party’s negligence, recklessness or intentional acts.  Some examples of these types of cases are automobile incidents, dangerous conditions of property, defective products and dog bites.

This compensation includes: “economic damages” such as medical bills, future anticipated medical bills, the victim’s own out of pocket expenses, lost earnings and loss of future earning capacity.  It also includes “non-economic damages” otherwise known as pain and suffering.

It is extremely important that when seeking out a Personal Injury attorney, that those victims choose one that is both experienced and well versed in this area of law.  There are several important procedures and deadlines that if not properly followed, could ruin that person’s chance of recovery.

California personal injury laws impose strict deadlines for those filing a lawsuit, otherwise known as Statute of Limitations.  For personal injury, the Statute of Limitations are generally as follows:

1. Cases brought against individuals or private companies must be brought within 2 years from the date of the incident.
2. Claims filed against a governmental entity, such as a City, County or State, that victim must file a governmental claims form within 6 months from the date of the incident. If that entity denies that claim, a lawsuit must be filed within 6 months from the date of denial.  Essentially, the lawsuit is shortened by 1 year and must be filed within 1 year from the date of the incident.

California is also considered a “comparative fault” state, meaning that an injured victim may still recover a portion of their damages, even if that victim is found to be partially responsible for the incident.  As an example, if a victim were awarded $1,000.00, but were found to be 50% responsible for the incident, then that victim can still recover $500.00 for the remaining 50% fault against the other responsible party or parties.

If you or a loved one has been injured by another party’s acts, then Hicks Law Firm is here to assist you in any way that we can.  Our years of experience can guide you through this difficult period and do our very best to attempt to make this process as easy as possible for you, while you recover from your injuries. We have assisted many injured plaintiffs recover millions of dollars in damages over the years and look forward to assisting you.