Last Updated on February 5, 2024 by John Robinson
Photo: injury to a person’s body, emotions, or reputation. Personal injury is distinctly different from injury to property rights, but that can be included in the damages if property damage occurred in addition to physical harm. Such as in a car accident when the car is totaled, and the victim needs medical attention. Personal injury claims are usually filed when a person or entity acted in a negligent, reckless, or careless manner and caused harm to another person.
Filing A Personal Injury Claim
Anytime you’ve been in an accident, whether it was a slip and fall at a grocery store or a car accident, the steps you take immediately afterward have a great impact on your personal injury case.
First, no matter what type of accident you have been involved in, you must get either an incident report or a police report. If you were involved in a motor vehicle accident, you need to call 911 to have law enforcement come to the accident scene. A police report will be written by the responding police officer, which is a vital document in your personal injury claim. Suppose you were injured at a private business, such as a retail store or a hotel. In that case, the property manager will need to write up an incident report and provide you with a copy, which you can then provide to your personal injury attorney. Finally, if you were injured at work and need to file a Worker’s Compensation claim, then by law, you must notify your supervisor of your injuries and follow the steps outlined by your employer.
Always take pictures and videos of your injuries and where they occurred. It’s best to include photos of contributing factors; for example, if you slipped and fell at a grocery store, then you should include a photo of the spill on the floor.
Always seek medical help immediately after your accident. It’s possible not to feel immediate pain or swelling due to the “fight or flight” survival response, but a medical doctor will be able to diagnose an injury before you feel it. Depending on the type of accident, you may even be required to seek medical help within 14 days of the accident.
The Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations is the legal time limit to file your personal injury claim. After the statute of limitations has elapsed, the court will not hear your case, no matter how compelling the evidence. In the state of California, the statute of limitations is two years from the accident or one year from the date the injury was discovered.
Areas of Practice In Personal Injury Law
Before you reach out to any personal injury attorney, you should check them out online to see if they practice in the area of law that you need representation, warns California-based Grossman Law Offices. Just as doctors specialize in certain types of medicine, lawyers specialize in a particular area of law. There are myriad areas that a firm can focus on, including:
- Bus accidents
- Car accidents
- Defective products
- Motorcycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Premises liability
- Slip and fall
- Train accidents
- Truck accidents
- Worker’s Compensation
- Wrongful death
