Personal Injury Lawyer Northridge, CA

If you’ve recently been injured in an auto accident, it’s time to speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer Northridge, CA trusts about your rights and legal options. Although being injured in an accident is never an easy reality to navigate, California law should make the legal side of your difficulties more manageable than they might otherwise be had you been injured in an auto accident in another state.

 

Personal Injury Lawyer – Northridge, CA

The experienced team at the law firm of Barry P. Goldberg can explain the ins and outs of California law as it applies to your situation uniquely. With that said, it can be helpful—as you prepare to attend a risk-free consultation at our offices—to understand the basics of how California law protects accident victims.

As you are reading over the information provided below, make sure to write down any questions that it inspires. You can then bring those questions (along with any other questions or concerns you may have) to your consultation. Our team wants to make sure that when you leave your consultation, you are empowered to make truly informed choices about pursuing legal action or choosing to forgo this opportunity in the wake of your crash.

How California Law Protects Auto Accident Victims

Many auto accident injury victims shy away from speaking with our Northridge, CA personal injury lawyer team because they believe that they don’t have any opportunities for legal recourse. Why? Many Californians are under the impression that if they were partially to blame for their injurious circumstances, they aren’t entitled to compensation. Due to the ways in which California law is structured, this simply isn’t true.

When another’s negligence, recklessness, or intentionally dangerous behavior causes someone’s injuries, California allows the victim to seek personal injury damages. Because California is a “pure comparative negligence” state, individuals injured on Golden State roadways can hold others accountable for their contributions to the harm they’ve suffered… even if they are also partially responsible for that harm.

Auto accidents that occur while a full-time or part-time employee is engaged in work-related activity usually entitles the victim to a workers’ compensation benefits award. As workers’ comp is a no-fault system, benefits are usually awarded even if the victim was totally at fault for a crash.

Legal Assistance Is Available

If you have not yet scheduled a risk-free consultation with the experienced California legal team at the law firm of Barry P. Goldberg, please do so at your earliest possible convenience. While California law broadly protects the rights of accident victims, the strength of your case is likely going to rest on the strength of evidence that we’re able to submit on your behalf. If you’re no longer at the scene of the accident, some of the evidence at the scene has already disappeared or been compromised.

The sooner we’re alerted to your legal needs, the sooner that our Northridge, CA personal injury lawyer team can begin preserving case evidence and safeguarding your legal options; we look forward to speaking with you.

How California Protects Other Injury Victims

If another’s actions or inactions have caused you harm in a context other than an auto accident, it remains important to connect with a skilled Northridge, CA personal injury lawyer as soon as you possibly can. The same pure comparative negligence protections that help auto accident victims to recover when they’re partially to blame for their injurious circumstances extend to other injury victims as well. Yet, some of the legal standards for civil actions not involving auto-related injuries are distinct in California. The experienced legal team at The Law Offices of Barry P. Goldberg understand how to get results for our clients in each of these scenarios.

Slip and Fall Scenarios

Many people are unaware that they have legal options available to them in the wake of sustaining a slip and fall injury. Our Northridge personal injury lawyer team frequently represents the interests of fall victims in efficient and effective ways. Generally speaking, property owners have a duty to mitigate the risk of harm when they either know or should know of a hazardous condition present on their property. If you’ve recently been harmed due to a fall on another’s property, we can determine whether your situation meets this legal standard.

Dog Bites

California honors a legal standard known as strict liability dog in dog bite cases. This means that an accident injury victim will not need to prove that a dog owner knew their animal to be vicious in order to be entitled to compensation for harm resulting from an animal attack. This makes California one of the most protective states when it when it comes to the rights of dog bite victims.

Wrongful Death

One of the most challenging case types that The Law Offices of Barry P. Goldberg manages involves wrongful death. There are few things in life that challenge people like the preventable loss of a loved one. We consider it to be our great honor to represent the interests of surviving loved ones in the wake of a fatal injury scenario caused by the actions or inactions of another. While there is no amount of money on Earth that can make up for such a loss, securing a just victory against responsible parties often helps to bring some peace of mind to surviving loved ones and helps to ensure that they aren’t saddled with the financial impacts of their loss.

As our Northridge personal injury lawyer team can explain in greater detail during a risk-free consultation, wrongful death cases may generally be filed in California under circumstances that would have given rise to a personal injury lawsuit had the deceased survived their injuries. A survival action may be filed simultaneously if the deceased suffered due to their injuries prior to passing away. Our team can help you and your family to determine whether you have grounds upon which to file legal action if you’ve recently lost a loved one.

Reasons to Work With a Personal Injury Lawyer

If you or a loved one have been injured due to someone else’s ill intent or negligence, it would be in your best interest to contact a personal injury lawyer in Northridge, CA today and start your journey toward justice and compensation. 

1. If an individual has been injured in an accident, they should first seek medical help. Whether the injury seems severe or mild, a medical evaluation should be done as soon as possible. Adrenaline is typically a byproduct of a traumatic, or intense situation such as an accident. Adrenaline can dull a person’s sense, and threshold of pain, masking serious injuries. Concussions and internal bleeding are also common after an accident takes place, and should be evaluated by a medical professional. Experienced personal injury lawyers strongly advise their clients to receive a medical evaluation immediately following their accident to first make sure that they are okay, and second to provide evidence and a record of injury for their personal injury claim if they wish to pursue compensation for injuries sustained.
2. After an accident occurs, victims may feel overwhelmed by the legal process, and unsure of what the proper steps are. Following a collision with another vehicle or an accident of another kind, the driver or individual involved should contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. Scheduling a risk-free consultation will only benefit the client as they can meet with a personal injury lawyer and determine whether or not they wish to pursue legal action regarding their accident. Although it will require time, and effort to pursue justice and compensation for an injury, a personal injury lawyer will be there to support their clients every step of the way, fighting for their rights, and the highest compensation available.
3. Injuries sustained after an accident occurs are not always physical in nature. Whether an accident was big or small, a victim may still experience trauma because of it. Mental and emotional injuries are often sustained during and after an accident. Attorneys may advise their clients to seek professional help from a licensed therapist for their emotional and mental healing, just as they would recommend a medical professional for a physical injury. Anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, otherwise referred to as PTSD are all common for victims of an accident, or those who have sustained an injury.
4. Personal injury lawyers care about their clients and wish to see them compensated fairly for their injuries. Skilled attorneys such as those at the law office of Barry P. Goldberg desire their clients to focus on what is truly important following an accident, their mental, emotional and physical healing. By allowing a personal injury lawyer to advocate on their client’s behalf, the client can rest assured knowing that they are legally supported and taken care of. If you have been recently injured or involved in an accident, it would be in your best interest to contact a personal injury lawyer and schedule a risk-free consultation today. Start your journey toward justice and compensation today. 

Reasons To Work With A Personal Injury Lawyer Infographic

Is Hiring An Attorney Necessary? 

Whether or not you need a personal injury lawyer Northridge, CA depends on several factors, like the accident’s severity. Sometimes, an accident may only result in a few bumps to your vehicle or other property and pursuing litigation can take a long time. If you or a loved one is facing serious medical complications following an accident, then there’s a great chance that you’ll need to pursue legal assistance. At the very least, a consultation with an attorney can help to determine the compensation you might be eligible for. 

What If I Already Receive A Settlement Offer? 

Whether you’re thinking of pursuing legal help or not, you’ll need to file a claim, often with your and the other person’s insurance company. Upon doing so, it’s possible that you may receive a settlement offer relatively quickly. While receiving a settlement offer should be good news, the truth is that the first settlement offer may not go far enough to cover your immediate and long-term expenses. Even when a settlement sounds attractive at first glance, there’s a good chance that the insurance company is trying to underpay what you might be eligible for. 

How Can An Attorney Help?

A Northridge personal injury lawyer can help in various ways. An attorney can help you gather the evidence you need and negotiate with the insurance companies and other parties. Insurance companies often rely on the fact that victims either don’t know the law well enough to understand the type of compensation they’re entitled to or that they don’t have the resources to fight. An attorney can apply legal pressure, forcing insurance companies to negotiate a fairer offer. An attorney will also tell you your realistic options and the amount of compensation you can expect. Of course, the actual process of filing and following up with claims and similar documents can also be a headache, but an attorney can help. 

What Can A Settlement Cover? 

Many people understand that a settlement can cover immediate medical expenses and property damage following a personal injury. However, compensation can go further and cover the following: 

• Lost wages, job rehabilitation, or disability benefits (temporary or permanent)
• Compensation for a victim’s pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• The development of disorders like PTSD
• Temporary or permanent disfigurements
• Out-of-pocket expenses, including travel costs
• In some cases, you may also be awarded punitive damages

Will My Case Go to Court? 

A professional attorney won’t be afraid to take a case to court if they have to. However, an experienced attorney understands that taking a case to court can be time-consuming and cost a lot. Furthermore, taking a case to court can be unpredictable. For these reasons, many personal injury cases—including truck accidents—are settled outside the courtroom. While it’s possible that you may receive a greater settlement by going to court, it’s also possible to receive a lower settlement. Additionally, the judge or jury can end up ruling in the other party’s favor. Often, the other party will provide a reasonable settlement before going to court is necessary. Still, you may need a Northridge personal injury lawyer from the law firm of Barry P. Goldberg to take your case to court. 

Northridge Personal Injury Law Statistics

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, about 95 percent of personal injury lawsuits settle before they go to trial. This statistic shows that the vast majority of personal injury cases are resolved through settlement, rather than through a trial. There are a number of reasons for this, including the high cost of litigation, the uncertainty of trial outcomes, and the desire to avoid the emotional toll of a trial.

Barry P. Goldberg, Northridge Personal Injury Lawyer

5850 Canoga Ave. #206
Woodland Hills, CA 91367