The Litigation Phase of Personal Injury Claims Once the pre-lawsuit stage of the personal injury claims process comes to an end, a complaint is filed in the Superior Court of the county in which the accident has occurred, or one of the defendants live. The defendant has 30 days to answer the complaint once it […]
Negligence Claims – the Standard The time-honored claim of negligence in California and United States courts may seem ambiguous to some. What does it mean “reasonable care?” What is the standard? One person’s “reasonable care” is another person’s “unreasonable care.” How is the question decided? The short answer to these questions is this is what […]
Policy Reasons Supporting Injury Claims Many people question why claims for personal injury or wrongful acts are brought. The reason is that our society has determined that certain acts are wrongful when causing injury or loss, and affected persons should be compensated or “made whole” for their injury or loss. Sometimes the law in question […]
California Courts We are very fortunate in the United States, and in California in particular, to have ready access to the courts. Here, juries of average citizens decide disputes, and not a judge appointed by a particular political party, or an arbitrator paid for many times over by a large insurance company. Many people believe […]
Waiting for Injuries to Stabilize Before Making Claim In another phase of the pre-lawsuit period of most personal injury claims, the person’s injuries typically have stabilized or reached a point of being “permanent and stationary.” It is at this time that an assessment of the extent of one’s damages may be made, since the amount […]
Compensation for Seaman and Fisherman The Jones Act provides for substantial compensation to injured seamen. In addition to “maintenance and cure,” or the cost of their room, board, and medical care while they are getting well, the Jones Act provides for greater and more comprehensive remedies on a showing of unseaworthiness or negligence. This sort […]
Claims of Seaman and Fisherman The federal Merchant Marine Act, otherwise known as the “Jones Act,” represents the primary basis for claims of seamen, fishermen, and similar workers for workplace injuries. This body of law is found at Title 46 of the United States Code, starting at section 30104. The Jones Act allows injured seaman, […]
Pre-Lawsuit Phase of Personal Injury Claims Typically, there is a pre-lawsuit phase of the personal injury claims process, where the injured individual is trying to get well, and to get back on his or her feet. This period can be difficult both for the individual and his family: finding and paying for medical care, securing […]
Longshore Claims Longshoremen and other harbor workers receive worker’s compensation benefits for their workplace injuries under the Longshore and Harbor Worker’s Act. People who work for military contractors here and abroad can press claims for workplace injuries under the same law and principles, as is provided for by the Non-Appropriated Funds Instrumentality Act and the […]
Third Parties Responsible for Workplace Injury Some entity or person other than a worker’s employer is sometimes the cause of a worker’s “on-job” injury. The existence of such a third-party wrong-doer, or “tort-feasor” can dramatically increase the value and recovery of a worker for his or her work-place injuries. Instead of being limited to disability […]