The Landscape of Personal Injury

Written by Steven Peck, ESQ. Category: Personal Injury July 22nd, 2014 5 min read

Personal injury is a legal term for an injury sustained to oneself, like one’s body, mind or emotions.

A common misconception is that auto accidents of any kind solely constitute personal injury. In fact, the umbrella for personal injury is quite large and covers many things, like:

Assault claims
Accidents in someone else’s home
Accidents in your rental unit and, or the building
Product defect accidents
Tripping on someone else’s property
Medical and dental accidents
Industrial disease, such as exposure to asbestos, mesothelioma that cause cancer, obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, etc.
Occupational deafness
Stress
Dermatitis
Repetitive strain injuries
Wrongful death
Birth injuries
Harassment
Sexual harassment
Rape
False imprisonment
Emotional distress
Trespassing
Theft

Every lawsuit filed has two fundamental principles, liability and damages. If you’re filing a lawsuit, you become the plaintiff seeking damages from the defendant. In order to define damages, among other things an attorney will need, chiefly, they need to know exactly what happened to you, the plaintiff, and the injuries you sustained.

Damages fall into two brackets, special or general. Special damages are measurable, itemized costs such as:

Medical expenses
Lost earnings
Property damages

General damages are more ambiguous because they deal with emotional distress, post traumatic stress disorder, pain and suffering.

A tort claim usually includes both general and specific damages, but not always. And, compensation depends on the severity of one’s injuries. Furthermore, compensation might be a lump sum or could span the course of a person’s lifetime; it just depends on the rigor of one’s injuries. In addition to compensation for the injury sustained, the plaintiff might be awarded an amenity, too. Some examples of this include:

A traumatic brain injury that has rendered someone incapacitated and in need of round the clock and, or hospice care.
An athlete who was injured and cannot play for a season or for the rest of their life
Loss of a limb, rendering someone incapable of working.

Again, I can’t stress this enough, there are so many variables that fall under the category, personal injury and personal injury law.

Another important thing to consider with respect to personal injury is that in the United States each state has a different statute of limitations. In California, the statute of limitations is as follows:

A statute of limitations is the deadline for filing a lawsuit. Most lawsuits MUST be filed within a certain amount of time. In general, once the statute of limitations on a case “runs out,” the legal claim is not valid any longer.

The period of time during which you can file a lawsuit varies depending on the type of legal claim. Here are the statutes of limitations for some common types of legal disputes:

Personal injury: Two years from the injury. If the injury was not discovered right away, then it is

1 year from the date the injury was discovered.

Breach of a written contract: Four years from the date the contract was broken.

Breach of an oral contract: Two years from the date the contract was broken.

Property damage: Three years from the date the damage occurred.

Claims against government agencies: You must file a claim with the agency within 6 months (for some cases, 1 year) of the incident. If the claim is denied, you can then file your lawsuit in court but there are strict limits to when, so read the section on government claims and the chart on statute of limitations below

Source California Courts

If you think you have a personal injury case and want to speak with an attorney, here’s a checklist of questions to ask law firms:

Is personal injury your firm’s expertise?
How long have you been practicing personal injury?
Have you ever handled a case like mine in the past? If so, how many cases? What was the outcome?
Which attorney will be working with me on my case and what is their experience?
What will be required of me?
How does the process work?
How long do cases like mine traditionally take?
Are there any variables or extenuating circumstances that I should be aware of?
Do I pay you a retainer? If so, what is the fee?
Does your law firm work on contingency? If so, what does that mean to me financially?
Will this case go to trial? If so, how long are trials?
What if we are awarded a settlement that wasn’t my desired outcome, how do we handle that?
What happens if we are offered a settlement, but disagree on the amount?
Do you have client references that I can review?

As you can see, the landscape of personal injury is vast and covers more than car accidents, bus, and motorcycle and truck accidents attorney. There are so many things that constitute personal injury. Moreover, there is a lot that goes into personal injury, choosing a lawyer and filing a claim.

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Written by Steven Peck, ESQ.

Expertise: Personal Injury

Attorney Steven Peck has been practicing law since 1981. Within the first three years, after some colleagues and friend’s parents endured nursing home neglect and elder abuse, he continued his education to protect those involved in personal injuries. For over 43 years, his dedication has been unyielding. Steve's approach to client representation and care is deeply respected by his colleagues and clients alike. Steven Peck has extensive trial experience and has recovered tens of millions of dollars in damages for clients.