Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyer

Practice Areas Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyer

The Chain | Cohn | Clark personal injury firm has been representing residents in Greater California around Kern County for decades. Although we are based in Bakersfield, we offer our services to anyone in need of our services.

Los Angeles residents have reached out to us in the past for help, and we anticipate they will continue to do so in the future as well. If you live in or around LA and sustain harm because of what somebody else did or didn’t do, check out our Los Angeles personal injury law firm for more information on the legal actions you can take. 

When Do I Contact a Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyer?

The city of Los Angeles has a population of almost four million people. With all of these individuals constantly in motion living their lives, people are bound to get injured. When determining whether or not to contact a personal injury lawyer, the decision should be based on why the accident occurred. 

If you were injured due to someone else’s negligent actions, you may be entitled to compensation. One of our LA personal injury attorneys will give you a free case evaluation to assess your next steps. If you have a case, we will be able to help you recover damages for expenses like lost wages and medical bills. 

Los Angeles Personal Injury Cases We Handle

The attorneys at our Los Angeles personal injury law firm have the knowledge and skills to handle a variety of case type:

• Animal attack/dog bites: California has dog bite and animal attack laws that guide owner liability in injury cases. Certain counties may also have different expectations of violent dog owners after an accident occurs. Speak with an LA personal injury lawyer to get a better understanding of how dog bites work in California. 
• Construction accidents: Construction sites are a dangerous place for workers and other individuals. Many construction workers are contractors and might not have workers’ compensation coverage because they employ themselves. This means they may be able to hold the site owner or their contracting agency accountable in the event of a personal injury accident. 
• Burn injuries: Burns can happen from fires, explosions, chemicals, friction, hot liquids and gas, and other conditions. Depending on the severity of the burn and cause of the accident, you may be able to pursue damages from the liable party for compensatory damages. 
• Wrongful death: Some personal injury accidents lead to the death of a victim. Whether the death occurs at the time of the accident, or later as a result of the accident, surviving loved ones may be eligible to recover compensation based on what they lost with the deceased’s death. This can include benefits for companionship, lost income, burial expenses, etc. 
• Oilfield accidents: Oil rigs are risky places to work and spend time. People risk falling off of high platforms, burns, and explosions when they work in this industry.
• Electrical accidents: From mild shocks to electrocutions, electrical accidents can cause serious injuries that deserve compensation. If you get shocked due to someone else’s negligence, or faulty wiring of some sort, contact one of our lawyers. 
• Industrial accidents: Industrial accidents happen in areas with large machines and heavy equipment. These accidents come in a variety of different forms but they are often severe because of the amount of force applied. 
• Agriculture accidents: Farming equipment is more dangerous than most people realize. While Los Angeles isn’t known for its agriculture, there are many areas in California where people get hurt on the farm and need representation. 
• Premises liability: Any accident that happens on a person’s property when there was an expectation of safety or duty to provide care can be eligible for personal injury compensation. This happens most frequently when dealing with injuries on private property to people who were allowed to be there.
• Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs): Traumatic brain injuries are life-changing and often permanent. Usually caused by vehicle accidents or medical malpractice, damage to the brain can seriously impact somebody’s ability to function. TBI cases are also fairly complicated, so it’s helpful to hire a legal professional. 
• Catastrophic accidents: Catastrophic injuries are those that prevent somebody from being able to work. This means your case will require you to seek additional benefits for future lost income, and we know exactly how to do that. 
• OSHA violations: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is an organization dedicated to regulating and protecting employees in different work industries throughout the U.S. If their standards are being ignored, the responsible party may have to compensate workers who were injured as a result.

If you sustain harm from a personal injury accident that is not on this list, feel free to call our firm anyway. We have handled a variety of cases and might be able to offer specific knowledge that will benefit your case.

What Does a Personal Injury Attorney in LA Do?

A personal injury lawyer performs the duties that you cannot because you are dealing with your recovery. After an accident, you may need medical help, emotional counseling, or you might just be swamped with bills. Our LA legal professionals can help you through the process by handling the financial portion and recovering the compensation you are entitled to.

Proving Negligence

It is the plaintiff’s responsibility (the injured party) to prove the liable party is guilty in a Los Angeles personal injury case. This involves performing an investigation, collecting evidence, and connecting that evidence with the accident in a way that shows the defendant was negligent. 

Once negligence has been proven, our attorneys will move forward with determining an adequate amount of damages for you (the injured party) that addresses all bills and costs you will be subjected to from the accident. 

Talking to Insurance Companies

One of the hardest parts about personal injury accidents is that insurance companies aren’t looking out for your well being. When you are in a challenging time of emotional and physical stress, they are still trying to protect their profit margins. They might try to pin some of the blame on you, offer you a lowball settlement, or try to dissuade you from filing a claim altogether. 

Our lawyers won’t let them take advantage of you. We specialize in dealing with greedy insurance companies and have decades of case results to show it. We will ensure the compensation you receive is enough to cover your expenses and get your life back on track however possible. 

Is an LA Personal Injury Lawyer Worth It?

Personal injury victims may choose not to hire a lawyer after an accident. They might believe it is too expensive, takes too long, or will only add stress to their lives. They are also afraid of choosing the wrong personal injury law firm in Los Angeles. For the most part, each of these fears is a misconception of a personal injury lawyer’s role. 

As long as you pick a reliable firm with a track record of success, you will almost certainly see an increase in your settlement that accurately reflects the expense and suffering you’ve endured—often to the tune of thousands of dollars. 

The insurance companies will try to take advantage of you and minimize your settlement amount to protect their own profits. If you truly hope to get back to where you were before the accident and return to living your full life, you will want to hire an LA lawyer for your personal injury case.

Possible Compensation for a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Los Angeles

Personal injury law is intended to help the victim carry on with their life as if the accident never happened. While there may be permanent physical or mental impairments that cannot be fixed, additional financial compensation will aim to improve the quality of life enough to nullify the suffering. 

Available Personal Injury Damages

The plaintiff of a personal injury case can recover benefits for all mental, emotional, and physical anguish caused by the accident. When the injury is life-changing or severe, the injured party can also recover compensation which accounts for those changes. The ability to take care of oneself, perform one’s job, supply companionship to a partner, etc. are all eligible examples of personal injury consequences in LA.

Personal injury damages are broken down into compensatory damages and punitive damages.

Punitive damages are awarded to the injured party as a deterrent to the defendant. Their primary goal is to punish the negligent party when they acted in a way which broke laws or deliberately caused harm to others. These are more commonly assigned in high-profile cases with larger companies. Punitive damages are solely determined based on the negligence of the defendant and how much harm they caused. 

Compensatory damages in a personal injury case are more complicated (but easier to recover). They are further broken down into two categories: special damages and general damages. 

• Special damages are measurable expenses that can be easily quantified and documented. This might include medical bills, lost wages, property damage repairs, travel costs, and more. Anything related to the injury that you have a receipt for can count as special damages.
• General damages are more vague. These include lasting forms of physical and emotional suffering that do not have an objective value. For example, the amount of physical pain you experienced or will experience in the future. It is the duty of the plaintiff––or their legal team––to negotiate with the other party and decide how much these will be worth. 

An experienced lawyer will know about damage cap laws in California and how to go about pursuing particular damages; damages that you might miss if you attempt to represent yourself. 

What Is Considered a Good Settlement in a Personal Injury Case?

No two people will view a settlement the same. One person may see the benefits they receive as successful while the other views it as a failure. The truth is, you cannot know whether your settlement covers everything until you’ve dealt with the long-term consequences of an injury. 

While there is no set number, a good settlement will typically meet the following requirements:

• It allows the victim to receive immediate medical care.
• The maximum value is retrieved based on current and future expenses.
• There are no leftover medical bills for the plaintiff to pay.

Recovering the highest possible value means pursuing all eligible damages in your personal injury case. This attention to detail can be difficult to give when you are trying to recover from your injuries. Hiring a skilled personal injury lawyer will greatly increase your chances of receiving a good injury settlement. 

How Much Does a Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyer Cost?

Personal injury lawyers from Chain | Cohn | Clark do not cost anything unless you win your case. We operate on a contingency fee basis, meaning that we will charge you a percentage of your final settlement. This percentage will be agreed upon prior to the winnings being awarded and likely detailed in a contract.

Not only does this reduce the risk of hiring a personal injury lawyer, it also motivates our team to fight for your compensation. The more you get paid, the more we get paid. 

What Should You Do After a Personal Injury Accident?

There are two steps that should be taken as soon as possible after a personal injury accident. First, seek the necessary medical attention for your injuries or wounds. Not only will this benefit your physical health by preventing further complications, it will also communicate to the involved parties that you are concerned about your injuries. If you wait to go to a professional, it may look like you don’t care that much about your pain. It can also lead to minor injuries worsening. 

The other time-sensitive step is to gather information at the scene. 

Collecting Evidence for Personal Injury

The longer you wait after your personal injury to perform an investigation, the less helpful the information will be. People will begin to forget things and there may be no way to accurately recreate exactly what happened. 

Assuming that you are in a good enough condition to do so, here are some recommendations for how to collect evidence after a Los Angeles injury:

• Record the date, location, and exact time at which the accident occurred.
• Gather as much information as possible from the scene; include all information about the accident, witnesses, or vehicles.
• Describe the surrounding environment, listing unusual conditions like rain, ice, fog, construction, traffic, etc. Include any other hazards that may have had some impact on the accident.
• Take photos with a cell phone or other device to document the scene as accurately as possible; take photos of anything you have written down.
• Find and speak with witnesses; get their personal and contact information so you can reach out to them if necessary.
• Any form of video or notes should be as detailed as possible; you don’t know how long the case could go on and you’ll want to have a comprehensive reference.

Document as much as you can, even if it seems like an insignificant detail. You never know what might be the difference between you receiving compensation or losing your case. 

Once You Have Gathered Evidence

After you have all the information, there are a few more things you should do to ensure that your personal injury case goes smoothly. If it was a criminal act or car accident, file a police report if it wasn’t done at the scene. This creates an official record of what happened between the involved parties. 

Do not make any statements regarding who was at fault, just provide information about what happened. Blaming yourself or others could come back to cause a problem later in the case. 

Once you’ve made the report and have your evidence, call a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible to get started with your investigation. The quicker you take steps to pursue legal action, the better our chance is of getting the right information. A good lawyer will take the facts and set things in motion to get you the compensation you deserve as soon as possible. 

It can also help to let your insurance company know that an accident occurred. However, if they attempt to offer you a settlement, talk to your attorney first to ensure that you are getting a fair amount. 

If the case goes further, the steps of a lawsuit follow a uniform process and will often result in financial benefits. 

Los Angeles Personal Injury FAQ

Do I need to hire a personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles?

It is not legally required for you to hire a personal injury lawyer when you are harmed in Los Angeles. You can choose to represent yourself—and people often do when they experience very minor injuries. However, using a personal injury attorney in LA will increase your chances of a successful and sufficient settlement. 

When dealing with a negligent party that does not want to grant compensation, lawyers are a must. They can protect you from the intimidation tactics of larger corporations and ensure that insurance companies do not take advantage of you. 

Who can be held liable for my personal injury benefits?

Among other things, the amount of benefits provided for a person’s injuries may depend on who was at fault for the accident. Sometimes a party is limited by its insurance policy, sometimes there’s more than one party at fault—the answer is not always easy. 

When it comes to who might be responsible for paying you, the other party can include any of the following:

• A private business or corporation
• A property owner
• A driver
• Your employer
• The manufacturer of an item or machine
• A dog owner
• Doctors
• Public entities
• City municipals or governments

Whichever group is the primary cause of your injuries will be held accountable financially for compensating you. In cases where multiple parties can be held responsible, you may be able to recover more benefits. 

What if I was injured at work?

The case may go a step beyond personal injury if you sustained harm while at work or on the job. Many Los Angeles personal injury accident victims are also eligible for workers’ compensation claims. California employers are required to hold workers’ compensation insurance for their injured employees. 

While it can be easier to recover workers’ comp than personal injury benefits, there are limits to the workers’ comp policies, which may drastically reduce your settlement. You can talk to a personal injury or workers’ compensation lawyer in Los Angeles to determine which option is better for your situation. 

What is the statute of limitations on personal injury claims in California?

California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1 addresses the time period in which victims of a personal injury can file a claim to pursue damages. In California, the statute of limitations on personal injury is two years from the date of which an injury occurs. After these two years have passed, there is no legal obligation for the defendant to pay financial reparations, which greatly reduces your chances of recovering compensation. 

Even though you have a two-year window to file a claim, you should take action as soon as possible. The sooner you file a claim, the better your case will be. Not to mention certain evidence can take time to gather. If you wait too long to start, you may risk running out of time before you have fully built your case. 

Should I hire a personal injury lawyer for minor accidents in Los Angeles?

When California residents get injured and there’s not much money on the line, they may choose to represent themselves. Especially when the party responsible for the injury has insurance, it can be easier to recover benefits without a lawyer or attorney. 

In theory this makes sense, but the truth is that minor injuries are not always so minor. It’s extremely difficult to know the full extent of your injuries when the accident occurs. Seemingly small injuries can be much more serious than they look. If you agree to a settlement, you may end up grossly underfunded for an injury and legally prohibited from taking future action.

Even when you think you are dealing with a minor injury, you should talk to a personal injury lawyer to get a second opinion. Our attorneys see a lot of cases and have a good idea of all the potential short-term and long-term effects that may cause financial burden. 

Finding the Right Personal Injury Attorney in Los Angeles

Not all Los Angeles law firms will look out for you the way that Chain | Cohn | Clark does. We have a history of successful cases in which we earned the client more than they thought they would get. We strive to hold the guilty party accountable and will dedicate our resources to making that happen. 

Fill out the form on our website for a free case evaluation or call us at (661) 616-9829 to get started filing a personal injury claim in Los Angeles.