Located in Los Angeles County, Lakewood is home to a “contract city” plan, making it a model city of inspiration for towns like Diamondbar, Cerritos, Walnut, and Belflower. It offers an urban, suburban mixed feel and has a variety of cafes, restaurants, parks, shops, and more, making it a fantastic place to live, work, and play. Due to its crowds and distractions, it is home to many Lakewood car accidents as well.

Although Lakewood is one of California’s best places to live, it has the same hazards as any other city. Ehline Law and our personal injury lawyers, since 2005, have worked closely with injured victims across California, including Lakewood, to protect their rights and fight for the compensation they deserve for a Lakewood spine injury claim or other mishaps.

Contact our Lakewood personal injury attorneys to learn more about your legal rights if you’ve suffered injuries in an accident due to another’s negligence.

We Handle All Types of Personal Injury Cases

Personal injury law is a broad study of law that covers all types of accidents. Ehline Law and our personal injury attorneys have more than 15 years of experience handling all sorts of personal injury claims. From car accidents to dog bites to sexual assault and more, there is nothing that our personal injury law firm has not pursued. 

We handle all types of personal injury cases in the Lakewood area, including:

• Car accidents
• Other motor vehicle accidents
• Motorcycle accidents in Lakewood
• Bicycle accidents
• Pedestrian accidents
• Medical malpractice
• Slip and fall accidents
• Defective product
• Dog bites
• Wrongful death.

If you’ve suffered serious injuries in an accident, it is crucial that you seek medical treatment and then contact an experienced personal injury attorney to discuss your case.

Depending on the nature of the accident in Lakewood , injured victims may face catastrophic injuries, requiring multiple surgeries and other medical treatments. In cases involving permanent injuries, victims may require life-long medical care and even home modifications that can push medical bills into hundreds or millions.

It’s not fair for accident victims to suffer the financial consequences of an accident caused by another individual’s negligence, so it is important for them to speak to experienced personal injury lawyers to learn more about their legal options.

What Can You Recover After an Accident in Lakewood?

Depending on tort law and the circumstances of your case, you may be able to recover the following types of damages:

• Economic damages: Medical expenses (rehabilitation, surgeries, therapies, medications, home-modification devices, in-home care, future medical expenses, and many other medical bills), lost wages (past, current, and future loss of income), and property damage.
• Non-economic damages: Pain and suffering, humiliation, reduced quality of life, emotional trauma, and many more.

In rare cases, punitive damages may also be available. These are the type of damages the court awards when there is gross negligence involved in an auto accident, and its purpose is to punish the defendant for their extremely reckless actions.

Every personal injury case is unique, and the damages available to a victim depend on the facts of the case. Injured victims must speak to skilled personal injury lawyers to help evaluate their personal injury cases and determine the damages they are eligible for.

Can You Recover Damages If You’re Partially Responsible?

In some personal injury cases, the victims may be partially responsible for their injuries which creates doubt on the legal issue of whether they can recover compensation.

Under California’s comparative negligence rule, victims who are partially responsible for the accident may be able to recover the damages incurred by their own insurance company by pursuing a personal injury claim. However, their total award will be reduced according to their degree of fault.

Let’s look at an example to understand better how the comparative negligence rule works. 

You got into an accident with Liam, who ran a red traffic light, and you suffered damages worth $100,000. After seeking medical treatment, you decided to pursue a personal injury lawsuit in court, where the jury determined you were 30% responsible for the accident as you were speeding before the incident occurred. The court awards $100,000 in damages, but because of California’s comparative negligence rule, you will only receive $70,000.

It is best to work with a qualified personal injury lawyer who can help gather the evidence needed to ensure you get maximum and fair compensation for your loss.

In most cases, the insurance companies pin the blame for the accident on the victim to reduce or deny payouts. With an experienced personal injury lawyer by your side, they would have to think twice before they can pull out such tactics.

Proving Negligence in a Personal Injury Case

Pursuing a personal injury claim is not so straightforward. Many injured victims believe they must ring the insurance company, report the accident, and receive money for the damages incurred. However, that is not the case. To have a valid claim, you must establish the elements of a personal injury case, which includes the following.

Duty of Care

It is essential to establish the duty of care, a legal obligation an individual owes to you. You cannot simply file a personal injury claim against an individual at-fault party who does not have a duty of care toward you.

For example, in a car accident, you can bring a civil action against the responsible driver but not against the passenger.

Breach

You must establish that the defendant breached their legal obligation (duty) towards you. Let’s take the same example of a car accident. A driver who disobeys traffic laws (speeding, driving drunk, or recklessly) is breaching their duty of care towards other road users.

Causation

One of the most critical elements of a personal injury claim, a victim must prove causation or establish the relationship between their injuries and the other person’s actions.

Providing medical reports and CCTV of the accident can show that you suffered injuries due to the driver running a red traffic light.

Damages

The accident should result in damage for which the injured victim must seek compensation. If you incur medical bills for the treatment of your injuries from other accidents, you incur damages for which you may pursue a personal injury claim.

How Much Is Your Lakewood Personal Injury Claim Worth?

It is impossible to assign a value to a particular case without discussing the facts surrounding your personal injury case with an experienced personal injury lawyer. 

However, there are a few factors that can affect the value of a claim, some of which include the following:

• Your degree of fault
• Type of injuries sustained
• The severity of the injuries
• Type of evidence available to support your claim
• The expertise of your attorney.

The most critical factor in determining how much your case is worth is the severity of your injuries sustained. Your case may not be worth much if you’ve suffered soft tissue injuries, but the claim could go in the millions if you’ve suffered a traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury.

Calculating compensatory damages, especially non-economic damages, can be challenging, and victims often leave money damages on the table as they don’t know how much their case is worth.

To get legal help and personalized insight into how much your case could be worth, it is best to refer to a skilled personal injury lawyer.

How Long Do You Have to Pursue a Personal Injury Claim?

Whether grieving families are looking to seek justice and pursue wrongful death claims after losing their loved ones or accident victims seeking compensation for their loss, they only have a limited time to bring a civil action against the responsible party(s).

Under California statute of limitations, victims only have two years after sustaining injuries following their accident to pursue a personal injury claim or a lawsuit. The time shortens to six months if a government entity is responsible for the accident, and the legal process is slightly different.

Two years may seem like a long time, but you need time to investigate the accident and gather the evidence before bringing civil action. In some cases, you may not even have two years. It is important that you start the legal process as soon as possible to increase your chances of making a financial recovery.

Do You Need Lakewood Personal Injury Attorneys?

You can legally pursue your claim or lawsuit without hiring an attorney, but just like any accident victim who decides to bring civil action without legal representation, you will often run into hurdles and challenges that can be exhausting, to say the least.

A reputable and caring personal injury attorney can lift a lot of weight from your shoulders after your accident. They can help in many ways, including the following:

• Establish the elements of a personal injury claim by gathering the right evidence. A piece of evidence can make or break your case, and an attorney knows what evidence can bolster your claim.
• Follow the legal process and file a personal injury claim with the relevant court. If you’re unsure of the legal process, you may make mistakes that can jeopardize your claim. An attorney can follow the process and complete the paperwork while you focus on your medical recovery.
• Protect your rights against greedy insurance companies who are looking for ways to reduce or deny your claim. An experienced personal injury lawyer knows how to handle an insurance company, and they can help negotiate a fair settlement on your behalf.

How Much Does Ehline Law Personal Injury Lawyers Cost in Lakewood?

Ehline Law and our full team of personal injury attorneys believe in quality legal services for every injured victim, regardless of whether they can afford it.

We work on a contingency fee basis, an arrangement where the injured victim does not need to pay upfront legal costs yet receives the best legal representation in Lakewood, CA. Our personal injury attorneys only get paid when they win your case.

Why Do Injured Victims Prefer Ehline Law for Their Lakewood Accident?

There are several reasons why you should consider Ehline Law after suffering personal injuries in a Lakewood accident, some of which include the following:

• Ehline Law is a leading personal injury law firm that has been working with injured victims since 2005. Our personal injury attorneys have helped more than 3,000 injured victims and recovered $150 million in settlements/compensation for their losses. With more than 15 years of experience, we have the expertise to handle your personal injury case, no matter how big or complex it is.
• Our personal injury attorneys can help locate a medical lien if you cannot afford medical treatment costs. We have connections with some of the best medical providers in California, including Lakewood.
• Ehline Law is a reputable law firm that brings fear into an insurance company when they know we’ve taken up a case. Our reputation is enough to get the insurance company on the negotiating table and offer their best settlement.
• We offer a free consultation, allowing injured victims to discuss their cases, know their legal options, and ask about any concerns they have. It is an excellent way for potential clients to learn more about their cases and whether the law firm is the right fit.
• We are a large and accessible personal injury law firm with more than 15 locations across California. You can visit the nearest law office or call our attorneys to arrange a consultation at a place of your choosing.

Schedule a Free Consultation with Ehline Law

If you’ve suffered injuries in an accident in Lakewood, CA, due to another’s negligence, contact us at (833) LETS-SUE for a free consultation, as you may be eligible for compensation.