Known for its Harbor Beach, marina, shops, bustling downtown, and excellent reputation among foodies, Oceanside is a coastal city in San Diego County with a lot to offer. However, the tangible laid-back vibe can make many forget about the hazards that lurk in the city, just like any other place, leading to devastating accidents.
Ehline Law and our personal injury attorneys have been helping accident victims across California since 2005. We understand how an accident can leave a person vulnerable, which is why our personal injury attorneys won’t stop until they’ve gotten you the compensation you deserve.
Contact our Oceanside personal injury attorneys to discuss your case and learn more about your rights if you’ve suffered injuries in Oceanside due to another’s negligence.
What Is Personal Injury Law?
Personal injury law provides a remedy, mostly financial compensation, to injured victims for the injuries suffered in accidents caused by another individual or entity. Three torts fall under personal injury law, and these include the following.
Negligence Torts
These are actions carried out by one individual or entity resulting in injuries to another due to their failure to exercise reasonable care. Negligence torts revolve around the duty of care and an individual breaching that duty, leading to injuries and damages. For example, a driver has a duty of care to other road users to follow the traffic rules, and failure to adhere to the traffic rules can put others in danger, increasing the risk of accidents. Negligence torts aim to compensate the victims financially for the damages incurred due to another’s negligence.
Intentional Torts
Unlike negligence torts that arise due to another’s failure to adhere to reasonable care when carrying out an act, intentional torts arise from another’s intent to cause harm and are wrongful acts done on purpose. Some examples of intentional torts include assault, battery, defamation, and trespass.
Strict Liability Torts
Strict liability torts cover acts committed by an individual that does not arise from negligence or a person’s mental state. These actions immediately give rise to liability, and under the tort, individuals can pursue compensation for the damages done. Dog bites, defective products, and abnormally dangerous activities are some examples of strict liability.
Types of Personal Injury Cases We Handle in Oceanside
Ehline Law and our personal injury lawyers have extensive experience handling all sorts of personal injury claims, including the following:
- Car accidents
- Other motor vehicle accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Aviation and airport accidents
- Elder abuse
- Medical malpractice
- Dog bites
- Defective products
- Work-related accidents
- Wrongful death
More San Diego, CA Practice Areas
The above list of personal injury claims is some of the cases we handle. However, there are other accidents that are not mentioned on the list that we have expertise in. If you’ve suffered injuries in an accident due to another’s fault, contact our experienced personal injury lawyers to discuss your case.
Elements of a Personal Injury Claim
An injured victim must prove the elements of a personal injury claim to have a valid case and recover damages. The following are the critical elements of a personal injury claim:
- Duty of care: The defendant owed the victim the duty of care
- Breach: The defendant breached their legal obligation towards the victim
- Causation: The victim suffered injuries due to the defendant’s negligence
- Damages: The victim suffered damages
Establishing the elements of a personal injury claim can be challenging, which is why it is crucial for accident victims to work closely with experienced personal injury attorneys.
Should You Pursue a Personal Injury Claim?
Whether it is an accident that results in minor injuries or one that causes catastrophic injuries, you must pursue personal injury claims to recover the damages incurred. It’s not fair for injured victims to suffer in pain and absorb the financial costs of an accident caused by another’s negligence.
Depending on the nature of the accident, it can leave a victim in a devastating state. An injury like a spinal cord or traumatic brain injury can seriously alter the victim’s life. In such situations, the accident victim may need multiple surgeries, rehabilitation, therapy, home modifications, and other medical treatment to help them improve.
However, it is often challenging to recover from debilitating injuries, and the victim may require life-long assistance to help them carry out their daily activities. Pursuing a personal injury claim is the only way injury victims may get some closure following their accident and seek justice by holding the at-fault party responsible for the damages.
Insurance Companies Are out to Get Your Fair Share of Compensation
In most personal injury cases, the insurance company often settles it outside court, meaning that the attorneys do not have to pursue a personal injury lawsuit since fighting battles in court is often time-consuming and expensive. However, that doesn’t mean that they will settle your case in a fair amount.
When an injured victim files a personal injury claim with the at-fault party’s insurance company, the insurer assigns a claims adjuster to the case who uses every trick in the book to reduce payouts or reject the claim.
In fact, they may:
- Shift the blame of the accident to you or get you to say something that may undermine your case (Taking advantage of the California comparative negligence rule).
- Accuse you of having a pre-existing medical condition that resulted in your injuries.
- Lowball a settlement offer and tell you that’s the best they can do. If you try to negotiate, they may start avoiding your calls, messages, and any other attempt to communicate.
The best way you can handle these “dirty” tactics is to work with an experienced personal injury attorney. With a reputable personal injury law firm on your side, you will know exactly what to say to the insurance company, and they will think twice about lowballing a settlement offer.
Factors That Affect Your Personal Injury Settlement Amount
Every personal injury case is different, and there are a lot of factors that affect the settlement amount of a claim. The most common method used by insurance companies is the multiplier method, which assigns a multiplier to determine the extent of the injuries and how it affects your life.
Several factors affect the multiplier insurance companies assign, and some of these include the following:
- The severity of the injuries
- Medical treatment received
- Medical expenses
- Physical and emotional distress
- Daily life disruptions
Certain factors can lead to a lower multiple, including soft tissue injuries, no medications provided, a short recovery period, and no emotional or physical distress.
After figuring out the multiplier, the at-fault party and their insurance company will look at other aspects of the case that could potentially hurt your claim.
These include:
- Shared fault
- Impatience
- No witnesses.
It is crucial to reach out to an experienced personal injury attorney to help evaluate your claim and determine the value of the damages.
How Can Ehline Law Oceanside Personal Injury Lawyers Help with Your Case?
The following are some ways our Oceanside personal injury attorneys can help with your case.
Investigate the Accident Scene
Ehline Law is a premier personal injury law firm with the resources to investigate your accident and determine the liable parties to hold accountable.
Gather Evidence
A piece of evidence can make or break your case. Our personal injury attorneys know the type of evidence to bolster your personal injury claim and allocate resources to gather them to build your case.
Pursue a Personal Injury Case
When pursuing a personal injury case, you must adhere to the legal process, which includes building a claim, filing the claim, serving notices, and more. Our personal injury attorneys will take care of the legal headache while you take the time to recover from your injuries.
Handle the Insurance Company
Dealing with an insurance company after your accident can be stressful, but our Oceanside personal injury attorneys do this daily. We will take care of the insurance company, taking a big chunk of the stress out of your life.
Negotiate a Fair Settlement
Handling the insurance company and its queries is one thing, but negotiating is another. Not every attorney has negotiating skills to get you a fair settlement. We are both legal experts and great negotiators and can negotiate a fair settlement on your behalf.
Go to Trial
Our personal injury attorneys have trial experience with a superior track record. We’re not afraid to take the case to court if the insurance company refuses to offer a fair settlement.
How Ehline Law Oceanside Personal Injury Attorney Investigates a Case
Before we pursue a settlement or a personal injury lawsuit, our attorneys carry out two types of investigations, including the following.
Fact Investigation
The starting point for an investigation is to gather facts. Our attorney reviews different evidence, such as photographs, videos, witness statements, and more. However, in most cases, injured victims fail to take the necessary steps to protect their case and show up with nothing but their word.
We understand how stressful it can be for some injured victims after suffering injuries in an accident. Our attorneys adapt the same process a police officer or a detective would in finding out the facts. We will conduct the fact investigation and send our team to visit the accident scene to collect the necessary evidence to build a strong case.
Liability Investigation
Another critical investigation that we conduct is a liability investigation to determine the liable parties, the status of the entity, and whether the defendant acted on their employer’s behalf.
Research is a critical part of liability investigation, and our personal injury attorneys do their homework before pursuing claims to ensure a strong case.
When Should You Pursue a Personal Injury Claim?
After an accident, seeking legal help is the last thing on the victim’s mind. However, it is crucial that the victim consider pursuing legal action to obtain monetary damages after seeking medical attention.
You need to consider pursuing a personal injury claim as soon as possible for two reasons, including the following.
The Statute of Limitations Can Bar You from Recovery
Under the California statute of limitations, injured victims have only two years following their injuries to pursue legal action against the responsible parties. However, that period shortens to six months when a government entity is liable for the injuries. Failure to bring a civil action within the time frame mentioned in the statute of limitations bars the injured victim from making a recovery.
Your Attorney Needs Time to Prepare Your Case
In cases where an injured victim has two years to bring a civil action, the time frame may seem like a long time, and in most cases, accident victims tend to relax. However, two years is not long considering that your attorney needs to investigate the accident, gather evidence, and build a strong case. The sooner you reach out to a personal injury attorney, the greater your chances of making a financial recovery.
Why Should You Choose Ehline Law Oceanside personal injury lawyer?
The following are a few reasons why Ehline Law is a superior personal injury firm to handle your personal injury claim:
- We are an award-winning law firm and have won the Superlawyers Rising Star award (2006 to 2015), Premier Personal Injury Attorneys, Top 100 Trial Lawyers, and many more.
- We have a superior track record. Ehline Law has handled more than 3,000 personal injury claims and recovered over $150 million in compensation for our clients.
- Our attorneys have a stellar reputation and a media presence. We have provided interviews to some of the largest media channels in the USA on legislation pertaining to cruise ships, dog bites, and limousines.
- Ehline Law has more than 15 law offices all over California. We are a large personal injury law firm to handle your case, no matter how big it is.
- Our Oceanside personal injury lawyer works on a contingency fee basis. We have a no-win, no-fee policy!
- We offer a free consultation to offer you the best legal advice on your personal injury case.
Schedule a Free Consultation with Ehline Law
If you suffered injuries in an accident in Oceanside due to another’s negligence, contact us at (833) LETS-SUE for a free consultation, as you may be able to seek compensation.
