Surrounded by La Jolla, Mission Beach, Interstate 5, and the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Beach is a calm and beautiful San Diego neighborhood that has started gaining much traction. College students, surfers, and young adults are all flocking to Pacific Beach to enjoy the never-ending beach parties, the affluent nightlife, and the exquisite cuisine.
When walking around Pacific Beach, you may find yourself captivated by the beauty and lifestyle the neighborhood offers. It is easy to forget the fatalities that occur each year in San Diego. According to the California Office of Traffic Safety, there were 4,094 people (killed and injured) in San Diego city alone in 2020 in car accidents. That doesn’t include slip and fall incidents, work-related accidents, and other accidents.
Ehline Law and our personal injury attorneys have more than a decade of experience handling accident claims and getting our clients the compensation they deserve. We have the resources to ensure speedy justice and have the legal team to protect your rights. Contact our Pacific Beach personal injury attorneys to discuss your case if you suffered injuries in an accident due to another’s negligence.
Types of Personal Injury Claims We Handle
Ehline Law and our personal injury lawyers have helped injured clients since 2005, and we specialize in handling many different personal injury claims in San Diego, CA, including the following:
- Car accident claims
- Other motor vehicle accident claims
- Airport and aviation accident claims
- Escalator and elevator accident claims
- Slip and fall accident claims
- Motorcycle accident claims
- Medical malpractice claims
- Dog bite claims
- Defective product claims.
More San Diego, CA Practice Areas
Personal injury law is a broad field, encompassing all types of accidents that could lead to injuries. Our personal injury attorneys have extensive knowledge of personal injury law and local state and municipality laws and can protect your rights against negligent parties.
Personal Injury Law in Pacific Beach
Depending on the type of accident in Pacific Beach, there are several laws that may apply to a personal injury case. These laws protect injured victims and allow them to hold the negligent parties responsible for their loss. The following are some of these laws.
Comparative Negligence Rule
Fault-based states like California follow the comparative negligence rule, which allows accident victims who are partially responsible for their injuries to recover compensation. However, the amount they can recover will depend on their degree of responsibility.
Federal Regulations
Federal regulations apply to certain industries, such as the trucking industry. If these companies fail to follow federal laws, injured victims may be able to hold them liable for their loss.
Strict Liability
Unlike other personal injury accidents where victims have to prove negligence before recovering money damages, strict liability enforces liability on certain groups of people regardless of whether they acted negligently or intentionally. Dog bites and defective products fall under strict liability in California.
Manufacturers are responsible for ensuring they produce safe consumer products before they can sell them. If the manufacturer fails to sell safe products and results in injuries, the victims can hold them responsible for the damages.
Premises Liability
Whether you’re at a bar, grocery store, or any other property, there may be hazards present that can lead to serious accidents.
Under premises liability, property owners are responsible for maintaining their property and ensuring that there are no hazards that can cause harm to others. They are also responsible for inspecting the property to identify hazards and take corrective action (placing warning signs or removing hazards).
Failure to maintain their property can lead to liability in case of accidents, for which victims can pursue premises liability claims.
Workers Compensation
If you’re hurt on the job, there are laws that can protect your rights and get you the help you deserve. Under Workers’ Compensation, employers must purchase insurance for all their employees (except independent contractors), and the policy kicks in when the employee suffers injuries in a work-related incident. By providing insurance, the employer protects themselves from liability or lawsuits, and the employee gets the coverage they need following their workplace injury.
Wrongful Death
If an accident causes a death of a loved one, surviving family members in California may be able to pursue wrongful death claims for the damages incurred.
Should You Pursue a Personal Injury Claim?
When an accident causes injuries, injured victims often question whether it is worth pursuing claims to obtain monetary damages. Is it worth the time and effort? Yes!
If you’ve suffered serious injuries, you may require extensive surgeries, rehabilitation, and other medical expenses, which may continue for months or, in some cases, years following your accident.
Injuries such as traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and other debilitating injuries can significantly affect an individual’s life, causing them to spiral into depression from the pain, the mental suffering, and the financial burden of medical expenses.
Pursuing personal injury claims can not only give injury victims the closure they need following the incident, but it can also provide an opportunity to fight for monetary damages incurred.
Types of Damages You Can Recover in Personal Injury Claims
When accident victims pursue personal injury claims, they may be able to recover the following types of compensatory damages.
Economic Damages
An accident can lead to immediate out-of-pocket expenses, known as economic or special damages. These include medical bills (surgery costs, medication bills, rehabilitation, therapy, and other medical expenses), lost wages (past, current, and future loss of income), and property damage.
Non-economic Damages
Besides immediate out-of-pocket expenses, accident victims may also incur non-monetary losses for which they can claim compensation. These are known as non-economic or general damages and include pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of consortium, and loss of enjoyment of life.
Punitive Damages
In rare instances involving extreme negligence, an injured victim may be able to pursue punitive damages. The court and judge will review the facts surrounding the case and may award punitive damages. These types of damages aim to punish the defendant for their grossly reckless actions and deter others from carrying out similar activities.
It is important for accident victims to reach out to experienced Pacific Beach personal injury attorneys to discuss their case and determine the damages they may be eligible to pursue.
Is There a Time Limit to File Personal Injury Claims?
After an accident, you may focus on getting medical attention, but it is equally important to start thinking about your legal options.
California statute of limitations allows accident victims to bring civil action against the negligent party two years following their injuries. After two year passes, the statute of limitations bars victims from pursuing legal action and making a financial recovery.
The time period is even shorter when a government entity is responsible for injuries, and the procedure is slightly different. Certain exceptions put the statute of limitations on hold. It is important for accident victims to speak with skilled personal injury lawyers to determine how much time they have to pursue legal action.
Can You Recover Compensation If You’re Partially At-fault?
Under California law, Pacific Beach injured victims can pursue monetary damages following their accident even if they’re partially responsible for their accident. However, the comparative negligence rule reduces the total award by the degree of fault. Let’s see how that works out in the following example.
Jack is speeding on the streets when John runs a red light and crashes into Jack. The accident leads to severe injuries and $100,000 in damages to Jack. Following medical treatment, Jack decides to pursue a personal injury suit against John’s insurance company for the total damages incurred and wins the lawsuit. However, the jury decides that Jack is 40% responsible for the accident due to overspeeding.
Although Jack suffers damages of $100,000, he can only recover $60,000 since he was partially responsible for the damages.
Elements of a Personal Injury Claim
When you’re pursuing a personal injury claim against the negligent party, it is crucial to establish the elements of negligence, which includes:
- Legal duty
- Breach
- Causation
- Damages.
Personal injury cases can be challenging to tackle, and without legal representation, you might find yourself struggling. An experienced personal injury lawyer can help gather the evidence needed to establish the elements of a personal injury claim and increase your chances of obtaining financial compensation.
Questions to Ask Your Personal Injury Attorney
Before hiring the legal services of a personal injury law firm, you must ask them questions to ensure you get the best attorney to represent you and your case.
Some of the critical questions you should consider asking includes the following:
- What experience do you have with personal injury cases like mine?
- Do you have experience handling personal injury cases in Pacific Beach?
- How much do you think my case is worth, and how long can recovery take?
- Will you work directly on my case or hand it over to your legal team?
- Does your firm have trial experience, and can you tell me more about it?
- What is your schedule like, and can you give me the time and assistance I require?
Whether car accidents, slip and fall incidents, or other accidents, Ehline Law offers a free consultation to all victims to discuss their cases and concerns and learn more about their legal options.
How Can Ehline Law Personal Injury Lawyer Help You
Victims recover only a tiny amount of the damages they are owed without legal representation.
Insurance companies are in the business of making money, and payouts affect their profitability. They resort to bullying and using dirty tactics to coerce victims into taking a lower settlement offer, an amount that wouldn’t even partially cover their medical bills.
Having our experienced personal injury attorney on your side means protecting your rights from the insurance company.
Besides handling the insurance company and their attempts to reduce or reject claims, our skilled Pacific Beach personal injury attorney can help you with the following:
- Whether it is a car accident or any other incident that resulted in your injuries, Ehline Law firm has the resources to investigate your accident and identify the liable parties to hold them accountable for your loss.
- We will handle your legal matters (from pursuing personal injury claims to handling and negotiating with the at-fault party’s insurance company) while you take time off to recover from your injuries.
- Our personal injury attorneys have extensive knowledge of state and local laws. We know the legal process and can build a strong trial-ready case.
- Ehline Law is a leading personal injury law firm with a stellar reputation in California. When we take up a personal injury case, insurance companies know they have to bring our clients an A-game settlement offer.
- If the insurance company refuses to offer a fair settlement, our personal injury attorneys are not afraid to take the case to court and aggressively fight for maximum compensation.
Why Clients Trust Ehline Law Pacific Beach Personal Injury Lawyers
There are several reasons why clients trust Ehline Law and our attorneys, some of which include the following:
- Since 2005, Ehline Law has helped more than 3,000 injured victims recover in excess of $150 million in compensation. We have more than 15 years of experience working with accident victims in California, including Pacific Beach, which is why our clients know they will receive the best legal representation.
- Our legal team is always proactive and spends their time outside the office creating awareness about legal issues. We have given interviews on CBS, CNN, and other media channels on limousine, cruise ship, and dog bite laws.
- From 2006 to 2015, our personal injury attorneys have been awarded the Superlawyers Rising Star award multiple times. We have received several other awards and recognition, including Premier Personal Injury Attorneys, Top 100 Trial Lawyers, Personal Injury Warriors, and Best Attorneys of America.
- Everyone should have access to quality legal representation, which is why Ehline Law and our personal injury attorneys offer our services to injury victims on a contingency fee basis. No win, no fee!
Schedule a Free Consultation with Ehline Law Pacific Beach
If you suffered injuries in an accident in Pacific Beach due to another’s negligence, contact us at (833) LETS-SUE for a free consultation, as you may be eligible for compensation.
