Top Rated Non-Accident Personal Injury Lawyer Near Me in Santa Cruz County For 2024
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What a Non-Accident Personal Injury Lawyer Near Me does:
Have you or a loved one been injured in an accident or by way of the negligence of others? There are times issues can be determined by personal insurance or through a small claims case. Occasionally it’s best to forget about it and get on with your life because it may cause you more headache than it is worth fighting for.
But at times you really need someone to take your side. Someone who will gun for your case. A professional who will fight on your side. That’s when you really need a Santa Cruz County personal injury attorney that will fight for your rights, both in regards to finances and personal, so you can roll back to your life before the injury occurred.
Being harmed by a crime, accident, or willful negligence is not a good time. It’s a very trying time, and being objective is nearly impossible. But keeping calm and collected can make the difference between getting the fair payment that you deserve or leaving the case feeling like you should have gotten a more appropriate solution.
An experienced Santa Cruz County personal injury professional can act as an advocate between you and the near-impossible situation, making it easier to navigate the ins and outs of the legal system. If you are like most people, you may not even understand the facts of what might occur until speaking with a legal professional. A legal adviser can help you realize all of this objectively, determine if a claim exists and if they can be of service, and help you move forward with any possible case.
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What is a Santa Cruz County Non-Accident Personal Injury Attorney?
To begin with, personal injury lawyers (PILs) fall into the bigger spectrum of civil lawyers. Civil lawyers are generally retained to recover money or other financial means from a person or legal entity on behalf of another person or legal entity.
This means that when someone brings a civil action suit against someone else, a civil lawyer is usually hired to begin the lawsuit and a different civil lawyer is hired by the person or entity being accused to defend against it. In the case of bodily injury, the injured person can retain a personal injury attorney when the case involves reimbursement or payment of expenses derived from any injury such as medical reimbursements, mental health issues arising from the injury, and other possible costs.
After the lawyer has been retained, they will gather everything from the case that they are legally able to get. They will speak with all witnesses that can be contacted, gather any and all documents related to your case, and use all possible resources to make sure all of their is accurate.
Then he or she will first attempt to work out the settlement of the case. If negotiation doesn’t work, the lawyer can file a lawsuit in response. But what kinds of cases could a personal injury attorney accept?
A PIL generally tackles a wide variety of cases that can be divided into two primary groups. The first field includes negligence and accident cases such as medical malpractice, legal malpractice, vehicle accidents, child neglect, and wrongful death cases. Wrongful death is usually caused by a doctor, nurse, or other medical practitioner. In most of these cases, someone is injured (or worse) due to the negligence or incompetence of someone else.
The second main study of a PIL is the purposely executed wrongful case. An intentional tort happens when someone purposely injures another person. This type of act occurs in a violent crime, assault and battery cases, slander, theft, and other such situations. Really the potential causes for a personal injury case is basically endless.
In addition, unlike most other fields of the legal world, personal injury lawyers generally work on a contingency fee basis. What this means is that they are not paid unless the person or entity that they are representing is successful in the case. It means that there should be no upfront payment, for consultation or any other service. Their fee is based strictly upon financial compensation received by their client.
What Are the Implications in an Injury Case?
Of course, sometimes even these final steps of the process aren’t so simple. The injured party can send back a counteroffer if they feel they are not receiving in their eyes a fair compensation. It is when these offers do not get agreed upon or an offer is just flat-out refused that a personal injury claim may very well end up in front of a judge.
But it is rare for a personal injury case to get to the trial phase. And this is for a lot of reasons:
First, a settlement creates a situation where the defendant can control risks and avoid unnecessary legal fees. If the defendant is fully aware that they are at fault for the incident that led to the claim, they may not want the case to get in front of a sympathetic jury that could lend much larger damages.
Secondly, a settling the case will keep it on the DL. This is especially important for high profile people or large high profile companies. A lengthy trial brings big publicity. And even a small trial can provoke unwanted attention. A settlement is conducive to letting all parties involved to fully negotiate terms, including those terms regarding confidentiality.
Thirdly, a settlement can hasten the process. Lengthy court cases can take an eternity, lasting for months. In addition, if the other party appeals, the outcome can remain up in the air for an additional length of time. The plaintiff probably wants financial compensation in the near term rather than later. Or they may just not want to complete the ridiculously long process of putting on a case, presenting evidence, and doing everything else that is necessary to win the case.
And finally, settlement allows the plaintiff a guaranteed win. A trial is more of a ‘the higher the risk the more the reward’ type of situation, which is not always the best situation. The accusing party may in many cases rather settle for a little less in a guaranteed win. This, versus holding out for highest dollar amount but also taking the chance of either losing the court case or having a judge or jury give a much lesser amount due to unknown circumstances pretrial.
What are the PIL Tasks?
First they will take care of getting evidence and finding the responsible party, whether it be an insurance company, individual, or other legal entity.
Once the legal professional has built a case, they draft and send an official letter of demand to the defendant. This letter includes a complete detail of what happened, of injuries incurred, and the amount of financial compensation requested.
Next, the attorney attempts to negotiate a settlement, and depending on how the negotiation turned out, decides if they will bring the case to court. This is determined by how much the defendant agrees to the settlement terms put forth by the plaintiff. If the other party agrees completely to all terms, then there would be absolutely no reason to go to trial. If the other party agrees to some terms but not others or is in partial agreement, it will be up to the plaintiff to decide if they will push for additional negotiations, agree to the new terms, or go to court.
Choose the Successful Non-Accident Personal Injury Lawyer Near Me in Santa Cruz County
Here at DeLozier Law, we have many decades of experience in successful personal injury law. Our clients are extremely pleased with us because we helped them get the settlement they needed and deserved. We offer a free consultation so you can see if we can help you with your claim, too. Give us a call today at 602-989-1759!