Are you going to win your personal injury case in California?
Listen up. The reality is, in most cases, liability is the make or break. If you can’t prove liability, you’ve got no chance.
The good news?
California personal injury law has clear guidelines for proving someone else is to blame for your injuries. And once you know how it works…
You can build an airtight case.
Jump to Section:
- Why Proving Liability Matters
- The 4 Elements You Must Prove
- Evidence That Wins Cases
- How Shared Fault Works in California
Why Proving Liability Matters
California has what’s known as a “fault” system for personal injury claims.
What does that mean for you?
Well, it means the person responsible for causing the accident is on the hook for paying for damages. Prove they caused your injuries, and you can recover compensation. If you can’t prove who caused your injuries, you won’t get a dime. It’s that simple.
With over 200,000 auto accidents in California every year, thousands of people have to prove liability every year in this state alone.
Learning how California personal injury law works is a vital step for anyone who has suffered an accident and wants to pursue compensation from the responsible party. By working with a personal injury law firm like Johnson Attorneys Group, you can give yourself a fighting chance of winning your case and ensure you receive the compensation you deserve.
The thing is…
Insurance companies aren’t going to voluntarily fork over the money. They are going to fight hard against you, so you need to go in with both eyes open and have a solid understanding of what you need to prove in a California personal injury case.
The 4 Elements You Must Prove
In California, in order to prove negligence, you need to prove four main elements.
If you’re missing just one, the whole thing falls apart. Let’s look at each of them, one at a time.
Duty of Care
The first thing you’ll need to prove is that the defendant owed you a duty of care.
What exactly does that mean? Well, the defendant is legally required to act in a reasonable and careful manner toward you. Drivers have a duty to other road users to obey the rules of the road and drive safely. Homeowners have a duty to guests to keep their property safe. Doctors have a duty to patients to provide a reasonable standard of medical care, and so on.
In the majority of cases, duty of care is presumed. In other words, it’s just understood to be there.
Breach of Duty
This one is easy. You must prove that the defendant violated their duty of care to you.
A breach can occur when someone does something that a reasonable person would not do, or when someone fails to do something a reasonable person would do.
Running a red light is a breach. Texting while driving is a breach. Failing to put up a wet floor sign is a breach. And so on.
Causation
Ok, now we’re getting into the tricky stuff…
In order to win your case, you must also prove that the defendant’s breach of duty actually caused your injuries. It’s not enough to show they were careless. You also need to show that their carelessness directly resulted in your injuries.
California law requires you to prove causation by a “preponderance of evidence”. In other words, it must be more likely than not that the defendant’s actions caused your injury.
Damages
Last but not least, you must prove that you actually suffered some kind of damages as a result of the defendant’s actions.
You guessed it, no damages, no case.
Damages can include medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and loss of future earning capacity. You will need documentation to back up every claim you make, from medical records to pay stubs to receipts to expert testimony, and so on.
Evidence That Wins Cases
Ok, so you know what you need to prove. But how do you actually go about building a bulletproof case?
The most successful personal injury claims are the ones with the most evidence. If it’s your word against theirs, you’re not going to win. But if you can back up your claims with documentation, you stand a chance. What kind of evidence are we talking about?
Documentation:
- Police reports
- Accident reports
- Medical records and bills
- Photographs of the scene, your injuries, any relevant property damage, and so on
- Witness contact information, if any are available
Expert Support:
- Accident reconstruction experts can help in some cases
- Medical professionals can often testify to the extent and cause of your injuries
- Economic experts can calculate future lost earning capacity
Digital Evidence:
- Surveillance video
- Cell phone records
- Social media posts
Shared Fault in California Personal Injury Claims
Ok, what happens if you’re partly to blame for your accident?
Chill out, it’s not the end of the world.
California follows something called “pure comparative negligence”. This means that, as long as you were less than 100% to blame for your accident, you can still recover damages. Your compensation will simply be reduced by your percentage of fault. You won’t recover the full amount of damages, but you won’t get nothing, either.
To be precise, according to legal research, 40% of personal injury cases in California involve some element of shared fault. That’s very common.
The moral of the story is, if you were partly at fault, your case is not automatically over. It’s just going to be that much more important to prove the other driver or party’s negligence was greater than your own.
Building Your Strongest Case
Ok, last things last. If you really want to give yourself the best shot at winning, here’s what you need to do.
Act fast. California allows two years from the date of injury to file a lawsuit. Evidence gets lost. Witnesses forget details. The sooner you start gathering evidence, the better.
Document, document, document. From the get-go, keep detailed records of all medical appointments, missed work days, and expenses related to your injury.
Don’t make recorded statements to the insurance company. Insurance adjusters may try to get you to talk about your injuries and the accident. Remember, anything you say can be used against you later on.
Get professional help. The personal injury world is a complex web of legal rules and insurance company tricks. The single most important step you can take is to engage a personal injury attorney with a proven track record. Professionals will significantly improve your odds.
Wrapping Things Up
Proving liability in a California personal injury case all comes down to four elements: duty of care, breach, causation, and damages.
You must have all four, or you won’t win. It’s not always easy. Insurance companies have armies of lawyers fighting against you. But if you arm yourself with evidence and the right legal advice, you can prove who was at fault and recover the money you deserve.
Don’t forget:
- Start documenting everything from day one
- Keep in mind shared fault does not equal case dismissal
- Work with legal professionals who know California personal injury law inside and out
Your accident wasn’t your fault. But fighting for the compensation you deserve? Completely in your control.
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