Menifee
Personal Injury Lawyer

Every day, thousands of personal injuries occur throughout California from various causes. Some are more damaging than others, but one consistent factor in every personal injury is that if one party is responsible for harming another party, the injured victim can seek recompense for the losses they suffered. If you are struggling with the results of another party’s negligence or illegal misconduct, a Menifee personal injury attorney is the ideal resource to consult to determine the next steps to take toward recovery of your losses.

Helping Personal Injury Victims Recover in Menifee, CA

Kampf, Schiavone & Associates offers years of professional experience in personal injury law. Our team excels at handling the most complex cases efficiently for our clients in Menifee, CA. In every case we accept, we aim to help our client maximize their recovery as fully as the law allows. The sooner you connect with a Menifee personal injury lawyer at our firm after a personal injury, the more time we have to construct a viable case on your behalf.

How to Build Your Personal Injury Claim in Menifee

The foundation of every personal injury claim is actual harm, which means the plaintiff must prove that they suffered some loss due to another party’s actions. If you suffered no damages, you have no claim, so before you attempt to file a personal injury suit, it is crucial to prove that you sustained some type of economic or non-economic loss due to another party’s actions. A few of the most commonly filed types of personal injury claims in Menifee are:

• Claims for motor vehicle accidents. Car, truck, bicycle, motorcycle and commercial vehicle accidents can easily cause a host of physical injuries and extensive property damage to those involved. Recovery from a vehicle accident typically begins with an auto insurance claim naming the driver who caused the accident, but it’s vital to prove fault before moving forward with the insurance claim. When insurance cannot fully compensate the victim’s damages, they will need to file a personal injury suit against the driver who caused their accident.
• Premises liability claims. All property owners are legally required to ensure their properties do not pose any extraordinary risks to the visitors and other lawful guests of their property. This means they must address foreseeable safety issues as soon as they become aware of them or at least warn visitors about them when they visit the property. Owners of private property do not owe this duty of care to intruders or trespassers.
• Claims for catastrophic injuries. Personal injuries are considered to be catastrophic when they permanently harm the victim. Traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries are some of the most commonly cited catastrophic injuries in the Menifee area. This kind of case is likely to entail significant immediate and long-term damages, and a plaintiff facing a catastrophic injury claim needs legal counsel they can trust to help them maximize their recovery.
  
  

In every personal injury claim, proving liability for the damages cited in the claim is an essential first step in the plaintiff’s recovery. Your Menifee personal injury attorney can assist you with evidence gathering, identifying witnesses who saw your injury happen firsthand, and consulting expert witnesses for their professional insights if your case involves any complex technical details. Once you have evidence to show that another party is responsible for your damages and can correctly identify the defendant or defendants liable for the damages, you can proceed with filing your personal injury suit with the court.

Claiming Compensation and Recovering From Your Personal Injury in Menifee

The objective of a personal injury claim is to hold a defendant accountable for the harm they’ve done with their negligence or illegal misconduct. Most personal injury cases filed in Menifee focus on economic damages, which may include:

• Medical expenses. If a defendant physically injured a plaintiff, that plaintiff could hold the defendant accountable for the medical treatment they need to fully recover from the injury. The plaintiff must prove their medical expenses directly resulted from the actions the defendant took and not some other cause. If this applies to your case, you can seek compensation for both immediate and future expenses for medical care that result from your personal injury.
• Lost income. Many people with personal injuries cannot work while they get better. You can seek compensation for any lost income you sustained due to the actions of the defendant. If you are permanently disabled by the personal injury and cannot return to work in the future, you can seek compensation for the future income you otherwise would have reasonably expected to earn.
• Property damage. When a defendant has damaged or destroyed personal property, such as the plaintiff’s vehicle, home, or other belongings, the plaintiff can add repair or replacement costs to their personal injury claim as economic damages.
  
  

Once you accurately calculate all your claimable immediate and future economic damages, you may learn that your claim is worth more than you anticipated at first. However, your recovery does not end with your economic damages, as state law allows you to seek compensation for the pain and suffering you experienced.

Typically, attorneys use two methods to determine compensation for the victim’s pain and suffering for plaintiffs in personal injury claims:

1. The multiplier method involves multiplying the plaintiff’s total economic damages by a number that reflects the seriousness of their injuries. This is most often used for plaintiffs who have suffered permanent harm from defendants’ actions.
2. The per diem method involved multiplying an appropriate amount of daily compensation by the days it takes the plaintiff to fully recover. This method is more suited to plaintiffs expected to fully recover in the near future.
   
   

California law only limits pain and suffering compensation in medical malpractice suits, so as long as your personal injury claim does not qualify as a medical malpractice claim, there is no limit to the amount you can seek from the defendant.

Other Variables That Influence Plaintiff Recovery in Personal Injury Claims

Your Menifee personal injury attorney can help accurately calculate the full amount of economic and non-economic damages available in your case, but other factors can also influence your final case award. For example, if the defendant caused your personal injury through illegal action, they face criminal prosecution alongside your civil suit. The judge handling their sentencing could add restitution to the victim to their penalties. It is also possible for a judge in a civil case to award punitive damages at their discretion when a defendant’s behavior exceeds the scope of typical negligence.

Conversely, some factors can diminish a plaintiff’s recovery. For example, the state uses the pure comparative negligence standard when a plaintiff shares fault with a defendant for causing a personal injury. If a plaintiff is found to share fault, they can still claim compensation from the defendant, but they lose a portion of their case due to their shared liability. For example, a judge may determine that a plaintiff bears 10% of the total fault for their claimed damages, and this would mean the plaintiff loses 10% of the compensation claimed from the defendant.

Your Menifee personal injury attorney can be a crucial asset for identifying any such variables that might come into play in your case. When you pick Kampf, Schiavone & Associates as your legal team, we excel at resolving complex personal injury claims on behalf of our clients, and we take time to thoroughly investigate the details of every case we represent. If any discrepancies arise regarding fault for your damages, you can rest assured that we will do everything we can to preserve your case award as much as possible and hold the defendant appropriately accountable for the harm they’ve done.

Resolving Your Menifee Personal Injury Claim

It’s natural for the plaintiff in a personal injury case to worry about courtroom appearances and a judge seeing the case from their point of view, but the majority of all personal injury claims filed in the state never go to trial. Instead, the parties involved meet privately to negotiate a settlement. During settlement negotiations, the plaintiff and defendant attempt to reach mutually acceptable terms for resolving the case while avoiding the need to go to court. If both parties willingly compromise, it is possible to resolve a personal injury case in a fraction of the time that litigation would require.

Unfortunately, settlement is not always possible. A defendant could outright deny liability for the personal injury, or they may dispute the damages sought by the plaintiff, and negotiations may break down irreparably. If a settlement is not an option for your personal injury case, you need to take the case to court. If your personal injury case proceeds to litigation, the judge handling your case will have the final say on the outcome and the recompense you will get from the defendant.

The attorneys at Kampf, Schiavone & Associates strive to settle our clients’ personal injury claims whenever possible, but we have the skills, resources, and experience to represent you in court if necessary. Ultimately, every personal injury plaintiff faces different challenges in their recovery efforts, and the right attorney can have a tremendously positive influence on the outcome of any case. If you are ready to pursue compensation for the losses you suffered, it’s vital to start the process as quickly as possible. Contact Kampf, Schiavone & Associates today and set up a consultation with a Menifee personal injury attorney you can trust with your case.