Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyers 

Life comes with risks, including sustaining an accidental injury. However, if the injury could have been avoided and was the fault of another party, your injury is no longer just part of normal risk. If you were recently injured or became ill because of the misconduct or negligence of another person, you might have a valid personal injury claim. With the assistance of a knowledgeable Sacramento personal injury attorney, you could be awarded financial compensation for your losses. 

Do You Have a Valid Personal Injury Claim?

Whether it involves a premises liability claim, a dog bite, medical malpractice, or a car accident, a personal injury case must meet several criteria to be valid. In general, a personal injury claim must include:

• A duty of care of another party
• A breach of duty of that party
• Injury you suffered
• Damages you incurred

When a defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff, it could be someone obeying driving laws, a dog’s owner maintaining control over their dog, or a doctor providing proper medical attention based on the current standard of care. For whatever reason, that person fails to uphold that duty. Maybe they ran a stoplight or failed to clean up a spill in the grocery store. By creating or not correcting the problem, the defendant caused the circumstances that led to the plaintiff’s injury. 

Furthermore, the injury must have caused the plaintiff’s damages. Damages refer to your losses, and they can be economic, such as medical expenses and lost wages, or non-economic, such as pain and suffering and disability. Damages are the basis for compensation in a personal injury case.  When a jury considers the award in the case or when the plaintiff and the defendant attempt to negotiate a settlement, it will be based on the type and amount of damages suffered by the plaintiff. 

Personal Injury Statute of Limitations

The law limits the amount of time accident victims have to file a case against the person or entity that might have caused your injury. Doing so helps cut down on cases that are frivolous and helps ensure that justice is served using recent evidence. As per the California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1, if you sustain a personal injury and want to file a lawsuit, you must do so within two years of the date of the accident. This statute applies whether you file the legal claim yourself or hire an attorney to do so for you. 

Get Legal Assistance From a Personal Injury Attorney in Sacramento

You will want to contact a skilled Sacramento personal injury attorney if you were injured under any of the following circumstances:

• Car, truck, pedestrian, or motorcycle accident
• Medical malpractice
• Slip and fall accident
• Defective product 
• Workplace accident
• Wrongful death
• Dog attacks
• Birth injury

No matter how you sustained your personal injury, we can help. Our staff knows how stressful these situations can be, and it is their goal to answer your questions and to keep you updated on your case. To get personalized legal assistance from a personal injury attorney in Sacramento, contact the Law Offices of Scott Righthand. By scheduling your free case consultation, you can find out if you have a case and what it might be worth.