While any injury can affect your life, when this injury is a spinal cord injury, the outcome can be catastrophic. These types of injuries often turn the lives of the victims and their families upside down, affecting them physically, emotionally, and financially.
If bringing legal action for your spinal cord injuries is your plan, you need to figure out if you still have time to file. This is because there’s a law that stipulates how much time an accident victim has to file a claim. If this time expires before you can file, you won’t be able to seek and collect compensation for your losses. Because of this reason, don’t wait to reach out to an Orange County personal injury attorney for a prompt case review and timely filing of your claim.
What Is a Statute of Limitation?
This is a law that dictates how much time you have to file following an alleged offense against you. If the victim fails to file within this period, they will automatically be locked out from participating in the compensation process.
What Is the Time Limit to File a Spinal Cord Injury Claim in California?
Families and spinal cord victims have limited time to file a claim against a negligent party or the insurance company. In Orange County, CA, the deadline to bring a spinal cord injury claim is two years from the date of the accident. This means a victim only has two years to file a claim against the alleged liable party, or else the victim loses the right to recover for their losses.
The deadline is two years if you intend to bring a personal injury or product liability claim. However, if you sustained spinal cord injuries and wish to file a medical malpractice claim for injury or death, you have one year from the date the negligent act was discovered. In addition, this type of case shouldn’t be filed more than three years from the injury date.
It’s therefore imperative to seek the indulgence of an experienced Orange County spinal cord injury attorney for accurate legal counsel.
Can The Period to File for an Injury Claim Be Extended?
There are exceptions to the statute of limitations in California. The period victims are allowed to file can be extended or shortened depending on the exceptions that apply to your specific case. For instance, if your spinal injury claim in California involves a government entity, then this period is shortened, and you would only have six months from the injury date to file.
Based on these factors, it is critical to check with your Orange County spinal cord injury attorney as soon as possible to ensure your legal rights are preserved. Your lawyer will help make sure your claim falls within the fixed filing time.
How Can an Attorney Help Me Get Compensation?
The role of an attorney is usually to find out whether you have a viable personal injury claim. Once it’s determined you do, your spinal cord injury lawyer in Orange County will move quickly to file your case and ensure the statute of limitations does not lock you out.
Then, your injury attorney will go ahead to prepare a credible case and fight for you to get full compensation. As soon as you notify them of what happened, they could:
- Obtain surveillance videos
- Investigate the scene of the accident
- Identify and interview witnesses
- Obtain ad review police reports
- Compile medical evidence
- Get medical and vocational experts to give testimonies of the severity of your injuries
- Handle communications with the insurance companies and the opposing attorneys
Remember that some of the most critical pieces of evidence should be collected as soon as the accident happens. Taking longer to contact an Orange County spinal cord injury law firm is risky because someone could tamper with the evidence.
What Damages Can I Recover for My Spinal Cord Injury?
Victims can get compensation once it is established that the accident occurred out of another party’s negligence and the parties have been identified. Your personal injury lawyer in Santa Ana will also calculate the case’s value based on all the economic and non-economic damages suffered. They will also factor in what you will need in the future. The court might award you damages for:
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of earning capacity
- Past, current, and future medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
- Emotional distress
- Permanent disability
- Long-term care
- Rehabilitation
- Assistive devices such as wheelchairs, crutches, and braces
- Modifications to your place of residence
Insurance adjusters often try to convince victims to accept less compensation than they deserve. Agreeing to receive the money that might not cater to all you need is an injustice to yourself. It is safer to let your attorney handle such communication because they know your best interests and will not relent.
Attorneys Protecting Your Legal Rights After an Accident
Without proper advocacy, it is easy to lose a deserved compensation in California. Our law firm will promptly evaluate your case, determine how much time you have to file your claim, and ensure your documents and legal motions are adequately prepared and filed before the deadline.
Don’t forget that the defendants of such cases also hire highly qualified attorneys to help them dispute your claims and avoid liabilities. So, if your legal team cannot match their expertise, it is possible to miss out and lose the case.
Our California personal injury lawyers are not only experienced but are also committed to helping our clients win. Talk to us today, and we will ensure that you fully recover all damages.
