California Statutory Rules and Personal Injury Laws

Every state has a time limit within which the parties involved are supposed to file claims in the courts. This rule is called the statute of limitations. The deadlines for different cases are different.

In California, the statute of limitations for a case of personal injury is up to two years from the date of the occurrence of injury. The person has to file a lawsuit within this time interval against those responsible. Note that, if you fail to approach the court regarding the incident within two years, you will lose your chance to be heard and to claim the compensation you deserve.

It is advisable that you approach an injury attorney in Los Angeles in case of an incident like this. Below is a discussion on the personal injury cases and statutory rules in California.

California Shared Fault Laws

In several cases, the opposing party or the defendant may argue that you are responsible for the accident that led to the claim.

If proven true, you may have to share the amount with the defendant as you are partially responsible for the event. In other words, the total compensation you would have received is reduced.

In such shared fault injury cases, the California rule states a “pure comparative negligence” rule. Under this, the amount of compensation you would have received is reduced by a proportion equivalent to the proportion of your fault in the accident. It is advisable to approach the court with the assistance of a personal injury attorney.

For instance, if you happen to be in an accident where a driver neglected a stop signal and crashed into your vehicle, the other driver is clearly the responsible person. But, if you might have been traveling at a certain speed than allowed, it makes you partially responsible for the accident. Therefore, when the court allows compensation, you will receive only 90% of the total compensation on account of the partial responsibility in causing the crash.

Limits on Injury Damages in California

There are certain limitations on the compensations granted to you in California injury laws. For instance, California law stops uninsured drivers from acquiring “non-economic” damages in the aftermath of a car accident. This holds well even if the other driver is to be blamed completely for the accident. Non-economic damages are suffering of pain, physical impairment, inconvenience and disfigurement. The only exception is when the opposing driver is driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.