L.A. To Pay $1.15 million to settle wrongful death of Anthony Soderberg
Los Angeles is poised to pay nearly $1.6 million to settle three lawsuits involving alleged wrongdoing by the Los Angeles Police Department, including a $1.15-million payout over the...
$21,000,000 Judgment
$7,000,000 Settlement
$5,000,000 Settlement
$1,150,000 Settlement
$1,150,000 Settlement
Los Angeles, CA is home to nearly 4 million people, and Los Angeles County is home to 10 million, making LA County the most populous county in the United States by almost double. With this many people living in such close proximity, it is no surprise that personal injury claims arise due to someone’s negligent or reckless behavior that causes injury or wrongful death to another. These situations allow for the victims (or, in the case of wrongful death, the surviving family members) to seek financial compensation for a number of impacts, or damages, that the accident has had on their lives. Most often, a victim will file a personal injury claim with an insurance company representing the at-fault party and assuming liability for the repayment.
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Filing an insurance claim is actually a relatively simple process once you clearly identify the liable party, but getting the money you deserve is a different story entirely. Whether you are seeking compensation directly from the party that caused your injury, or if you are filing a claim with an insurance company, you can be assured of one thing: nobody on the other side of your personal injury claim will be trying to ensure that you get all of the money you deserve. In fact, insurance companies and civil defense litigators alike are looking for the quickest and cheapest way to settle your claim. You need someone looking out for your own best interests and fighting for the money you deserve.
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Contact Kirakosian Law For a Free Consultation With Our Personal Injury Law Firm Today
Contact our Los Angeles office to connect with an experienced personal injury attorney for a case evaluation. After a personal injury, it can be confusing to understand what your options are, how you will be able to move forward, and what rights you have as a victim of someone else’s dangerous behavior. This will all be clarified during our initial consultation as we go over the type of accident you were involved in, the events that led to the accident, the injuries you have sustained, and more.
Once we have a clear understanding of the high-level details of your situation, we will be able to provide you with an explanation of how your case is covered by California personal injury law. In addition, we will be able to go into detail about how you can benefit from the support of a Los Angeles personal injury attorney.
We encourage you to reach out to us as soon as possible to get started on your case today. The earlier into this process you are represented by an experienced personal injury accident attorney, the more time they will have to build a strong case on your behalf.
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One of the first things to understand about your situation is what makes a personal injury case after an accident in Los Angeles, California. The first details to understand are those relating to a defendant’s duty of care and how a failure to uphold a duty of care can lead to a Los Angeles personal injury case.
The Four Factors Of a Personal Injury Case
The following four factors must be present in order for a victim to be able to seek compensation for their injuries. These factors are applicable in countless situations, and since no two accidents are ever truly alike, this is often the simplest way to get clarity about a situation.
The term “duty of care” refers to our obligations to act in a reasonable and prudent manner to avoid accidents in our daily lives and applies to countless situations we find ourselves in every day. One obvious example is the duty of care we carry out when we drive by following the driving laws and taking reasonable precautions to avoid a car accident with another vehicle, a pedestrian, or anyone else. Similarly, a property owner owes a duty of care to each of their visitors by providing a safe premise that is free of hazards. Of course, there are countless duties of care — some more obvious than others — that must be examined when establishing whether or not someone is protected under personal injury law.
When a driver speeds, operates a vehicle while intoxicated or engages in aggressive driving, they have failed their duty of care to all others who may be impacted by this decision. However, driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs does not immediately cause an accident or impact other people, meaning that an individual who is cited or arrested for violating a traffic law is guilty of a criminal offense, but unless they have caused an accident there is no further consideration required — they have not committed a tortious act. Without another innocent person being involved in the situation, a failed duty of care does not create liability issues on their own.
If a drunk driver hits a cyclist or a property manager fails to fix a broken handrail, and someone falls, they have failed their duty of care and have now caused an accident as a result. When someone else is injured as a result of the failed duty of care, whatever that duty may be, there is now an innocent victim involved in the situation who may suffer as a result of the offender’s negligence, recklessness, or criminal behavior. However, not all accidents qualify the innocent victim for recovering compensation.
The term damages, as defined by the California civil code, is “ a loss or harm suffered in person or property.” Many people mistakenly believe that damages are only physical injuries, but there are a number of other damages that go beyond medical issues that entitle victims to financial compensation for their involvement in the accident. The issue of damages is typically the most complicated aspect of personal injury claims simply because many of them are abstract or difficult to assign a real dollar value to. Insurance companies leverage this complexity while working towards settling personal injury cases against their clients for as little as possible.
Do You Have a Personal Injury Case?
The factors explained above can give you a general idea about whether or not you have a case, but the best way to truly know how you can move forward is by connecting with our Los Angeles personal injury attorneys for a case evaluation. There is a lot of nuance in these cases, and without professional personal injury law experience, it can feel impossible to translate the complex California civil code into an explanation of your own rights.
If you are planning to file an insurance claim with the other party’s insurer, then it may be likely that you have the right to move forward with a full personal injury claim. We encourage you to connect with our Los Angeles personal injury law firm before you even contact the insurance company so we can be sure that every step in your claim is taken with the ultimate goal of winning you the maximum settlement for your situation.
When insurance companies are contacted by a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer instead of a victim, they know right from the start that their normal tactics will not work. Send a clear signal from the moment you initiate your claim by partnering with the team at Kirakosian Law from day one.
Greg Kirakosian and his team are true professionals. Having been a client - I can say that they strike a nice balance between compassion and patience when dealing with their clients and grit and determination when advocating on your behalf. We have used the firm for a few matters and I can say that they are excellent attorneys and even better human beings.
-Lisa P.
Greg Kirakosian is awesome!! I had called regarding a situation I went through, thinking it might be a civil rights case. After being transferred to Greg personally, we realized that this was a different genre of case than one he generally does, but regardless/even knowing that, he spoke with me for a good while, heard out the situation, and took the time to explain some things i hadn't known prior.
-Regina Kay
Not sure where to start besides I was incredibly lucky to stumble across Greg's law firm! I had a long and difficult case and I am extremely thankful for the endless amount of time and hard work that Greg and Sevan put in. The best part about this firm is that they really care about their clients. They are concise and to the point while still being incredibly empathetic.
-Tammy B.
After an accident, one of the first things that a Los Angeles personal injury attorney will need to investigate is the matter of fault: who caused the accident, and how? Under California law, Los Angeles, CA uses a rule known as “pure comparative fault” when assigning fault in a personal injury case. With this law, an individual is able to seek compensation for their damages even if they are partially to blame for the accident, and their final award will be reduced by the percent that they contributed. For example, if you are 10% responsible for a car accident, your final settlement or award will simply be reduced by 10%.
Using Comparative Fault Correctly
This tool is extremely useful in that it does not bar a victim from seeking compensation if they are partially at fault, whereas in states that use “contributory negligence,” 1% of the blame is enough to bar a victim from filing a claim. While beneficial, though, insurance companies have learned to use this law to their advantage by attempting to place as much blame as possible on a victim in order to reduce their financial obligation. Los Angeles personal injury attorneys understand these tactics and will use their own experience with personal injury law to combat this approach and ensure that you do not accept any fault that is not yours to bear.
At the same time that your Los Angeles personal injury lawyer is working towards a final agreement about fault and liability, they will be going through a comprehensive investigation of your situation in order to gather as much evidence as possible about the myriad damages you have suffered. After personal injuries, victims may overlook or fail to recognize many subtle impacts of an accident; attorneys, however, know exactly what to look for and are able to catalog these impacts to ensure that no details are overlooked.
A big part of personal injury cases is the attention to detail regarding the seemingly countless minor damages that Los Angeles injury victims suffer. Each of these impacts adds to the total amount that a victim is owed and one of the biggest benefits of working with Los Angeles personal injury lawyers from the start.
Compensatory Damages
Injury victims are owed what are referred to as “compensatory damages” after personal injury accidents, which seek payment for two distinct categories: economic damages and non-economic damages. While each of these categories is equally important, one is much easier to calculate than the other, which is why insurers oftentimes attempt to avoid broaching the subject of non-economic damages as much as possible when working directly with victims. Luckily, your Los Angeles injury attorney will be handling this process on your behalf and aggressively negotiating for the money you deserve.
Economic damages are those impacts of a car accident, medical malpractice issue, or any other personal injury that have measurable dollar values. These are things like medical bills for treatment, property damage, lost wages from missed work, or a decrease in earnings due to your injuries, and services you may need to hire to help you perform tasks you would have otherwise done on your own. Many of these damages are fairly obvious and can be calculated using historical pay stubs, invoices, and simply tallying up the cost of your medical expenses. In wrongful death cases, survivors are entitled to additional compensation for things like the long-term loss of financial support from the deceased, as well as end-of-life care, pensions, future 401K or IRA contributions, and more. There are, however, many other economic damages that an accident victim may overlook that personal injury attorneys will not. Many damages may seem meaningless or inconsequential, but each of these low-value damages adds up, and lawyers in Los Angeles will focus on tracking down and including as many of these damages as possible. You do not deserve to take on any of the financial burdens of someone else’s recklessness or negligence.
Non-economic damages are the losses or harms that a victim suffers that do not have dollar values. Most notably, the pain and suffering that a victim must endure following catastrophic injuries, as well as the fear and anxiety that someone suffers from following traumatic events like car accidents. In addition, things like the loss of enjoyment a spinal cord injury causes or the depression and other impacts of a brain injury are all very valid and important non-economic damages. However The difficulty with non-economic damages is determining how to assign a dollar value to each in order to seek compensation for these very real impacts of serious accidents. Los Angeles personal injury attorneys have a number of tools at their disposal that can help identify, quantify, and then calculate the severity of these damages and a fair amount for their client to be compensated for them. Insurers know how difficult and overwhelming it can be for a victim to request compensation for their own non-economic damages, which is why it is so important to partner with experienced personal injury lawyers from the start of your case.
22 Jul, 2021
Car accident cases are now a common occurrence in Los Angeles. According to the Judicial Council of California, in the fiscal year 2018-19, 17,674 motor vehicle injury cases were filed in Los Angeles alone. The state of California observed 40,748 filed motor cases in total. The huge tally of such cases being filed indicates the […]
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22 Jul, 2021
If you are injured due to someone else’s negligence in Los Angeles, a personal injury attorney can help you. However, due to certain complications involved, there’s a possibility that a professional injury attorney might refuse to file a case on your behalf. The rule of law is a diverse and specialized subject that gets more […]
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29 Jun, 2021
An accident that happens due to someone else’s negligence and carelessness can prove to be a life-changing moment for any individual. An auto accident doesn’t only damage the victim physically and mentally, but also financially. Financial damages, if left unresolved, can snowball, leading to mental stress, which can further deteriorate the health of the victim. […]
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The following are just a few of the most common questions that Los Angeles personal injury lawyers answer for clients about their accidents and cases, both during initial consultations and throughout their work together.
In order to reach a fair calculation about how much an accident is worth, Los Angeles, CA personal injury lawyers must take a unique approach to each case they handle. Damages are highly dependent on a number of variables that are unique to each individual, such as the victim’s income and the resulting disruption to this income, as well as the total amount of their medical bills and the extent of their non-economic damages. In order to get a ballpark understanding of your own settlement worth, you will need to connect with an injury lawyer who can go through these important factors before giving you an estimate or idea of your situation.
There is no requirement for a victim to hire a lawyer in Los Angeles after an accident, but the simple truth is that working with an attorney is likely the best chance that a victim has of collecting the money they deserve. Insurance companies take an aggressive approach to settling claims for as little as possible and as quickly as possible, and this approach is bolstered by well-developed playbooks guiding an adjuster through this process. Going up against this process without any experience with tort law — especially while recovering from serious injuries — is exactly what an insurer hopes a victim does.
Determining whether your situation is covered under tort law requires a look at the specific details of your case. Some cases are very straightforward and clear when determining whether or not a victim has options for civil actions against the at-fault party, but others may be less clear. This is why our law firm offers a free consultation and case evaluation to anyone who believes they have been involved in an avoidable accident that someone else caused through dangerous, reckless, or negligent behavior.
The likelihood that an insurance company will offer you a fair settlement is exceedingly low. When an adjuster is assigned to your case, their job is not to identify every damage you have suffered and to ensure that you are fairly paid for each; instead, they approach each claim with the goal of reducing the settlement amount in every way possible while still resolving any legal issues. When you get your initial offer, you will be required to sign a waiver that will bar you from taking any additional legal action against the insurer or their client for your accident, regardless of whether or not you identify other significant damages later on.
There is no set amount of time that it will take for you to get a fair settlement. If you simply file a claim and accept the first offer from the insurance company, you can count on getting paid within a few weeks or months; however, this one-time payment rarely covers all of the damages that a victim has suffered. When you are working with an attorney, they will take as much time as is necessary to build a strong case and then go through an aggressive series of negotiations in hopes of an out-of-court settlement. If they are unable to reach a fair agreement within the two-year statute of limitations, they may need to file a lawsuit and take your case to the California courts.
Our law firm operates on a contingency fee basis, meaning that we will collect a percentage of your final award as payment. You will not need to pay anything out of pocket for our services, and you will only pay if we win. Many people mistakenly believe that they are not able to afford experienced legal representation after an accident, but with this pay structure, you are able to access world-class attorneys who can fight to get you the money you deserve.
