California Personal Injury Legal Questions

After a slip and fall in a California grocery store, promptly seek medical attention, document the scene, and report the incident to store management. Preserve evidence and consult with a personal injury attorney. To pursue a claim, establish the duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and damages. California law considers comparative negligence. Seek legal advice tailored to your case for guidance.... Read Answer

Good morning, and I'm sorry to hear about this tragic incident. You should retain counsel to pursue a claim against potentially the school district on the basis of negligent supervision, and also pursue a claim against the bully's parents also on the theory of negligence and their homeowners or renters insurance coverage may provide a source of recovery on this case. Some counsel handle these cases on contingency fee, which means you don't pay anything unless you win the case. Keep in mind there are very short statutes of limitations against school districts in the state of California, so you should act promptly.    ... Read Answer

A funeral home/Cemetery can be held civilly liable if their neglect and negligence inflicts severe emotional distress on a decedents immediate family members. This is despite that those immediate family members did not suffer any physical injuries. Retain counsel on contingency fee for possible representation. ... Read Answer

Ms. Rodriguez, It is difficult to determine whether you need a lawyer or not from the limited information provided.  This is so because many factors play a role in whether representation by a lawyer would be necessary or beneficial  in a personal injury claim.  It is encouraging that Target has reached out to you and offered to pay you for your pain and suffering and medical bills.  Be aware, it is very likely Target's impression of what would be reasonable compensation for your pain and suffering will be different than yours.  An attorney would be able to help by looking at various factors, some of which you might not consider, in determing reasonbable compensation for your pain and suffering.  Regarding your medical expenses, it is not uncommon for culpable parties to question the reasonableness and/or necessity of medical treatment an injured party receives following a traumatic event for which the at-fault party is potentially liable.  Another issue an attorney would also be able to assess concerning medical expenses is whether your health insurance company is entitled to receive a portion of any money you receive to reimburse the health insurer for accident related medical expenses paid on your behalf.  Most insurance companies have a lien right that must be considered when negotiating a settlement. Medical and Medicare also have rights to be reimbursed for medical bills paid on behalf of an injured party who receives compensation from an at-fault party and/or their insurance company.  An attorney can be effective in negotiating payment of any liens during the settlement negotiation process with Target.   Most personal injury lawyers handle cases that are economically feasible for them to handle on a contingency fee basis.  Under a contingency fee, the attorney's fee is based on a percentage of the client's settlement or recovery after trial.  If there is no recovery, typically a lawyer does not receive a fee for his/her services.  The bottom line is if your case has sufficient value to justify an attorney agreeing to represent you on a contingencey fee, you should be able to find one and you would probably be better off if you were represented by a competent personal injury attorney.  As mentioned above; however, there are too many factors that your question does not address for one to assess whether you would benefit from hiring an attorney, or if an attorney would  be interested in representing you.  I suggest you talk with a few more attorneys, tell them the nature and extent of your injuries, how the incident occurred, and see what they think.  Best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery. Michael J. Menicucci Menicucci Law Group 714-742-6848                ... Read Answer

Yes, you may have a case. Typically, in defamation cases, the plaintiff is required to prove that he has suffered damages and has to prove the damages that he suffered. There are four exceptions to the rule where The plaintiff is excused from the burden of proving damages. Those four categories are where the defendant has accused the plaintiff of having a loathsome disease, accusing the plaintiff of being a person of ill repute, accusing the plaintiff of engaging in fraudulent or deceptive business practices, or accusing the plaintiff of committing a criminal act. So the circumstances of your specific case would need to be explored to see if the facts would fall into one of these four categories. And even if they do not fall into one of those four categories you still may have a case if you can prove that you have suffered damages as a result of this defamation. So more facts are needed, so call counsel to discuss the case in more detail.... Read Answer

Ms. Mcadam, When you were struck in the face, the attacker arguably committed assault, battery and possibly, and this may surprise you – negligence. The elements of each are: 1. Assault: intent to cause a harmful or offensive contact with a person of another or third person, or an imminent apprehension of such contact, and the victim is put in reasonable apprehension of such contact; 2.  Battery:  intent to cause a harmful or offensive contact with the person of another, or third person, and a harmful or offensive contact occurs, directly or indirectly; 3. Negligence: failure to use reasonable care, resulting in damage or injury to another.  To prevail, a victim must show a defendant owed a duty; breach of that duty; and the breach caused damages.  A factor to consider is whether the attacker would be insured for your claim.  If a negligence claim is alleged, the attacker could request any insurance company that insured his home to defend him and pay for your damages up to the limits of his coverage.  Bear in mind, insurance companies do not cover damages that result from intentional misconduct.  Thus, if the other driver were found liable for assault/battery, most likely any insurance company that insured him would deny coverage.  For this reason, you would want to include a claim for negligence, which insurance companies do cover when an insured's negligent conduct causes bodily injuries. Although the facts presented do not suggest a viable liability theory against the resort, this is something you should discuss with a lawyer. Michael J. Menicucci - Menicucci Law Group 714-742-6848   ... Read Answer

Hello Anonymous, You may have both a medical malpractice case and a product liability case, or you may have just one.  Medical malpractice cases arise when a health-care provider's services fall below the standard of care of practitioners within their same area of specialty or type of practice.  Perhaps, in your case the health-care provider did something or failed to do something while administering the "product" or filler.  There are different legal theories that can be alleged in a products liability case: 1. Intent; 2. Negligence; 3. Strict Liability; Breach of Express Warranty; 4. Breach of Implied Warranty.  Also, there are different types of dangerous products that could give rise to a products liability case: They are:       a.  Manufacturing defect: exists if a product is manufactured differently from all others that came off the assembly line and is more          dangerous than other products;      b.  Design Defect: exists if all products in a line are the same but have dangerous propensities;      c.  Inadequate warnings: exist if manufacturer fails to adequately warn others of nonapparent dangers in using product.   You could consult a medical malpractice lawyer who also handles product liability cases, but in my experience there are fewer lawyers who specialize in medical malpractice cases who also handle product liability cases than there are personal injury lawyers who would be willing to handle a product liability case that also involves medical malpractice issues.  Therefore, I suggest you consult a personal injury lawyer first, but be aware medical malpractice is technically a personal injury claim and there may be practitioners who handle both malpractice claims and product liability cases.  Best Wishes, Michael J. Menicucci Menicucci Law Group, APC 1578 North Batavia Street Orange, CA   92867 714-742-6848 mjm@mlginjuryattorney.com www.mlginjuryattorney.com      ... Read Answer

You have a variety of options that should be considered.  A worker's compensation claim would be one if you, as you state, were in the course and scope of your employment when the incident occurred.  Second, you could pursue an uninsured motorist claim for your injuries and damages if the hit and run accident was reported to the police.  I recommend you contact a personal injury lawyer to discuss your options as soon as possible. Michael J. Menicucci Menicucci Law Group 714-742-6848 www.mlginjuryattorney.com  ... Read Answer

You may have a personal injury case against Walmart.  A store owner is required to provide reasonably safe premises for its customers.  If the boxes fell because they were improperly stacked or because of some other reason unrelated to anything you or your daughter might have done to contribute to the incident then the store could be held liable for negligence.  There are many factors that have to be considered.  A personal injury lawyer will be able to evaluate the facts to determine the strength of a case against Walmart.  I recommend you contact a lawyer to determine if a claim should be made against Walmart.    Michael J. Menicucci Menicucci Law Group 714-742-6848  ... Read Answer

Loss of earnings when you are a 1099 employee can be difficult. You need to show Amtrak that your loss was due to you being unable to perform your contractual duty, or that you lost out on a job because of the accident. It appears you are looking for an additional $400 in compensation. I do not know if your last years taxes will be able to reflect that amount. Somethimes a ledger of your writing for pay history will suffice. You need to talk to the adjuster and ask them specifically what they need to approve the amount. ... Read Answer

You could assert claims of assault, battery and this may surprise you - negligence.  Without more details, it is difficult to provide a comprehensive analysis of the elements of each cause of action as they would apply to your claim.  Questions include whether there were any witnesses to the altercation and whether the collision/altercation were reported to law enforcement. Based on the facts presented, it appears you would have a reasonably good chance of proving liability.   A factor to consider is whether the value of your claim justifies the expense and emotional investment of a claim/lawsuit.  Your damages could include past, present and any future physical/emotional pain, suffering and economic losses.  Relevant are the nature/extent of your injuries, amount of paid and future medical bills, past and future loss of earnings and the value of your broken glasses.  Punitive damages are also a possibility if you prove assault/battery, the amount of which depends on factors beyond the scope of this answer. Bear in mind, insurance companies do not cover punitive damages.  Another factor to consider is the potential for payment of any damages awarded.  If you allege and prove negligence, insurance coverage may provide a source of recovery from the other driver. Sometimes insurance companies, even those that question coverage, will settle a claim to avoid defense costs.   To summarize, you should at least consult an attoreny to discuss whether it would be economically feasible to pursue a bodily injury claim.  Bear in mind, California Code of Civil Proedure Section 335.1 requires an adult individual (plaintiff) to file a lawsuit within two years from the date of the intentional/negligent act.  After that, a personal injury claim would be barred.         ... Read Answer

It is a bad sign that you're already having a communication problem with an attorney at such an early stage of your relationship.  One of the most important aspects of an attorney-client relationship is a two-way line of communication.  If an attorney does not return phone calls, reply to letters or otherwise fails to communicate with the client, they are not fulfilling one of their most important duties as the client's attorney.  Failing to be able to communicate with the attorney at the beginning of a relationship is a sign that the client could have trouble communicating with the attorney in the future, and possibly for the duration of the matter for which the attorney was hired. An attorney-client relationship is not formed until both the client and attorney have signed the retainer agreement.  It sounds like you do not know if the attorney has executed the retainer agreement.  Whether the attorney has signed the agreement or not, a client has the right to discharge an attorney with whom there is a contingency fee agreement at any time for any reason.  A discharged attorney who does has valid attorney-client  relationship would have the right by asserting a lien to seek payment of the reasonable value of his/her services before they were discharged.  For that reason, a disatisfied client is better off finding a new attorney sooner rather than later.  The longer the client waits, the more work the discharged attorney will perform on the case and that will lead to a larger fee that the discharged attorney will seek out of the client's eventual recovery.  One of the things that attorneys who are being asked to take over a case consider is how much of the "attorney's fee pie" is going to be split with other lawyers.  Logically, the larger the piece of the attorney's fee pie other attorneys are going to want, the more difficult it will be to find a new attorney to take over the case. There could be a variety of reasons why the attorney has not returned your phone calls.  Perhaps the attorney's office is going through some significant changes because of the COVID19 virus.  On the other end of the spectrum, it could be that the attorney doesn't prioritize returning phone calls.  It's difficult to speculate why the attorney has not returned your calls, but you have valid concerns that need to be adressed ASAP.  If you decide to give the attorney another chance to return your call and you get a response, be sure to advise the attorney that you did not appreciate the delayed response. If you have reached the end of your patience, look for another attorney who values the importance of timely and regularly communicating with the client.              ... Read Answer

Yes and you can also sue the bully's parents. If the bully's parents own a home and they were on notice of their sons violent tendencies, their homeowners insurance may be a potential source of recovery for your son's damages. The school also could face liability. Retain counsel in California. ... Read Answer