California Personal Injury Legal Questions

Payments for personal injuries are separate property as it is a damage to your body. ?I would assume that any part which is for community property, such as wage loss after marriage and car damage, would be community property. ?Also, wage loss is taxable as you are getting replacement of wages you would have earned.... Read More

On what basis was the lower court ruling reversed? If it was on a technical basis, that might not be very helpful to you. If the Appeals court found a reasonable person based upon the evidence could not have concluded she was guilty, that is helpful. But you must remember that the DA had to show to 12 people that beyond a reasonable doubt she was guilty, but the defendant in a civil case just needs to get 4 out of 12 jurors to think the balance of evidence is against her to prevent her from winning. Also, the employer may have acted reasonably, but just was wrong then there is no liability. Without having more information, we can not tell you what your chances are.... Read More

If the police officer does not show up and you plead not guilty, you will win. Otherwise, you might be able to prove the radar gun was defective, but that is a very technical argument. What were you doing going 40 mph over the speeding limit? You were a danger to everyone on the road, including yourself. You need to check into what the punishment can be, as I personally think a 30 day suspension is too light a sentence.... Read More

For California, you have to sue where the accident took place or the defendant lives. The insurance company realizes that so is offering you a lower settlement amount. If you are suing for the decrease in value of your car [over and above of the cost of repair and a rental car at what it would actually cost you to rent], it will be very difficult to get any insurance company to pay. You need to get confirmation from 2-3 car dealers as to how much they would have to discount a car because of an accident.... Read More

You can successfully sue if the school was negligent [in some states, such as California, under a certain age the plaintiff child can not be found comparatively negligent, but you still have to show the defendant was negligent]. You need to get the facts as to what happened, but that will be difficult. The parents of the child who ran into him will not want you to speak to their child as he might admit negligence. The parents of other children not involved may allow they to speak, but how reliable is their testimony at that age. I doubt your home owners insurance covers incidents off your property. Unless you can find out how it happened, you can not win.... Read More

Since he settled [why did the attorney settle the case without knowing what all the medical bills were and settle for less than any outstanding bill] he can not recover from the defendant. The lawyer has to get the hospital to accept less than their billing. The attorney may have committed malpractice.... Read More

I do not see the basis for a lawsuit. Even if you could sue, it would cost a lot of money to depose all the people involved and hire your own psychiatrist to testify as to the standard of care. Everyone was in the position of not being sure whether you were a danger to yourself or not, so they took the reason route of assuming it was best to get your evaluation/treatment instead of dying.... Read More

You need to ask some dentists if the braces are causing the problem. I assume they are the same metal compound everyone wears without infections. Maybe they have some allergic reaction to something in the metal. If the dentist got a shipment of defective brace material other patients should also be having the problem. You need to try to get the health problem resolved first before spending much time seeking a lawyer.... Read More

If I understand your contract clearly, no. ?The contract states your remedy is the percentage of time you have not had treatment. ?Even if you did not have the contract, you would have to show that the new partner is clearly inferior to her, but even then you might not be entitled to any greater damages.... Read More

Since it is his tree and it is foreseeable that in high wind it will move its branches and interfere with the power lines, your neighbor is liable. ?His insurance carrier might be able to argue the power company has some fault for not maintaining the upper part of the tree, but that is an argument of contribution the insurance company needs to make, not you.... Read More

Since it is unreasonable to expect a child to warn others of such a problem, the mother does seem negligent [you can only include damages caused in the two year period before suit is filed]. Your big problem will be how are you going to collect anything? You can not go after the child support and a certain amount of her wages are protected. You also have to prove the bed bug problem came from her home [you should attempt to visit it before suing]. The testimony of a child does not have much weight behind it.... Read More

This is a circumstance where you almost certainly will be better served if you hire an attorney. An attorney will handle your matter on a contingency basis and your recovery will most likely be significantly higher with an attorney than without. Typically in these types of situations an insurance company is going to try to get you to resolve your matter quickly but for a settlement amount that is significantly less than the case is actually worth. Happy to discuss with you, but if you don't discuss with me you should certainly reach out to someone else. Thanks,Jon... Read More

I am sorry for the pain caused by his attempt to kill himself. ?He will be covered as a driver, but insurance normally only covers negligence and not willful acts. ?You have to look at your insurance contract and then call the adjuster, without mentioning he was trying to kill himself, to see if they are going to pay for the damage. ?If not, you could try to argue that anyone trying to commit suicide is not thinking rationally so can not form an intent to cause damage.... Read More