California Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice Lawsuit News

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California Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice Lawsuit News was created as a resource for both personal injury and medical malpractice victims as well as for attorneys, trial lawyers, investigators, law firms and others interested in researching current litigation in the United States, particularly here in the State of California.

Our main focus will continue to be regularly updated news headlines on personal injury lawsuits, public insurance settlements, historic court cases, Supreme Court rulings, changes in state and federal laws concerning tort (lawsuit) reform, recall information, press releases by law firms representing both plaintiffs and defendants in personal injury litigation and updated warnings about possibly dangerous or defective products that are still available in the marketplace.

We will be adding a number of new sections, including a directory of local attorneys and law offices in California that offer free initial consultations. For the State of California we are compiling regional listings that will cover the following areas: San Francisco (Bay Area), Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County/Anaheim, Riverside County, Oakland, San Jose, Napa County, Santa Rosa, Redding, Stockton and possibly others.

About Personal Injury Lawsuits

Personal Injury Attorneys and personal injury lawsuits have been in the headlines much in recent years. Unfortunately, much of the news coverage surrounding these cases tends to be negative. The insurance industry seems to be making an attempt to demonize trial lawyers, personal injury attorneys, law firms that specialize in consumer litigation and class action lawsuits as well as the victims of tragic accidents, injuries and even wrongful deaths. Unfortunately, the popular press seems all too eager to play along and, in effect, re-victimize the victims.

About Accident Victim Attorneys

A bad stereotype seems to have been embedded in the public’s mind in recent years about “shady” lawyers that prey upon those involved in accidents, particularly motor vehicle or auto accidents. The stereotypical “ambulance chaser” is represented as a scam artist who races to the scene of car wrecks to seek to represent those who may (or may not) have been injured in an accident. On television, these attorneys always seem to encourage their clients to make-up stories about suffering from whiplash, memory loss, vertigo, post traumatic stress syndrome, mental and psychological issues and other injuries that are almost impossible for real Doctors (even specialists) to prove or disprove. An emphasis seems to be put on collecting large settlements for things like pain and suffering, loss of work, mental and physical therapy, large Doctor and hospital bills, attorney fees, medical tests, etc. While this may make for good TV drama, it is rarely the case that accident victims are able to collect settlements for things like “pain and suffering”. Most are lucky to reach settlements that simply cover their personal medical expenses, which can be enormous.

Without legal representation, victims are often on their own

In realty, attorneys that represent accident victims are often sought as a last resort, when insurance companies refuse to pay for medical service or treatment for injuries suffered from accidents, negligence, unsafe working conditions or those who are injured by unsafe consumer goods.

Without accident victim attorneys, law firms and trial lawyers, these individuals would be practically helpless against the huge insurance carriers, and may wind-up spending the rest of their life suffering physical and emotional pain as well as bankruptcy or financial problems as a result of huge bills from Doctors and hospitals. Lawyers who represent accident victims are often the only victim advocates willing to provide assistance without any up-front costs or attorneys fees.

How Attorneys and Law Firms Work

Unlike with most areas of the law (i.e. criminal cases and most civil cases), attorneys for accident victims generally do not charge any up-front fees for legal services. After an initial consultation (many lawyers provide a free initial consultation), clients are usually asked to sign an agreement for legal representation if an attorney or law firm is willing to accept their case. Generally, these attorneys will work for you on a contingency basis. In other words, the only way they will make money is if your case is settled (in or outside of court). Lawyers receive a portion, or percentage, of the settlement value or the amount of money awarded to them by the court after a court trial. Contingency fees are generally around 40% of what is actually collected. Attorneys only receive this money AFTER you are paid. If you lose the case, your law firm will collect nothing, so it is very important to them that you case is legitimate and can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in a civil court case or tort.

In order for a lawsuit to be successful, victims must prove their real and financial injuries beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. They must first provide some type of evidence of the defendant’s responsibility in the case. They must also prove that their physical or mental injuries are legitimate. This often comes in the way of results from medical tests, testimony by a qualified physician who is a specialist in the area that treats injuries that the victim has and lastly prove any actual financial damages that resulted from the injury. The largest source of financial damages is in the form of bills for medical treatment, attorney fees, filing fees and loss of work or employment due to temporary or permanent disability. Only after a victim has met the burden of proof for all of these areas will damages for pain and suffering be considered by the judge or jury in a court case.

If an attorney accepts your case, they are taking a chance of losing a significant amount of time and money if they do not settle or win your court case. The attorney’s law firm usually must pay for filing fees, medical testing for evidence, appointments with specialists to establish your case, expert testimony by Doctors, physicians, therapists and others qualified to give sworn testimony or depositions to the court. This is on top of the administrative costs that their legal offices must provide. These include issuing subpoenas, paralegal services, requesting discovery, motions, depositions, travel, private investigators, the usual overhead of running a law practice, secretaries and much more. Obviously, a good attorney will not take your case if they feel that they can not prove real, monetary damages. If you lose your case, they will be forced to absorb all of these expenses without any compensation. Therefore, you must be able to produce legitimate and provable evidence before an attorney will take your case seriously.

Most attorneys prefer settlements to expensive trials

The Insurance Companies

In most cases, the actual opposing party will not be the individual or business that allegedly caused the injury, but their insurance carrier. These insurance companies often employ in-house counsel or contract the work to a dedicated attorney or law office that is hired to represent them for your particular case. The job of their counsel is to provide you with as little (or no) of the insurance company’s money as possible. They do not work on contingency fee. Rather, they are generally paid an hourly wage or contract rate to compensate them for their time and effort. These lawyers get paid, regardless of whether the case is settled, goes to trial or the case is simply dismissed by the court or the victim decides to drop the lawsuit.

Settling vs. Going To Court

Only a small percentage of personal injury cases ever result in a court trial. The vast majority of these potential lawsuits are settled out of court through private agreements prior to any court appearance. Negotiations that result in a cash settlement are generally in the interest of all parties involved. It will save the accident victim time by getting their money to them sooner. An injury rights attorney will also get paid sooner. In addition, they will incur much less out-of-pocket expenses when settling. The insurance companies usually settle for much less money than they would stand to lose in a court case and save an enormous amount on attorney fees. If the insurance company suspects insurance fraud or feels that there is a good chance that a lawsuit would be dismissed, they will usually refuse to settle for any amount. This is to discourage fraud by compensating individuals making false accusations as well as lawyers who might represent those whose injuries are not legitimate. Unless the amount of money offered by an insurance company is ridiculously inadequate, a lawyer will usually advise their client to settle.

Exposure to asbestos often leads to a rare disease called mesothelioma

Common Lawsuits Today

In a world that has an ever-increasing amount of litigation, certain types of cases seem to stand out these days. Generally speaking, law firms tend to go after cases that have the highest chance of success as well as the largest settlement or judgment possible. At the moment, the most lucrative lawsuits for lawyers tend to be the following:

Mesothelioma and Asbestos Related Injuries – Individuals who have been exposed to asbestos, generally through their workplace, often contract lung cancer or a disease known as mesothelioma. Although the condition is rare, it is very serious, and can lead to a lifetime of pain and suffering. Due to the fact that the dangers of asbestos are so well documented, the odds of reaching a settlement in these cases tends to be very high. The amount of money awarded is typically more than with other injury related illnesses caused through negligence. There are entire law firms devoted to filing claims for asbestos related diseases these days.

Prescription Drug Side-Effects – There are a record number of lawsuits these days against prescription drug companies and the pharmaceutical industry. A number of drugs that were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have later proven to cause serious side effects, or even death. There are an enormous amount of lawsuits each year against drug manufacturers. Attorneys know that pharmaceutical companies have deep pockets and are often eager to settle in order to avoid bad publicity. Some of the most common lawsuits include the drugs Vioxx, Avandia, Celebrex, Fen Phen, Redux, Zyprexa, Rezulin, Paxil, Baycol, Bextra, Cipro, Levaquin, Heparin and Gardasil.

Medical Malpractice – Medical malpractice lawsuits are increasingly common these days in light of America’s growing dependence upon healthcare. Many hospitals in the United States face tightening budgets as well as a shortage of physicans, surgeons, nurses and other medical specialists. This may sometimes cause them to lower their standards or look to other countries for staffing solutions. This often leads to more mistakes during treatment which result in medical malpractice lawsuits. Generally, most physicians and hospitals carry medical malpractice insurance, and lawsuits or settlements are typically handled by the insurance companies themselves. Most valid medical malpractice suits are settled out of court. Occasionally, these lawsuits go to trial though. Most law firms will only accept these individual cases if the malpractice resulted in death or very serious injury. Either that, or there must be evidence that the other party was grossly negligent, acted maliciously, showed a previous pattern of negligence or had some motive for treatment other than the well-being of the patient. These can be very risky cases, because they are expensive to take to trial, depend upon expensive expert witnesses who often have conflicting viewpoints and actually proving monetary damages can be tricky. These lawsuits are often brought against more than a single party, such as a Doctor, the hospital, assisting physicians, etc. in order to generate greater odds for success as well as a larger settlement or judgment.

Exposure to hazardous materials such as asbestos in the workplace has lead to a number of lawsuits.

Here are some links to popular legal websites.

Find California Code – Use this page to look up civil and criminal statutes in the State of California.

California Findlaw.

Lawyers.Com – Website for referral to an attorney or lawyer in the State of California.

California State Bar Association

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California Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice Lawsuit News