Take the first step now by contacting our office for a free case evaluation.
You should not speak about your case with anyone but your Modesto personal
injury lawyer since the statements you make to an insurance adjuster or
claims representative may end up being used against you later to reduce
or even deny your claim. Instead, let us review the situation to determine
how much your claim for damages is worth.
We work on a
contingency-fee basis, so you would have nothing to lose by hiring our firm. Contingent fees
mean that
you do not have to pay us unless we win your case, and it makes it possible for you to hire legal representation without
worrying about the costs of paying a retainer fee up front. We take an
aggressive approach and are ready to fight to get the results you deserve.
What Are the Statute of Limitations in California?
Everyone who has suffered a personal injury due to the actions of another
has the right to pursue financial compensation from the liable party.
They cannot, however, wait an unreasonable amount of time to make their claim.
To this end, California has created a set of statutes of limitations –
or time limits – for personal injury lawsuits. If no case is filed
before the statute expires, any filed in the future for that same injury
can be immediately thrown out by the court.
Nearly every personal injury case in the state has a statute of limitations of
two years from when the injury occurred, however,
not every ailment is noticeable at first glance. For injuries that are discovered
some time after the accident or incident occurred, the statute of limitations is only
one year.
For example, you might have been prescribed
dangerous drugs unknowingly five years ago but you only started to suffer symptoms from
longtime use this year; you would still have a year to file a claim, starting
from when your symptoms began.
Injury cases do not need to mean harm to your body, as they can pertain
to damage to your property. You will have
three years to file a case seeking compensation after your property has been wrongfully
destroyed by others.
If your injury claim must be filed against a California city, county, or
government agency, you will only have
six months to create your suit. Additionally, there are numerous other rules in place
that you must follow.
Claims against the government are notoriously complicated, and it is widely
advised that you retain a lawyer as soon as possible in such scenarios.
A statute of limitation may actually be suspended – or tolled –
for a limited duration based on unique circumstances, and then resumed
again later. If you were placed in prison, for instance, where you had
no access to legal counsel, your statute would pause until you were released.
What Damages Can I Recover?
Generally, the compensation, or damages, that an injury victim can recover
are divided into three broad categories:
- Economic
- Non-economic
- And punitive damages
Like most states California imposes limits on how much certain damages
can be recovered in certain situations, for example, an uninsured driver
injured in an accident may not recover for pain and suffering. An attorney
can help you understand if any of these limitations apply to your case.
Economic Damages
As the name suggests, economic damages compensate for financial losses
an injury victim suffers such as:
- Medical bills
- The cost of any future medical expenses
- And missed days at work
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages, on the other hand, compensate for more abstract losses, such as:
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- And emotional distress
Economic damages are usually easy to quantify while non-economic damages
are not, as such non-economic damages are sometimes called “general
damages.”
Punitive Damages
The last category of damages, punitive, differs from the first two in that
their main purpose is to punish the negligent party. Punitive damages
are not often awarded since they are usually reserved for cases where
the negligent party knew their actions would cause harm but did so anyway.
