Our attorneys have been assisting the Orange County and Southern California communities for over 40 years.
At DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo, our goal is to help accident victims put the pieces back together. Our Orange County personal injury attorneys work hard to obtain clients’ financial compensation for damages, such as lost wages and medical bills, so they can finally move forward. If you have any type of injury, such as a broken bone or head injury, after an accident in Southern California, please do not hesitate to contact our Santa Ana office at (714) 783-2205 to request a free consultation. We may be able to help you obtain the recovery and justice you need to achieve peace of mind.
While it is possible to represent yourself during an Orange County personal injury claim, this is generally not in your best interest. Representing yourself could have serious pitfalls. An insurance company in California may take the opportunity to take advantage of you as an unrepresented claimant, for example, and try to offer a settlement that does not equate to your losses. You could also make common mistakes that are likely to reduce your compensatory award, such as missing information on your claim or failing to identify all defendants.
When you hire an injury attorney, you gain the ability to maximize your financial recovery award. Your lawyer can take control of insurance settlement negotiations for you, making sure a claims adjuster does not offer a lowball amount. Having a professional negotiator take over your claim could force the insurance carrier to treat you more fairly and result in greater compensation. Hiring a lawyer will also benefit you if your case has to go to trial. If an insurer is not offering a fair settlement, your personal injury lawyer could aggressively advocate for better results in court in Orange County instead.
A personal injury can happen in many accidents and scenarios. You could suffer a life-changing bodily injury on the road, at a grocery store, at work, or right at home. Certain types of accidents, however, lead to personal injury causes of action in California more than others. If you were involved in any of the following accidents in Orange County, you could have grounds to file a civil lawsuit against one or more parties.
Human error causes most accidents, personal injuries, and wrongful deaths in California. At DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo, our experienced Orange County personal injury lawyers can analyze your recent accident for signs of fault or negligence. Our Orange County trial lawyers have experience handling many types of personal injury claims, as well as taking personal injury cases to court and obtaining positive verdicts. We can help you hold a defendant responsible for causing your bodily injury using the civil justice system.
As the victim of a personal injury in Orange County, you do not have an unlimited amount of time to bring a cause of action against one or multiple defendants. California’s statute of limitations restricts your right to file to a specific deadline. The time limit on a personal injury claim in California is two years, meaning you will have two years from the date of your accident, injury, or illness to file a personal injury suit. You might have more than two years if you did not discover your damages until later, in which case the clock will start ticking on the date of discovery rather than the date of the accident.
If you lost a loved one and wish to pursue a wrongful death claim in California, you have two years from the date of the deceased person’s death to file. This may or may not match the date of the fatal accident. A few exceptions exist to the general statute of limitations, such as for minor victims. Talk to our skilled Orange County personal injury attorneys to learn your specific deadline. Act quickly – if you miss your statute of limitations, the courts will more than likely bar you from financial recovery.
There are various steps that you can take after sustaining an injury in Orange County that can help you recover the compensation you need for your losses. As we go through these steps, please understand that we know the aftermath of many injuries can be chaotic. You may not be able to take all of these steps in this exact order, but it is important that you do as much as you can to ensure that you follow this process as closely as possible:
Continue all medical care. It is crucial for all injury victims to continue medical care until their doctor says they have reached maximum medical improvement. Discontinuing medical care could send a signal to the insurance carriers that the injury victim is not as injured as they say they are.
At DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo, our Orange County accident attorneys have years of experience helping injured victims. We have helped hundreds of clients successfully resolve their personal injury cases and receive positive outcomes. Our legal team has experience assisting clients with many types of physical injuries, including catastrophic and life-changing personal injuries.
After any physical injury or illness diagnosis from a physician after an accident in Orange County, contact us to schedule a free initial consultation. One of our lawyers in Santa Ana will meet with you at a place that is convenient for you to listen to your story. We will answer your questions and let you know if we believe you have grounds for a personal injury case. We accept claims involving many different types of injuries.
If a personal injury claim moves into civil court in the form of a lawsuit, injury victims and their attorney will have to prove the negligence of the other party in order to recover compensation. In order to do so, the four elements of negligence need to be present:
It must be shown that the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty to exercise reasonable care. Depending on the situation, this duty of care will look different. For example, a driver has a duty of care not to operate recklessly and cause an accident. Doctors and other healthcare professionals owe a duty of care to provide adequate medical care to their patients. Property owners are responsible for providing safe environments for those who have a right to be on their premises.
After a duty of care is established, it has to be shown that the defendant negligently breached their duty to the plaintiff. The plaintiff or their attorney will have to show that the defendant acted or failed to act in a way that another person would not have. For example, a driver will have breached their duty of care if they operate while impaired by alcohol or drugs. A doctor will likely have breached their duty of care if they fail to obtain a full patient medical history before treating a patient’s ailments.
After a breach of duty has been established, it must be shown that the breach had a direct causal link to the incident and the injuries in question. An attorney will have to show enough evidence to establish that the injuries would likely not have happened were it not for the actions of the defendant.
Injury victims in California have to show proof of compensable or specific damages in order for their claim to be successful. This can include compensable losses such as medical bills, lost income, legal fees, pain and suffering, emotional distress, property image, etc.
Do not let the potential cost of a personal injury lawyer prevent you from discussing your case with one. At the law offices of DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo, our initial consultations are 100% free and no obligation. We can answer your questions without any financial risks to you. During a conversation with one of our trial attorneys, you could learn the cost benefits of hiring a personal injury attorney. Although you will have to pay attorney’s fees, the amount a lawyer can secure you compared to what you could receive on your own can make up for legal expenses.
The Orange County personal injury lawyers at DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo operate on a contingency fee basis. We use this setup to ensure high-quality legal representation is available to all injury victims. Our personal injury attorneys will not charge a cent for their services unless they succeed in obtaining you a financial award. No settlement or verdict, no legal fees. If we do win compensation on your behalf, you will pay our legal fees directly out of the award won, not out of your pocket. This setup ensures you can always afford a personal injury lawyer.
After a car crash or any motor vehicle accident, contact the insurance company of the allegedly negligent party to pursue a claim to damages. After an auto accident, for example, file a claim against the driver you believe caused the collision. The insurance company will then assign a claims adjuster to your case. The adjuster is in charge of reviewing your case and any evidence or documentation you submit. The adjuster may also assess things in person, such as the damage to a vehicle. The adjuster will then recommend to the insurance carrier whether or not to accept your claim. You may receive a phone call from insurance adjusters as soon as the day after your accident.
Be wary when talking to an adjuster. You do not have to talk to him or her at all if you do not wish; an Orange County car accident lawyer from DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo can negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf. Using an experienced car accident attorney to negotiate with a claims adjuster can be beneficial, as it can allow you to combat common bad faith tactics such as offering a lowball settlement or denying your claim without giving a valid reason.
If you wish to talk to a claims adjuster, be careful what you say. Do not admit fault for your accident or injuries and do not permit the adjuster to record a statement from you. Recording a statement is a strategy an insurance company may use to obtain the information it could hold against you later. Keep your answers and questions concise and honest. Do not offer any information the claims adjuster does not request. When in doubt, use our negotiators to deal with insurance companies instead.
California operates under a “pure comparative negligence” system. This means that individuals can still recover compensation even if they are up to 99% at fault for their injuries. Under this system, an individual will receive reduced compensation based on their percentage of fault. For example, if an individual sustains $100,000 worth of medical bills and other compensable losses, but they are found to have been 30% responsible for causing their own injuries, they would receive $70,000 instead of the full $100,000 to account for their percentage of fault.
This type of shared fault system ensures that individuals can still recover partial compensation even if they are partly responsible for the incident. However, it is crucial to work with a skilled personal injury attorney who can push back against the other side when they try to put some or all of the blame for the incident onto the injury victim. These shared fault laws came quickly and unjustly reduce how much compensation a person receives if they do not have an advocate on their side.
Hiring the right Orange County personal injury lawyer could transform your case and legal experience. A lawyer can give you the legal advice needed to improve your chances of winning full and fair compensation for your medical expenses and other damages. Achieving the maximum compensation in a personal injury lawsuit can enable you and your family members to move forward with financial stability after a traumatic accident.
A lawyer can also provide invaluable peace of mind when you and your loved ones need it the most during this difficult time. Your accident lawyer can handle all the legal elements of your case while you focus on healing. Learn how an experienced attorney at DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo can help you during a personal injury claim. Contact us online or call our Orange County law office at (714) 783-2205 today to schedule a free case review.
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“Great experience working with this law firm. They kept me up to date on the process of the case and explained to me in great detail each step and all of the documents. Would 10/10 recommend them to anyone seeking legal counsel as they are their staff are highly professional and make others feel welcome.” – Edwin Duran