What are the Differences Between Personal Injury Lawsuit Types in Carlsbad?

Anytime another party’s negligence or intentional wrongdoing results in another person suffering a serious or deadly injury, it may be possible to file a personal injury lawsuit or a wrongful death claim in Carlsbad. Yet given that personal injury law is such a broad area of the law, it can be confusing to distinguish between and among different kinds of personal injury cases and their required elements. For example, does a plaintiff need to prove something other than negligence in order to win certain types of personal injury cases? Does negligence look different depending upon the particular type of personal injury claim the plaintiff is pursuing? Our Carlsbad personal injury attorneys can provide you with examples about the differences among personal injury lawsuits.

Motor Vehicle Collision Claims

Many motor vehicle collision cases—including car crashes, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, and pedestrian and bicycle accidents—begin with insurance claims. These accidents can also result in motor vehicle accident lawsuits that require the injured plaintiff to prove that the at-fault driver was negligent. In a typical traffic collision case, negligence means failing to observe the level of care behind the wheel that a reasonable person would under the circumstances.

Premises Liability Lawsuits

Premises liability lawsuits arise whenever a person’s accident and injury results from a hazard on the premises. For example, slip and fall claims, as well as negligent security lawsuits and zipline accidents, are often filed as premises liability cases. To prove negligence, the injured person usually must show that the property owner failed to maintain the property in a manner that was reasonably safe, or failed to warn people about dangers on the property.

Dog Bites

Most California dog bite cases are strict liability claims. What does this mean? If a dog bites you and causes injuries, you do not need to prove that the owner was negligent. Instead, the owner will be strictly liable for harm caused by the dog even if the owner did not know the dog was aggressive or had a propensity to bite.

Construction Accidents and Work Injuries

In most construction accident cases, the injured person is a construction worker who was on the job at the time of the collision. It is important to understand that these cases are often a bit different from other kinds of injury cases since they need to go through the California workers’ compensation system. For most work injuries, workers’ compensation is an exclusive remedy. This means that an injured worker does not file a personal injury lawsuit against a negligent party and in fact does not even need to prove negligence. When a third party causes a construction accident injury, however, the injured person may still be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against that third party based on a theory of negligence.

Regardless of the type of personal injury lawsuit you are filing, California law requires most cases to be filed within two years from the date of the injury. There are exceptions, though, and you should discuss those with a personal injury lawyer in Carlsbad.

Contact a Carlsbad Personal Injury Attorney Today

Do you have questions about filing an injury claim? An experienced Carlsbad personal injury lawyer at our firm can assist you with your case. Contact the Walton Law Firm to learn more.

See Related Blog Posts: What Should I Do About a Slip and Fall in an Oceanside Supermarket? City of San Diego To Pay Nearly $10 Million in Car Accident Settlement