What Is Fault? How Will It Affect My Auto Injury Case In California?

Fault, legally known as liability, concerns the matter of who caused the incident and harm at hand. More often than not, in auto injury cases, liability or fault is admitted. It doesn’t mean that the injured victim is cleared for receiving damages because there is also what’s called defense of causation. That is the key issue and the most troubling, at times. Defense of causation is when a party admits that they are at fault for the accident but claims that they didn’t cause the injuries, or the extent of the injuries, claimed.

What Are The Statute Of Limitations For Bringing A Personal Injury Lawsuit when Involved In A Car Accident In California?

The statute of limitations is two years. That two years statute of limitations is for personal injury claims stemming from an ordinary person or a corporation. For government entities, the statute of limitations is one year and it requires the claimant file a claim within six months for his or her injuries and await a rejection by the government entity. The statute is six months from the date that it’s rejected but it must fall within the two year period. The government has set these restrictions for their own benefit and they can be tricky and require an attorney to make certain the claims are properly preserved.

What Defenses Do Insurance Companies Use To Avoid Paying Out On Injury Claims?

A common defense is causation as discussed earlier. By way of example, a 70 years old woman involved in a rear impact automobile collision who develops neck pain on the scene and ultimately through physicians is ordered to undergo an MRI may reveal, “degenerative changes”. The insurer and its attorneys will argue, she would have had this pain with or without the collision because of her age and that this collision did not cause the finding revealed on the MRI. This can be combatted by many ways which require effective counsel to make the arguments.

Another defense that the insurance companies will raise, she already had this injury. She was complaining of a neck injury five years ago. One may wonder how the defense will have their medical records. They are not entitled to them in the claim stage but, often, they will send to the claimant an authorization seeking to view those medical records, if the claimant is not represented. If you do not put a stop to it within the time period, they can get all of those records and without proper representation and arguments to effectively explain what these records indicate an unrepresented party can be railroaded.

That is one of many reasons getting an attorney is important. Another defense they will raise is that no one should have sought any medical care in this incident. They will have no basis for this, sometimes. Perhaps it’s computer software they rely on to render this opinion or photographs of the vehicles showing the magnitude of impact could not have result in an injury.

The other thing the insurance companies try to attack is one’s character. They will look to see whether you have a criminal record and how many claims you have made in the past by running ones ISO, a database that gathers and collects any and all insurance claim information. In some cases, they will simply deny coverage. There are various other defenses that the insurance companies’ lawyers will raise, depending at what juncture you are in your claim.

For more information on Fault In Auto Injury Cases In California, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (888) 747-5545 today.