Personal injury:

Know your rights when you suffer a personal injury in California.

A serious injury has widespread effects on your life, impacting your ability to support your family and enjoy your day-to-day activities. When personal injury occurs through no fault of your own, California law gives you the right to seek compensation from the responsible party, both for your medical bills and the related pain of the injury.

Personal injury in California can be divided into two basic categories: On-the-job injuries and non-work related injuries.

· Work injuries are covered by workers' compensation insurance paid by your employer. If your employer maintains that coverage and provides care for your injury, you generally cannot sue over the incident.

· Non-work injuries caused by the negligence of another person, such as in an automobile accident or a slip-and-fall are covered by California Civil Code§ 1714. You can sue to prove negligence and recover damages.

Workers' compensation cases

Let's start with an injury that occurs on the job. The first and most important step is to report the injury, or illness, as soon as you realize what has happened, and seek medical treatment. You cannot receive any coverage if you don't do those things first.

Within one day of learning of your injury, your employer must give or mail you the state's Division of Workers' Compensation Form 1. This is the form where you describe the injury or illness and begin your claim for benefits.

Through workers' comp, you will receive medical treatment for the injury and temporary disability pay if the injury leaves you unable to work. Treatment generally can continue as long as necessary, however, the law limits chiropractic visits, physical therapy visits, and occupational therapy visits to 24 each.

The injury may leave you permanently disabled, in which case the state will determine the extent and percent of your disability. You will be entitled to permanent disability pay and possibly payment for future medical expenses. You also may receive vocational training if you can no longer perform the same job.

While it isn't necessary to have a personal injury attorney, it is always a good idea to consult one in situations like this. An attorney can help you navigate the complex bureaucracy and can advise you on dealing with any disagreements you may have with your claims administrator.

Personal injury cases

The system for dealing with personal injury situations away from work is much less structured, so it will be up to you to get your case started.

Obviously, the first thing you have to do following an accident is seek treatment. Let the ambulance take you to the hospital if possible. Otherwise, go to the emergency room or to your family doctor. Make sure you get copies of any records related to the treatment of your personal injury.

Many doctors will provide treatment for your injury and defer payment until the settlement of your personal injury case.

Also, request a police report documenting your personal injury. The police usually are called out for automobile accidents or other kinds of accidents involving serious injury. The officer will write and incident report, and you are entitled to a copy. This report will provide important information about the time and place the injury occurred, as well as the circumstances.

After the accident, do not talk about blame, or apologize for anything that occurred. Exchange identification and insurance information, if you are able, but leave it at that. Anything else you say could effect the case should you decide to sue.

California civil law establishes that everyone must take due care not to cause injury to another person, so you must prove fault when suing over a injury. It is also a "comparative fault" state, meaning a jury at Trials could assign some of the fault to you and some to the other party. Depending on the percentage, that could significantly reduce any compensation you receive in a personal injury case.

You should keep your own notes of what happened, what injuries you received and what effect those injuries have on you. The doctor likely did not take photos, so you certainly should. Make sure the room is well-lighted and get multiple angles. The photos will be useful later to your personal injury attorney.

Statute of limitations

This is very important: The statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit in California is two years. As soon as you realize you have sustained a serious, possibly permanent injury, contact an attorney so he can begin protecting your rights.

There are two other factors to consider.

California offers state disability insurance, or SDI, to cover lost wages from an injury sustained away from work. You pay into the insurance from your wages, and can collect about two-thirds of your regular pay for up to a year if you are unable to work after a personal injury.

You do not have to pay that money back if you receive a settlement in your case. However, the insurance company representing the person you are suing may be able to obtain records from SDI and use those against you if there are differences between your SDI application and your personal injury claim.

Also remember that claims adjusters working the insurance company likely will approach you soon after your are injured. It is in the best interest of the insurance company to settle your personal injury claim as early in the process as possible, for as little as possible.

The claims adjusters may tell you that you do not have much of a case. They will tell you the amount they are offering is the best you are going to get. Do not accept those offers without consulting a personal injury attorney first. Once you accept a settlement, the case is over.

A personal injury attorney can help make sure you are reasonably compensated.