San Jose Personal Injury Lawyer
If the water pipes in your house spring a leak, you would not call an electrician; you would call a plumber. And if the lights in your home did not work, you would not call a landscaper; you would call an electrician. Although these are all professionals who might provide repair service on your house, when there is a specific problem, you want a professional with knowledge, training, and expertise in dealing with that problem.
Likewise, there are different kinds of lawyers who practice law. But if you have been injured in an accident in San Jose, you don’t want just any lawyer licensed to practice law in California. You want a lawyer who has expertise dealing with the type of accident you experienced. You want a lawyer with the experience necessary to evaluate who was at fault in your accident and how to assess the value of your injuries. You want a lawyer who is trained to negotiate with insurance companies. You want a lawyer who is familiar with the local court rules. If you have been seriously injured in an accident, you don’t want just any lawyer who practices law. You want a San Jose personal injury lawyer.
Why Do I Need a Personal Injury Lawyer?Just as service professionals like plumbers, electricians, and landscapers specialize in a specific service area, lawyers specialize in specific areas of law. Some lawyers specialize in corporate law; some specialize in bankruptcy. Others specialize in family law or criminal law. If you have a problem dealing with these specific issues, you should contact an attorney who specializes in these areas.
At Moseley Collins Law, we specialize in personal injury claims. If you suffer a personal injury caused by the negligent behavior of someone else, we have the experience, training, and expertise to provide the specialized legal skills necessary to represent your interests in your specific type of personal injury claim.
What Is a Personal Injury Claim?A personal injury claim is a lawsuit filed in court on behalf of a party (called a plaintiff) who claims to have been injured because of the negligent acts of another party (called a defendant). Generally, all personal injury claims require the plaintiff to prove four common elements in the case. These include:
- A duty of care. A plaintiff must first show that the defendant had a legal duty to act reasonably when performing certain acts. For example, drivers owe other drivers on the road a duty to drive safely. Property owners owe a duty to people on their property to remove unsafe hazards. Manufacturers owe customers the duty of producing safe products.
- A breach of duty. Next, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant acted unreasonably, in such a way that the defendant failed to satisfy or fulfill their duty of care.
- Causation. The plaintiff also must show that the defendant’s unreasonable behavior is what directly or proximately caused an accident to occur, which resulted in the plaintiff suffering some injury to their person or property.
- Damages. Finally, the plaintiff must prove that he or she suffered actual damages as a result of the defendant's unreasonable behavior. This can include financial damages like medical bills, for example, or personal, physical or emotional damages, like bodily injury, pain and suffering, or death.
These four elements, when proven, amount to negligence. In any type of personal injury claim, the plaintiff must prove all the elements of negligence to be compensated for their injuries.
What Are Some Different Types of Personal Injury Claims?Generally, all personal injury claims require a showing of negligence on the part of the defendant. But negligence may occur in a variety of personal injury cases. Each type of personal injury case has its own unique facts and circumstances that make it special. And personal injury lawyers can specialize in any type of personal injury case.
Here are the some of the types of personal injury cases in which the lawyers at Moseley Collins Law have specialized expertise:
- Birth injury cases. These cases involve injuries to a newborn resulting from difficulties in childbirth, which may result in bone fractures or conditions such as Cerebral Palsy, Erb’s Palsy, and Brachial Plexus Palsy.
- Car accidents. Car accident cases may involve “hit-and-runs,” “drunk driving,” multiple- and single-car accidents, or mechanical failure.
- Motorcycle accidents. Motorcycle accidents can be caused by a variety of factors, including speeding, improper lane changes, and road conditions.
- Uninsured / Underinsured motorist. California law requires every driver to carry certain types of insurance in certain amounts.
- Construction site vehicle accidents. Construction sites have unique traffic rules and risk factors that personal injury lawyers must identify.
- Product liability. Manufacturers and suppliers have an obligation to use appropriate materials and provide safe products.
- Pedestrian accidents. Pedestrian-vehicle accidents present unique issues and can result in unique injuries.
- Medical malpractice. Health care providers may be subject to heightened standards of care that can be difficult to prove.
- Dog bites. Dog owners have different duties of care under different circumstances.
- Nursing Home Abuse. Nursing home abuse can manifest in a variety of forms that can be very difficult to identify and equally difficult to prove.
- Slip and Fall cases. Slip and fall cases often present questions of fault in a variety of circumstances.
- Truck accidents. Truck accident cases are uniquely different from car accident cases and may include any number of liable defendants depending on what caused the truck accident.
- Wrongful death. Wrongful death cases involve special circumstances that require experienced lawyers who know how to value damages when an accident results in fatality.
Each type of personal injury case involves its own unique aspects and legal issues. For example, defendants in a medical malpractice case have a different duty of care than defendants in a slip and fall case. Defendants in dog bite cases do not behave negligently the same way as defendants in a drunk driving accident. Birth injury victims suffer very different injuries than victims of nursing home abuse. And the damages in a wrongful death suit are valued quite differently than damages in a product liability case. Depending on the type of personal injury case you experience, you want a lawyer with expertise in that type of personal injury case.
Why Should I Hire a San Jose Personal Injury Lawyer?If you have been injured in any type of personal injury case, you should immediately find a personal injury lawyer with experience handling that type of case. And if you are a resident of San Jose, or have been injured in San Jose, you will want a San Jose personal injury lawyer.
The experienced personal injury lawyers at Moseley Collins Law have expertise in a variety of personal injury cases. Visit our website to see all the different types of personal injury cases in which we can help you. Don’t let just any attorney represent you in an area of law in which they do not specialize and have a proven track record of experience. If you have been injured in any type of accident, call Moseley Collins Law at 415-888-8888. We have experienced lawyers with knowledge and expertise that can make the difference in your specific type of personal injury case.