Stockton Personal Injury Lawyers

Why Choose Silva Injury Law?

When you start researching personal injury lawyers, you will quickly realize how many law firms you must choose between in Stockon. Hiring the right attorney is one of the most important decisions you need to make in a personal injury claim.

Understandably, you might be wondering why you should choose Silva Injury Law over any other lawyer. When you hire us, you will:

• Be treated like family;
• Not be forced to pay any hourly legal fees or upfront costs as we don’t get paid unless we successfully recover money on your behalf;
• Receive a free consultation to determine whether you want to proceed with your case; and
• Receive expert legal representation where your attorney will concentrate on resolving your case for the maximum compensation possible without unnecessarily starting a legal fight that could jeopardize your case.

You are under no obligation when you meet with one of our Stockton personal injury lawyers. You have nothing to lose by coming in to let us review your case.

Types of Cases We Handle at Silva Injury Law

The personal injury attorneys at Silva Injury Law have years of experience with different cases. We are not afraid to take a case to trial either. You can rest assured if you retain our firm, we won’t hand your case off to another law office should you need to file a personal injury lawsuit.

Silva Injury Law represents injured clients for a wide variety of personal injury claims in Stockton. Some of the most common types include:

• Auto accidents,
• Dog bites,
• Slip and falls,
• Wrongful death,
• Sexual assault,
• Truck accidents,
• Livestock accidents,
• Motorcycle accidents,
• Product liability,
• Pedestrian accidents,
• Bicycle accidents,
• Drunk driving accidents, and
• Distracted driving accidents.

If you don’t see your type of accident listed here, don’t despair. It doesn’t mean that we cannot assist you. Please get in touch with us to schedule an initial consultation. Let us review your case and determine the best course of legal action for your claim.

Proving Liability in a Personal Injury Lawsuit

Before collecting any compensation in a personal injury accident claim, you must prove the defendants are responsible for your injuries. The responsibility to prove liability rests on you as the plaintiff. That is one reason why hiring a skilled attorney is crucial. You want someone who has experience building a solid case and can convince an insurance company, jury, or judge to side with you.

To be successful in your case, you must show that the defendants:

• Owed you a duty of care. An example would be a car accident. Drivers owe each other a duty to drive safely and follow all traffic laws.
• Breached the duty of care. You must show that the defendants carelessly or intentionally breached their duty in a way that another reasonable person would not have done.
• Caused your damages. It’s necessary to present evidence that shows the defendant’s breach of duty resulted in you sustaining injuries.
• Caused you to suffer damages. This last element requires you to show a loss, such as medical bills, property damage, time off work, etc.

Without proving all four elements of negligence, you would likely not receive any compensation for your injuries. It’s important to point out that you could be partially responsible for your own injuries and still collect damages in California. That is because of the pure comparative negligence law. Under this law, you could receive compensation for your damages in a personal injury case, even if you are primarily at fault. However, any payment you receive will be reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if a jury decides you are 60% at fault, you would still receive 40% of your damages.

Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury

You have a limited time to bring a personal injury lawsuit in California. The court will likely bar you from recovery if you miss the deadline. In general, you typically have two years from the accident to file a lawsuit for your injuries. Some types of personal injury cases have separate filing deadlines:

• Libel or slander is one year from the date of injury;
• Wrongful death is two years from the date of death;
• Medical malpractice could be one or three years, depending on the circumstances; and
• Lawsuits involving only property damage are three years from the date of damage.

There are some exceptions to the statute of limitations, which could grant you more or less time to file a lawsuit. One example is “tolling” the statute, which means temporarily pausing it. One example is when the defendant is not competent because they are still a minor, in prison, or suffering from a mental disorder. When the minor turns 18, the person is released from prison, etc., the statute would start running again.

If your case involves a claim against a government agency, you could be looking at a very short filing deadline and other special rules. That is why we recommend contacting a lawyer right away. Despite what the defendant’s insurance company would like you to believe, it’s not always in your best interest to wait to hire an attorney or attempt to resolve the case independently.

Do not assume that any of these exceptions apply to your case without speaking to an attorney first.

Contact Our Stockton Personal Injury Attorneys

Our Stockton personal injury lawyers stand ready to assist you if you recently sustained injuries in Stockton due to someone else’s actions. The legal team at Silva Injury Law can walk you through the claims process and explain how we can assist you. Don’t leave your personal injury claim to chance. Let Silva Injury Law help you get the compensation you deserve following a personal injury accident. Contact us today to learn more.