The Monterey personal injury attorneys at Harris Personal Injury Lawyers offer free consultations and reliable legal guidance to victims of personal injury and wrongful death throughout northern California.

Monterey Personal Injury Lawyers Represent These Common Claims:

Our personal injury law firm is dedicated to helping clients attain justice and the maximum compensation in the following types of cases:

• Car Accidents
• Bus Accidents
• Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Accidents
• Bicycle Accidents
• Motorcycle Accidents
• Pedestrian Accidents
• Boating Accidents
• Dog Bites and Animal Attacks
• Catastrophic Injuries (Traumatic Brain Injuries, Burn Injuries, and Spinal Cord Injuries)
• Airplane Crashes
• Premises Liability Cases
• Lyft & Uber Accidents
• Slip and Falls
• Train Crashes
• Turo Accidents
• Bird Scooter Accidents
• Wrongful Death
• Other Personal Injuries

Our practice is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We offer free case consultations over the phone or in person. We will come to you if you cannot come to us.

How Long Will It Take to Resolve My Personal Injury Claim?

The aftermath of a serious injury is a confusing time. You probably have a lot of questions such as: What are the strengths and weaknesses of my case? How much compensation might my case be worth? How much time could it take to resolve my claim? Unfortunately, we won’t be able to provide the answers you seek until we perform a thorough investigation. Regarding the duration of the proceedings, the ideal outcome would be to reach a fair settlement without having to proceed to litigation. Whether this happens will largely depend on the nature of any disputes that arise.  Here are a few factors that could impact the amount of time it takes to resolve your case: 

• Whether Multiple Parties Are Liable: Liability for a personal injury is sometimes shared by multiple parties. For instance, multiple defendants can be held liable for a plaintiff’s damages, and in some situations, it’s even possible for the plaintiff to share liability with the defendant(s). In such cases, disputes may arise over the portion of fault assigned to each party. Our Monterey personal injury attorneys can help mitigate such disputes by compiling all available evidence of liability and approximating each party’s percentage of fault based on the relevant case law, statutes, and the facts of your case.

• Whether You’ve Made Any Mistakes: Did you post about the incident on social media? Did you provide a recorded statement to the insurance company? Your correspondence with the insurer could have a profound impact on the outcome of your case since recorded statements can be used as evidence to challenge your claim, as can social media posts. Another common error made by personal injury claimants is failing to take reasonable steps to mitigate the damages. For instance, if you did not follow your doctor’s orders, the opposing party might argue that your negligence led to your condition worsening or prolonged your recovery, which could prevent you from obtaining compensation for 100 percent of your losses. 

• The Amount of Compensation You Are Seeking: Typically, the less compensation a plaintiff is pursuing, the less incentive the insurance company has to invest time and resources into disputing the claim. If you are seeking a considerable sum, you can expect the insurance company to search meticulously for reasons to deny your claim or reduce its value. Your social media profiles might be monitored, you may be placed under surveillance, and your medical records might be assessed to find evidence of a preexisting condition. These are just a few of the strategies an insurance adjuster may employ to challenge your claim.

• The Amount of Time It Takes to Reach MMI: Even if you have strong evidence to support your claim, it could take several months to well over a year to reach maximum medical improvement. This is a point in your medical recovery where your injuries are no longer expected to improve. Your Monterey personal injury lawyer might suggest putting off the settlement negotiations until you have reached MMI. This will help your legal team arrive at a more accurate approximation of your total damages. If you rush into the settlement negotiations, your medical costs and other losses might turn out to be more extensive than anticipated, but once you’ve agreed to a settlement, you will not be able to pursue further compensation from the defendant.

• Whether Your Case Proceeds to Litigation: We’ve already touched on a few common disputes that can send a personal injury case to litigation, but there are countless others. In fact, no matter how strong your claim seems, the opposing party may still refuse to pay a fair settlement. At Harris Personal Injury Lawyers, we will do everything in our power to help you obtain a fair settlement without having to proceed to litigation, but we will relish the opportunity to file a lawsuit if it is in your best interests to do so. 

What Factors Might Influence the Settlement Calculations?

There’s no one-size-fits-all formula for approximating a fair settlement in a personal injury case. At Harris Personal Injury Lawyers, we have many decades of collective experience in settlement negotiations. Our team can estimate a fair settlement figure based on the specific facts surrounding your case. Factors that could influence the potential value of your claim include:

• The Cost of Medical Care: If you’ve suffered a catastrophic injury and will require long-term medical care, your potential settlement would likely be higher than it would be if your injuries were minor and temporary.

• The Amount of Income Lost: If you were not able to return to you work due to your injuries, these lost wages may be recoverable as part of your settlement. As such, the amount of income you were making before the injury could influence the settlement figure.

• The Value of Other Economic Damages: If you had to modify your home or vehicle to accommodate any physical impairments stemming from injuries sustained the accident, or had to invest in child care or use alternative transportation, these expenses could be factored into the settlement calculations.

• Injury Severity: Serious injuries typically lead to steeper medical expenses and could also warrant a higher award for non-economic damages such as pain and suffering.

• Whether You Had a Preexisting Condition: Did you have a preexisting medical condition that was aggravated in the accident? While having a preexisting condition would not bar you from bringing a claim, it might impact the damages calculations. You won’t be able to obtain compensation for medical costs and other losses that would have happened even if the accident had not occurred; however, you can pursue compensation for the exacerbation of a preexisting injury.

• Whether You Were Partially Liable: If you were partially responsible for the accident, your financial award may be reduced by your percentage of fault.

• Whether You Have Mitigated the Damages: Did you put off the medical assessment? Have you deviated from your doctor’s orders? If you fail to take reasonable steps to minimize your medical costs and other damages, your financial award might be reduced.

What Damages Are Available in California Personal Injury Claims?

If you are facing steep medical bills and lost income due to an unexpected injury, it is only natural to wonder how much your claim is worth. Unfortunately, it is not possible to predict the outcome of your case without first knowing the cause of your accident, the severity of your injuries, the estimated cost of medical bills and lost income, and other facts surrounding your claim. The Monterey personal injury attorneys at Harris Personal Injury Lawyers will perform a thorough review of your case to determine the types of damages you may be able to recover. We will then gather all available evidence of your financial and non-economic losses to calculate their value and to ensure your case has teeth before we head into settlement negotiations. If you were injured, you may be entitled to compensation for:

• Injury-related healthcare bills you have already paid;
• Future medical expenses;
• Lost income;
• Reduced earning capacity;
• Homecare, vehicle modifications, and other reasonable expenses you have incurred or will incur due to your injury;
• Loss of consortium;
• Loss of enjoyment;
• Pain and suffering; and
• Disability and disfigurement.

You may also be able to recover punitive damages if the defendant acted with fraud, oppression, or malice. Although punitive damages are rarely recovered in personal injury cases, they may be recovered if the defendant’s behavior was especially egregious.

We Can Help Facilitate Medical Treatment

Our team of injury attorneys have deep relationships with doctors, chiropractors and medical professionals throughout Monterey County. If you are having trouble finding the right doctor to provide treatment, let us help. We also can help our clients get treatment with medical professionals who work on a lien basis. This means that any medical bills can be paid from the potential settlement. Thus meaning, you treat without paying anything upfront. If you are bringing a wrongful death claim, your monetary award might include compensation for:

• Financial support your loved one would have provided to the family;
• Funeral and burial costs;
• Medical expenditures incurred as a result of your loved one’s fatal illness or injury;
• Lost household services;
• Lost gifts or benefits; and
• Loss of affection, comfort, love, support, society, and companionship.

We Will Make Sure You Aren’t Bullied into Accepting a Low Payout

The vast majority of tort claims are resolved before they go to trial. This is usually best for all parties involved since litigation can be expensive and stressful. But if the insurance company or defendant is unwilling to offer a reasonable settlement, our Monterey personal injury attorneys are prepared to take your case to trial. As the saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” One of the most effective ways to prevent unnecessary litigation is to hire an injury lawyer with a reputation for exceptional skills in the courtroom. This will tell the insurance company or defendant that you would be willing to go to trial if necessary, which may translate into a fair settlement offer without having to go to court. The attorneys at Harris Personal Injury Lawyers know what it takes to litigate complex personal injury and wrongful death cases. We have overcome challenging disputes related to liability and damages, and we will use our proven legal strategies—calibrated over many decades of experience—to help you and your family fight for the highest compensation possible.

Discuss Your Claim Today with our Monterey Personal Injury Attorneys

Choosing a personal injury lawyer is a major decision that should not be taken lightly. Your attorney should have the time, resources, legal strategies, and passion needed to provide exceptional representation through every stage of the proceedings. The injury lawyers at Harris Personal Injury Lawyers are have built a reputation on providing unparalleled client service, thorough case investigations, and effective settlement negotiation strategies. Our attorneys are also tenacious litigators who are respected by insurance companies throughout California. If you were harmed or lost a family member in a preventable accident due to someone else’s negligent or intentional actions, contact Harris Personal Injury Lawyers to discuss your legal rights. After a serious accident, you cannot expect the insurance company or opposing party to act in your best interests—but we will. Our personal injury lawyers have collected more than $300,000,000 for our clients. Call 1-800-GO-HARRIS today or use our website’s contact form to set up a free consultation.