More often than not, personal injury victims didn’t pursue their cases anymore and just settle them with the insurance companies by themselves. Probably they didn’t know the worth of their cases. Generally speaking, insurance companies take advantage of their situations.
Filing a personal injury claim is intimidating because of the complexity of the legal system. Without even a little knowledge of the law makes it difficult for you as a victim to go through the legal process alone. You need an expert personal injury lawyer in LA from Big Ben Lawyers to help you walk through legal procedures. Moreover, you need a reliable advocate to help protect your rights and improve the probability of your case getting higher compensation.
Expert Personal Injury Attorney in LA: Where to File Your Personal Injury Claim?
It’s worth noting that a plaintiff can’t file a case in a court that has insufficient jurisdiction to hear their case. If you file in a court that doesn’t have governance, the court can disregard the case. There are three locations where you can file your claim depending on your current situation.
Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC)
The Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) monitors the governance of workers’ compensation claims. Additionally, it offers administrative and judicial services to facilitate resolving problems that occur related to claims for workers’ benefits. However, you can also file your claim at the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board if you were already denied.
Small Claims Court
This venue handles cases, involving disputes over property or money, which is generally lower than the set financial limit, usually less than $10,000. Small claims cases are generally heard in the country’s civil court’s segregated division. Both parties (plaintiff and defendant) present their case to the court where the judge weighs the pieces of evidence and then decides. The entire process only takes a few minutes.
California Civil Court (Superior Court)
If your damages and losses are costlier than your insurance coverage, you need to file a claim at the California Civil Court The purpose of this system is to make you “whole” again and help restore your financial situation before your accident and injury happened. You need to file your claim at the Supreme Court if the damages are over $10,000.
How to File Your Personal Injury Lawsuit?
Before filing a personal injury lawsuit, there are certain steps that you need to follow. These are:
Step 1: Secure Legal Standing
The first thing that you should do is secure a legal standing for you to have the right to file a claim. In order to do so, you should:
- Have a direct connection to the lawsuit’s subject, meaning you received direct harm from the defendant’s action or inaction
- Have an actual lawful entity, meaning you’re a person or entity having a legal status
- Have a legal capacity, meaning that the victim is 18 years old and above
Step 2: Hire an Expert P.I. Lawyer
Hiring a lawyer is the best decision you can make should you decide to file a lawsuit against the defendant(s). Our expert PI lawyer in LA at Law will be happy to help you with all their might. We’ll protect your rights and ensure that you’ll get the compensation you really deserve.
Step 3: Pick the Venue Where to File Your Lawsuit
The venue is the place where you’re going to file your case. You must bring it to the country or state where:
- Most of the witnesses are or where the injury happened
- The liable party lives or has its primary location of his or her business
- The victim lives or has his main place of business
There could be more than one place that’s relevant to your case. Your chosen lawyer can advise you which is the best venue to file your claim.
Step 4: File Your Case Between the Statute of Limitation
A country or state sets a specified time frame for a victim to file his or her claim. If he missed the deadline, he will lose all the right to receive compensation.
Step 5: File Your Lawsuit
More often, an expert injury lawyer in LA will negotiate with the insurance company first before taking the case to court. However, if the claims adjuster doesn’t want to give the amount the victim deserves, the case will be brought to court. When this happens, victims tend to get higher compensation.
Get the Help You Deserve from Big Ben Lawyers
It’s a shocking experience when you or a loved one suffer injury from an accident due to a person’s action or inaction. Big Ben Lawyers perfectly understands how you feel that’s why we work harder to help you seek justice and obtain fair compensation.
Contact us today for a free evaluation of your case. We’re here to serve you 24 hours a day. Dial (818) 423-4878. We work on a contingency fee basis.
Big Ben Lawyers
144 N Glendale Ave.
Suite 250
Glendale, CA 91206