Riverside Personal Injury Lawyer

Riverside Personal Injury Attorney

A personal injury occurs whenever one party’s actions result in harm to another party, regardless of whether such harm was intentional or the result of carelessness; the at-fault party is liable for the victim’s damages. A personal injury claim is how the injured party can recover compensation from the defendant who injured them. An experienced Riverside personal injury lawyer is an invaluable asset for anyone who has gone through an incident.

Representing Personal Injury Claims for Riverside, CA, Clients

The team at the Corrales Law Group can help you approach your impending personal injury suit with confidence and peace of mind. We have 14 years of experience helping clients in Riverside and surrounding communities with all types of personal injury claims. We are ready to put this experience to work for you in your case. Our goal for every client is to work efficiently for full and fair financial recovery.

If you choose Corrales Law Group to represent your case, we can immediately start gathering the evidence you need to establish liability for the damages you suffered. We can also assist you in uncovering all the various forms of compensation you can seek from the defendant, some of which you may not have realized you could claim.

Every personal injury case is different. Because of this, every plaintiff, or person filing a claim, will face unique challenges in their recovery efforts. Our firm provides legal representation in both English and Spanish, allowing us to properly represent more people in Riverside. We take time to listen to our clients’ stories, identify the greatest challenges and opportunities in their case, and provide compassionate guidance through every stage of their recovery efforts.

We have a strong record of successful cases, including a $5.99 million result for a bus accident, a $7.50 million case result for premises liability, and a $3.00 million result after a car collision. These prior results don’t guarantee any future results in a case, but they prove our commitment to putting in the work for fair recovery.

Benefits of Hiring a Riverside Personal Injury Lawyer

It is technically possible for a plaintiff to file a claim for compensation on their own. California law does not require you to hire an attorney if you intend to file a personal injury case. However, you are unlikely to achieve the same results that you could with an attorney’s help. Working with an attorney improves your chances of getting the most from a claim.

Experienced legal counsel also makes handling your case easier. You will not be forced to contend with medical issues and personal obligations along with legal affairs all at once on your own.

Our firm can handle the procedural side of your case so you can focus on your recovery and your family. We can keep you updated on the latest developments of your case, identify any potential issues that could interfere with your recovery, and assist you in determining the optimal path toward securing the compensation you legally deserve. You are more likely to succeed with your claim and more likely to increase your compensation with our assistance.

Types of Personal Injury Claims We Handle in Riverside

When you are searching for a Riverside personal injury lawyer to represent you, it is crucial that you evaluate a potential attorney’s record of handling cases like yours and the availability to address your individual needs and concerns.

The team at Corrales Law Group has successfully resolved many types of personal injury cases in Riverside, including:

• Car accident claims. Car accidents are a leading cause of personal injuries in the state each year. There were 1,805 injuries and fatalities in car accidents in Riverside in 2023. Recovery from your car accident usually starts with an auto insurance claim, and dealing with insurance companies is much easier if you have legal counsel on your side. We can guide you through the insurance claim filing process and build a personal injury civil case against the at-fault driver if necessary for a full recovery.
• Motorcycle accident claims. Motorcycle accidents are less common than car accidents but tend to be far more damaging. A motorcycle does not provide any physical protection in a crash, and even the most experienced riders cannot always predict how other motorists will behave on the road. Motorcycle accidents have a high chance of resulting in catastrophic or fatal injuries. Motorcyclists are also more likely to face unfair accusations of fault or assumed risk, so legal representation is essential.
• Commercial truck accident claims. Any accident involving a large commercial truck has a very high chance of involving serious injuries to those involved. These cases are also difficult to resolve due to the fact that multiple parties may share fault for the resulting damages. Our firm can help resolve your truck accident claim as efficiently as possible.
• Premises liability claims. Falls in California caused 2,940 fatalities in 2024, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Slip and fall accidents and other injuries on private property can form grounds for premises liability claims against negligent property owners. In California, all private property owners are legally required to address known safety hazards before they can cause harm to lawful guests and visitors. Failing this, they are liable for any resulting damages.
• Product liability claims. If you were harmed by a defective and/or unreasonably dangerous consumer product, you likely have grounds for a product liability claim against the manufacturer. When the same product has caused similar harm to multiple consumers, it can potentially form the foundation of a class-action civil claim.
• Elder abuse claims. When you have trusted a nursing home or any other caregiver to handle your elderly loved one’s daily needs, and they have abused or neglected them, you have the right to be distressed and angry about the situation. There are over 200,000 cases of elder abuse and neglect in California that are reported each year, with many incidents going unreported.

  It’s important to talk with an attorney if you suspect your loved one’s injuries are caused by the lack of care or intentional abuse in a nursing home. The at-fault party will likely face criminal prosecution, and your family can file a personal injury claim against them to recover compensation for the damages resulting from their actions.

• Wrongful death suits. A wrongful death claim is a type of personal injury claim filed in response to a fatal personal injury. If you lost a loved one from another party’s act of negligence or illegal misconduct, you likely have grounds to file a wrongful death suit. Success with this claim can provide a sense of closure and yield the economic relief your family needs to adjust to your new circumstances more easily.

These are only a few examples of the types of cases we handle for clients in the Riverside area. If you are unsure whether you have grounds to file a personal injury suit, it is vital that you reach out to a Riverside personal injury lawyer as quickly as possible after your injury. They can assess the details of your situation and help determine the optimal path to recovering your damages from the defendant who injured you.

What Should You Do Immediately After a Riverside Car Accident?

One of the most common forms of personal injury claims is a car accident claim. After a Riverside car accident, there are several things you should do to protect your safety, the safety of others, and your ability to file a claim in the future. This includes:

1. Move somewhere safe. If vehicles cannot be moved, get yourself and others to a safe location near the collision. If vehicles can be moved, drive them out of the roadway to avoid blocking traffic or creating additional hazards. Never move someone out of a vehicle who can’t move themselves, as moving them could worsen injuries.

1. Report the accident. Call 911 to report the crash and any injuries. This gets emergency medical care and law enforcement to the scene. If you are in the city limits, it is likely that the Riverside Police Department will respond. Outside the city, the California Highway Patrol may respond. Note the agency responding, as you will need to secure the accident report in the future.

1. Document the scene. Take photos and videos of the collision, the surrounding area, your injuries, and other important aspects of the scene.

1. Get contact information. Exchange information with the other driver or drivers in the accident, including insurance, contact, and driver’s license information. If there are passengers or other eyewitnesses to the accident, get their contact information as well.

1. Get medical care. When emergency responders arrive, be sure to get treatment. There are injuries that can be hidden by shock, like internal injuries, or injuries that take time to develop, like traumatic brain injuries. Getting medical care helps create an official record of injuries and connect them to the accident. Delaying treatment makes it harder to prove your injuries were from the accident. Medical care also protects your well-being and can limit the negative health consequences of injuries.

1. Provide a police report. When prompted, give the responding officer information for their accident report. Be honest about the facts of the crash, but don’t admit fault or speculate about what could have caused it.

1. Do not talk with the other driver’s insurance company. Anything you say to the insurance company will be used against you to undermine your claim. Avoid giving the company anything to work with, and do not talk with them until you have an attorney.

1. Report the accident to your insurance. You likely have to report the accident to your auto insurance company, even if you will not be filing a claim.

1. Get in contact with an attorney. You should find a car accident attorney to help you investigate the cause of the accident, gather other relevant documentation of the crash, assess what damages you are owed, and protect your rights in settlement negotiations or in court.

How to Prove Liability for a Personal Injury in Riverside

The majority of personal injuries reported in the Riverside area each year happen because of negligence.

This is a legal term that can define any failure to exercise reasonable care in a specific situation, or it can define a failure to meet a specific duty of care. For example, a driver has a duty of care to operate their vehicle attentively, and distracted driving would be a breach of this duty of care.

When you have been harmed by a personal injury caused by negligence, you need to first identify the party responsible for causing the injury. You then need to prove several things, including that:

1. They owed a duty of care in the situation
2. They breached that duty of care in some way, establishing the basic elements of negligence
3. Their act of negligence was a primary cause of the accident or incident you were in
4. Their actions caused “actual harm,” meaning you suffered some type of loss

You can file a personal injury claim only if you suffered harm from the defendant’s actions. This means they must have inflicted physical injury and/or economic losses with their actions. You must also establish a causation between their actions and your claimed damages. This means that you need to prove your damages would not have occurred but for the defendant’s negligence and that they did not result from any other cause.

Liability Based on Intentional Harm

Most claims are based on negligence, but not all of them. A personal injury can result from an intentional act of illegal misconduct.

In these cases, the defendant is likely to face criminal prosecution from the state for breaking the law. Your civil case will unfold separately from the state’s criminal case against them. In criminal court, the judge may order the defendant to pay restitution to the victim as part of their sentence, and a defendant’s intentional misconduct increases the chance they will owe punitive damages.

Comparative Fault of Multiple At-Fault Parties

More than one party can share fault for a personal injury. In such a case, each liable party has a fault percentage assigned, indicating the share of the resulting damages for which they are responsible.

For example, if two defendants are to blame for a personal injury and they are deemed to be 40% and 60% at fault, they would respectively face 40% and 60% liability for the plaintiff’s damages. It is also possible for you to share fault and still recover partial compensation.

Claiming Compensation for Economic Damages

The most straightforward element of a plaintiff’s personal injury claim is their economic damages. These are the direct financial losses they suffered because of the defendant’s actions. In most personal injury cases, a plaintiff’s economic damages could include:

• Property losses
• Medical expenses
• Lost income

When it comes to property damage, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant is directly responsible for the damaged or destroyed property. Depending on how the defendant caused this damage, some property losses can be recovered through insurance. For example, drivers are required to have auto insurance that includes property damage liability coverage to pay for vehicle repairs after they cause an accident.

However, it is important to remember that you can claim compensation for projected future economic losses as well. This includes:

• Long-term medical needs. If your case involves any serious physical injury, you may not only require immediate medical treatment but also ongoing care so you can reach maximum medical improvement. The defendant may not only be liable for your hospital bills and ambulance transportation fees but also for future rehabilitation costs. Your attorney can work with your medical care team to properly address all your medical expenses in your claim.
• Lost earning potential. Lost wages work similarly if you have been severely injured and your earning capacity has been impacted by the defendant’s actions. If you are unable to return to work due to the severity of the injury you suffered, or if you are only able to return to lower-paying work, the defendant is liable for your diminished earning capacity.

Your Riverside personal injury lawyer can help calculate how much you would have reasonably been able to earn if you hadn’t been injured.

Non-Economic Damages in Riverside Personal Injury Claims

While the economic impact of your personal injury may have been severe, the non-economic damages you suffered from the incident are likely to have been harder for you to manage. The state’s personal injury laws enable a plaintiff to seek compensation for the psychological, emotional, and physical damage they suffered because of a defendant’s actions, including:

• Physical pain
• Psychological trauma
• Emotional suffering
• Diminished enjoyment of life

State law is relatively flexible when it comes to how much a plaintiff can seek in compensation for pain and suffering. Your Riverside personal injury lawyer can help determine the optimal way to calculate this aspect of your case award and explain what you can expect in terms of your recovery.

Insurance Company Tactics in Personal Injury Claims

Many injured people want to know whether they should accept the first offer an insurance company provides. When you’re in a financially difficult situation, this offer can seem incredibly helpful and what you need to get back to your life, but it isn’t.

You shouldn’t accept the first offer, because it is very likely going to be much less than you are owed. If you accept it, you will be unable to recover compensation for any future damages related to the injuries. Insurance companies and their adjusters are focused on the company’s bottom line and reducing the payouts they provide. Insurance adjusters use several tactics to undermine and devalue your claim, like:

• Using any recorded statement you make against yourself
• Claiming your injuries are not as serious as you say they are
• Pressuring you to accept an early and low-value settlement
• Trying to secure a settlement before all your injuries are known
• Claiming your injuries existed before the accident
• Trying to blame you for the accident

When you hire a personal injury lawyer, they handle communications with any insurance company for you.

Attorneys know the tactics that insurance companies and adjusters use to delay, deny, and undermine claims. They know how to combat these tactics and present your strong claim. They investigate the cause of the crash, assess liability, and calculate the damages you are owed.

Your attorney negotiates with the insurer, protecting your rights and your financial interests. Personal injury lawyers have significant experience in negotiations and are willing to take the case to court if needed. An attorney’s experience and work to investigate the case means they are more likely to secure a higher settlement.

What to Expect From Your Riverside Personal Injury Lawyer

When you choose Corrales Law Group to handle your personal injury case, you can rest and recover from your injury with peace of mind, knowing your claim is in capable and experienced hands.

Once we review the details of your claim, we can begin gathering whatever evidence and witness testimony you will need to firmly establish liability for your damages, and then we can assist you in accurately calculating those damages.

The majority of personal injury cases filed in Riverside end with privately negotiated settlements. When a defendant is clearly at fault for a personal injury, a settlement can allow them to save money they would otherwise spend on defense counsel in lengthy litigation. It’s possible to settle a personal injury case in a fraction of the time that litigation usually requires, but only if both the plaintiff and the defendant are willing to compromise.

Whatever your case requires in Riverside, the team at Corrales Law Group is compassionate, responsive, and supportive through each stage of your case. We know that you are likely to have many pressing legal questions in the aftermath of your accident that you cannot answer alone, and during your initial consultation with our team, we can provide the answers you need so you can feel more comfortable moving forward with your claim.

FAQs

Q: Can I Claim Compensation if I’m Partially Liable for My Personal Injury?

A: Yes, you can still claim compensation if you are partially liable for your personal injury under the state’s pure comparative fault rule. This rule applies when you share liability for your damages. Your fault percentage is the amount of their case award you lose as a penalty, and you keep the rest. For example, 25% fault in a $100,000 claim means losing $25,000 of the case award and only receiving $75,000 to reflect shared liability.

Q: Why Should I Hire a Riverside Personal Injury Lawyer?

A: You should hire a Riverside personal injury lawyer because you are significantly more likely to succeed with any type of personal injury case if you have legal representation you trust on your side. Your attorney can make every aspect of your case easier for you to manage by conducting an investigation and gathering evidence. You will be more likely to secure full compensation for your damages if you have an experienced attorney handling your claim.

Q: What Is the Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Claims?

A: The statute of limitations for personal injury claims in the state is two years, starting on the day the injury occurred. You must compile your claim and file it with the local court within this time period, or you will lose the chance to claim compensation from the defendant. While this may sound like enough time for you to file your case, you should act quickly. Gathering evidence quickly provides you with the greatest chance of success.

Q: How Are Pain and Suffering Calculated in Riverside Personal Injury Cases?

A: Pain and suffering can be calculated in several ways in Riverside personal injury cases. Your attorney can help determine a fair amount based on the severity of your injuries and whether they caused any long-term or permanent harm. For example, for a permanently disabling injury, your attorney may seek several times the total of all your economic damages to reflect the severity of your condition.

Q: What Are Attorneys’ Fees for a Riverside Personal Injury Lawyer?

A: Attorneys’ fees for a Riverside personal injury lawyer vary from attorney to attorney. Most personal injury lawyers use contingency fee billing for these cases to provide legal counsel that is accessible to those who need it most, regardless of their financial situations. Corrales Law Group accepts personal injury claims on contingency, so our client pays a percentage of their case award as our fee, and only if we secure a successful outcome in their case.

Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer in Riverside

The right attorney can make a tremendous positive difference in the outcome of your personal injury case in Riverside. Corrales Law Group is ready to leverage the full extent of our professional resources, experience, and skills in handling your personal injury claim, and we do everything we can to pursue a full recovery. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation with a Riverside personal injury lawyer you trust and learn how we can help.