Personal injury is a part of the broader field of law known as torts and involves injury to an individual, their property and/or their reputation. The law requires individuals to act with reasonable care when they perform their daily activities. For example, those driving vehicles should obey all traffic rules, including driving at an appropriate speed, stopping when required, driving a safe distance from other vehicles, and giving pedestrians the right of way so as not to injure them. Store owners must exercise care in quickly cleaning any liquid or debris on the floor to avoid injury to customers. Product manufacturers must also exercise reasonable care when manufacturing a product. The product must not have defects which would cause injury due to its possession or use.
If you have been injured in any way by the actions of another, please call us for a free evaluation of your case. Do not worry about whether you had some fault in the matter. California is a comparative negligence state, meaning that any compensation you receive for your injuries will be reduced by the percentage of your fault in the incident that caused your injuries.
Our personal injury consultations are free. If you can’t come to our office, we can come to you, whether it is in your home, at your job, or in the hospital. We value you as a client and will return all calls promptly. Don’t let the insurance companies take advantage of you. We want you to be properly compensated for your loss/injury. We will fight vigorously to protect your rights and get you the compensation you deserve. Read our article on “What You May Receive in Your Personal Injury Case” in our Articles & Info section to learn about what are you entitled to receive in your personal injury case.
We handle a variety of personal injury cases, including those discussed below. If you need a Personal Injury attorney, please contact us at our Woodland Hills office. In addition to Woodland Hills, we provide Personal Injury attorney services in a variety of other areas, including Agoura Hills, Alhambra, Burbank, Calabasas, Canoga Park, Eagle Rock, Encino, Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge, Los Angeles, Mission Hills, Monterey Park, North Hollywood, Northridge, Pasadena, Reseda , San Fernando , Santa Clarita, Sherman Oaks, Tarzana, Thousand Oaks, Valley Village, Van Nuys, Warner Center, Winnetka, and West Hills. Even if your city is not listed, please don’t hesitate to contact us to see if we can help.
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Being in a motor vehicle accident, whether the accident involves cars, sport utility vehicles, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles and/or pedestrians, is one of the most stressful times in a person’s life. Serious injuries to person or property may result from such accidents. While recuperating from your injuries, you must deal with insurance companies in order to get your car fixed or replaced, and to obtain fair compensation for your injuries and growing medical expenses. Let the Law Offices of Jason J. Schwartz help you navigate through the entire process.
It is important to have an attorney whether liability is clear or not in order to obtain proper compensation for your injuries. It is not in the best interests of insurance companies to give out large payments to individuals who have been injured in motor vehicle accidents. Insurance companies will frequently undervalue a case. Careful negotiations with the insurance company are required. Jason J. Schwartz is a skilled negotiator in the field of personal injury law. His negotiation skills have been honed not only from his training as a mediator, but also from his previous experience of regularly acting as a Pro Bono Panel mediator in accident cases for the Los Angeles Superior Court. Jason J. Schwartz will be an effective advocate for your case.
In many cases, insurance companies will not concede liability and it will be necessary to file suit to settle the case. Additionally, they may undervalue a case to such an extent that it may be necessary to file suit to force the company to provide fair compensation. The Law Offices of Jason J. Schwartz can represent you in the civil litigation process to ensure your rights are protected. Please contact us today so we can help.
Read our “Top Ten Things to do After a Motor Vehicle Accident” in our Articles & Info section to know what to do in case you have an accident.
Slip and Fall
In a slip and fall case, an individual is injured when they trip or slip and fall due to some dangerous condition on the property. The dangerous condition could be a variety of things, including, for example, liquid, a slippery object on the floor (e.g., french fry, banana peel, etc.), a hole in the ground, torn carpeting, a cracked sidewalk, or poor lighting.
Property owners have a duty to exercise reasonable care in keeping their premises safe. As an example, a store owner would exercise reasonable care by inspecting the areas of their property open to customers. The store owner would be liable for causing an injury due to some dangerous condition on their property if they knew about the dangerous condition, or should have known about it through their exercise of reasonable care.
If you have been injured due to some dangerous condition on someone’s property, contact the Law Offices of Jason J. Schwartz for a free consultation on your case. We will aggressively pursue your claim and are always available to answer any questions you may have regarding your case.
Product Liability
A person may recover for damages to themselves or their property if they have been injured by a defective product. There are several legal theories of liability under which a person may recover.
For example, under a strict product liability theory of recovery, an injured person can establish liability if they show (1) they used the product in a foreseeable manner when they were injured; (2) the product had some form of defect when it was purchased; and (3) the defect caused the damage to the person or their property. The defect may be a manufacturing defect (i.e., the product differs and is more dangerous than properly made products from the manufacturer), a design defect (all products are the same, but are dangerous) or there may be inadequate warnings with respect to the risks in using the product.
Under this strict product liability theory for defective products, entities that may be liable for the damage include anyone involved in the production or marketing of the product, such as a manufacturer, retailer, wholesaler, distributor, as well as anyone who provided the defective component. Those who may recover under this theory includes anyone who is injured from the defective product if the injury was reasonably foreseeable. Examples of those who may recover includes purchasers, users, bystanders, family members (even if they were not the purchaser or the user) and employers who paid workers’ compensation benefits to their employee who was injured by a defective product.
Under a negligence theory of liability, an injured party may recover against a person or entity when they show (1) they were owed a duty to use due care by the person or entity; (2) the duty was breached; and (3) the breach of the duty was the legal cause of the person’s injuries. In order to show that a duty was owed, California courts balance a number of factors, including:
- the foreseeability of harm to the plaintiff;
- the degree of certainty that the plaintiff suffered injury;
- the closeness of the connection between the defendant’s conduct and the injury suffered;
- the moral blame attached to the defendant’s conduct;
- the policy of preventing future harm;
- the extent of the burden to the defendant;
- the consequences to the community of imposing a duty to exercise care with resulting liability for breach; and
- the availability, cost, and prevalence of insurance for the risk involved.
Rowland v. Christian 69 Cal.2d 108, 113 (1969).
If you have been injured by a defective product, contact the Law Offices of Jason J. Schwartz today for a free consultation of your case. We will aggressively pursue your case.