Oakland Personal Injury Lawyers

When you’ve been injured in an accident, your personal injury lawsuit must be won on two different levels. You must first establish that the defendant does indeed bear the blame for your injuries. Then, you have to get a fair settlement amount. Winning these twin legal battles is something that requires legal counsel that has an astute eye for detail, who knows what questions must be asked and answered and who brings considerable case experience to bear on your behalf. Haley Law Offices does all of the above and more. 

Our personal injury lawyers have been fighting for clients in Northern California since 1955. And we’re going to keep on fighting. Call us today at (510) 990-9290 or contact us online for help with your case. 

Understanding Negligence in Personal Injury Claims

The courts will use a methodical, step-by-step approach to assessing liability for your injuries. The first question that will be asked is whether the defendant owed you, as the plaintiff, a duty of care. 

There are some cases where duty of care is reasonably easy to establish. When you take out a car, a motorcycle or bike, you assume that duty to those around you. A doctor has a duty of care to their patients. Store owners have a duty of care to their customers. Homeowners have a duty of care towards their invited guests. 

There are other cases where duty of care might be up for debate. Does the doctor you chatted with during intermission at the Oakland East Bay Symphony owe you a duty of care if they offer some casual advice on your heart condition? Is the uninvited guest at an outdoor barbeque owed the same duty of care as those who were welcome? These are just a few of the cases where duty of care might still exist, but will require some legal legwork to establish it in court. 

Next, you must show that the defendant breached the care of duty. The simple fact that something bad happened is not prima facie evidence of a breach. A court will ask if the defendant exercised a reasonable standard of care in the fulfillment of their duty.

What does this mean? Let’s say, for the sake of discussion, that you’re an invited guest at a summer party. It’s a big yard and a pickup game of softball breaks out. You join in. While running to first base, you hit a spot in the grass that’s badly uneven and in the fall, severely injure your ankle. 

A question the courts may look at is whether or not the party’s host warned the players about the uneven lawn. If there was a warning, the court may well rule that reasonable care was exercised. This is particularly true in cases like this where courts often hold that plaintiffs voluntarily assume a certain amount of risk in an activity like this. 

However, if no warning was given, your attorney can reasonably say that badly uneven lawns are not part of the inherent risks that come with playing softball, and that by failing to alert their guests, the homeowner failed to exercise reasonable care. 

Insurance companies play hardball. The Oakland personal injury lawyers at our office pride themselves on bringing tenacity and experience to bear for our clients. Call us today at (510) 990-9290 or contact us online.