Redwood City Personal Injury Lawyer

Someone else’s negligence can turn your life upside down. A serious injury can result in significant and long-term pain and suffering, expensive medical bills, and thousands of dollars in lost wages. If you have suffered a serious injury or lost a loved one in an accident in or around Redwood City, CA, the legal team at Danko Meredith, Trial Lawyers can help. Our law firm has years of experience handling all types of personal injury cases. Call (650) 453-3600 today for your free consultation with an experienced Redwood City personal injury lawyer.

Why Choose Our Redwood City Personal Injury Attorneys

• We win. We have a 99 percent success rate.
• Our outstanding results in court, no matter the circumstances of the case, have earned us a reputation as top-notch trial lawyers. That reputation encourages defendants to offer settlements out of court that are fairer, sooner.
• We are large enough to properly prepare your case for trial but small enough that you can be assured that Mike Danko will be personally involved throughout your case.
• We operate on a contingency fee basis, so you will pay our Redwood City personal injury attorney fees only if we secure financial compensation on your behalf.

How Our Redwood City Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help

Our personal injury attorneys in Redwood City, CA will call upon years of experience to get you the best results possible.  Our firm enjoys relationships with proven investigators, accident reconstructionist, engineers, medical professionals, and other experts. In investigating the cause of your injury, we can bring to bear all the tools and resources necessary to do it right. Our Redwood City personal injury lawyers will evaluate your case honestly and accurately and battle for the fair compensation you’re entitled to.

What Exactly Is Personal Injury Law?

Personal injury (tort) law provides an injured victim (plaintiff) the right to claim financial compensation (damages) from the person or entity that caused the injury (defendant). The burden of proof in an injury claim rests with the plaintiff. To obtain an award of financial compensation, the plaintiff need not prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. Rather, the plaintiff must prove only that it is “more likely than not” that defendant was at fault.

Types of Personal Injury Claims We Handle in Redwood City

Our trial lawyers have spent decades representing injury victims in and out of the courtroom. We have attorneys with experience in virtually all facets of personal injury law, from plane crashes to fatal explosions. Our firm accepts a wide range of injury cases types arising from accidents in or around Redwood City.

• Car accidents
• Aviation accidents
• Brain injuries
• Burn injuries
• Business torts
• Explosions and fires
• Spinal cord injuries
• Wrongful death

If you do not see your practice area listed here, contact our law office to learn more. We offer free case consultations in our Redwood City offices. Tell us your story and we will let you know if we think you have a case, and if we’re the right lawyers to help. If our Redwood city personal injury lawyers accept your case, we will work immediately gathering evidence against the responsible defendants.

What Will Your Case Cost?

When you hire the Redwood City personal injury attorneys with Danko Meredith, you never need to worry about whether you will be able to afford your attorney. We know the financial strain that follows from a serious injury. And we want to make legal representation available for everyone. The contingency fee arrangement means that you will not pay one dollar in attorney’s fees unless and until we win the case. If we lose, you will pay us nothing for the services we have rendered, or for the costs we have advanced in bringing your case. When we take your case, we accept 100% of the risk.

How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Claim in Redwood City, California?

California imposes a deadline, called a statute of limitations, for bringing a personal injury claim.  If you miss your specific deadline, you will lose your rights and the courts will not allow your case to proceed. The statute of limitations is unique to each case and depends on the type of claim being brought. In California, most types of injury claims must be brought from between 6 months and two years from the date of the injury or accident.

• Personal injury: Two years from the date of the accident or date that the injury is discovered
• Wrongful death: Two years from the date of death
• Property damage: Three years from the date of the damage
• Medical malpractice: One year from the date the plaintiff discovers or should have discovered the injury, or three years from the date of the injury, whichever happens first
• False imprisonment: One year from the date of the incident
• For any claim: If the defendant is a California governmental entity, a notice of claim must be filed with the correct entity within 6 months from the date of the injury

Other statutes of limitations may apply as well. And some exceptions to the rules do exist. Contact a knowledgeable personal injury attorney in Redwood City, CA to discuss the time limit for your specific case.

Elements of Proof in a Personal Injury Claim

To obtain a settlement or verdict in an injury claim, the plaintiff must prove four main elements of his case.

1. Defendant’s Duty of Care – The plaintiff must prove that the defendant had a duty, or legal responsibility, towards the plaintiff. The existence and scope of the duty generally depends on the defendant’s relationship with the plaintiff or those situated similarly to the plaintiff at the time of the accident.
2. Defendant’s Breach of Duty – The plaintiff must prove that the defendant breached the duty of care that it owed plaintiff. A defendant breaches a duty by acting negligently, carelessly, or with little regard for whether the defendant’s action will injure others.
3. Causation – It’s not enough to prove that a defendant was negligent or otherwise acted wrongfully. A plaintiff must also prove that defendant’s negligent act or other breach of duty was in fact the cause of the accident or plaintiff’s injuries.
4. Damages – The plaintiff must prove that defendant’s breach of duty caused plaintiff to suffer real, specific losses of the type that the law recognizes as being compensable. Compensable damages include things such as medical bills, lost wages now and into the future, and non-economic losses such as pain and suffering.

Proving these four elements requires research into legal precedent, the gathering of evidence such as photographs, eyewitness accounts, and testimony from subject-matter experts, and an analysis of plaintiff’s medical condition and future medical needs. Then the evidence and the law must be put together according to the rules of the court and presented in a way that is easy for a judge or jury to understand.

What is an Attorney’s Role in a Personal Injury Case?

Armed with the necessary proof, your Redwood City personal injury lawyer will negotiate on your behalf with the defendant’s insurance carrier or with the defendant itself, making sure that those responsible for your injuries do not unfairly deny or delay a reasonable settlement. Although it is legally allowable for a plaintiff to deal directly with insurance companies or other responsible party, a plaintiff who does so typically harms his or her case. It’s best for the plaintiff to get a Redwood City personal injury attorney involved from the outset, as it’s the attorney’s job to look out for the plaintiff’s interests.

What to Know Before Contacting a Personal Injury Lawyer in Redwood City

Before you call an attorney, gather up the essential facts about your case. It’s okay if you are not sure who or what caused your accident, or exactly how your injuries happened. The law firm can send investigators to the scene and piece together the facts from the evidence they find. But the more you know about your case, the better. It’s especially helpful to have in hand the police report, if one is available, and medical records that describe your injuries. You can then tell the Redwood City personal injury attorney your story confidentially. The lawyer will let you know whether you have a case.

Settlement vs. Personal Injury Trial

Most injury claims in California settle without going to trial. The parties agree on appropriate compensation while staying out of court. But to get to the point where a defendant will pay fair compensation voluntarily, cases typically require significant legal research and preparation.

Sometimes, regardless of a case’s strengths, the insurance company cannot be reasoned with. It may refuse to pay a fair settlement while wrongfully denying liability, blaming the victim, or minimizing the client’s injuries. In those situations, the client can always opt to take the case to trial and to let the matter be decided by a judge or jury.

Contact Our Redwood City Personal Injury Attorneys for a Free Consultation

By hiring a Redwood City personal injury lawyer with a record of trial verdicts, the claimant tells the defendant right from the outset that he is capable of taking the case to trial if defendant won’t agree to pay a reasonable settlement out of court. That’s why hiring a trial attorney at the start often results in the defendant or its insurer making the plaintiff a fairer settlement, quicker than it otherwise might.

Contact Danko Meredith, Trial Lawyers to consult with an experienced personal injury attorney in Redwood City about your personal injury accident. The law could entitle you and your family to financial compensation. Learn more about your legal options during a free initial consultation. We also offer our services in San Mateo county and the around the San Francisco Bay Area.

Frequently Asked Questions About Personal Injury Claims in Redwood City, CA