Personal Injury

From his Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura County offices, Bruce Abel represents clients in a wide variety of personal injury matters.  Personal injury cases arise in a variety of contexts.  A personal injury can result from another person's negligence such as lack of reasonable care, a defective product or an intentional act.  An experienced personal injury attorney assesses a personal injury case by evaluating two basic legal concepts - liability and damages.  Liability is another way of saying fault.  Skilled personal injury lawyers who know what it takes to win a trial will often address liability first.  If your attorney believes that the accident was caused by another's negligence, the attorney will determine if there is insurance to pay for the damages.

California law divides damages into economic damages and non-economic damages. Economic damages include such items as lost wages, future loss of wages, medical expenses incurred and future medical expenses, as well as other incidental expenses caused by the injury.

Non-economic damages compensate an injured person for pain and suffering, anger, emotional distress, humiliation, fear, and loss of enjoyment of life.  In cases of coercion, fraud, or malice, another type of non-economic damages called punitive damages, may be awarded. Punitive damages are meant to punish the wrongdoer and discourage others from acting similarly.  These may be available in an amount up to nine times the economic and non-economic damages.

The United States Supreme Court has approved the recovery of punitive damages when appropriate; however, the Court limited the amount of punitive damages to no more than nine times the economic and non-economic damages. 

Automobile, Truck, and Motorcycle Accidents

Automobile accidents are the most common types of personal injury incidents. In fact, an auto accident occurs every ten seconds in the United States and causes millions of serious injuries a year. Most vehicle accidents are caused by negligence, but sometimes can be caused by intentional or reckless conduct.

California's Vehicle Code requires all drivers to be financially responsible through either self-insurance or purchasing a traditional liability insurance policy.  However, in a serious injury or wrongful death matter, the negligent person's insurance policy may not cover the full amount of economic and non-economic damages.  In that case, one's own insurance may provide coverage if there is under insured coverage.  Even though vehicle accidents are common, determining liability and damages is heavily dependent on facts and points of law in each particular case.  If you have been in a vehicle accident, you should retain an experienced personal injury attorney to protect your rights and help you to recover for all your pain and suffering and economic losses.

Seek Experienced Legal Representation

The Abel Law Offices handle auto, truck and motorcycle accidents, wrongful death, catastrophic injuries, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, premises liability, dog bites, elder abuse, and nursing home abuse.  Assessing liability and damages takes experience, skill, and knowledge of the facts and the applicable law.  If you have been injured by the negligence of another, contact the Abel Law Offices to speak with a knowledgeable and experienced personal injury attorney.