How much money can I get for a car accident in most Los Angeles cities is one of the most difficult questions for Los Angeles accident lawyer to answer. There are many scenarios that can arise in LA cities like Marina del Rey, Culver City, Venice Beach and Santa Monica, all favorite tourist spots and inundated with heavy traffic. LA's motor vehicle accident system is a lot different than some other states who have no fault insurance, where no matter who is at fault, insurance pays. In Los Angeles, California, we are in a pure comparative negligence jurisdiction. That means loser pays, no matter what his degree of fault in causing a motor vehicle accident for a particular injury.
There are however, verdicts and settlements on lexis nexis, or westlaw that injury lawyers can look to to determine a base line value for similar cases and fair value. But the exact amount of your accident case depends upon many individual factors for individual people. For example, if Britney Spears had damage to her vocal chords due to a car accident, she may get less that a singer who doesn't lip sync during "live" concerts, because she could just play a sound track and move her lips. But if she was getting ready to make an album, the case would probably be worth more than if she was just giving a phony concert. Other factors that could influence on the value of your car accident case could be the total amount of pain and disability that your serious injury causes. Other things like your age, prior existing physical condition, ability to heal quickly can tend to make the injury and its effects worse or less worse.
It should also be remembered that in California, unlike Canada for example, there is no cap on pain and suffering damages, so the sky is the limit for jury awards assuming a serious debilitating injury. In Marina del Rey this is important to know since the extension of the SR-90 is certain increase pedestrian deaths and bicycle deaths.
Beyond pain and suffering, you can still claim other types of damages, including loss of income/loss of consortium, future medical care costs, past medical bills, etc. Only punitive damages are subject to a cap under the Campbell case. Car accident lawsuits may be required to get you fully compensated.
But in Los Angeles car accident cases, you may still have to pay back your doctors and insurance subrogation as well. This is why it is so important to retain an experienced Los Angeles accident lawyer who knows this city. And if you have to sue, a party may obtain discovery of the existence and contents of a defendant's liability insurance coverage. This includes the identity of the carrier and the nature and limits of the coverage. (Code Civ. Pro. § 2017.210.) How much money can I get for a car accident in most Los Angeles cities usually depends upon the injury and how much insurance the guy who hit you has under his liability insurance and med pay insurance policies.
If the Defendant is rich and lives in a City like Beverly Hills, Redondo Beach, Hollywood, or Pacific Palisades, he or she will generally have higher insurance coverages. It is also easy to tell higher insurance liability limits if the wrongdoer drives a Mercedes Benz, as opposed to a Volkswagen Beetle.
