Oxnard Personal Injury Attorneys

Written by: Chad M. Prentice

Have you or someone you love sustained personal injuries in the Oxnard area due to a personal injury accident caused by the negligence of another person, such as a pedestrian accident or car accident? A serious accident can result in catastrophic injury and can take a long time to recover from.

Personal injury victims are often left with not only injuries but also extensive medical expenses. Personal injuries are also the source of ongoing medical treatments, property damage, income loss, and other financial burdens that pile up over time. You may also have non-economic damages because of a serious injury.

When someone else is at fault for your injury in Southern California, it is best to reach out to Oxnard personal injury lawyers. You deserve a dedicated team of knowledgeable personal injury attorneys who understand your circumstances and will fight for your rights.

When you work with an experienced personal injury attorney, you will be provided legal advice and support. They will do their best to get you the highest compensation possible for your personal injury. Contact Maho Prentice, LLP, today to speak with our personal injury attorneys and discuss the details of your accident.

Common Oxnard Personal Injuries

Tort law, commonly known as personal injury law, is one of the most commonly handled case types by our Oxnard personal injury lawyers. Unfortunately, the United States has accidents occurring at an alarming rate. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are nearly 57.5 million physician office visits each year for injuries. Additionally, there were 306,086 injury deaths in 2021 alone.

Some of the most common injuries seen by Oxnard personal injury attorneys include:

• Strains and sprains
• Workplace injuries
• Cuts and punctures
• Bruises
• Chronic illness
• Inflammation
• Amputation
• Fractures
• Paralysis
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Catastrophic injuries
• Dog bite injuries

How Do Personal Injuries Occur in Oxnard?

Personal injury victims can suffer injuries in many different ways. Our attorneys have worked injury cases stemming from a variety of causes.

Some of the cases our Oxnard personal injury attorneys have handled include:

Motor Vehicle Accidents

You may have been involved in a car accident or were hit by another driver. Motor vehicle accidents also include motorcycles, trucks, bikes, and commercial vehicles.

Premises Liability Cases

If you were injured while visiting a commercial property or another person’s property and it was not your fault, the property owner may be responsible for your damages.

Workplace Accidents

Workplace injuries can occur no matter what industry you work in. Accidents can involve heavy machinery, repetitive motion, violence, and slip and falls. Your employer has a legal responsibility for keeping employees safe.

Wrongful Death Cases

When a loved one passes away due to the negligence of another person, the surviving family members can claim loss of companionship, loss of consortium, income loss, funeral, and burial cost, as well as other damages pertaining to wrongful death.

Dog Bite Accidents

If a dog owner acts irresponsibly and does not properly manage their pet, you may wind up with a severe dog bite. Dog bites can be very traumatic, both physically and emotionally, and you can seek damages for them.

Sexual Assault Cases

Sexual assault cases occur all too frequently in many places, including civic clubs, religious organizations, schools, churches, and various youth-serving organizations.

Swimming Pool Accidents

Whether a swimming pool accident occurs on private property or a publicly owned pool, safety precautions must be taken by the property owner. Signs stating that a lifeguard is not on duty must be posted where the general public can see. Additionally, a sign stating any potential hazards must be posted.

Product Liability Cases

Products must be created and manufactured with strict safety standards. When you purchase a product that results in you being injured through no fault of your own, the manufacturer or distributor can be held liable for your injuries.

Construction Site Accidents

A construction site inherently has hazards for anyone working in the area. Faulty equipment, lack of supervision, and exposure to hazardous materials and chemicals can lead to construction site injuries.

What Cases Do Our Oxnard Attorneys Handle?

Our Oxnard law firm is experienced in personal injury accidents and wrongful death cases. We handle all types of cases but see a large amount of car accident cases.

Motor vehicle accidents and crash fatalities have quickly become a major global public health concern. More and more people are traveling through California each day creating congestion on streets and highways, which increases the chance of being involved in a car accident.

Some of the common cases our Oxnard personal injury lawyers handle include:

• Uber accidents
• Commercial vehicle accidents
• Pedestrian accidents
• Bicycle accidents
• Motorcycle accidents
• Truck accidents
• Car accidents
• Dog bite incidents
• E-scooter accidents
• Nursing home abuse

What Should You Do After an Injury in Oxnard?

A slip and fall or motor vehicle accident can happen at any time. What you do following your accident matters. The minutes, days, and weeks following an accident are more important than you could imagine.

These are some of the steps you should take following an injury in Oxnard:

Call Authorities and Get a Police Report

If you are physically able, you should call the police to report the accident. Authorities will come and investigate the situation, making note of what occurred at the scene. If you suffered severe injuries, you should call 911 to seek medical attention immediately.

Seek medical treatment

It is important that you seek medical treatment, even if you only have minor cuts and bruises. Doing so allows the doctor to thoroughly examine you and confirm all your injuries. For example, soft tissue injuries take time to develop and may not be discovered until later.

Evidence collection

You should collect evidence regarding your personal injury claim. You will need to take pictures or video of the location where the injury occurred, property damage, and any physical wounds you suffered. For example, in a car accident, you could document the scene of the crash, noting the position of the vehicles, road conditions, and any street lights or signs.

If you are unable to take photos or video due to the severity of your injuries, ask a trusted friend or family member to do this for you. Additionally, you can take pictures of yourself after receiving medical treatment, showing your cast, bandages, braces, stents, or crutches.

Get Contact information

After sustaining a personal injury, you have to collect the contact information of the other party or premises owner and any witnesses to the accident. For a car accident, you would want to document the following information:

• Name, address, and phone number
• Insurance policy
• Driver’s license information
• License plates

This information will make it easier for your Oxnard personal injury attorney to reach out to the involved parties.

Contact an Oxnard Personal Injury Attorney

This step is critical for your personal injury case. Having an experienced Oxnard personal injury attorney working with you from the start will help ensure all evidence is collected and preserved, witnesses and liable parties are contacted, and that negotiations with the insurance company are done properly and with authority. Call Maho Prentice, LLP, immediately to secure legal counsel for your personal injury case.

Who Is Legally Responsible for My Injuries?

When considering whether to file a personal injury lawsuit, the first and most important question you should ask is: Who holds responsibility for my injuries?

Most personal injury cases result from the responsible party acting negligently, leading to an accident. For instance, if a person sends a text message while they are driving on the 101 freeway and rear-ends you while going 80 mph, they are not acting in an aggressive manner. They were likely, however, acting negligently.

In cases that are especially egregious, the person who committed damages intentionally could be held liable for punitive damages to the injury victim.

The majority of personal injury cases handled by Maho Prentice, LLP involve the act of negligence. Personal injury cases are civil matters, unlike criminal cases. The difference between the two is that the punishment in a criminal case can include possible prison time for the defendant. In civil court, the defendant’s punishment is typically to pay financial compensation to the victim who sustained injuries.

In some situations, a person’s duty of care to another person is noted by law.

Some examples of this include:

• Operators and owners of commercial buildings or public properties have a duty of care to guests and visitors, ensuring they enter a secure and safe environment.
• Drivers are responsible for taking the necessary steps to avoid car accidents with other vehicles, prevent pedestrians from being injured, and respect the regulations and rules of the road.

One of the most important steps in a successful personal injury claim is determining who holds responsibility for your injury. Unfortunately, this is also one of the most difficult steps. It can be tricky knowing who holds responsibility for the injury as you have to be detailed and prompt about gathering all the facts and necessary evidence.

A knowledgeable personal injury lawyer at Maho Prentice, LLP has the resources needed to handle your case successfully. Our team of investigators can thoroughly gather evidence supporting your case, investigate the accident scene, and discover who is at fault for your injuries.

What Types of Compensation Can I Recover in an Oxnard Personal Injury Case?

There are a variety of damages a personal injury victim can seek compensation for. An Oxnard attorney can help you gather the necessary evidence to prove your damages and place a value on your injuries and losses. The three types of damages include:

Economic Damages. These damages are intended to compensate an injury victim for the direct financial losses created by an accident. Some common economic damages include:

• Ambulance rides
• Hospital stays
• Doctor’s visits
• Cost of ongoing medical treatment
• Medical equipment and medication
• Occupational or physical therapy
• Damage or loss of property, such as your vehicle or motorcycle
• Loss of wages or ability to generate an income

Non-Economic Damages. These damages compensate the injury victim for the emotional damages caused by their accident injury. Some non-economic damages include:

• Emotional distress
• Pain and suffering
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Anxiety
• Physical pain
• Loss of quality of life
• Disfigurement or permanent scarring
• Loss of consortium or company

Punitive Damages. In situations where the negligent party or entity exhibited especially reckless or malicious behavior, the injury victim could be entitled to punitive damages. Unlike economic and non-economic damages, which are meant to compensate the injury victim for their losses, punitive damages are awarded to make an example of and punish the defendant to discourage similar reckless behavior in the future.

How Do I Know If My Case Needs Help From an Oxnard Personal Injury Attorney?

There are some personal injury cases that do not require legal counsel and can often be settled quickly between individuals outside of the court system. However, other cases can be much more complex and require the expertise of an Oxnard personal injury attorney.

The dedicated and knowledgeable Oxnard personal injury attorneys at Maho Prentice, LLP, have your best interests in mind and are ready to fight for your rights. If you are unsure whether your claim needs legal representation, contact our office to schedule a free consultation to discuss the details of your case.

Some of the more common Oxnard personal injury situations that benefit from having legal representation are:

• Accidents involving large commercial vehicles
• Accidents that lead to personal injury
• An accident that leads to severe and permanent injuries

How Long Do I Have To File a Claim?

California generally gives victims two years from the date of their injury to file a personal injury claim. The time limit given to California injury victims is known as the statute of limitations. This law has some exceptions but it is important you file within the time limit, so you do not lose your chance of getting compensation. If you need help understanding how the statute of limitations may apply to your injury case, a personal injury attorney from Maho Prentice, LLP can help.

What Will an Oxnard Personal Injury Attorney Do For My Case

You will need an experienced lawyer on your side to help fight for your right to compensation after suffering injuries from a bad accident. They will support you and make life easier by handling the legal responsibilities for you while you rest to fully recover from your injuries. Your Oxnard personal injury lawyer will also review your claim and let you know if it is likely that your settlement will be successful. The initial consultation with our law firm will be helpful as your lawyer can then help you with the next steps.

Investigation

Your Ventura County lawyer will investigate your injury claim to discover and gather necessary evidence and prove how the other party is responsible for your injuries. They will speak with witnesses to your accident, search for surrounding surveillance cameras, review police reports, and review your medical records. They will work hard and use a variety of proven methods and strategies to help get you the maximum settlement amount.

Drafting documents

An Oxnard personal injury attorney will draft the legal documents, itemizing all of your damages and the calculated amounts. The documents will include the economic and non-economic damages you suffered from the accident and will explain how the damages are directly related to the negligence of the other party.

Representation in court

If your injury claim cannot come to a reasonable settlement amount, your attorney can represent you in a Ventura County court. They will provide representation before the jury by detailing all of the evidence and damages you sustained, and make an argument for why the other party is at fault.

Seek Additional Guidance From Professionals in Personal Injury Law

After an accident, you are likely stuck with medical bills preventing you from working full-time. You may be struggling with pain and suffering in addition to the high cost of expenses related to your injuries. You may not be sure about getting compensation for your injuries and how to deal with your damages, which is why an attorney can vastly improve your chances of getting fair compensation if the other party is at fault.

Our Oxnard personal injury attorneys aim to protect injury victims from the powerful insurance companies that try to bully their way out of paying for damages. Our firm works to get our clients fair compensation while holding the liable parties responsible for the injuries they caused. We handle all types of personal injury claims, including premises liability cases, boat accidents, and slips and falls.

To learn more, contact Maho Prentice, LLP, using our online form to schedule a free consultation with one of our personal injury lawyers to discuss the details of your case.