Personal Injury Lawyer, San Francisco Bay Area

Common Types of Personal Injuries

In the realm of personal injury law, there are several types of injuries that are frequently encountered. 

Perhaps the most common of these involve neck injuries. Whiplash, for instance, is a condition resulting from the sudden and forceful back-and-forth movement of the neck in an accident. Such rapid motion can damage the discs, ligaments, muscles, and nerves within, leading to debilitating pain and impaired mobility. Beyond whiplash, a victim can also experience strains, sprains, fractures, and dislocations in the neck that can significantly impair their quality of life. 

Similarly, the back is vulnerable to an array of injuries, ranging from minor muscle strains to catastrophic conditions like herniated discs, broken vertebrae, and spinal cord damage. All of these can induce intense pain, restricted mobility, and potentially permanent disabilities.

Exposure to heat, chemicals, electricity, or radiation can also cause injuries like burns and scalds. Given that these directly affect the body’s largest organ, the skin, they inflict severe pain, scarring, and even life-threatening complications in the most extreme circumstances.

Beneath the surface, internal injuries pose an even greater risk as they may not be immediately apparent. Internal organ damage, internal bleeding, and tissue trauma require prompt medical attention and extensive, often long-term, care.

Finally, one of the most devastating kinds of personal injuries is traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), which arise when external forces damage delicate neural tissues. TBIs can profoundly impact a person’s physical, cognitive, social, and vocational capacities, dramatically altering the course of their daily life.

Compensation that Can Be Claimed in Personal Injury Lawsuits

When you suffer an injury due to someone else’s negligence, you have the right to seek compensation for your losses. At Susan Kang Gordon, A Professional Law Corporation, we are committed to helping our clients in the Bay Area understand and pursue all damages they are entitled to.

These damages can be categorized into two key areas:

Economic Damages

The severity of your injuries will directly impact the expenses you will face as you recover. Economic damages, therefore, are intended to help you get back on your feet financially. 

The most commonly recovered economic damages are medical bills, which may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Emergency medical intervention and subsequent care
• Surgical procedures and post-operative treatment
• Hospital stays
• Diagnostic tests, treatments, and specialized medical procedures
• Consultations with doctors and other healthcare professionals
• Physical and occupational therapy
• Rehabilitation services
• Prescription medications
• Pain management treatments
• In-home nursing and caregiving assistance
• Assistive medical devices and equipment

Personal injuries also often lead to time off work, resulting in lost wages. And if your injuries impact your long-term earning capacity or career progression, your financial losses can be even more significant. With that in mind, economic damages also cover each of these areas.

Non-Economic Damages

Many accident victims suffer from emotional distress outside of their physical symptoms. These unseen yet debilitating consequences of an injury often significantly impede their recovery process and quality of life and manifest in various forms, such as:

• Disrupted sleep patterns
• Heightened anxiety
• Bouts of depression
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Vivid and disruptive flashbacks of the accident
• Difficulty concentrating
• Severe emotional volatility
• Self-isolation and withdrawal from daily activities

Non-economic damages, therefore, seek to compensate victims for their experience with these outcomes, which do not carry such an easily defined financial amount.

Statute of Limitations for Bay Area Personal Injury Claims

In California, individuals affected by personal injuries must adhere to a specific legal timeframe known as the statute of limitations, which defines the period in which they are able to initiate legal proceedings following an incident. It is a crucial deadline that often spans two years from the date of most personal injury incidents. 

However, in cases of wrongful death, while the statute of limitations remains unchanged, it begins upon the victim’s passing instead of the date of the initial accident. Medical malpractice claims also deviate from the standard two-year statute of limitations. In these instances, victims are granted either three years from the injury date or one year from its discovery, whichever comes first.

How Our Bay Area Personal Injury Attorneys Can Assist You

No matter the details of your personal injury case, the team at Susan Kang Gordon, A Professional Law Corporation is committed to providing the comprehensive support you need to reach a favorable outcome that ensures your well-being and that justice is served. 

Our approach to these cases goes as follows:

• Conducting meticulous evidence collection 
• Identifying liable parties and assessing damages
• Calculating losses accurately for fair compensation
• Pursuing all potential settlement avenues
• Conducting thorough investigations and gathering testimony from expert witnesses
• Managing all case responsibilities and safeguarding your rights throughout the legal process

Moreover, we endeavor to safeguard you against common insurance company tactics encountered by claimants in the aftermath of accidents caused by negligence, such as:

• Refuting claims to dissuade claimants
• Proposing inadequate settlements, exploiting financial vulnerabilities
• Intentionally complicating and prolonging the claims process
• Shifting blame onto claimants to deflect responsibility
• Disputing claimed losses, undermining rightful compensation

With a profound understanding of personal injury law, we stand prepared to shield you and your personal injury claim from their schemes.