In the State of California, most personal injury cases involve motor vehicle accidents. Although this is the case, there are other categories of personal injury torts in California, including:

•Cases involving assault
•Negligence in quality control or product design
•Negligence in property upkeep
•Negligence in animal control

Each category has its own unique characteristics and potential pitfalls. Each category also has a statute of limitations; generally, this is two years in the state of California, but certain circumstances might shorten or lengthen that period of time. The relevant section of the California Code of Civil Procedure is 335.1. Claims against government agencies, or the government itself, must be filed within six months of the event.

California also has “shared fault” laws. These laws lay out a groundwork of responsibility according to a hierarchy of criteria. For example, let’s say an injured party, call him John, trips going down the stairs of the Department of Motor Vehicles. A court might assign the DMV 60 percent of the liability, the company that poured the concrete 35 percent, and the company that sold the concrete to the contractors 5 percent. To figure out who’s “how much” at fault is a veritable legal Gordian Knot that only a personal injury attorney, whose focus is such torts, would be able to unravel.

There are other considerations, as well, such as limits on damages awarded in some cases, fault of the injured party, “strict” liability, and other terms and classifications for which you should really have the representation of a personal injury attorney.

If you or someone you know has been injured due to another party’s negligence, contact the personal injury attorneys at Young Wooldridge, LLP for a free initial consultation. A personal injury attorney will advise you on what options are available in your individual situation.