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Temecula Personal Injury Lawyers

When accidents happen, our personal injury attorneys help you get the compensation you need to recover.

Accidents happen when you least expect them. In the blink of an eye, the reckless actions of others can leave you suffering serious personal injuries. At Gibbs & Fuerst, LLP., we provide the trusted legal guidance and aggressive representation you need in this situation. With over 75 years of combined experience, our Temecula personal injury attorneys hold those at fault accountable for the medical costs, lost wages, and other expenses you suffer.

From watching advertisements for personal injury law firms on television, you might get the idea that personal injury lawyers file lawsuits left and right and that it is easy to get millions of dollars in a personal injury lawsuit, if only you choose a lawyer who is aggressive enough. The truth is a lot more complicated, and there is not a one-size-fits-all way for injured people to recover their financial losses after a car accident or other type of accidental injury. Personal injury lawsuits that go to trial and result in huge awards of damages are the exception rather than the rule. Those big cases that make news headlines are the ones where the plaintiff suffered catastrophic injuries that left them with permanent disabilities and the defendant caused the accident by extraordinarily irresponsible behavior, such as driving at 100 miles per hour while drunk or leaving an anesthetized patient unattended on the operating table while answering a phone call.

Unless your injuries are so severe that you will never regain your health enough to be able to work again, there is a good chance that a Murrieta personal injury lawyer will be able to get you enough money to cover your accident-related financial losses without financial losses. As long as you have not signed a settlement offer letter from the insurance company, a lawyer can help you negotiate for a better settlement. For this reason, you should not sign the settlement offer letter without first consulting a lawyer, unless you are sure it is enough to cover the cost of your vehicle repairs and your accident-related medical bills. In fact, you should not even give a recorded statement to the insurance company, because the insurance company representative will try to manipulate you into saying things that the insurance company can use as an excuse to give you less money. You have the right to have a personal injury lawyer negotiate with the insurance claims adjusters on your behalf.

Cases Our Murrieta and Temecula Personal Injury Attorneys Represent

Personal injuries are one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. When they impact you or a loved one, Gibbs & Fuerst, LLP. helps you get the compensation you are entitled to in a personal injury claim. Common types of cases our Temecula personal injury attorneys represent include:

  • Car accidents: The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) reports that more than 500 motor vehicle accidents in Temecula happen each year. The dangerous driving behaviors of others are often to blame.
  • Truck accidents: When truck accidents in Temecula happen, drivers and the companies they work for can be held accountable in a claim.
  • Motorcycle accidents: The reckless actions of others on the road result in nearly 50 motorcycle accidents in Temecula annually.
  • Bus accidents: When personal injuries occur while riding the bus, drivers and bus companies can be held responsible.
  • Boating and other watercraft accidents: Speeding and being under the influence are a common cause of boat, jet ski, and other watercraft accidents.
  • Pedestrian accidents: Pedestrian accidents caused by the reckless behaviors of drivers can happen in parking lots, crosswalks, and intersections.
  • Bicycle accidents: With little to protect them in collisions involving other motorists, personal injuries suffered in bicycle accidents have the tendency to be severe.
  • Wrongful death claims: When any of the above results in fatal injuries, we help surviving family members get justice through a wrongful death claim.
  • Brain Injuries: Traumatic brain injuries—often referred to as concussions—can have lasting and significant consequences. Whether the injury was the result of a traffic accident, a sports injury, abuse, or a fall, if a negligent or reckless party is at fault, they should be held accountable.
  • Birth Injuries: What is more devastating than the discovery that your child has suffered a preventable birth injury due to the negligence of the medical personnel handling the birth, defective medical equipment, or the failure to recognize the medical needs of an infant? In many cases, this trauma is avoidable. A personal injury claim can hold responsible parties accountable.
  • Catastrophic injuries: Catastrophic injuries—those that have permanent consequences—are often the result of negligence or recklessness. It could be disfigurement, damage to one’s vision or hearing, spinal cord damage, fractures, and much more.
  • Fatal Accidents: California has more fatal traffic accidents than any other state in the country. Distracted driving, drugs and alcohol, and speeding are frequently the culprits behind these accidents. 
  • Hit-and-Run Accidents: Nearly one in five fatal hit-and-run collisions in this country occur in California. What recourse do victims and families of these heartless crashes have?
  • Construction Equipment Failures: Thousands of workers experience injury or death as a result of construction equipment failures every year, according to OSHA. Virtually all of these accidents are fully preventable, and therefore negligent parties must be held to account.
  • Construction Site Negligence: 10% of construction workers experience injuries annually. Oftentimes, those injuries are a result of negligence. Failure to label hazardous materials, maintain heavy equipment, and identify hazards in multiple languages are just a few of the many ways in which companies fail to protect their workforce. And they are responsible for the aftermath of such failures.
  • Construction Falling Accidents: Falls at construction sites are the most common cause of worker injuries and death, and they are almost always preventable. Even so, according to the California Department of Industrial Relations, there were 35 fatal falls at construction sites in the state in 2019 alone. Construction companies must be held accountable when they fail to provide a safe working environment for employees.
  • Rear-end Accidents: Aggressive driving, distracted driving, and drunk driving are just three of the primary causes of rear-enders. They can result in more than property damage; victims can suffer serious and long-term injuries or death. Perpetrators of these accidents must be held accountable.
  • T-Bone Accidents: Did another driver run a red light? Perhaps you were t-boned by a drunk or fatigued driver. Regardless of the situation, T-bone accidents are generally preventable, and reckless drivers who cause them must have their feet held to the fire.
  • Distracted driving: Who does not know, in this day and age, the dangers of texting while driving? Nonetheless, motorists are out on the road with their phones all the time, putting themselves and others at risk. It is time to address their negligence in a court of law.

Get the Compensation You Deserve

When an accident happens, you may be entitled to an insurance settlement. At Gibbs & Fuerst, LLP., we aggressively negotiate on your behalf to ensure you get the maximum amount you deserve. If insurance is not in place or your injuries are severe, our Murrieta and Temecula personal injury attorneys can guide you in filing a personal injury claim. Compensation available under the California Code includes: 

  • Economic damages, which cover current medical expenses and lost wages, as well as any future losses you incur.
  • Non-economic damages, which compensate you for pain, suffering, and any loss of enjoyment in life you experience.
  • Punitive damages, which is an additional amount that may be awarded in cases where the at-fault party acted in a particularly willful and negligent manner.

Even a relatively minor car accident can put a major dent in your finances. Besides the vehicle repairs and the cost of a rental car while your car is in the repair shop, there are the medical bills; we have all heard the horror stories about how a single visit to the emergency room can make the difference between making ends meet and financial ruin. Temecula personal injury lawyers help people who have been injured in car accidents and other kinds of accidents get the money they need to cover their accident-related financial losses. The Riverside County personal injury lawyers at Gibbs & Fuerst LLP can help you figure out the best next steps to take if you are experiencing financial hardship after getting injured in a preventable accident.

How Much Money Can I Get for My Injury?

The amount of money you can receive in a personal injury lawsuit depends on how severe your injuries are and the percentage of fault, if any, that you bear for causing the accident. In a car accident lawsuit, plaintiffs typically seek economic damages in an amount equal to the financial losses they suffered because of the accident. These damages include medical bills, vehicle repairs, and lost income for the time that their injuries prevented them from working. If your injuries are permanent or very severe, you can also seek noneconomic damages for the ways that the accident adversely affected your quality of life. If your injuries are minor enough that the medical bills are low enough to be covered by insurance, a Temecula car accident lawyer can negotiate with the insurance companies on your behalf to ensure that they pay you enough to cover your medical bills. If the accident was partially your fault, you can still file a lawsuit, but the amount of money the court will award you is less.

How Long Does a PI Case Take?

If your personal injury case is complex enough to go to court, it usually takes a year or more to finish the case and get the money you requested. The time between filing the lawsuit and presenting your case at trial is called the discovery phase, and this can last anywhere from several months to over a year. During discovery, your lawyer requests and reviews documents to be used as evidence and takes depositions (question and answer sessions recorded under oath) of eyewitnesses to the accident and experts with knowledge relevant to the case.

Proving Your Claims in a Personal Injury Lawsuit

If your personal injury case goes to trial, your duty as a plaintiff in a personal injury lawsuit is to prove to the court that there is a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant’s negligence caused your injuries and the financial losses that resulted from them. A preponderance of the evidence means that it is more likely than not that your claims are true. When defendants in personal injury cases see that you have strong evidence, they often offer to settle the case and pay the plaintiff enough money to cover the plaintiff’s accident-related losses. Lawsuits are costly and time-consuming for everyone. Accepting a settlement in a personal injury lawsuit does not mean that you are settling for less; it means that your lawyer got you the money you needed more quickly and for less stress. The Murrieta personal injury lawyers at Gibbs & Fuerst LLP have an excellent track record of getting plaintiffs their money through settlements and at trial.

Request a Consultation with Our Murrieta and Temecula Personal Injury Attorneys Today

You have only one chance to get the compensation you need to recover after an accident. Get our team at Gibbs & Fuerst, LLP. on your side. To request a consultation, contact our Temecula personal injury attorneys today.