Personal injuries can change your life forever, bringing with them expensive medical bills, lost wages and permanent disability. At Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian, we provide compassionate representation to victims of personal injury accidents in Costa Mesa and throughout California.
As your attorneys, we will give you guidance and legal representation in the aftermath of a preventable accident. Our legal team can significantly improve your legal experience. Allow us to fight for the best possible results for your case while you focus on your recovery. Contact us today to start with a free consultation.
Why Choose Us?
- Our team of Orange County personal injury lawyers has over 75 years of courtroom and litigation experience. This allows us to achieve the best possible results for our clients.
- We will relentlessly fight to win you the compensation you deserve. We have successfully secured over $1 billion in settlements, jury verdicts and insurance benefits for our clients.
- Our law firm is nationally recognized, with a client-centered approach and the ability to effectively navigate even the most complex legal challenges.
- You won’t pay your attorney anything unless we win your case. Our Costa Mesa personal injury lawyers operate on a contingency fee basis, with $0 charged upfront.
Areas We Serve
It is important to hire a lawyer who is local to your city – both for convenience and for connections to local courthouses and knowledge of area-specific laws. Our personal injury law firm operates out of multiple offices that are conveniently situated in and around Orange County.
We proudly serve clients in all of California, including:
- Anaheim
- Fullerton
- Irvine
- Newport Beach
- Orange County
- Santa Ana
- Santa Barbara
- Santa Rosa
Our Costa Mesa personal injury lawyers can help you after an accident anywhere in Orange County, including Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Tustin, Garden Grove, Westminster, Orange, Laguna Beach, Stanton and Aliso Viejo.
How Can a Costa Mesa Personal Injury Lawyer Help?
Hiring a personal injury lawyer can provide significant benefits if you need to pursue justice after an accident and injury in Costa Mesa. Lawyers have the experience, knowledge and resources to help you get fair compensation – helping you rebuild and move forward after a traumatic experience.
Your personal injury lawyer will understand the legal procedures for filing your claim or lawsuit, as well as how to build a strong case using evidence, your medical records and testimony from highly qualified experts. A lawyer will accurately assess the value of your claim and fight for the results you deserve by negotiating with insurance companies or bringing your case to court.
How Much Does a Costa Mesa Personal Injury Lawyer Cost?
Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian understands the hardships that can accompany a personal injury accident. We realize that you may be concerned about the cost of hiring an attorney – and wonder if it is worthwhile. Although each case is unique, statistically, settlements and judgment awards are higher when plaintiffs hire attorneys vs. self-representation.
Our law firm has made the choice easy by fronting all of the costs of a personal injury claim. We take on 100 percent of the financial risk involved in a case by operating on a contingency fee basis. If we secure you a settlement or judgment award – and only if – we will bill you as a percentage of the overall amount won. That way, you never have to pay us out of pocket.
Do I Have a Case?
A personal injury claim is a legal process in which an injured person (the plaintiff) seeks financial compensation to become whole again after another person or party (the defendant) causes an injury or harm. To have grounds to file this type of case in Costa Mesa, you generally must have evidence that the defendant was negligent.
Negligence has four parts:
- Duty of care: the defendant had a legal obligation to the plaintiff to act reasonably to prevent harm.
- Breach of duty: the defendant failed to meet the duty of care through careless, reckless or intentional actions.
- Causation: the defendant’s breach of duty was the direct cause of the plaintiff’s injury or harm.
- Damages: the plaintiff suffered specific losses as a result of the incident, such as medical bills and pain and suffering.
While some personal injury claims can be filed on grounds other than negligence, this is the most common legal doctrine used. An attorney from Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian can help you prove the legal elements of your claim using compelling evidence, such as medical documents, eyewitness statements, police reports and expert testimony.
Types of Personal Injury Cases We Accept in Costa Mesa
The Costa Mesa lawyer you choose to represent you should have hands-on experience in your practice area. Look for an attorney who has won cases similar to yours before.
Our practice areas include, but are not limited to:
- Bicycle accidents
- Boating accidents
- Car accidents
- Catastrophic injuries
- Construction accidents
- Defective product injuries
- Fatal car accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Train accidents
- Truck accidents
- Uber and Lyft accidents
- Work accidents
- Wrongful death
We can help if you suffered any type of injury because of someone else’s negligence, including broken bones, spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, burns and amputations.
Types of Financial Compensation Available
Filing a personal injury case in Costa Mesa can allow you to rebuild your life with greater confidence and peace of mind by providing the financial compensation you need to pay for your related expenses without financial stress. You could be eligible for both economic (monetary) and noneconomic (non-monetary) damages.
You could potentially collect the following types of financial compensation:
- Past and future health care costs
- Lost wages and capacity to earn
- Permanent disability or disfigurement
- Property damage repairs or item replacement
- Pain, suffering and emotional distress
- Out-of-pocket costs
- Wrongful death damages, if a loved one died
The lawyer you choose can make a big difference to the outcome of your personal injury case. Choosing the right attorney – one with experience and compassion for your situation – can ensure you secure the best possible results in your time of need. Our lawyers are practiced at negotiating with insurance adjusters and litigating cases in court.
What Is the Average Personal Injury Settlement in Costa Mesa?
As you begin the process of pursuing justice for your personal injury in Costa Mesa, it is important to realize that there is no “average” settlement value that will accurately determine how much your case is worth. Every case is entirely unique, with many factors going into a settlement consideration.
At Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian, our attorneys will carefully assess your case, looking at factors such as injury severity and the insurance coverage available to determine its value. Our legal team has secured outstanding case results that are in the millions and even billions for injured accident victims in California. Find out how much your case is worth during a free consultation.
California Personal Injury Laws to Know
It can help you to have at least a basic understanding of California’s personal injury laws and how they may affect your individual case. For example, California is a fault state when it comes to determining liability, or legal responsibility, for an automobile accident. This means the person or party at fault for causing the crash is liable for the victim’s medical bills and property damage. The victim must prove that the other driver or a third party is at fault.
California also follows a pure comparative negligence rule. Under this rule, an injured victim can still recover partial financial compensation if he or she is responsible for causing the accident or injury. However, the amount of compensation awarded to the victim will be reduced by an equivalent amount; for example, 10 percent of the assigned fault would diminish a settlement of $100,000 by 10 percent to $90,000.
Certain personal injury cases in Costa Mesa do not deal with negligence but rather the legal doctrine of strict liability. Strict liability means that a defendant is held responsible for an accident or injury without needing proof of negligence. Examples of case types that can employ the doctrine of strict liability are product liability claims against manufacturers and dog bite injury cases against pet owners.
What Is the Statute of Limitations on a Costa Mesa Personal Injury Claim?
Do not delay in taking legal action if you believe you have the right to file a personal injury claim in Costa Mesa. Under a California law known as the statute of limitations (Civil Code of Procedure § 335.1), you have no more than two years to file a personal injury lawsuit. This law states:
- CHAPTER 3. The Time of Commencing Actions Other Than for the Recovery of Real Property [335 – 349.4]
- 335.1. – Within two years: An action for assault, battery, or injury to, or for the death of, an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another.
The clock starts ticking on the date of the accident or the date you discover your injuries – whichever is later. Some exceptions to the rule can extend or delay your time limit. If you are suing the government for negligence, for example, you will have just six months to file a claim.
It is vital to speak to an attorney right away about a potential personal injury claim in Costa Mesa, as the courts will generally not permit the filing of a claim after the statute of limitations has expired. Note that these are the deadlines for a lawsuit only; insurance claims should be filed much sooner.
How to Choose Your Costa Mesa Personal Injury Lawyer
Selecting which attorney to hire is not a decision you should make lightly. It is important to take the time to research your options and confirm that a lawyer is the best fit for your case before retaining the attorney.
Traits and qualities that you should look for in your personal injury attorney in Costa Mesa include:
- Experience in personal injury law and your type of case
- A track record of success in collecting settlements and verdicts for clients
- A good reputation among past clients and the community
- A communication style that keeps you informed and matches your needs
- An affordable and transparent fee structure
- Trial experience and the ability to go to court, if necessary
Most personal injury lawyers in Costa Mesa offer free initial consultations. Use this to ask questions and get to know the attorney. Discuss the details of your case and evaluate how well the lawyer listens to you and addresses your needs.
Tips for Speaking to an Insurance Claims Adjuster
In most personal injury cases, the plaintiff or filing party is going up against the insurance provider of the party at fault for causing the injury. Insurance companies do not want what is best for their clients. Instead, they will try to protect their own profits. They do this by denying and devaluing claims.
Protect yourself as much as possible during initial conversations with an insurance claims adjuster with the following tips:
- Remain polite and calm, but don’t trust the insurance adjuster. The adjuster’s job is to get you to say something that will undermine your claim. Avoid this by keeping your answers to questions short and simple. Don’t give away too many details about your injuries.
- Don’t admit fault for your accident or injury, even in part. The insurance adjuster can twist things that you say around to use them to deny liability for your losses. Never say that you are sorry or anything that could be construed as an admittance of guilt.
- If you are asked to give a recorded statement about your accident or injuries, politely decline. The recorded statement is a common tactic used to undermine your claim later based on your own words or misunderstandings about the accident.
- Most importantly, don’t rush into a fast settlement or sign anything sent to you by an insurance company until you’ve spoken to an attorney. Once you accept a settlement, you cannot reopen your case and negotiate for a higher value. Before saying yes, contact a personal injury lawyer in Costa Mesa for a review of your case.
Contact Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian for a Free Personal Injury Case Review in Costa Mesa
If you were recently hurt in any type of avoidable accident in Costa Mesa, personalized legal services and assistance are available at the law firm of Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian. Our lawyers will advocate for your rights throughout every stage of the recovery process, making sure you and your family have everything you need to move on from a harmful accident.
Begin your case with a free consultation, where you can receive tailored legal advice. Contact us online or call (949) 831-6611 24/7 to arrange your meeting.