What is a Personal Injury in Santa Monica? The Importance of a Santa Monica Personal Injury Attorney to You the Victim Consumer?

What to Do If I am Injured In Santa Monica and When
to Retain a Santa Monica Personal Injury
Attorney.

This section is provided by Santa Monica Personal Injury
Attorneys and will provide the Santa Monica Personal Injury victim
with educational resources on what a personal injury is, and what
personal injury attorneys in Santa Monica to retain if you, or a
loved one is seriously injured in Santa Monica, California
generally, Southern California, or greater Santa Monica. When to
retain a Santa Monica lawyer depends upon how bad you were injured,
and when you were injured. If your damages are less that $5,000.00,
you may be better off filing your lawsuit in small claims
court.

What is a Personal Injury?

A personal injury is a sub-species of tort law. The word
“tort”,
is taken from ancient Latin, and means inter alia: “A
negligent or intentional civil wrong not arising out of a contract
or statute. These include "intentional torts" such as battery
(striking someone) or defamation (saying untrue things that are
hurtful about another to others), and torts for negligence (See
jury instructions below.)

A tort is an act that injures someone in some way, and for which
the injured person may sue the wrongdoer for damages. A tort
attorney is a personal injury attorney. Legally, torts are called
civil wrongs, as opposed to criminal wrongs. (Some acts like
battery, however, may be both torts and crimes; the wrongdoer may
face both civil and/or criminal penalties.)

Under traditional law, family members were prohibited from suing
each other for torts. The justification was that allowing family
members to sue each other would lead to a breakdown of the family.
Today, however, many states recognize that if family members have
committed torts against each other, there often already is a
breakdown in family relationships. Thus, they no longer bar members
from suing each other. In these states, spouses may sue each other
either during the marriage or after they have separated.

Normally, tort lawsuits against a spouse are brought separate
and apart from any divorce, annulment or other family law case.
Alabama, Georgia, Nevada, New York and Tennessee, however, allow or
encourage combining the tort case with the family law case; New
Jersey requires it.

The jurisdictions that still prohibit one family member from
suing another include Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa,
Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, Texas, Utah, Wyoming and Washington,
D.C. These places may make an exception when the tort is
intentional. See, for example, Bounds v. Candle, 611 S.W.2d 685
(Texas 1980); Townsend v. Townsend, 708 S.W.2d 646 (Missouri 1986)
and Green v. Green, 446 N.E.2d 837 (Ohio 1982).

An injury; a wrong; hence the expression "an executor de son
tort", of his own wrong.

Torts may be committed with force, as trespasses, which may be
an injury to the person, such as assault, battery, imprisonment; to
the property in possession; or they may be committed without force.
Torts of this nature are to the absolute or relative rights of
persons, or to personal property in possession or reversion, or to
real property, corporeal or incorporeal, in possession or
reversion: these injuries may be either by nonfeasance,
malfeasance, or misfeasance.”

What Types of Santa Monica, California Personal
Injuries are Included in Tort Law? There are many
different types of tort injuries that arise in Santa Monica,
California. Most tort injuries are the result of someone’s
negligence. However, there are also intentional torts such as
battery, assault, or intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Negligence is how the great majority of Santa Monica Personal
Injuries occur and is the term used in California Courts and
includes but is not limited to:

Wrongful Death Accidents; Survival Actions; Premises Liability
Injuries, which include slips and falls; Automobile Accident
Injuries, which makes up a large majority of civil case filings in
Santa Monica Courts for negligence; Airplane Accidents; Products
Liability Injuries, etc.

How Do I Know If I Have Been Injured as the Result
of the Negligence of Another?

CACI, the California Jury Instructions, are used by Santa Monica
California Courts and Juries, to determine if a civil defendant has
committed the tort of negligence. Ehline has provided the below
2006 CACI Jury instructions, as an educational tool to help you
understand more about your potential case an tort law in
general:

NEGLIGENCE: “401. Basic Standard Of Care.

Negligence is the failure to use reasonable care to prevent harm
to oneself or to others. A person can be negligent by acting or by
failing to act. A person is negligent if he or she does something
that a reasonably careful person would not do in the same situation
or fails to do something that a reasonably careful person would do
in the same situation. You must decide how a reasonably careful
person would have acted in [name of plaintiff/defendant]'s
situation.”

PREMISES LIABILITY: “1000. Essential Factual Elements
(Revised June 2005).

[Name of plaintiff] claims that [he/she] was harmed because of
the way [name of defendant] managed [his/her/its] property. To
establish this claim, [name of plaintiff] must prove all of the
following:

1. That [name of defendant] [owned/leased/occupied/controlled]
the property;

2. That [name of defendant] was negligent in the use or
maintenance of the property;

3. That [name of plaintiff] was harmed; and

4. That [name of defendant]'s negligence was a substantial
factor in causing [name of plaintiff]'s harm.”

WRONGFUL DEATH: “3921. Wrongful Death (Death Of An Adult)
(Revised January 2006).

If you decide that [name of plaintiff] has proved [his/her]
claim against [name of defendant] for the death of [name of
decedent], you also must decide how much money will reasonably
compensate [name of plaintiff] for the death of [name of decedent].
This compensation is called "damages."

[Name of plaintiff] does not have to prove the exact amount of
these damages. However, you must not speculate or guess in awarding
damages.

The damages claimed by [name of plaintiff] fall into two
categories called economic damages and noneconomic damages. You
will be asked to state the two categories of damages separately on
the verdict form.

[Name of plaintiff] claims the following economic damages:

1. The financial support, if any, that [name of decedent] would
have contributed to the family during either the life expectancy
that [name of decedent] had before [his/her] death or the life
expectancy of [name of plaintiff], whichever is shorter;

2. The loss of gifts or benefits that [name of plaintiff] would
have expected to receive from [name of decedent];

3. Funeral and burial expenses; and

4. The reasonable value of household services that [name of
decedent] would have provided.

Your award of any future economic damages must be reduced to
present cash value.

[Name of plaintiff] also claims the following noneconomic
damages:

1. The loss of [name of decedent]'s love, companionship,
comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, moral
support; [and]

[2. The loss of the enjoyment of sexual relations.]

[2. The loss of [name of decedent]'s training and guidance.]

No fixed standard exists for deciding the amount of noneconomic
damages. You must use your judgment to decide a reasonable amount
based on the evidence and your common sense. [Your award for
noneconomic damages should not be reduced to present cash
value.]

In determining [name of plaintiff]'s loss, do not consider:

1. [Name of plaintiff]'s grief, sorrow, or mental anguish;

2. [Name of decedent]'s pain and suffering; or

3. The poverty or wealth of [name of plaintiff].

In deciding a person's life expectancy, you may consider, among
other factors, the average life expectancy of a person of that age,
as well as that person's health, habits, activities, lifestyle, and
occupation. According to [insert source of information], the
average life expectancy of a [insert number]-year-old [male/female]
is [insert number] years, and the average life expectancy of a
[insert number]-year-old [male/female] is [insert number] years.
This published information is evidence of how long a person is
likely to live but is not conclusive. Some people live longer and
others die sooner.

[In computing these damages, consider the losses suffered by all
plaintiffs and return a verdict of a single amount for all
plaintiffs. I will divide the amount [among/between] the
plaintiffs.]”

PRODUCTS LIABILITY: “1220. Negligence--Essential Factual
Elements.

[Name of plaintiff] [also] claims that [he/she] was harmed by
[name of defendant]'s negligence and that [he/she/it] should be
held responsible for that harm. To establish this claim, [name of
plaintiff] must prove all of the following:

1. That [name of defendant]
[designed/manufactured/supplied/installed/inspected/
repaired/rented] the [product];

2. That [name of defendant] was negligent in
[designing/manufacturing/
supplying/installing/inspecting/repairing/renting] the
[product];

3. That [name of plaintiff] was harmed; and

4. That [name of defendant]'s negligence was a substantial
factor in causing [name of plaintiff]'s harm.”

Source:
California Jury Instructions (CACI) Educational Web-site.

Is There Such a Thing as a “Junk
Lawsuit”?

Insurance companies and the politicians they donate money too,
have increased the battle cry that practically every civil lawsuit
filed in California and across the United States is a
“Junk-Lawsuit.” The insurance industry also asserts
that lawsuit filings are out of control. However, these allegations
are not based upon any findings by a court, or sound statistics.
Rather, this was simply made up, ostensibly, to poison the civil
jury pool. And it is working.

The Facts About Negligence Tort Case Filings In
California, Federal, State and Santa Monica
Courts

Between 1993 and 2002, California tort filings fell by 18
percent. Source:
Washington Monthly Web-site.

U.S. General Accounting Office and the Congressional
Budget Office criticize bogus studies about Costs of Lawsuits,
finding: “no evidence that restrictions on
tort liability reduce medical spending.” “In short,
the evidence available to date does not make a strong case that
restricting malpractice liability would have a significant effect,
either positive or negative, on economic efficiency, the CBO
said.” Source: Non Partisan Annenberg
Fact Check Web-site.

In fact, the data shows there is no frivolous lawsuit epidemic.
Source:
ATLA.

Q: How do Insurance Companies Make Money if They Are
Paying All this Money in Claims?

Insurance is paid for in premiums by the insured, you and I.
When we are in a car wreck, or serious injury accident, we expect
our insurance company to be there for us. However, more often than
not, we are increasingly faced with hostile insurance adjustors,
who try and devalue our claims, pay less than our vehicles are
actually worth, or even treat us as if we are guilty of fraud.

In fact, much of this conduct is known as bad faith refusal to
provide insurance coverage, and in certain circumstances, forms the
basis for a “bad faith Lawsuit” against a first party
insured’s insurance company. If you feel you have a bad
faith claim against you insurance company, you could even be
entitled to punitive damages, to punish the wrongdoer insurance
company.

A: Insurance Companies Make Their Billions off the
“Float”, Not the Premium!

So the question often arises, “how does that poor
insurance company make any money?” “Most people
don’t realize that insurance companies really don’t
make money on the premiums they charge. . . . Insurance companies
make money by investing the “float.” The
“float” is the money that’s been collected in
premiums, but not yet paid out in defense costs or payouts. . . .
Long ago insurance companies figured out that they could turn
temporary downturns to their advantage, especially in the medical
malpractice insurance arena, by claiming that the premium increases
were necessary because of increasing lawsuits. That lie can finally
be put to rest, thanks to a nationwide study by Americans for
Insurance Reform, a coalition of consumer and public interest
groups.” Source: Americans for
Insurance Reform.

Look around, insurance companies are awarded higher than normal
interest rates for your premiums they deposit into banks. Insurance
companies buy up office buildings and make millions off real
estate. The interest on your premiums funds all of this.

So shouldn’t you be entitled to collect on your insurance
when a disaster occurs? At the Law Offices of Michael P. Ehline, A
Professional Corporation, we thinks so. Ehline will fight the
insurance company and make them obey the law in Santa Monica,
California. Serious Injury Accidents, Serious Injury Collisions and
accidents can ruin your life.

Going up against an insurance company and its highly paid team
of lawyers and politicians, is a hard fought battle. It
shouldn’t be as a matter of law, but it is. You need Ehline
to fight that battle! Ehline wins. “Do or die!”

How Do I Get the Insurance Company To Pay Me for My
Legitimate Santa Monica Personal Injury Claims?

The answer is simple. If you feel your Santa Monica, California
personal injury claim is legitimate, contact the Law Offices of
Michael, A Professional Corporation. We will fight for you.

Special Problem - The Injured Military
Family

Ehline offers military discounts. Michael Ehline, the founder of
the Law Offices of Michael P. Ehline, P.C., and his father, Paul
Ehline, are both veterans of the United States Marine Corps.
“My experience in the Corps., and growing up as a military
son, make me a kindred spirit with Marines and other servicemen and
women, their families and loved ones. I offer special discounts to
active duty military families. I want to ëmake it
happen’ for them.” (Michael Ehline, May, 2006.)

There are also many special problems with setting up a personal
injury claim in Santa Monica, California, for a military family,
and litigating such a personal injury claim. Often, the injured
personal injury victim may be deployed overseas, or out of state.
Military families are stationed and re-stationed as a matter of
course.

Ehline is the answer to making it happen while your military
family is away, and in protecting your rights, while you protect
ours. Michael Ehline is a fighter and a patriot just like you!

Read the article about Michael Ehline in the Los Angeles Daily
Journal (Not a press release.) Los Angeles personal injury
attorneys want to talk about your case at 888-400-9721.