Cases We Take

Personal injury law, also known as negligence, rests on the premise that everyone is responsible not only for their willful acts but also for an injury brought about by their lack of ordinary care or skill in the way they conduct themselves or manage their property. Drivers, for instance, must not only possess the basic skills to drive a car, but they must also pay attention and drive with care for the safety of others on the road. Surgeons must practice with the same degree of skill and competence as other members of the profession with the same education and training, and they must use the same care as expected of other surgeons in the same field in the community. Property owners must keep their premises reasonably well-maintained for the safety of customers, guests and others lawfully on the property.

It’s the same everywhere you go. Individuals and businesses owe duties of care to others, and when they breach that duty through their negligence, they can be held liable for any damages they cause, whether it be a car accident, medical malpractice, premises liability, or other types of injuries and accidents. Getting compensation for your injuries isn’t easy, though. The law may be on your side, but the burden falls on you as the injury victim to prove the other party was negligent. This means proving they owed a duty of care to you, they breached that duty, their breach was the cause of your injury, the harm was foreseeable, and you suffered damages that the law can compensate you for through a money judgment.

While you are trying to prove your case, the insurance company on the other side is doing everything it can to limit or avoid liability. You need a skilled and knowledgeable personal injury lawyer on your side who knows how to build and present a case proving the other party’s liability to you for the damages you’ve suffered and who is experienced in dealing with insurance companies. At Yanni Law, you’ll find personal service from an experienced attorney who knows from personal experience what you are going through and what you’ll have to deal with when living with an injury and its aftermath. We are results-driven and have a record of success to give you confidence knowing we strive to get the best possible outcome in every case. Our attorney practices statewide throughout California, South Carolina, and Texas, and is available to assist you anywhere within those states. For help after a personal injury in Charleston or Southern California from Los Angeles to San Diego, call Yanni Law for a no-cost case evaluation.

Elements of a Negligence Case

As the plaintiff in a personal injury claim or lawsuit, the burden would fall on you to prove all of the following elements of a negligence claim:

Duty of care – The other party owed you a duty to act with reasonable care toward you, whether it was a general duty like the duty drivers owe to everyone on the road or a specific duty owed by a doctor to a patient or a nursing home to the residents in its care.
Breach – The other party violated their duty by acting irresponsibly or failing to act in a reasonable manner.
Cause in fact – You have to prove that the other party’s breach was the actual cause of the accident or injury that befell you.
Proximate cause – Also known as legal cause, you may have to prove that the injury caused by the defendant’s conduct was foreseeable and that no other forces intervened that would relieve that party of their responsibility.
Injury/damages – You need to prove that you were actually injured by their conduct, including proving how their negligence affected you and what they owe you as a result.

These elements must be proven by a “preponderance of the evidence,” which means the weight of the evidence falls in your favor. A skilled attorney at Yanni Law knows what evidence is important to gather and how to prepare and present a persuasive case proving the elements of a negligence claim, whether settling out of court or filing a lawsuit and going to trial.

How Comparative Fault Works in California and South Carolina

A very common tactic of the insurance company is to try and pin some or all of the blame for the accident on you. In a slip and fall case, they’ll say you weren’t watching where you were going. After medical malpractice, they’ll claim you didn’t give the doctor a complete medical history or follow the doctor’s orders properly. In a car accident, they’ll allege you were speeding, following too close, distracted by your phone or otherwise driving negligently. No matter what the other party did to cause the accident, the insurance company has some excuse to say you were the negligent party, not them.

The point of the insurance company doing this is two-fold. If they can convince you (or a judge or jury) that you were to blame, then of course they are not responsible and don’t have to pay you anything. But even if you were only partly to blame, any amount of negligence attributable to you reduces the amount the insurance company would be required to pay. For instance, if you were 20% at fault and your damages were $100,000, the negligent party would only be responsible to pay $80,000.

In California, you can sue a negligent party regardless of how much of the blame is put on you, but in South Carolina, you can only pursue a claim if you are considered to be 50% or less at fault. Anything more, and the other party doesn’t have to pay you anything. This is why insurance companies will try to paint you as at least partially at fault, and it is one more reason why you need a skilled and experienced lawyer on your side who will work to prove the other party’s fault while also defending you against unfounded allegations that you were negligent as well.

Call Yanni Law for Help With Personal Injury in Charleston or Southern California

Yanni Law is a boutique personal injury law firm providing a high level of client service with a dedication to getting excellent results. Our attorney practices statewide throughout California, South Carolina, and Texas, and is available to assist you anywhere within those states. If you or a loved one has suffered a personal injury due to the negligence of another in Charleston, South Carolina, or Southern California from San Diego to Los Angeles, call Yanni Law for a free consultation and immediate help with your legal claims.

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