An injury victim may have the right to seek compensation from a responsible party whose insurance policy covers the loss. If you or a loved one has suffered harm, it’s important that you fully understand your rights and file an insurance claim if it’s available. Give me a call to discuss your options for seeking insurance payment.
Anyone who has suffered personal injury may incur several personal and financial losses. If the injury victim is eligible to file an insurance claim, the proceeds may cover these losses. However, the victim may have difficulty seeking compensation.
Have you or a loved one suffered harm due to someone’s negligent or intentional misconduct? If so, you will need legal counsel to assert your right to compensation and seek payment from the insurance company. Get in touch today with Abramyan Law, P.C. I can review your injury and assist with your claim.
Premises Liability
Property owners and occupiers have a legal duty to keep their premises reasonably safe and protect guests and visitors from conditions they know, or should reasonably know, to be hazardous. If someone gets injured because of a dangerous condition on another person’s property, they could file a premises liability claim. This could cover their injuries and losses.
These cases may involve:
- Slip, trip, and fall accidents
- Dangerous or defective staircases, steps, walkways, and flooring
- Negligent security
- Poor lighting
- Defective or poorly maintained equipment
Catastrophic Injury and Wrongful Death
Certain accidents are considered catastrophic because they result in extensive, and often permanent, injuries. These in turn translate into significant medical bills, lost income, disability, long-term care needs, and more. Insurance coverage may be available depending on how the accident that led to the catastrophic injury occurred.
Wrongful death claims, meanwhile, allow eligible survivors or other authorized individuals to file a civil suit against the person, business, organization, or other entity whose negligence caused the victim’s death. Insurance proceeds may be available to cover damages such as funeral and burial expenses, lost financial support, and the value of services the victim would have provided. The victim’s own pre-death medical bills and lost earnings are recovered separately, through a survival action brought on behalf of the estate.
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Claims
If a negligent driver has no insurance at all, the victim may be able to turn to uninsured motorist (UM) coverage under their own policy. Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage works differently than most drivers expect: in California it applies when the at-fault driver’s liability limits are lower than the injured person’s own UM/UIM limits, and the UIM recovery is then reduced by what the at-fault driver’s insurer pays. Disputes with the insurer can nevertheless arise and involve:
- Whether UM or UIM coverage applies to the accident
- The extent of the victim’s injuries and losses
- The value of the insurance claim
- Whether the insurer made a fair settlement offer
Sexual Abuse and Childhood Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse causes major personal, emotional, and financial injury to victims. Not only could the victim have a claim against the person who actually engaged in the abuse, but potentially against others such as a workplace or care facility. These businesses and institutions could have an insurance policy in place to cover the victim’s losses.
Childhood sexual abuse victims often experience physical, emotional, and psychological harms. These can also cause financial issues. For instance, a victim could need years of counseling and mental health treatment to help with the trauma they suffer. Fortunately, they can sometimes seek compensation from the person who committed the abuse and others who failed in their legal responsibility to protect the child.
Insurance and liability issues often arise when the childhood abuse involves a school, childcare facility, business, organization, or religious institution. California has specific rules governing civil claims arising from childhood sexual abuse, including statutes of limitations provisions.
Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse
Elderly and dependent adults who suffer abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation can face substantial personal and financial losses. California addresses these harms through the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act, which makes remedies available beyond those in an ordinary negligence case. They may have a claim against one or more parties who either facilitated or allowed the harm. Some common examples include:
- Nursing homes
- Assisted living facilities
- In-home caregivers
- Family members
- Residential care facilities for the elderly
If insurance coverage is available and applies to the specific incident, the proceeds could cover various damages, such as medical bills, physical injury, emotional harm, financial losses, and other losses.
Institutional Failure to Protect
Certain institutions, such as schools, healthcare facilities, long-term care facilities, and religious organizations, may have a duty to protect individuals in their care from foreseeable harm. Their failure to do so could be legally actionable. For example, a school that knows or should reasonably know of a prospective teacher’s history of sexual misconduct could face liability if it hires the person and the person later abuses a student.
These cases typically involve legal claims such as negligent hiring, inadequate supervision, and failure to investigate complaints. An insurance policy covering the institution may cover the victim’s losses.
Workplace Harassment and Discrimination
California and federal law protect employees from workplace harassment and discrimination. Employers that allow such behavior to exist, or even facilitate it, could be liable for several losses. These may include lost wages, emotional distress, and more. Insurance coverage, specifically Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI), may apply.
EPLI generally responds to employment practices claims — harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination among them — and may cover defense costs, settlements, or judgments. The scope of the coverage will vary in terms of policy limits and exclusions.
The complaint tells you what happened. The policy tells you what it’s worth.
Were you or a loved one subject to the above or similar types of accidents and injuries? If so, compensation could be available through an insurance policy. Contact me to learn more about filing and pursuing a claim. I meet with clients in English, Armenian, and Russian.