What To Expect In A Personal Injury Trial

Dealing with a personal injury and wondering what the trial process is like? You are not alone in your confusion. The legal process around personal injury settlements and trials can be very confusing. The good news is that the vast majority of personal injury cases are settled before trial—this type of resolution is much quicker and cheaper than a trial and allows you to get the much needed funds to recover for the losses you sustained following your accident.  When a settlement is not possible, your case will then proceed to a trial.

How To Find The Right Personal Injury Lawyer For My Claim

601 Buck Avenue

Vacaville CA 95688

707-452-9606

727 Texas Street

Fairfield CA 94533

707-421-7800

SSA Online: See What You Can Do!

At Hodson & Mullin, we know disabled people need help. Faced with a possible lifetime of great physical pain and a frightening financial future, many are so overwhelmed they don't know where to turn.  At Hodson & Mullin we not only  understand, we effectively steer our eligible clients through the Social Security Disability application and appeal processes, with countless successful cases over the decades.

At our firm, a highly experienced legal assistant will spend a great deal of time working with you and gathering records and information to perfect your claim, but your legal questions will be answered by an experienced attorney.

We are registered with the Social Security Administration and when necessary, we appear at actual hearings throughout Northern California to present our clients’ cases effectively, with an eye toward the most favorable outcomes.

Most of our experienced legal assistants are fluent in both English and Spanish, so language is never a barrier to obtaining results.

We are happy to meet with you for an initial consultation without charge to you, and you incur no costs at all unless and until your case is resolved and you receive a settlement or benefits.  Schedule an appointment with us today at our Vacaville or Fairfield offices!

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SSA Scam Awareness PSA

Beware of Social Security phone scams!
Telephone scammers are pretending to be government employees to request
personal information or money.

SSDI vs. SSI

601 Buck Avenue

Vacaville CA 95688

707-452-9606

727 Texas Street

Fairfield CA 94533

707-421-7800

What is SSI?

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a federal program that provides monthly payments to people who have limited income and few resources. SSI is for people who are 65 or older, as well as people of any age, including children, who are blind or have disabilities.

To qualify for SSI, you must also have little or no income and few resources. The value of the things you own must be less than $2,000 if you’re single or less than $3,000 for married couples living together. We don’t count the value of your home if you live in it, and, usually, we don’t count the value of your car. We may not count the value of certain other resources either, such as a burial plot.

To get SSI, you must also apply for any other government benefits for which you may be eligible. You must live in the United States or the Northern Mariana Islands to get SSI. If you’re not a U.S. citizen, but you lawfully reside in the United States, you may still be able to get SSI. For more information, read Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for Non-Citizens (Publication No. 05-11051).

The state of California adds money to the federal payment. The single payment you get at the beginning of each month includes both the federal SSI payment and your supplement from California.

Hodson & Mullin Attorneys at Law can assist you and simplify the process for success!

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Hodson & Mullin Attorneys at Law

Hodson & Mullin has been a preeminent Workers’ Compensation, Social Security Disability and Personal Injury firm in Solano County for more than 25 years and has been recognized as Law Firm of the Year by the Solano County Bar Association and readers of the Vacaville Reporter. The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization has designated our principals as Certified Specialists in Workers’ Compensation Law. We are perennially named among Northern California’s Super Lawyers.

Ours is the only AV-Preeminent rated Workers’ Compensation Law Firm in Solano County, rated by the Martindale-Hubbell and FindLaw ™ directory.

We offer our clients professional legal representation and services in Workers’ Compensation, Social Security Disability, and Personal Injury cases. Our staff of attorneys, and our friendly paralegals, legal assistants, and administrative assistants all work hard to ensure the best results for our clients in and out of the courtroom.

We are able to negotiate settlements in the vast majority of our cases, but when litigation is necessary, our principals and associates have the trial experience and level of expertise necessary for effective representation in court. We are one of the few law firms in the North Bay area with Certified Specialists whose staff provides services to Spanish-speaking clients, and with three retired military officers among our lawyers, our own personal military service uniquely positions us to assist military clients.

The Hodson & Mullin firm’s mission is to put clients first, with the goal of minimizing the stress of resolving legal matters. Put our expertise to work for you.

VACAVILLE OFFICE

601 Buck Avenue

Vacaville, CA 95688

707.452.9606

FAIRFIELD OFFICE

727 Texas Street

Fairfield, CA 94533

The Filing Deadline for Personal Injury Lawsuits in California

All states set limits on the amount of time you have to file a lawsuit in civil court after you've suffered some type of harm. This kind of law is called a statute of limitations, and there are different deadlines depending on the kind of case you're filing.

In California, the statute of limitations for personal injury cases gives an injured person two years from the date of the injury to go to court and file a lawsuit against those who could be at fault. Basically, if you fail to file a personal injury lawsuit within this two-year period, the court will likely refuse to hear your case at any time in the future, and your right to compensation will be lost. There are special situations that might extend the deadline or affect when the statute of limitations "clock" starts to run.

The California statute of limitations for personal injury cases can be found at California Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1.

Claims against a city, county or California state government agency. There is a time limit of six months to file an injury claim against a government entity, and claimants must adhere to a strict set of procedural rules. (California Government Code section 911.2.) Learn more about injury claims against a government entity.

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"Strict" Liability for Dog Bites in California

In many states, dog owners are protected (to some degree) from injury liability the first time their dog injures someone if they had no reason to believe the dog was dangerous. This is often called a "one bite" rule. In California however, a specific statute (California Civil Code section 3342) makes the owner "strictly liable", meaning the dog owner is legally responsible in most situations where their dog bites someone, and no amount of fault or negligence needs to be shown. Specifically, the statute reads:

"The owner of any dog is liable for the damages suffered by any person who is bitten by the dog while in a public place or lawfully in a private place, including the property of the owner of the dog, regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owner's knowledge of such viciousness."

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Personal Injury

Personal injuries include every variety of injury to a person's body, emotions, or reputation, as contradistinguished from injury to property rights.

Grounds

There are three grounds on which personal injury claims can be brought:

Negligence is the most common basis for personal injury claims. The basis for liability under negligence stems from an individual’s failures to behave with the level of care that someone of ordinary prudence would have exercised under the same circumstances. For example, a hunter who carelessly shoots his gun towards other people.

Strict Liability holds a defendant liable for committing an action, regardless of what his/her intent or mental state was when committing the action. For example, if an injury occurs as a result of a defect in a product, the manufacturer is responsible for that injury even though they did not act negligently or intend for their product to cause harm.

Intentional Wrongs result from an intentional act of the defendant. Common intentional torts are battery, assault, false imprisonment, trespass to land, trespass to chattels, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

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