How Extenuating Circumstances Can Affect a California Settlement

After a personal injury that has you seeking compensation, you might assume that your settlement is based on your medical bills, lost wages, or even property damages. In California, settlements are also set by something called extenuating circumstances. In a personal injury case, these extenuating circumstances in a California settlement can lower or raise your offer, shift blame and liability between the parties, and even determine whether there is any settlement at all. As a personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles, the Law Offices of Jacob Emrani will help you understand this important bit of law lingo and help you protect your rights.

What Are Extenuating Circumstances in a California Personal Injury Case?

Extenuating circumstances for a personal injury claim go beyond the basic facts. For example, in a vehicle collision, extenuating circumstances could include weather, road hazards, or a sudden medical emergency due to pre-existing medical conditions. That last one is big. Say a person who hit your car with theirs suffered a stroke, causing them to hit you. This is an extenuating circumstance that could affect your claim.

Another example could be a slip-and-fall case. Let’s say you fall on a slippery floor outside a retail store, and there’s no wet floor sign. It’s then discovered that the wet floor sign was blown away by strong winds. This is an extenuating circumstance that could protect the business.

Insurance adjusters always look for these little details to argue that fault should be shared or damages reduced.

How Can Extenuating Circumstances Affect a Settlement?

Extenuating circumstances can shift fault and blame for a personal injury case. For example, circumstances like weather can make a defendant look more reckless — such as driving too fast during a severe rainstorm.

Extenuating circumstances affect three aspects of a claim:

• The credibility of both parties.
• The strength of liability.
• The cost of damages.

How Liability Affects Personal Injury Settlement Negotiations

Liability involves establishing who was at fault for the personal injury claim and the degree of their fault. This is the first step in finding the dollar amount of a settlement. With extenuating circumstances, liability is never clear until all factors affecting a personal injury settlement that led to the event are discussed.

During the investigation, factors like a defective traffic signal or an unmarked construction zone can introduce additional liable parties or shared fault. Extenuating circumstances can change how liability affects your settlement amount.

How California’s Comparative Negligence Rule Can Change Your Settlement

The state of California follows a pure comparative negligence law. This means that during a personal injury settlement in California, an injured party can still recover damages even if they were partially at fault for the accident. So if an insurer or the courts determine you were 20% at fault, your payout would be reduced by 20%.

Due to extenuating circumstances during a comparative negligence settlement in California, insurance companies usually argue that the injured party bears some responsibility. For example, if you were biking and hit by a car as you were turning right, an insurer could discover that you didn’t give the proper hand signal and try to reduce your payout.

Can a Sudden Emergency or Unexpected Event Change Liability?

California law recognizes the sudden emergency doctrine, which excuses a person from the normal standard of the law if they encounter an unexpected, dangerous situation through no fault of their own.

For example, a driver swerves to avoid a fallen tree, causing a crash. The sudden emergency doctrine may be invoked to argue that this person shouldn’t be held to the same standard as a driver who was driving recklessly.

Determining whether a circumstance is a sudden, unavoidable emergency or just being used as a convenient excuse to avoid bigger damages is the job of a personal injury attorney like the Law Offices of Jacob Emrani.

How Injury Severity and Long-Term Effects Affect Settlement Value

To make extenuating circumstances even more confusing, they can apply even after the event has happened. For example, if the victim of a car crash has pre-existing medical conditions, the recovery may be slower and further complicate the calculation of damages. Damages that cause chronic pain or disability are also subject to a higher payout.

Insurance companies will look at a victim’s medical history and argue that a specific medical condition was pre-existing and unrelated to an accident. This is why highly detailed, well-documented medical records are among the most important sources for a higher settlement in personal injury cases.

How Insurance Companies Evaluate Extenuating Circumstances

Insurance companies will look at everything in a personal injury case — traffic camera footage, medical histories, weather data, witness statements, police reports — to mitigate damages and shift fault. Their goal is always to settle for the smallest possible California accident settlement.

This is why you should never settle with an insurance company without having a lawyer look at the case. Insurance companies will take advantage of an unrepresented party because they know how to use extenuating circumstances to significantly reduce damages, even if there is evidence to counter.

What Evidence Can Strengthen Your Position During Settlement Negotiations?

Having a portfolio of strong evidence will always reduce the impact of unfavorable extenuating circumstances and reinforce the strength of your claim. Important evidence includes:

• Police reports.
• Traffic cameras.
• Witness statements.
• Weather reports.
• Photos of before and after the event.
• Complete medical records.
• Testimonies from accident reconstructionists and medical professionals.

Having as much evidence as possible will always strengthen your case. The Law Offices of Jacob Emrani can help you build your case, look at all versions of extenuating circumstances, and earn you a fair damages payout.

When Should You Contact a California Personal Injury Lawyer?

Always contact a personal injury lawyer, like Jacob Emrani, after the accident. Ideally, you should do this before you have talked with an insurance adjuster. Extenuating circumstances will always be identified and addressed quickly and effectively when an attorney is involved early in a case.

If you are in the middle of personal injury settlement negotiations and you feel extenuating circumstances are being used against you, this is also the perfect time to contact the Law Offices of Jacob Emrani.

Call Jacob Emrani for All Personal Injury Cases

Extenuating circumstances can significantly change the outcome of a personal injury settlement — for better or worse. The Law Offices of Jacob Emrani will thoroughly investigate the evidence, build the strongest case possible, and pursue fair compensation. Contact us today for a consultation.