Irvine Personal Injury Lawyer
An accident can leave you with serious injuries and overwhelming financial burdens. An Irvine personal injury lawyer from Bentley & More LLP will fight for the compensation you need to recover. We investigate your accident, coordinate your medical care, and build a powerful case for your financial recovery. Let us handle the insurance companies while you focus on healing.
Personal injury cases require immediate action to preserve evidence, document damages, and meet California’s strict filing deadlines. At Bentley & More LLP, we represent clients throughout Orange County who have suffered catastrophic injuries in car crashes, truck accidents, falls, workplace incidents, and other preventable events, bringing trial experience that can motivate the other side to offer fair settlements rather than face our attorneys in court.
Our Newport Beach-based attorneys understand Orange County Superior Court procedures, local insurance practices, and the medical providers who treat serious injuries, allowing us to build compelling cases that demonstrate the true impact of your injuries on your life and future.
Contact us now for a free consultation: (949) 870-3800. We work on a contingency fee basis, we only get paid when you recover compensation.
Key Takeaways
- You generally have two years to file a personal injury lawsuit in California, but the deadline shortens to six months for claims against government agencies
- California’s pure comparative negligence law allows recovery even if you’re partially at fault, with compensation reduced by your percentage of responsibility
- Possible compensation includes economic damages (medical bills, lost wages, future care) and non-economic damages (pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment)
- Multiple insurance sources may owe you money for your injuries, including liability coverage, UM/UIM protection, MedPay, and premises or product liability policies
- Our contingency fee agreement means you pay no upfront costs, and we only collect a fee if we successfully recover compensation for you
Why Choose Bentley & More LLP for Your Irvine Personal Injury Case
Bentley & More LLP focuses exclusively on serious injury cases requiring extensive resources and sophisticated litigation strategies. Founded by trial attorneys Greg Bentley and Keith More, our practice combines decades of courtroom experience with the financial resources necessary to take on insurance companies and corporate defendants who refuse fair settlements.
What distinguishes our personal injury representation?:
- Catastrophic injury focus – We handle cases involving traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, multiple fractures, and wrongful death, not minor soft-tissue claims
- Trial-ready from day one – Insurance companies know we’ll present cases to Orange County juries rather than accept inadequate offers
- Multi-defendant litigation – We pursue all liable parties including drivers, employers, manufacturers, and government entities to secure full compensation
- Resource investment – Access to accident reconstructionists, medical specialists, life-care planners, and economists who prove long-term damages
- Local presence and knowledge – From our Newport Beach offices, we know Orange County roads, courts, and the medical providers treating serious injuries
Our client-focused approach means personal attention from attorneys, not just paralegals or case managers. We coordinate with treating physicians to properly document injuries, work with employers to protect your job during recovery, and handle insurance communications to prevent statements from being used against you.
Recent case results include multi-million dollar settlements for spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and wrongful death cases throughout Orange County. While past results don’t guarantee future outcomes, they demonstrate our commitment to pursuing fair compensation for catastrophic injuries.
Contact our Irvine personal injury attorneys at (949) 870-3800 for a free consultation about your case.
Types of Personal Injury Cases We Handle in Irvine
Personal injury law encompasses any situation where someone’s negligence causes harm to another person. Our practice focuses on catastrophic injury cases requiring extensive medical treatment, long-term care, and substantial compensation for life-altering consequences.
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Traffic collisions on Irvine’s busy roads and highways cause devastating injuries requiring immediate legal representation. Car accidents remain the most common personal injury claims, from rear-end collisions on Jamboree Road to high-speed crashes on I-5. Motorcycle accidents often result in catastrophic injuries due to riders’ exposure, with drivers failing to check blind spots or turning left across oncoming bikes.
Motorcycle, bicycle, and pedestrian accidents create severe injuries when multi-ton vehicles strike unprotected victims on city streets or crosswalks.
Commercial truck accidents involve additional complexities, including multiple liable parties, federal regulations, and catastrophic injuries from 80,000-pound vehicles. Rideshare accidents with services like Uber and Lyft drivers can also be complex, raising insurance coverage questions and corporate liability issues. Each accident type requires specific investigation strategies and understanding applicable insurance coverages.
Premises Liability Claims
Property owners throughout Irvine must maintain safe conditions for visitors, whether at retail stores, offices, apartments, or private homes. When property owners fail to address known hazards or provide adequate warnings, they may be held liable for resulting injuries.
Common premises liability cases we handle include:
- Slip-and-fall accidents – Wet floors, spills, or recently mopped areas without warning signs causing falls that result in fractures, head injuries, and back damage, particularly serious for older adults
- Trip hazards – Torn carpeting, broken sidewalks, unmarked elevation changes, and uneven surfaces creating foreseeable dangers that property owners should repair or mark with warnings
- Negligent security – Inadequate lighting in parking garages, broken locks on apartment buildings, or absent security measures that enable assaults, robberies, or other criminal attacks
- Dog bite incidents – California’s strict liability law holds owners responsible when their dogs attack, regardless of the animal’s prior behavior or the owner’s knowledge of aggression
- Swimming pool accidents – Drownings, slip-and-falls on wet decks, and diving injuries at apartments, hotels, and private homes due to inadequate fencing, poor maintenance, or lack of supervision
- Construction site injuries – Falls into unmarked excavations, struck by falling objects, and other injuries when contractors fail to secure work zones or provide proper warnings to workers and passersby
Each type of premises liability case requires proving the property owner knew or should have known about the dangerous condition and failed to take reasonable steps to fix it or warn visitors. We investigate prior incidents, maintenance records, and inspection reports to establish notice and build strong liability cases.
Product Liability Cases
Defective products can cause injuries through design flaws, manufacturing defects, or inadequate warnings about dangers. Our firm handles cases involving e-cigarette explosions, defective auto parts, dangerous pharmaceuticals, faulty medical devices, and unsafe consumer products. These strict liability claims hold manufacturers accountable regardless of negligence, providing compensation paths when products fail during normal use.
Third-Party Workplace Injury Claims
Workplace accidents can sometimes involve third-party liability beyond workers’ compensation. For example, equipment manufacturers whose defective machinery causes injuries, contractors creating unsafe conditions for other companies’ employees, property owners failing to address known hazards, and drivers striking workers during employment. These third-party claims may provide compensation unavailable through workers’ comp alone.
What Damages are Available in Personal Injury Cases?
Personal injury compensation addresses both economic losses and human suffering caused by preventable accidents. Various types of damages may be available in an injury case, depending on the injury and the losses suffered.
Economic Damages
These quantifiable financial losses form the foundation of personal injury claims:
- Medical expenses – Emergency treatment, surgery, hospitalization, medication, medical equipment, and rehabilitation
- Future medical needs – Ongoing therapy, additional surgeries, lifetime medication, and assistive devices
- Lost wages – Income lost during recovery, including salary, bonuses, commissions, and benefits
- Reduced earning capacity – Diminished ability to work or career changes forced by permanent injuries
- Property damage – Vehicle repairs or replacement, damaged personal items, and clothing
- Out-of-pocket costs – Transportation to appointments, home modifications, and hired help for household tasks
Life-care planners and economists help calculate future losses, particularly for catastrophic injuries requiring decades of care. These professionals provide detailed reports projecting medical needs and lost earnings that prevent insurance companies from minimizing long-term impacts.
Non-Economic Damages
California law recognizes that injuries cause suffering beyond financial losses. Non-economic damages compensate for:
- Pain and suffering from physical injuries and ongoing discomfort
- Emotional distress, including anxiety, depression, and PTSD
- Loss of enjoyment when injuries prevent participating in activities you once loved
- Scarring and disfigurement affecting appearance and self-confidence
- Loss of consortium impacting intimate relationships with spouses
While no amount truly compensates for these losses, California doesn’t cap non-economic damages in most personal injury cases. Juries consider injury severity, recovery duration, permanent limitations, and life impact when awarding these damages.
Punitive Damages
When defendants act with oppression, fraud, or malice, California law permits punitive damages to punish wrongdoing and deter similar conduct. Common scenarios include drunk driving accidents, extreme recklessness, intentional harm, and corporate decisions prioritizing profits over safety. These damages require clear and convincing evidence of egregious behavior beyond simple negligence.
California’s Comparative Negligence Law
California follows a pure comparative negligence system, meaning you can recover compensation even if you’re partially responsible for your accident. Under California’s comparative fault rules, your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault.
The other side may use certain arguments to claim you were at fault or partially to blame for your injuries, such as:
- Claiming you were speeding before a collision, even slightly over limits
- Arguing you weren’t paying attention or could have avoided the accident
- Suggesting different footwear might have prevented your fall
- Alleging failure to use handrails or watch where you were walking
- Asserting you ignored warning signs or obvious hazards
At Bentley & More LLP, we counter these arguments using witness testimony, evidence, and accident reconstruction, when necessary, to show the defendant’s conduct primarily caused your injuries.
Critical Deadlines for Personal Injury Claims
California law imposes strict time limits for filing personal injury claims, with different deadlines depending on who caused your injuries. Missing these deadlines typically eliminates your right to compensation regardless of injury severity or clear liability. An attorney can review your case and determine the specific deadlines for your claim.
Standard Two-Year Statute of Limitations
Most personal injury claims must be filed within two years of the injury date. This includes car accidents, slip-and-falls, dog bites, and product liability cases. The clock starts on the accident date, not when you discover the extent of the injury or identify the responsible parties.
Exceptions exist for minors (the deadline extends until two years after turning 18) and cases involving concealed injuries or delayed discovery. However, relying on exceptions without legal guidance risks missing deadlines.
For wrongful death claims, the two-year deadline begins on the date of death, not the date of the incident that caused the fatal injury.
Six-Month Government Claim Requirement
Accidents involving government entities face dramatically shorter deadlines, just six months to file an administrative claim. This includes:
- Collisions with city buses, police vehicles, or municipal trucks
- Falls on public sidewalks or government buildings
- Injuries from dangerous road conditions or missing signs
- Accidents in public parks or recreational facilities
After you file an administrative claim, the government entity has 45 days to respond. If the agency denies your claim, you then have six months from the date of denial to file a lawsuit.
Missing either deadline generally bars recovery, making immediate legal consultation essential for government-related injuries.
The Insurance Claims Process After an Injury
Successfully recovering compensation requires understanding how insurance companies evaluate claims and the strategies they use to minimize payouts. California’s insurance system involves multiple coverage types that may apply to your injury.
Available Insurance Coverage
Several insurance sources might provide compensation:
- Liability insurance – The at-fault party’s coverage for damages they cause
- Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) – Your protection when at-fault parties lack adequate coverage
- Medical Payments (MedPay) – No-fault coverage for immediate medical bills
- Homeowners/renters insurance – Often covers injuries on residential property
- Commercial general liability – Business coverage for customer injuries
- Umbrella policies – Additional coverage above primary policy limits
Identifying all applicable policies requires investigation beyond obvious sources. We examine corporate structures, employment relationships, and property ownership to find coverage that might otherwise be overlooked.
Do I Need Legal Help for My Insurance Claim?
Insurance adjusters use specific procedures and requirements when evaluating claims, and understanding this process helps protect your interests. Common challenges that arise during claims include requests for recorded statements that may be used to assess consistency, early settlement offers made before full injury assessment is complete, questions about medical treatment duration and necessity, inquiries about prior injuries or medical conditions, and extended investigation periods that can create financial pressure.
Having legal representation provides important advantages when dealing with insurance claims. Our injury attorneys handle insurance communications, protecting you from inadvertently saying something that could affect your claim. We understand policy language and coverage requirements, helping document your claim properly from the start.
Our experience with claims procedures allows us to provide insurers with the documentation they need while protecting your rights. We know which deadlines apply, what evidence strengthens claims, and how to present medical information effectively. This professional approach can lead to more efficient claim resolution and fair compensation that reflects your injuries’ true impact.
Irvine Personal Injury Claim Frequently Asked Questions
What Qualifies as a Personal Injury Case in California?
A personal injury case arises when someone’s negligence or wrongful conduct causes physical, emotional, or financial harm to another person. California law requires proving four elements: the defendant owed you a duty of care (drivers must operate vehicles safely, property owners must maintain safe premises), they breached that duty through negligent or reckless actions, their breach directly caused your injuries, and you suffered actual damages like medical bills, lost wages, or pain and suffering.
How Much Do Irvine Personal Injury Lawyers Charge?
Our personal injury attorneys typically work on contingency fees, meaning payment comes only from successful settlements or verdicts. With Bentley & More LLP, you pay nothing upfront and owe nothing if we don’t recover compensation. Costs like filing fees, medical records, and expert witnesses are also advanced by the firm and reimbursed from settlements. This arrangement allows injury victims to access quality legal representation regardless of financial situation.
What if I Was Partially at Fault for My Accident?
California’s pure comparative negligence law allows recovery even if you share fault. Your compensation is reduced by your fault percentage, but you can still recover damages. The other side may try to exaggerate the victim’s fault to reduce payouts, but we counter these arguments using evidence showing the defendant’s conduct was the primary cause.
How Long Will My Personal Injury Case Take to Resolve?
Case duration depends on injury severity, liability disputes, and insurance company cooperation. Simple cases with clear liability and moderate injuries might take less time to settle. Complex cases involving catastrophic injuries, multiple defendants, or disputed liability could longer.
While quicker resolution means faster payment, settling too early before understanding your injuries’ full extent may leave substantial compensation behind.
What if the Person Who Injured Me Doesn’t Have Insurance?
Your own insurance may provide compensation through policies like Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) coverage. This protection substitutes for the at-fault party’s missing or inadequate insurance.
Additionally, our lawyers investigate whether other parties share liability, like employers, property owners, or companies that may have greater insurance or assets than individual defendants.
Personal assets, while harder to collect, remain possible recovery sources for serious injuries caused by uninsured parties.
What should I do immediately after an accident in Irvine?
- First, ensure your safety and the safety of others.
- Call 911 to report the incident and request emergency medical assistance, even if your injuries seem minor.
- If possible, take photos and videos of the accident scene, including property damage, visible injuries, and any relevant conditions like wet floors or poor lighting.
- Exchange contact and insurance information with other parties involved but avoid discussing fault.
- Seek a full medical evaluation as soon as possible, and contact a personal injury attorney before speaking with any insurance adjusters.
How do medical liens work if I cannot afford my medical bills?
A medical lien is a legally binding agreement between you, your attorney, and your healthcare provider. The provider agrees to deliver necessary medical treatment upfront without immediate payment. In exchange, they place a lien on your future personal injury settlement or verdict.
This means the provider gets paid for their services directly from the compensation we recover for you. Liens give you access to essential medical care without out-of-pocket costs while your case progresses.
Will my personal injury case go to trial?
Most personal injury cases settle before reaching a trial. We prepare every case as if it will go to court, which often convinces the insurance company to offer a fair settlement. A settlement avoids the risks and delays of a trial and provides a certain outcome.
However, if the insurance company refuses to offer just compensation for your injuries, our experienced trial attorneys are fully prepared to present your case to a jury to demand justice.
What happens if the person who hurt me was on the job?
When the at-fault person was working at the time of the accident, their employer may also be legally responsible for your injuries. This legal principle, known as vicarious liability, allows you to file a claim against the company.
Businesses typically carry much larger insurance policies than individuals, which can provide a crucial source of compensation, especially in cases involving catastrophic injuries.
We investigate the at-fault party’s employment status to identify all potential sources of recovery.
Contact an Irvine Personal Injury Attorney Today
Greg Bentley, Irvine Personal Injury Lawyer
If you’ve suffered a serious injury anywhere in Irvine or Orange County, Bentley & More LLP is here to provide you with sophisticated legal representation. Our lawyers are skilled at managing complex claims against multiple defendants, coordinating with medical providers, and fighting for fair compensation in cases of catastrophic injury.
From our Newport Beach offices, we serve injured victims throughout Southern California. We understand the devastating impact of serious injuries and the legal strategies necessary to secure meaningful recoveries.
Contact Bentley & More LLP at (949) 870-3800 for a free consultation about your personal injury case. We’ll evaluate your claim, explain your legal options, and begin building the strong case necessary to recover compensation for your injuries and losses.