Legal Question in Personal Injury in California
My fianc� was hit while working in college as a hotel bellman by an angry Taxi driver. The taxi man was turning into a non permitted area and was asked to turn around; the taxi man was so upset that he charged his vehicle towards my fianc� hitting him and he then landed on the front windshield cracking it by the force of impact. The sneaky hotel advised him to not take any legal action. A few years since the accident he is still suffering from major back problems. How long does he have to take legal action? There is a police report and photos documented. Please advise. Thanks!
5 Answers from Attorneys
Three years against the taxi driver. I'm not sure how long he has to file a worker's compensation claim, which this surely must be.
Don't get your legal advice from sneaky hotels. Get it from a lawyer. After a "few years" (more than two years) he has almost certainly forfeited his legal rights, leaving only a lingering backache for which he will receive none of the thousands of dollars he could have had just with one phone call to a lawyer. You should re-evaluate whether you want to marry somebody that stupid.
He has five years to go against the employer hotel, if he meets certain conditions such as continued working. Feel free to call us at 213.388.7070 for a free consultation.
I think you only have two years to bring a lawsuit. You would be better off suing the taxi company and the driver rather than filing a work comp case, but you could do both. You can get punitive damages against the driver, which would pay you a lot more, however it may be difficult to collect. I would be happy to help you with this case, as I think it may be a fun case, with good jury appeal. Call me at (916) 721-3324 before it is too late. Joe Marman
I don't know what I was thinking. The statute of limitation is two -- and not three -- years for personal injury claims. For property damage, it's three years.