Civil Rights and Personal Injury Case FAQs
Where Are You Located? What Areas Do You Serve?
The office of PLC Law Group is located in the Baldwin Hills neighborhood of South Los Angeles, California. Many of our clients come from Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura and San Diego County. However, we serve clients all throughout the state of California.
What Kinds of Cases Do You Take?
Our firm primarily practices in the areas of civil rights violations, police brutality/misconduct, criminal defense, and personal injury/wrongful death. If your case does not fall within those areas, we have a network of excellent attorneys that we can refer you to that would be better suited to represent you.
What are Contingency Fees?
A contingency fee is when a lawyer takes a case, on the basis that their legal fees will be a fraction of your final compensation award. However, if the case is not successful and no award is received, the client does not pay any legal fees.
How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Califormia?
The statute of limitations for most personal injury cases in California is two years. However, depending on the type of case and injuries suffered it can range from one to four years. Some cases the clock starts from the date of injury, others begin once the injury was noticed by the plaintiff. Given all these variables it is best to contact a lawyer as soon as possible. The personal injury lawyers at PLC Law Group can help you make an informed decision about your case.
I’ve Been Arrested. What Should I Do?
- Do not comply to an interview or interrogation.
- Do not answer any questions about your case.
- Do not talk about your case over the phone to anyone, including love ones and relatives.
- Do not discuss your case with family or friends during visitation, you are being recorded and law enforcement is listening.
- Do not talk about your case or any of the events surrounding it to any of your cellmates or guards.
- Do not discuss your case with anyone over any phone
The attorneys at PLC Law Group will provide immediate and confidential advice over the phone and arrange for an office or jail visit. Same day appointments are available in most instances. We can also arrange for evening and weekend appointments, if needed.
What is a Wrongful Arrest?
The phrases “wrongful arrest” and “false arrest” are often used interchangeably, and they refer to the same action: arrests made without the correct legal balances in place to make them lawful arrests.
There are many reasons why an arrest would be deemed wrongful. A few examples are:
- Arrests made without valid arrest warrants, which include arrest warrants obtained by officers intentionally providing false information;
- Arrests made based on arbitrary factors, like the suspect’s race;
- Arrests made for personal gain on the law enforcement officer’s part;
- Arrests made with malicious intent;
- An arrest of the wrong person;
- Arrests made without probable cause to arrest the individual; and
- Arrests during which the suspect is not informed of his or her Miranda Rights.
I Think my Civil Rights have Been Violated. How Much Time Do I Have to File a Claim?
Yes, you have to file a lawsuit for civil rights violations arising in California, within six months of the incident.
You must file what is known as a government claim with the appropriate law enforcement agency and/or city employing that agency. The six month time limit is in effect regardless of whether you have been or are still in jail as a result of what occurred. If you do not file that government claim with the appropriate agency or municipality in time, you will forever lose your right to proceed against that agency or municipality in a court of law for any violation of your civil rights.
Give us a call at (310) 400-5890 or use the form below to ask your legal questions.