Aliso Viejo is a city in the southern portion of Orange County with a population of approximately 52,000 people. The city is sometimes confused with Mission Viejo, another Orange County city that’s located nearby. Aliso Viejo began as a planned community for the town’s business park, known as Pacific Park. With that in mind, every home was located within 1.5 miles of Pacific Park, making it easy for the residents to balance their home and work lives.
The city is still a pleasant place to live with many job opportunities at companies such as Quest Software, Pacific Life, Buy.com, and Marie Callender’s. The City of Aliso Viejo is another major employer, and there’s no denying that the city government provides many essential services, like firefighting, law enforcement, road repairs, and waste management. These agencies must exercise good judgment and reasonable care, but quite often, there is careless or reckless behavior that can lead to an accident. Incidents that injure innocent people include, but are not limited to:
- Car crashes caused by fire trucks, police cars, and other city vehicles
- Trip and fall due to cracked or broken sidewalks
- Slip and fall in city parks, buildings, parking lots, etc.
- Assault and battery (including sexual assault)
- Injured by collapsing structure or falling objects
If you are the victim of an accident caused by the City of Aliso Viejo, you may be entitled to monetary compensation, which you can obtain by filing an injury claim. For more information regarding your rights and legal options, contact our law firm.
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How to File an Accident Claim with the City of Aliso Viejo
To file a claim for damages with the city government of Aliso Viejo, you will need to contact the Risk Management department, as they are in charge of liability claims against the city. This is a division under the City Manager’s Office, which you can contact at 949-425-2510. Just let them know that you want to file a damages claim for an incident caused by a city employee / agency.
Generally, the process involves filling out a set of forms with information like the date and location of the accident, who is responsible, and why you believe the city is liable for the damages you incurred. You must also itemize your monetary losses and state a specific amount of money that you are seeking, along with an explanation of why you are entitled to these funds. Keep in mind that the city will expect you to attach evidence to support your case and additional pages for answers, as there is very little space on the forms.
Some of these questions are quite difficult to answer unless you have extensive knowledge of the state’s liability laws. That’s why legal advice from a lawyer is highly recommended, which we can provide here at Normandie Law Firm. We can take care of filling out the form with the appropriate information, back it up with solid evidence, and make sure that everything is filed with the appropriate department.
Once your claim is filed, the city has 45 days to make a decision on whether to pay you or not. It can be disheartening to get a denial letter after all that work, but please know that the city regularly rejects claims from accident victims. The next step is to file a lawsuit through the court system, which is another area where we can be of help. Please be aware that your lawsuit must be filed no later than 6 months from when your claim is rejected by the city of Aliso Viejo. Thus, you should not wait to contact a lawyer who is experienced in suing government agencies for negligence or misconduct.
No Letter from the City – What Do I Do Now?
City governments do make it a point to send out some sort of response by the deadline of 45 days, as this is a legal requirement. However, it does happen from time to time that the city will fail to email or mail out a notice of approval or denial within this timeframe. Don’t worry, as you still have a right to seek damages if you are a victim of negligent conduct by their city. If you are certain that 45 days have passed since the city of Aliso Viejo received your claim, you can assume that the claim is rejected by default. That means you have the right to file a lawsuit within 2 years of whenever you were injured, which is the standard statute of limitations for a personal injury claim.
Government Compensation Claims have a 6 Month Deadline
You may be surprised to learn that the deadline to prepare and submit a compensation claim against the government is 6 months. But this is a statutory requirement under the California Tort Claims Act, so there is generally no exception that can be made to this rule. Essentially, you have 6 months from whenever you were injured to seek payment for your medical bills, missing wages, and other types of compensation.
Contacting an experienced government claims law firm is the best way to ensure that your paperwork is filed on time. Our team of legal experts will investigate your claim, assemble a solid case with extensive evidence and negotiate a settlement that reflects the harm you suffered due to negligence by the city of Aliso Viejo.
Average Value of a Lawsuit against the City of Aliso Viejo
Payments for an accident caused by a city employee or agency may be around $5,000 to $15,000 on the lower end. For those with serious to severe injuries, the amount from a lawsuit can range from $250,000 to over $1,000,000. This is due to the fact that serious injuries have long-term complications that require future medical expenses and lost income. The extent of emotional trauma can also add to the amount of compensation from a City of Aliso Viejo liability claim. Based on the details of your accident, there may be other issues we need to examine, so please speak with a personal injury lawyer at our office as soon as possible.
How Long Does it Take to get Paid from a City of Aliso Viejo Claim?
While we can’t narrow it down to a singular amount of time, we would say 1 to 2 years is about the average timeframe to settle a city government injury claim. This is due to many factors, including the claims process that you must go through before you can file a personal injury lawsuit. The amount of time to reach a settlement also depends on the extent of your injuries and how much you are asking for in damages. As a general rule, cases that are worth 6 to 7 figures take longer to settle than claims with 5-figure values, but of course, there are exceptions to every rule.
At the end of the day, it’s possible for a city of Aliso Viejo claim to settle within a few months, while other cases take 3 or more years from start to finish.
Contact Normandie Law Firm
Considering the role government departments play in our lives, people who work for the city of Aliso Viejo have the highest duty of care to protect the public from bodily harm. Those who have been in an accident caused by the city government must obtain legal advice from a qualified attorney.
To ensure that you can get the help you need, we will offer free legal services for the entire duration of your case. We can do this under a policy known as the Zero Fee Guarantee, where the cost of legal fees is added to your settlement award. As a result, the only way we receive payment is by winning your case and bringing you the compensation you deserve.
To learn more about how we can assist you with an accident claim against the city of Aliso Viejo, please call us to schedule a free case review.
Other Pages on Our Website Related to This Topic
How to File an Accident Injury Claim with the City of Compton, CA
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How to File a Claim against the City of Blythe, California
