Located in the San Joaquin Valley region of Merced County, Los Banos is city of 45,532 people as of 2020. Los Banos means “the baths” in Spanish, a name that derived from a natural spring that feeds into the wetlands in west San Joaquin Valley. The wetlands support a wide variety of fish and wildlife, which is why Los Banos is a popular destination for outdoor enthusiasts.
The peace and serenity that exists in the community is largely dependent on the local government. Known as the City of Los Banos, there are many departments within the city that serve the public, like Public Works, the Police, and the City Manager. If there is unprofessional conduct, poor management, and other signs of negligence within these departments, residents and visitors may be injured or end up with damage to their property. Reckless conduct by city workers can also put people in danger and cause incidents with devastating consequences.
Neglect and misconduct by city governments is unacceptable, and those who are injured have a right to demand compensation. Our legal team is here to help you with a claim against the city of Los Banos for any type of accident, including the following:
- Sidewalk accidents (trip and fall / slip and fall)
- Injuries from hazards in government buildings (slippery floors, missing handrails, elevator accidents, etc.)
- Hit by falling branches / trees in city parks
- Motor vehicle accident with city vehicles
- Car accidents caused by potholes, no warning signs and other hazardous conditions
- Assault and battery / sexual assault
Please take a moment to contact our office and schedule a time to learn about your rights and legal options.
Our Recent Verdicts and Settlements
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How to File an Accident Claim with the City of Los Banos, CA
The department that’s in charge of processing liability claims for the city of Los Banos is the City Clerk. So, the first step to filing a claim is to contact the City Clerk at (209) 827-2412 or lucy.mallonee@losbanos.org and notify them that you are interested in filing a compensation claim. That way, you can obtain the correct paperwork with instructions, like how to fill out the forms, attach evidence, and submit the claim for processing.
Once the claim is received by the City Clerk, it will likely be forwarded to another department that reviews your request for payment. Under the California Tort Claims Act (CTCA), the city has a deadline of 45 days to provide you with a status on your claim. Generally, this will be in the form of an acceptance or denial letter, either through mail or email.
If your claim is rejected, please know that this is quite common when you are attempting to hold the government responsible for an accident. The next step is to file a lawsuit, which you must do in 6 months from the date that’s on the rejection notice. At this point, consulting a government claims attorney is extremely important, if you haven’t done so already. For a free consultation on how to sue the city of Los Banos, don’t hesitate to give us a call.
What if I don’t Hear Back from the City in 45 Days?
Most claimants will receive a notice in writing from the City of Los Banos within 45 days from when their claim is received by the appropriate department. But there are instances when a claimant is not provided with a written response by the deadline of 45 days. If you are in this situation, you can assume that your claim was rejected by default and go ahead with a lawsuit through the civil court system. In this case, however, you have 2 years from the date of injury to file a lawsuit.
Statute of Limitations to File a City of Los Banos Compensation Claim
In California, claims for monetary losses caused by the government must be filed within 6 months from whenever the incident occurred. This is quite different than the standard deadline for a personal injury claim, which is 2 years. Unfortunately, many people are unaware of the statute of limitations for a government claim and end up missing out on the chance to seek compensation for medical bills, wages lost from work, and other expenses.
Our legal team is ready to take immediate action on a City of Los Banos claim, so reach out to us as soon as possible. Our team of personal injury attorneys will build a strong and compelling case and make sure that your claim is filed in a timely manner.
Average Settlement Value of a Claim against the City of Los Banos
The amount of damages for compensation claims with the City of Los Banos may be around $4,000 to $10,000 on the lower end. For cases of extreme injuries and/or property damage, it’s possible that case values will exceed $2,500,000. Though we can provide ranges of possible settlement awards, this is not a reliable method if you’re trying to figure out how much you will end up with from a lawsuit. Instead, we recommend that you contact our law firm and schedule a free case review with one of our attorneys.
How Long will a City of Los Banos Incident Claim Take to Settle?
Generally, we anticipate that these cases will take between 1 and 2 years to settle. Of course, there are cases that are settled early in the claims process, meaning that the victim receives payment from the city within a few months. However, this is the exception rather than the norm when it comes to proving a case of negligence against a government agency. Many of these claims are denied by the city, meaning that the claimant must proceed with a lawsuit. At that point, how long it takes to negotiate a settlement is impossible to predict, but the process can take 6 to 18 months, based on our experience.
Overall, 1 to 2 years is the amount of time you should keep in mind, but there are many variables that can shorten or lengthen how long it takes to reach a settlement with the city of Los Banos.
Zero Fee Guarantee
As an accident victim, you are left with expenses that force you to make tough choices, but finding a lawyer to represent you shouldn’t be one of them. Our law firm believes in free legal services for anyone that was harmed due to negligence by a government entity. With that in mind, we would like to offer you a Zero Fee Guarantee if you decide to hire us for a lawsuit against the city of Los Banos.
The costs associated with your lawsuit are initially covered by us. Then, we ask for reimbursement from the city government, which is only paid to us if you receive compensation from a City of Los Banos accident claim. If we don’t win your case, you walk away without spending a penny, since we shouldn’t get paid if you don’t get paid.
If you would like to take advantage of this offer, contact our law firm and schedule a free case evaluation.
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