Personal Injury

When you are injured by the actions or inaction of some other person, California law allows you to recover money as compensation for your injuries. Such compensation usually consists of two categories:

• Medical bills and lost wages from missed work. This category includes ambulance charges and emergency room/hospital fees, as well as medical care and surgeries that have already been performed, or that you may need in the future.
• Emotional pain and suffering. California law recognizes that an injury can cause physical and emotional pain. This can be the pain of torn muscles, cartilage and ligaments and connective tissue (whiplash) all the way to broken bones, loss of limbs and brain injuries. It also includes feelings of anxiety, humiliation and shock if, for example, there are disfiguring injuries or scarring.

Although money will never make you whole again, and it is a poor substitute for health, our system of justice does not allow any other means to compensate you for your injuries and what happened to you. Tomassian, Pimentel & Shapazian has decades of experience handling personal injury cases throughout the California counties of Fresno, Kings, Madera, and Tulare. The firm's attorneys have extensive experience in all phases of an injury case, from negotiating settlements with insurance companies and their attorneys to taking cases to jury trial. Our attorneys are dedicated to pursue the course that best achieves a maximum recovery for the client.

WRONGFUL DEATH

When someone is killed in an accident of any kind, his or her family may be able to bring an action for wrongful death. Under California law, persons who are entitled to bring such a lawsuit are the surviving spouse or domestic partner, and children or offspring of deceased children. Others can also file suit under certain circumstances, so it is very important to make sure you contact the law firm of Tomassian, Pimentel & Shapazian for a free consultation.

Because of the unique issues raised in a wrongful death case, what can be recovered from the person or company that caused the death is different from the damages available in a usual personal injury lawsuit. For example, the law will not compensate the survivors for their grief in losing the victim, but it does permit compensation for the 'loss of society.' There is a difference, and it is an important one; but proving them can be difficult; it is therefore very important that if you think you have a wrongful death lawsuit, you immediately contact Tomassian, Pimentel & Shapazian for a consultation on your rights and how the law treats these types of losses differently. The attorneys at Tomassian, Pimentel & Shapazian have handled many wrongful death cases and can assist you in understanding what can and can not be done; contact them for an appointment.

Car Accidents, Motorcycle, Bicycle

All operators of motor vehicles must obey the traffic laws and drive with care. Motorcycle and bicycle riders must follow the same rules of the road as cars. But sometimes, no matter how careful you are, an accident occurs. When that happens, car occupants, motorcyclist and bicyclists can sustain very serious injuries that require the help of an attorney to ensure the responsible party is held accountable for all the injury and damage they caused. Your rights and recovery can be affected by many different factors. You can rely on the attorneys at Tomassian, Pimentel & Shapazian to assess and protect all your rights so as to maximize your recovery. Free consultations are available, what do you have to lose by asking?

Premises Liability

The law requires that all property owners keep their property reasonably safe. This means that all property owners/renters must inspect the property and repair known dangers or provide adequate warning to prevent foreseeable injuries. When someone is injured at a store, home, school, hospital, sidewalk, theater, convention center or any other location, one of the first questions asked will be whether the owner knew or should have known of the dangerous condition, and whether the owner had time to remove the danger or post a warning. If the answer is yes to both questions, and nothing was done to protect the public, then the law allows the injured person to be compensated by the owner/renter for the injuries caused by not fixing a defect they knew about. Simple, isn’t it? Not really and land owners can be difficult to convince that they have a legal, if not moral, obligation to keep their property safe.

Over the years, Tomassian, Pimentel & Shapazian has excelled in achieving success in these 'trip/slip and fall cases.' If you were injured when you tripped or fell on the property of another, please contact the office for an appointment.

PEDESTRIAN

Pedestrians have rights too. California law explicitly extends special protections to pedestrians. Claims that a pedestrian was 'jay walking' or 'outside of the cross walk' often mean nothing and certainly will not prevent an injured pedestrian from being compensated for their injuries.

To effectively represent the injured pedestrian, its very important that their attorney be able to 'think outside the box.' Pedestrians normally lose, often in big way, when they are hit by a motor vehicle, but that loss does not have to include a loss of their claims against the driver. Please contact the law firm of Tomassian, Pimentel & Shapazian for a free consultation.

Dog Bites

California law recognizes that animal injury cases can be severe and it treats them accordingly. Under California's dog bite rule, if an animal bites or injures (for example, jumps on and knocks you over) a person in a public place or while lawfully on the owner's property, its owner is responsible. The law makes the owner is fully responsible no matter if the animal has injured someone before or not.

But the most important aspect of these cases is you. Let the attorneys at Tomassian, Pimentel & Shapazian help you ensure all the right steps are taken starting with the ones that will ensure you are fully compensated for all the injuries you sustained.  Please contact the law firm for a free appointment to discuss your case.

Semi-Truck

Collisions between semi-trucks and other vehicles are almost always catastrophic, resulting in severe injury or death to vehicle occupants. There are obvious and subtle considerations that are important to address in such cases. For example, often over looked is examining the condition of the truck driver at the time of the accident (overworked, fatigued), their training and the safety policies implemented by the trucking company. Given the substantial nature of the injuries victims sustain in these types of accidents, obtaining the services of experienced attorneys who have the resources and knowledge to achieve the best results is a must. You can trust the law firm of Tomassian, Pimentel & Shapazian to put your interests first to ensure you make the best recovery from the horror and loss caused by such accidents.

Medical Malpractice/Dental Malpractice

Doctors, nurses and dentists make mistakes all the time, and their mistakes often injure or kill their patients. But that does not mean that every doctor mistake will allow a lawyer to take your case. Doctors are well-protected by the law. A key issue in all doctor malpractice cases is whether the doctor's treatment was 'within the standard of care.' If not, and another doctor is willing to testify that the treating doctor made a mistake, then you may have a case. Common examples of medical malpractice include:

• Failure to diagnose a medical problem.
• Failure to properly treat a diagnosed medical condition
• Medication errors/incorrect prescriptions
• Medical instruments or other foreign objects left inside the patient following surgery
• Performing the wrong surgery
• Continuing a treatment that has proven ineffective

Dental Malpractice is very similar to medical malpractice and includes all the same topics, but it can also include:

• Crafting a defective oral device
• Damaging a nerve during oral surgery or other treatment
• Improperly administering anesthesia
• Unnecessarily extracting teeth

There are a lot of special rules and procedures that must be followed in a medical malpractice case. Make sure that your attorney is one that you can trust and, more importantly, has actually handled medical malpractice cases. It is vital that you know all the rights and limitations of your case. The lawyers at Tomassian, Pimentel & Shapazian can help you assess these issues. Please contact them for a free consultation.

Seek Experienced Representation

The attorneys at Tomassian, Pimentel & Shapazian have the skills, insight and experience to achieve your goals and obtain outstanding recoveries for clients in a range of personal injury and wrongful death matters. If you have been injured or lost a loved one because someone else was careless, contact the law office of Tomassian, Pimentel & Shapazian today for a free initial consultation.