It is a fact of life that millions of Californians drive, walk, shop and work everyday. Also true is the fact that accidents occur everyday during these normal everyday activities. When you get hurt due to the fault of another person, you can make a legal claim for compensation. Your claim can include a request for your past and future medical expenses, past and future wage loss, and pain and suffering. These claims are called "personal injury" cases. Personal injury actions are legal claims that occur when you suffer harm from an accident and another person is legally responsible for that harm. Sometimes a claim is formerly filed in the court in order to seek compensation. At other times such disputes are resolved by settlement outside of the court system.

The vast majority of personal injury claims for compensation that involve an accident or injury are resolved through settlement. Those that are involved in the dispute, their insurance companies, and their lawyers typically work out a reasonable resolution. This type of resolution is called a settlement which is reduced to a written document. Both sides to the dispute agree not to take any further action but instead resolve their respective claims for an agreed upon sum of money.

Generally speaking, if a resident of Contra Costa County is involved in a car accident in Contra Costa he or she will ordinarily file a lawsuit in the Superior Court of California, County of Contra Costa. Sometimes, minor injury cases must be filed in the court's "small claims" division where lawyers are not allowed and the claim process is heard on an expedited basis.

Personal injury cases need to be investigated in order to develop all pertinent facts. The applicable law needs to be researched in order to prepare the claim for legal processing. Once these two steps have been taken the legal claim can be filed in court and prosecuted until either a verdict is reached or the parties agree to a settlement. Generally speaking, civil personal injury cases take between twelve to twenty-four months to resolve at the trial court level. Appeals, of course, will take much longer.