How much is my injury worth in California?

Your health and safety come first: seek appropriate medical care and keep following your provider’s instructions. There is no standard California “per-injury” amount. Under Civil Code section 3333, recoverable damages are meant to compensate detriment proximately caused by the wrongdoing. Value commonly turns on proof of fault, the injury’s nature and duration, treatment and reasonable future care, medical bills, lost earnings or earning capacity, pain, physical limitation, disfigurement, and how daily life is affected. Photographs, incident reports, witness information, work records, and medical documentation can matter; a preexisting condition does not automatically defeat a claim if an incident worsened it, but causation and apportionment may be disputed. Insurance limits, available assets, and comparative fault can affect recovery. For non-economic loss, each defendant generally pays only its own percentage of fault. Claims usually must be filed within two years of injury; a claim involving a public entity ordinarily must be presented within six months. Different rules, including medical-negligence limits on non-economic damages, may apply. Acting promptly helps preserve evidence and deadlines.