Assumption of risk: Some activities are risky by nature: bungy jumping, sky diving, riding roller coasters. While many of these activities make you sign liability waivers, some do not. However, even without signing a waiver, if you know an activity is risky and you engage in it anyway, the defendant’s attorney will likely use this defense. Disclosures of risk around the activity may be enough for the defendant to deny liability. It’s not impossible to receive damages in these situations, but your attorney will likely have to work harder to prove the defendant was negligible in some way.

Comparative negligence: If a jury thinks that both parties are partially responsible for the injury, the defendant may try to use this defense. According to this principle, everyone is responsible for their own safety to a certain extent and percentages of fault can be assigned. For example, the defendant can be 70% responsible for the injury but you are 30% responsible. When it comes to awarding damages, you will be rewarded 70% of the potential damages. California is a “pure comparative fault” state, which means you can still receive damages even if you are 90% at fault.

Statute of limitations: For civil litigation, it’s important that you take action by certain deadlines. Experienced attorneys will know how quickly after an injury you have to start filing the initial lawsuit. There are no exceptions to these deadlines, so it’s imperative that you pursue legal action as soon as possible after you are injured.