The following lawyers in Los Angeles, California specialize in cases involving defective drugs, bad faith insurance, unpaid overtime, defective products causing bodily harm, personal injury, wrongful death, credit card fraud, phone cramming, illegal media fees, car accidents, unfair business, and more.

When a serious accident occurs in Los Angeles, most victims or their surviving families are confronted with an immediate physical, emotional and financial loss. They are also confronted with the question of which lawyer to trust, especially in a wrongful death case.

Magaña, Cathcart & McCarthy works for clients as advisor, lawyer, confidant and advocate. The law firm takes the lead by first talking with clients about their personal injury and wrongful death legal issues, formulating a comprehensive plan of legal action.

Magaña, Cathcart & McCarthy was founded in Los Angeles in 1946 by Raoul D. Magaña, who began his practice protecting the legal rights of injured railroad workers at a time when most were not fairly compensated for their losses. Throughout its history, the firm's lawyers have been privileged to represent thousands of clients, securing substantial car, airplane and railroad accident awards, and defective product settlements and verdicts that caused corporations to consider the safety and protection of consumers in the design and manufacture of their products.

Beyond a mastery of the law, Magaña, Cathcart & McCarthy's knowledge of aviation, medicine and product design are also key elements in the law firm's success in processing personal injury lawsuits in Los Angeles. Their experience comes from lawsuits involving aircraft, motor vehicle and railroad accidents, as well as cases arising from the use of defective products, and negligence in the provision of medical and other professional services. Magaña, Cathcart & McCarthy's reputation for experience has led to television, newspaper and magazine editors calling upon the firm as a source of information in connection with mass disasters and subsequent personal injury litigation.

When Steve Meyers (1942-1996) and I started Jacoby & Meyers more than 30 years ago, our goal was to make lawyers and the legal system more accessible to the average person. To do that we had to change the way lawyers ran their law offices and change the rules that prohibited lawyers from informing the public of their services. We did that and a few years later grew to become one of the largest, best known and most innovative law firms in Los Angeles.

And, after millions of clients, our goal is the same – access to the legal system. Keep people informed, give quality service, charge reasonable fees.

Today our focus is on the victims in our society – those injured by harmful drugs and dangerous products, or damaged by corporate fraud or the bad faith actions of their own insurance companies. Those not treated right in the workplace. Those who are victims of child abuse or elder abuse or neglect in a nursing home, or of their own doctor’s mistakes.

And, today, as in the past, Jacoby & Meyers networks with lawyers and law firms throughout the United States experienced in your kind of case so you get the care and service you deserve.

Aviation Accident Law
Although Personal Injury Law is regulated primarily by individual jurisdictions, generally the states, the FAA (Federal Aviation Agency) and the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) have many standards and regulations in place which supercede state law. When a fatal plane crash occurs within a state's territorial waters or land, state law will generally allow damages for medical & funeral expenses, loss of victim's anticipated earnings in the future until time of retirement or death, loss of pension benefits (or some inheritances) caused by the victim's death, pain and suffering or mental anguish to the survivors, loss of care, protection or companionship to the survivors.

Bad Faith Insurance
An insurance company that fails to honor a legitimate claim against one of their insurance policies, may be liable for bad faith breach of contract, or "bad faith insurance". Bad faith insurance also includes postponing payment of a claim, routinely rejecting claims when they are initially filed and only paying part of a covered claim.

Class Actions
A class action allows a number of people with common damages and legal issues, to combine their cases together, rather that filing individual lawsuits. Class actions include cases such as airplane crashes, hotel fires, an explosion that injures many people, credit card holders being charged hidden or unauthorized fees, injuries caused defective drugs or products, and so forth.

Child Abuse
Child abuse can entail physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse or neglect. For a limited time, a new California law allows you to sue the person… and the institution that allowed the abuse to happen.

Construction Defects
Almost any condition that reduces the value of a home, condominium, or common area can be legally recognized as a defect in design or workmanship, or a defect related to landslide settlement conditions. Your lawyer will need the testimony of a qualified expert. For example, an expert architect who has designed effective roofs, evaluated other leaky roofs and knows how roofs should be built, can testify on why your roof leaks.

Consumer Fraud
Consumer fraud can include false advertising, improper billing, overcharging, mortgage add-ons, failure to honor warranties, deceptive retail practices, sales of defective products, deceptive insurance sales, denying or underpaying insurance claims, and body donor fraud.

Elder Abuse
Nursing homes often neglect and abuse their wards. Some indications of elder abuse can be bed sores, depression, mood swings, use of restraints, bruises, fractures, malnutrition, poor hygiene, frequent illnesses, unexplained death, rapid weight loss or gain, failure of staff to report changes, or serious injury.

Employment Law
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to pay minimum wage and overtime. Employees are due overtime pay for working more than 40 hours per week in most situations. Some employers misclassify employees as managers in order to avoid paying overtime. Others require workers to work through breaks without pay, or don't pay workers while they are changing into their uniforms. Discrimination in the workplace can involve wrongful termination, persecution due to whistleblowing, workers compensation, sexual harassment in the workplace, violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act and disability discrimination.

Lemon Laws / Auto Fraud
California's Lemon Law states that if you bought or leased a new or used car, motorcycle, van, RV, truck or boat, and the vehicle continues to malfunction during the manufacturer's warranty period even after you have given the dealer a reasonable number of attempts to repair it, you may be entitled to your money back or to a new replacement vehicle at little or no cost to you.

Medical or Legal Malpractice Law
Malpractice occurs through unreasonable negligence or failure to provide the expected standard of care in a given community. Medical or legal malpractice may involve criminal negligence, malicious intention or strict liability. In the medical field, when a doctor or health care professional agrees to diagnose or treat a patient, he or she has assumed a duty of care toward that patient. Similar standards apply to an attorney who has agreed to represent someone legally where the duty of representation is assumed and certain standards of the profession are expected.

Personal Injury Law
Personal Injury (a tort) is defined as a wrongful injury to a person or his or her property. Tort law is designed to prevent harm or compensate for harm to a person or property. This harm or injury may include physical injury, mental injury or financial injury. The most common forms of personal injury law deal with automobile accidents, decreased or lost income due to accidents, product failure, workplace injuries, medical or legal malpractice and negligence. Personal injury law also protect reputations against slander or libel.

Products Liability Law
Anyone with a responsibility for a product – from the supplier or manufacturer to the seller – can be sued if that product causes damage due to defect. Defective product lawsuits can involve defective products such as gas tanks, tire defects, air bag injuries, toxic chemicals, defective drugs, some environmental pollution as well as products that do not live up to their respective guarantees or warranties. A product is legally considered defective if it was made poorly or sold with flaws.

Securities Fraud
Stock brokers, investment banks, brokerage firms, brokers, and dealers who make false or misleading statements, omit facts, or engage in “fraudulent or manipulative acts and practices, in connection with the purchase or sale of securities,” can cause you financial loss, and can be sued for securities fraud.

Social Security Disability
Unfortunately, the Social Security Administration often denies truly disabled claimants that should be receiving Social Security disability. An experienced social security disability attorney can help you file your disability claim, or will help you with your appeal if your claim has been denied.

Whistleblower
Private citizens (whistleblowers) who know of people or companies that are defrauding the government may sue on the government's behalf and share in the proceeds of the suit. Examples of whistleblower cases include such as Medicare/Medicaid fraud by hospitals and doctors, fraud against the Defense Department by companies in the defense industry, padding expense accounts or substituting substandard materials in government contracts, pharmaceutical companies giving doctors kickbacks or incentives to “push” certain drugs or to prescribe drugs for non-FDA approved uses.

Wrongful Death Law
A wrongful death lawsuit claims that the deceased was killed as a result of negligence or other liability, and that the surviving dependents or beneficiaries are entitled to monetary damages as a result of the defendant's conduct. In the loss of a loved one, these damages may be sued for by the deceased's estate or heirs. Medical bills can be overwhelming, causing untold mental anguish for the family. Loss of income and loss of future income can be devastating for a dependant who is already suffering the emotional loss of a parent or guardian.