Q: I was assaulted in January by security/thugs at a local Chevron

A: The answer most lawyers will give when asked a legal question is IT DEPENDS. Unless a lawyer has received all the facts s/he can’t spit out a credible answer. Junk in equals junk out.

Every case is unique, and more information is needed to properly answer your query intelligently. In other words, it is usually both case and client specific. Does the client have a record? For what? How long ago?

I would initially caution you NOT to discuss your case on an open forum like this. You should also not discuss it on any social media.

It is always a good idea to contact a lawyer local to you, that handles these types of cases in the court where you would have to appear. Many lawyers do not charge a consultation fee. The fact that you are going pro per suggests other lawyers have rejected the case and that should tell you a lot.

Most DUI and Accident lawyers will offer a free consultation to review the facts. For other areas of law, many lawyers will bill for a consultation. Try to get a local legal consultation.

In other words, I am in Palm Springs and you don’t want to hire a Palm Springs lawyer for an LA case. In those cases, I usually try to refer the potential client to a lawyer more proximate to where this happened.

On criminal matters, please remember the court will appoint a court-appointed lawyer for you. That lawyer will have all the evidence in front of him/her and be in a better position to provide an intelligent answer.

For a criminal case, success may depend on how the evidence was obtained and the details regarding the stop and arrest, as well as a review of the facts of your case. A lawyer can't promise success any more than a brain surgeon can before surgery. you would have to show Chevron had notice of the propensity of these clowns to beat people up. If it happened before, that is NOTICE>

Otherwise, it was not part of their job.

A: Unless the Sheriffs Dept.'s denial/delay of medical attention caused you severe bodily injury, you have no case against it. Even then, there is a relatively high burden to prove such a claim.

As to a claim against Chevron, you would need to prove prior similar instances of violent criminal conduct at its premises, sufficient to put it on notice that it needed security or other measures that would have prevented the incident that happened to you.

A: You are handling this in Pro Per? Ok so this is just your request for free legal advice. Sue everyone involved in both assaults in Small claims, Limited Jurisdiction or General jurisdiction- Superior Court. Prepare for your case presentation with an organized set of exhibits, including a video ALONG WITH SOMETHING TO VIEW IT ON. (the court may not have something compatible.) Take all your medical bills along with a letter from the doctor to the Court that this treatment was reasonable and necessary to remedy your injury. And you want to sue the Sheriff? There is a requirement that you file an administrative claim within 180 days, be sure that you do that. You must file the lawsuit within 1 year after that. If this is a federal civil rights claim there is a different statute of limitations, look it up. You want to do that in pro per too? Start researching case opinions from Federal Court about denying medical treatment to an injured party, harassment and excessive force.

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