Santa Barbara Personal Injury Lawyer

McCarthy & Kroes

125 East Victoria Street, Suite A
Santa Barbara, California 93101
USA

(805) 564-2085

(805) 564-8891

www.mccarthykroes.com

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Law Firm Overview

McCarthy & Kroes is an experienced trial law firm representing individuals and businesses in a variety of civil litigation matters across California's central coast.

Since 1988, the attorneys of McCarthy & Kroes have been helping individuals, businesses, and governmental entities in the Santa Barbara area resolve disputes in virtually every area of civil law, from business and real estate matters, to personal injury cases and elder abuse.

McCarthy & Kroes is a community-based and family-oriented law firm in Santa Barbara, California. Our lawyers seek to build long-term relationships with our clients, and are dedicated to helping each obtain a favorable result, never hesitating to take a case to trial if that is what is necessary. Our notable past and current clients include employers and insurance companies ranging from California Insurance Group to Lloyd's of London, and numerous government entities, including the cities of Santa Barbara and Carpinteria and the County of Santa Barbara. Our diverse clientele and decades of experience have earned our Santa Barbara attorneys a reputation as one of the preeminent firms on the Central Coast.

Practice Areas

Additional Practice Areas: Unemployment Compensation; County Employees' Retirement Law of 1937; Geotechnical and Earth Movements; Legal Counsel to the Medical Community; ADA; FEHA; and EEOC.

Practice Areas Description

Our practice areas include:

- Business Disputes and Litigation

At McCarthy & Kroes, our Santa Barbara business lawyers understand the impact that litigation can have on small businesses along California's south and central coast. Our business litigation attorneys represent a wide variety of local businesses in disputes with vendors, suppliers, customers, partners, and competitors.

- Civil Trials and Appeals

Our firm represents individuals, businesses and government entities and municipalities in Santa Barbara and the surrounding counties in virtually all aspects of civil litigation, including: Business Disputes, Personal Injury, Real Estate, Elder Abuse and Neglect, and, Homeowner Association Law.

. Employment Discrimination: Employees are protected against disparate treatment in every aspect of employment due to race, sex (gender), national origin (ethnicity), religion, disability, and pregnancy. Depending upon the particular locality, other classes such as marital status or sexual orientation may also be protected.

. Wrongful Termination: Unlawful discrimination is not the only basis upon which an employee may bring a claim of wrongful termination. An employee may believe that his or her termination was based on retaliation for exercising free speech opinions that the employer disagreed with, or for reporting violations of health and safety laws or illegal activity to the authorities (whistleblowing).

. Sexual Harassment: Unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature can create a hostile work environment, which may provide the basis for a lawsuit. A hostile environment can be created by offensive comments and jokes, inappropriate touching, or obscene graffiti and printed materials, and can be perpetrated by a supervisor as well as by peers. Quid pro quo sexual harassment, where a supervisor conditions or threatens favorable or unfavorable job treatment based on the return of sexual favors, is another form of illegal employment discrimination.

. Unemployment Compensation: An employee who is fired or who quits involuntarily (constructive discharge) may file for unemployment compensation. It is then up to the employer to produce evidence that the employee was fired for misconduct, quit voluntarily, or is otherwise ineligible for unemployment compensation.

- Personal Injury

Our Santa Barbara injury lawyers have spent years representing insurance companies in defending personal injury claims. Our lawyers know how to evaluate claims, prepare a case for trial, anticipate potential defense tactics, and achieve a favorable result. Whether the issue is premises liability, products liability, or general negligence, our skilled trial lawyers have the knowledge and experience to ably represent your interests at the negotiation table for a personal injury settlement or at the courthouse.

- Real Property and Real Estate Litigation

From property line and easement disputes to problems with closings or buy-sell agreements, we are familiar with all types of disputes that arise when working in real estate. Our experience includes representing real estate agents in issues involving transfer disclosure statements and claims of failure to disclose.

- Homeowners' Associations

Our attorneys are well-versed in homeowner association (HOA) law, and regularly provide guidance, counsel, and representation in Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo counties to some of the more than 35,000 associations whose actions impact over 6 million California residents and billions of dollars in assessments each year.

- Elder Law

Our attorneys are especially concerned with issues of elder abuse and neglect. Elder abuse can be financial or physical, and can be committed by close family members or complete strangers. Our elder population is especially vulnerable to exploitation and abuse due to diminished physical and mental capacity, and is therefore especially deserving of legal protection.

- Other Practice Areas

. Administrative Law: Representing clients before state agencies, boards, and commissions across a wide variety of legal fields, such as environmental health and employment.

. Construction Defect Litigation: Including soil and slope instability, design defects, poor workmanship, roadway and infrastructure, building material failures.

. County Employees' Retirement Law of 1937: CERL is a 340-page, comprehensive body of law dealing with all manner of benefits, tax, and eligibility issues for retirement in county employment statewide.

. Equine Law: Dealing with issues involving horses, activities, riders, owners, and the horse industry, our practice includes litigation and transactions in all horse-related issues and disputes.

. Geotechnical and Earth Movements: Including earthquake damage, liability and insurance issues, and issues in construction and engineering.

. Government Entity Defense: Our clients have included the cities of Santa Barbara and Carpinteria, the County of Santa Barbara, and the Santa Barbara County Employees Retirement System.

. Insurance Defense: Personal injury and other matters for CIGNA, Farmers, Hartford, State Farm and others.

. Legal Counsel to the Medical Community: Tax revenues are shrinking while population needs are growing, providing ever-changing needs for advice and counsel in matters of governance, regulation, compliance, payment, and reimbursement issues.

. Medical Malpractice: Negligence by doctors or hospitals may be litigated like other personal injury claims, although differences in the duty of care, statute of limitations, damages recoverable, and the use of expert testimony make this a specialized area requiring particular skill and experience.

. Defense of Mold and Mycotoxin Claims: The extent to which a property owner is responsible for environmental health issues depends upon a complex investigation into the nature, source and cause, the proper responsible party, and practical and effective solutions.

. Products Liability: Design defects, manufacturing defects, and failure to warn can all subject a manufacturer, distributor or retailer to liability for damage, without requiring proof of fault as in other general negligence cases.

. Employment Law: Representing the employer in defense of claims based on discrimination, retaliation, harassment, wrongful discharge, ADA, FEHA, and EEOC.