California Personal Injury and Workers' Compensation Lawyers

Law Firm Overview FREE CONSULTATION

Phillips & Pelly, was founded in 1989 to assert the rights of personal injury victims. Our experienced attorneys are known for maximizing compensation and representing San Diego clients with no fee until we win. Once we accept your case, we can make the process as smooth as possible by arranging for your medical care to be provided at no upfront cost to you.

Our personal injury attorneys have nearly 50 years of combined legal experience in San Diego and throughout Southern California. Founding member John Phillips is a former deputy D.A. in both Los Angeles and San Diego County. Collectively, he and law partner Oliver Pelly have taken more than 100 trials to verdict. When you bring a case to Phillips & Pelly, you can rest assured that it will be handled with expertise, compassion and the full resources of our firm.

Our personal injury practice covers a broad spectrum: car and truck accidents, motorcycle and bicycle accidents, boating accidents, dog bites, premises liability, product liability, elder abuse and workers' compensation. We excel at holding careless drivers and other negligent parties accountable for serious or permanent injuries or for a loved one's wrongful death.

Education, training and actual experience handling cases can vary greatly from attorney to attorney. When you choose a law firm to represent your interests in a personal injury lawsuit, you should pay close attention to the attorneys' credentials and range of practice areas. Don't trust your case to a "jack of all trades" lawyer who also handles divorce and real estate and every area of the law. At Phillips & Pelly, our attorneys only represent victims of personal injury and their families, and we only take cases in San Diego and the surrounding communities of San Diego County.

Areas of Law

Areas of Law Description

- Personal Injury

The law firm of Phillips & Pelly practices almost exclusively in personal injury litigation. In 20-plus years of representing the injured, our team of personal injury attorneys have represented thousands of clients in a diverse range of cases in and around San Diego County. Our personal injury lawyers invite you to read more about the cases our attorneys handle and how we serve clients, but we urge you to contact an injury lawyer soon to protect your rights and explore your lawsuit options.

- Car Accidents

Our veteran car accident lawyers, John Phillips and Oliver Pelly, have handled thousands of car accidents, representing clients from San Diego, the beach communities, North County, East County and throughout San Diego County. Our accident attorneys have represented injured drivers, injured passengers and non-occupants in every type of automobile accident including: highway and freeway accidents, intersection and rear-end collisions, rollover accidents, collisions with trucks, accidents caused by drunk drivers, accidents caused by cell phone / texting / distracted driving, pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists hit by cars, hit-and-run and uninsured and fatal car accidents (wrongful death).

- DUI Liability

To prove that the driver responsible for causing an auto accident was operating the car under the influence of alcohol or drugs, our lawyers must prove a certain set of factors. Unlike determining who is at fault in other types of car accidents, categorizing DUI accidents requires proof that the person driving the vehicle was legally intoxicated — in California, this means a blood alcohol content or BAC of .08 or higher. Then, your attorney will show that the driver's impairment affected his or her judgment and reaction time, thereby behaving in a negligent manner on the road.

- Truck Accidents

We have held truck drivers and their employers accountable for accidents involving: tractor-trailers (freeway accidents), package trucks (FedEx, UPS, etc.), other delivery trucks, tow trucks, dump trucks and cement mixers, buses and other commercial vehicles. Commercial drivers and owners have an added duty of care because of the danger their vehicles pose to other motorists. We can bring in professional investigators as necessary to prove how the truck driver was at fault: speeding, following too close, failure to yield, unsafe lane changes, intoxication, distracted driving or fatigue. We also look into negligence on the part of the employer or owner: negligent hiring, shoddy maintenance or violations of state and federal trucking regulations regarding weight, freight loading or hours behind the wheel.

- Motorcycle Accidents

Any car accident can be dangerous, damaging one or more involved vehicles and causing massive injuries or death. However, injuries received in most bike accidents are routinely more severe and more often life-threatening. One reason for this is that a motorcycle rider's body is far more exposed than drivers and passengers riding in cars and trucks. Since there are no safety belts on a bike, many accidents cause the rider to be thrown forcibly from the motorcycle. Another reason for severe injuries in a motorcycle accident is the difference in size between motorcycles and other vehicles on the road. Many car drivers fail to properly scan the road for motorcycles and end up hitting them when they change lanes. If you live in San Diego and this type of negligence has caused your motorcycle accident, you need to talk to a lawyer to determine the best course of action.

- Pedestrian Accidents

The motorist will often try to blame the victim, especially if the collision occurred outside of a crosswalk. Phillips & Pelly is skilled at proving that the motorist was speeding, ran a stop sign or red light, failed to yield when turning, or was drunk, distracted or otherwise careless. We rely on police reports, witness accounts, evidence at the scene and, when necessary, accident reconstruction experts. Drivers have a high obligation to proceed with care in downtown areas, residential zones, school zones and other areas where pedestrians would be expected. While your compensation could be reduced under California's comparative negligence law, we are committed to maximizing your damages by demonstrating that the driver was chiefly at fault.

- Bicycle Accidents

Phillips & Pelly provides the experience and resources to pursue your compensation, whatever the circumstances: bike accidents at intersections, cyclists sideswiped or rear-ended by cars, parking lot and driveway accidents, victims of drunk drivers, road hazard or trail hazard accidents, bike defect accidents and bike-pedestrian or bike-on-bike accidents. Our injury lawyers work quickly to establish liability through police reports, witness accounts and, if necessary, accident reconstruction experts. To help us maximize your compensation, read more about what to do after a bike accident or recovering compensation for a hit-and-run bike accident.

- Animal Attacks

Animal attack liability laws in California state that a dog owner is responsible for any injury caused by his or her dog, as long as the victim was lawfully located on either public or private property. There is no leniency granted for a first offense or the owner's lack of knowledge of the dog's vicious tendencies. The strongest animal attack cases are the ones that clearly show the victim to have been in a public area or legally on private property at the time of the dog attack. Witness and police reports are usually the best source of documentation for this purpose.

- Premises Liability

When you enter a store, hotel, or private residence, you have a right to expect your visit to be safe and free from injuries. California state law requires property and business owners to be responsible for the safety of visitors. Failure to uphold this responsibility can cause serious injury or even wrongful death. If you or a loved one have been injured due to a premises liability violations in San Diego, Vista, or elsewhere in the county, you may be able to bring a personal injury lawsuit against the property owner responsible. Slip and fall accidents, while common, are not the only types of premises liability injuries experienced by our San Diego and Vista-area clients. personal injury lawsuit may also be necessary to recover compensation in the following situations: inadequate security measures, improperly installed store displays and roadway defects.

- Product Liability

We can provide consultation in a range of defective product cases. We urge you to seek medical attention and contact our experienced trial lawyers if you think you might have a case for automobile defects (air bags, tires, roof crush, etc.); motorcycle or bicycle defects; workplace machinery; and consumer products (power tools, ladders, toys, children's products, etc.). Product defect litigation is expensive and difficult, but we have the resources to hire engineers, product safety experts and other professionals to support a viable case. There must be an obvious defect, so it is important to preserve the product if at all possible so it can be examined and tested.

- Nursing Home Neglect / Elder Abuse

When a family has to make the difficult decision to place an elder into a nursing home, the family has every right to expect that their loved one will receive nurturing care from compassionate professionals. Unfortunately, there have been instances in San Diego County of elder abuse taking place in nursing homes. When elders are taken advantage of, it is often due to their reduced physical and mental capacity. If you live in San Diego and suspect that your elder loved one has suffered abuse, a nursing home neglect attorney at the firm of Phillips & Pelly can help. Common types of elder abuse include: physical elder abuse, sexual elder abuse, nursing home neglect, mental elder abuse and financial elder abuse.

- Workers' Compensation

Worker's compensation is a basic right for any employee who becomes sick or injured as a result of doing his or her job. Unfortunately, taking this benefit for granted could mean that you don't find out you need a worker's compensation attorney until it's too late. The San Diego firm of Phillips & Pelly, serving Vista and beyond, has provided the following information to help California employees understand their rights and receive the medical care they need. Worker's compensation benefits entitle employees to full and free medical care if they become injured or sick as a result of their normal job duties. Workers are able to choose their own doctor if they don't like the one covered by the employer's insurance, and may be eligible to be paid compensation for lost income while they are healing.

- Catastrophic Injuries

We have recovered compensation for all manner of disabling and life-changing injuries, including: traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, loss of limb or loss of use, broken bones, severe burns, neck or back injury, head and face trauma, eye trauma / vision impairment and stroke or organ damage. The massive medical bills from these injuries can quickly overwhelm families, especially if you do not have health care coverage. We help the uninsured get access to the quality medical care they need. We work with many professionals to assess the extent of injury, the prognosis for recovery and the ongoing needs.

- Wrongful Death

There are two main factors that define a wrongful death. First, our attorneys must show that the victim died as an immediate result of the defendant's actions. Causing wrongful death does not always require direct action; negligence or failing to act appropriately may also be considered in a case. The second requirement for a successful wrongful death case is that the attorneys must prove that the death could have been avoided if the person responsible had acted differently. Though these requirements can be difficult to achieve, our wrongful death attorneys are experienced at retrieving information from San Diego-area doctors, witnesses, and other people who may have important information about the circumstances of your loved one's passing.

More Information on Law Firm of Phillips & Pelly

San Diego, California Personal Injury Attorneys
San Diego, CA Car Accident Lawyers
Truck Accidents Law Firm in San Diego, California
Watercraft Accident Attorneys in San Diego, CA
San Diego, California Premises Liability Lawyers
San Diego, CA Product Liability Law Firm
Nursing Home Neglect Attorneys in San Diego, California
Law Firm of Phillips & Pelly Blog

Office Locations

• USA - California, San Diego - Main Office