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If you’ve been hurt in an accident because of someone else’s negligence, you may have many questions that need to be answered.
Contact our experienced injury attorneys today for the answers to these and any other legal questions you may have. Schedule a free consultation today via our 24/7 helpline or by filling out the form on this page.
Each year millions of Americans are hurt in personal injury accidents which could have been prevented. To make matters worse, the victims of these accidents frequently sustain injuries that cost thousands of dollars to treat and which may forever change the way that they live. While in physical pain and facing financial ruin, accident victims may feel hopeless, but it is possible to recover compensation by taking legal action
Personal injury lawsuits are a type of civil lawsuit which can be filed by an individual or group who has been hurt by the negligence of another. This legal complaint is completely separate from any criminal charges that might be filed as a result of an injury and the purpose of the lawsuit is to provide the plaintiffs with the compensation that they need.
Compensation may cover both past and future:
Determining which party was at fault in a personal injury case is the foundation for any injury lawsuit. It is the job of the injury lawyer to build a case that argues that a person or group acted in such a way that it resulted in damages to the victim.
But just any kind of behavior which results in damages to another does not entail that an injury claim can be made; the concept that is used in courts is that of negligence. A defendant in a personal injury lawsuit will be accused of having acted negligently and therefore caused damages to another.
The damages do not have to be physical, however, they can also be emotional in nature.
As we briefly mentioned, a person has to be considered negligent for a victim to be awarded compensation based on the damages they suffered. Proving negligence is likely one of the most important components of an injury claim, and it often requires an experienced personal injury attorney to do so adequately.
A duty of care is often discussed when attempting to prove whether a party was negligent or not. The duty of care can be thought of as a contract between two persons or groups, whether it is explicit (as one written on paper) or implicit (not openly discussed or agreed upon.)
For instance, it can be said that a security guard has an explicit duty to take care of those in the area in which they are supervising. Indeed, the security guard is hired to complete this job. If they do not perform the task and someone suffers some sort of injury due to their carelessness, then they can be considered negligent.
On the other hand, most drivers on the road have an implicit duty to abide by the written laws of the road and therefore avoid hurting others in a crash, even though they may not be completely aware of this duty. Likewise, a store owner has a duty to protect their patrons from injuries given that those who visit the establishment generally have an expectation of safety while they are shopping.
Although no amount of money may be able to completely take away the pain and suffering experienced by victims and their loved ones, compensation from a lawsuit will hopefully help them to get the treatments they need to live as comfortable a life as possible moving forward.
Compensation comes in two forms – settlements and awards. Settlements occur outside of the courtroom with both parties agreeing to a set amount. If a settlement can be reached, the case will not go to trial. However, if negotiations fail, the case will proceed to trial where, if the judge/jury sides with the plaintiff, an award may be obtained.
Since any compensation that is obtained through a personal injury lawsuit is meant to return the plaintiff to their former condition, the amount that each plaintiff obtains differs. While an exact amount cannot be immediately promised, our legal team reviews a case and then creates an estimate as to how much our client may be able to recover.
Once you have retained a personal injury attorney, and before a lawsuit is ever filed, your lawyer will reach out to the insurance company of the party who is believed to have been negligent.
Your injury lawyer will prepare a case file, essentially putting together all the evidence that they have in your favor and which argues that you should be compensated. When they receive this personal injury case file, the insurance company will then conduct their own investigation into the matter.
As you can imagine, the most successful insurance companies will be very good at arguing against all the claims they receive. In fact, insurance providers often go out and hire the best insurance adjusters, as well as the best injury attorneys, to defend them against these kinds of claims. Insurance adjusters are quite experienced at finding issues with injury claims. Any issue they are able to point out essentially translates into a smaller amount of money that they will offer and ultimately pay out for an individual personal injury case.
In many cases, these adjusters may reach out to you early on with an offer to settle quickly. This may happen before you’ve had a chance to seek out a personal injury law firm to represent you. This is done on purpose as if you’ve not found an experienced injury lawyer to defend you, it is likely that you are not completely informed on how strong your case is.
For this reason, it may not be in your best interest to accept the first offer you receive from an insurance company. Whether you have an attorney representing you or not, the first offer is unlikely to be the best one that the insurance provider is willing to offer. Unfortunately, without seeking out a personal injury lawyer to defend you, you may not be aware and inadvertently sign away all of your rights and potential for receiving full compensation.
There are many different types of personal injury cases, the most common of which include:
Each day millions of people use automobiles to go from location to location. While many make it to their destinations safely, others aren’t as lucky. Car, truck, and motorcycle accidents are frequently caused by:
While insurance may cover some of the losses that the victims of auto accidents sustain, once a policy limit has been met the insurance company will stop paying. This is why so many car accident victims choose to file a personal injury lawsuit.
Medical professionals are charged with providing the best possible care to each patient they see and yet patients are frequently hurt by the mistakes made by doctors, nurses, physical therapists, and pharmacists.
Construction is one of the most dangerous industries on the planet. Each day, construction workers face thousands of possible hazards and are expected to work on job sites that do not meet the necessary safety standards. Although workers' compensation may help to pay for medical expenses, this insurance will never fully compensate a worker for all of their losses.
Man’s best friend sometimes isn’t a friend at all. Dog bites can permanently damage any part of the body and in some situations, the canine may even kill the victim. Dog owners are responsible for the actions of their pets and any damage they cause, and if they fail to keep others safe, may find themselves named as the defendant in a dog bite lawsuit.
Premise liability laws state the property owners and managers must do everything that is reasonably within their power to protect visitors from harm. Yet thousands are hurt in slip and fall accidents each year caused by:
Slip and fall accidents might not seem like a big deal but the victims are regularly diagnosed with serious injuries like brain trauma and spinal damage which may prevent them from returning to work.
For a personal injury claim to have grounds to stand on, that is to say, for it to have a chance of being awarded compensation, damages must have been suffered. These damages need not be physical, they can be emotional (of the mind) too, as we mentioned earlier. Moreover, other types of damages also occur, including invasion of privacy, false arrest/imprisonment, and even slander.
The law is quite complex in what it considers to be veritable damages. You may believe you suffered some type of damage at the hands of another, while the law may not consider it so. Likewise, you may not understand the full extent of the damages you suffered and may choose to forego filing an injury lawsuit because you think that it’s not worth the time it may take you to follow through.
For these reasons, we highly recommend reaching out to our team. Via a free legal consultation, your case will be analyzed at no cost to you by our experienced attorneys. They will read into the circumstances of the incident as well as ask various questions. They will then compile all of the information and share with you all of your legal options.
It could be that you do not have the possibility of filing an injury claim. It could also be that you can fight for the compensation you did not know you deserved. Either way, after our free legal review, you will have the necessary information at your disposal to make the right decision not only for yourself but also for your family and all the ones you love.
