You sustained one or more injuries at a neighbor’s house. Whether you slipped and fell or tumbled down a few stairs, the injuries that you sustained have caused you to rack up a substantial medical bill. In addition, you expect to pay for future medical services such as the use of an assistive device and/or undergoing comprehensive physical therapy sessions. Even if you do not incur additional medical costs, you are still on the financial hook. This prompts one important question: Who is liable if you were injured at a neighbor’s house?
The short answer is your neighbor is the most likely party held responsible for you sustaining one or more injuries. Your case probably falls under a type of law practice called premises liability. However, other circumstances can place a legal burden on another party. To determine the answer to the question, “Who is liable if I was injured at a neighbor’s house,” you should contact an experienced and state-licensed personal injury lawyer. What is Premises Liability? Premises liability represents a type of personal injury law that follows many of the same principles followed for other personal injury cases such as car accidents and medical malpractice. This type of personal injury law involved demonstrating that a property owner failed to prevent an accident that caused a visitor to sustain one or more injuries. To win a premises liability lawsuit, your personal injury lawyer must prove the existence of four legal elements. First, your personal injury lawyer must show the plaintiff had a duty of care to protect you against harm. Second, you must prove your neighbor violated the duty of care doctrine by committing one or more acts of negligence. Third, the incident must have directly caused you to sustain one or more injuries. Finally, your injuries must have generated financial losses in the form of medical bills. How Does My Personal Injury Lawyer Build a Persuasive Case? Several factors play a role in helping your personal injury lawyer build a strong premises liability case. Physical evidence is the heart of a strong premises liability case. Your attorney submits photographs of the accident scene, which can be taken by you, as well as any witnesses who saw the accident. If your neighbor installed a security camera system, you might be able to extract video sequences that prove your neighbor committed one or more acts of negligence. Witness accounts of the accident bolster the strength of the physical evidence gathered by your personal injury lawyer. To receive just compensation for your injuries, you must submit copies of all medical bills. This includes the results of diagnostic tests, as well as copies of treatment and rehabilitation bills. Copies of your financial records verify the amount of money you have paid to different healthcare facilities. Notarized statements by doctors and surgeons demonstrate what you can expect to spend for future medical care. Your employer also can help by showing that you lost wages due to the seriousness of your injuries. Take Action Today Hiring a personal injury lawyer who specializes in handling premises liability cases is crucial if you expect to receive just compensation for your injuries. Your attorney conducts a detailed investigation and then calculates a reasonable value for compensation that you use when filing an insurance claim and a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. Instead of dealing with an insurance adjuster, your personal injury lawyer handles the claim during every step of the review process. Your attorney can negotiate a settlement with the insurance adjuster, as well as the attorney representing the other party. One of the most important responsibilities of your personal injury lawyer is to file a civil lawsuit before the expiration of the statute of limitations.
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After getting involved in a motor vehicle collision, you should take several steps to help build a case to receive compensation. First, you call 911 to alert the appropriate law enforcement agency about the crash. Second, you should seek medical care to diagnose and treat every injury that results from the accident. Then, obtain the contact information from witnesses and take photographs of the accident scene by using your cell phone. The most important step involves contacting an experienced personal injury lawyer to schedule a free consultation.
Personal injury cases extend well beyond motor vehicle collisions. If you are a victim of a slip and fall, medical negligence, or a defective product, a personal injury attorney can help you recover your financial losses. The key is to come prepared for the free consultation by knowing what information to give to your personal injury lawyer. Accident Report An accident report is a crucial document that provides your attorney with information such as the date and time of the personal injury incident, as well as where the incident took place. If you cannot obtain a copy of the accident report, your personal injury lawyer contacts the appropriate source to obtain it. An accident report should help your personal injury lawyer determine the cause of the incident and whether another party committed one or more acts of negligence. Photographs of the Incident Scene Photographs can reveal plenty of useful information, such as where a personal injury incident took place. For car accident cases, law enforcement officials typically include photographic evidence in the official police report. For other types of personal injury cases, you should be proactive and take photos of the incident scene. You also should request video camera tape that might help your attorney determine the cause. Witness Contact Information Witness statements provide support for the physical evidence collected at the scene of the personal injury incident. You do not have to interview witnesses after a personal injury incident. Just write down the names and contact information for your attorney to reference. Your personal injury lawyer should interview witnesses as close to the date of the incident as possible to receive the most accurate accounts of what transpired before, during, and after the personal injury incident. Medical Records Medical bills by far represent the costliest expense associated with a personal injury incident. The costs associated with diagnostic tests, treatment programs, and physical therapy sessions can soar into the tens of thousands of dollars. Your personal injury lawyer needs copies of medical records to convince an insurance adjuster to approve a compensation claim. Copies of medical records also play a role in a judge determining the value of the compensation awarded during a civil trial. Insurance Information When you meet with a personal injury lawyer for a free consultation, the lawyer needs to review your insurance information to determine the extent of your coverage. You also should provide a personal injury lawyer with the insurance information of the other party or parties. Although you should not contact your insurance company until you speak with an attorney, make sure to tell your lawyer if you did reach out to your insurance company.Before you meet for a free consultation with a personal injury lawyer, ask the attorney what information you need to bring to the first meeting. Be prepared.
It is a short motto that has relevance for a wide variety of reasons during our lifetimes. Being prepared has special relevance when it comes to car accidents, as the average person gets into four accidents during a lifetime. Preparation involves knowing the steps to take after a vehicle collision, which include calling 911, receiving medical care, obtaining the contact info of witnesses, and getting in touch with an experienced car accident attorney. An experienced car accident lawyer should offer a free consultation to determine how to proceed with your case. Although a free case evaluation is a strong motivator to take action, what other reasons should motivate you to contact a personal injury lawyer who specializes in handling auto crash cases? Let’s review five excellent reasons to consult a leading car accident attorney. Conduct a Detailed Investigation The best personal injury attorneys who specialize in car accident cases conduct detailed investigations that start with gathering and examining physical evidence. Photographs of the accident scene can help your attorney determine what caused the collision, as well as whether another party committed one or more acts of negligence. Photographs of the damage done to your vehicle can provide compelling physical evidence. Your lawyer also interviews witnesses who can describe what transpired before, during, and after the collision. File an Insurance Claim Filing an insurance claim is a straightforward process, but just one mistake can turn a claim that should be approved into a claim that comes back denied. An experienced car accident attorney ensures you fill out every box on the claim form with accurate information. Your lawyer also monitors the status of your claim to make sure it receives a review in a timely manner. If the insurance adjuster processing your claim denies it, an experienced vehicle collision lawyer helps you file an appeal File a Lawsuit before the Deadline Every state has established a deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit, with most states setting the statute of limitations between two and four years. Working with a car accident attorney ensures you file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages before the expiration of the statute of limitations. If you fail to file a civil lawsuit before the expiration of the statute of limitations, the court clerk processing your case has the power to remove it from the judicial docket. Represent You During Litigation If you represent yourself during a civil trial, the odds of you winning the case substantially fall. A car accident lawyer understands the importance of presenting persuasive physical evidence during the discovery phase, which is the step when both sides share information to determine whether they can avoid a costly and time-consuming trial. Hiring an experienced auto crash attorney helps you present convincing legal arguments to counter the legal arguments presented by the legal team representing the defendant. Negotiate a Settlement Negotiating a favorable settlement can end the litigation process long before it ends when a judge or jury issues a decision. Your car accident attorney offers a reasonable value for compensation, which the other party either accepts or rejects. If the other party rejects the initial offer for compensation, several rounds of counter offers can follow until both sides agree to a settlement or decide to take the case to the trial phase of the litigation process. Negotiating a settlement also comes in handy when you file an insurance claim. At first, you feel embarrassed because you slipped and fell. However, the embarrassment wears off fast, as you realize that you have sustained an injury. Slip and fall incidents do not make the front page of the local newspaper like car accident cases sometimes do. They also do not receive the same scrutiny as medical malpractice cases. However, slip and fall incidents can cause serious injuries, such as a fractured arm or a traumatic brain injury (TBI).
According to research conducted by the National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI), slip and fall cases account for more than one million emergency room visits every year in the United States. If you sustained one or more injuries as the result of a slip and fall incident, you should act with a sense of urgency by contacting an experienced personal injury attorney who specializes in handling slip and fall cases. A personal injury lawyer can help you settle a slip and fall case quickly for several reasons. Monitors Your Insurance Claim Insurance adjusters love it when policyholders do not receive legal support during the claim filing process. Without a state-licensed personal injury attorney, an insurance adjuster is more likely to deny your claim even if you submit persuasive physical evidence. You also might deal with an insurance adjuster who prolongs the claim review process. By hiring an experienced personal injury attorney who specializes in handling slip and fall cases, you receive an insurance claim review in a timely manner. Your lawyer monitors the progress of your claim to ensure it receives the attention that it deserves. Negotiates a Settlement A personal injury lawyer who possesses strong negotiation skills is more likely to settle a slip and fall case much faster than an attorney who cannot negotiate a settlement. You can settle an insurance claim through negotiations, as well as during a civil lawsuit. Negotiations start when your attorney submits a reasonable offer for compensation. The insurance adjuster or the lawyer representing the defendant either accepts the initial offer or sends it back as rejected. Several rounds of counter offers can follow until both sides reach a settlement or decide to take the next step in the process. Calculates a Reasonable Value for Compensation One of the most common reasons why a slip and fall case takes a long time to resolve concerns the submission of an unreasonable value for compensation. To calculate a fair value for compensation, your slip and fall attorney adds up all the tangible costs associated with your case, such as the value of diagnostic tests and treatment programs. You also have the right to receive compensation for non-monetary damages, which are often the costs associated with pain and suffering. Your personal injury lawyer has to be careful not to overvalue the costs associated with pain and suffering. Submit Convincing Evidence Another key to settling a slip and fall case quickly involves submitting persuasive evidence. If you slipped and fell inside a business, your attorney should be able to retrieve the footage shot by a security camera. Submission of the copies of medical bills proves what types of injuries you sustained, as well as the monetary value attached to diagnosing, treating, and rehabilitating your injuries. Your personal injury lawyer also presents witness statements, which judges and insurance adjusters typically refer to as support for the physical evidence submitted during a civil trial or with an insurance claim. Get the legal support you deserve by contacting one of our experienced personal injury attorneys to resolve your slip and fall case quickly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 31 million Americans receive medical care each year as a result of an accidental injury. The injuries range in severity from relatively minor cuts and bruises to significant trauma such as head injuries and fractured bones. Victims of accidental injuries work with personal injury lawyers to recover from the financial losses generated by medical bills.
Trying to recover from the financial losses generated by an accidental injury or injuries reason is the most common reason why victims seek the legal support of a state-licensed personal injury lawyer. What are the five other situations when calling a personal injury lawyer is important? Filing an Insurance Claim In the days following a personal injury incident, you can expect the adjuster processing your insurance claim to try settling the claim as quickly as possible. Insurance adjusters follow the motto of “pay as little as possible” when dealing with accident claims. If you do not receive the legal support of an experienced personal injury lawyer, the insurance adjuster processing your claim might try to take advantage of you. A personal injury lawyer collects the physical evidence you need to receive compensation, such as acquiring copies of your medical bills. The official incident report represents an important document that substantiates your insurance claim. For example, if you slip and fall at a convenience store, the manager’s incident report becomes an integral part of the physical evidence. Injuries Caused By a Defective Product or Medical Provider If you sustained one or more injuries caused by a defective product or medical provider, a team of attorneys representing a large company works hard to defend their client against any liability claims. They might aggressively defend their client by disputing your credibility and/or delaying any legal proceedings regarding the case. Without a personal injury attorney to represent you, the chances of you receiving compensation dramatically decline. Negotiate a Settlement The insurance company processing your claim or the defendant in a personal injury lawsuit might come out of the gate willing to discuss a financial settlement. If this is the situation, you need the legal services of a persuasive negotiator to represent you during the back-and-forth sessions. A personal injury lawyer submits a reasonable offer for compensation, which the other party either accepts or rejects. If the other party rejects the initial offer, you can expect to receive a counteroffer or a letter requesting that the case move to the next step in the legal or insurance claim process. Several counteroffers can follow the initial offer until both parties agree to a settlement or decide to take the case to the next phase. Case Goes to Trial It seems like a no-brainer, but might be surprised to learn about the large number of plaintiffs in personal injury cases who represent themselves during a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. If it looks like your case is moving to the trial phase of the civil lawsuit process, you should receive the support of a personal injury attorney who has successfully litigated similar cases. A skilled litigator knows how to persuade the judge hearing the case to take your side, as well as convincingly present the physical evidence that you need to win a favorable judgment. In addition, a personal injury attorney files a civil lawsuit before the expiration of the statute of limitations, which for most states runs between two and four years. Appealing Your Case or Claim If your insurance claim and/or civil lawsuit reaches the appeals stage of the process, a personal injury attorney helps you navigate through the process until you receive just compensation. You might have to submit more compelling physical evidence, as well as present a stronger argument that you deserve just compensation for your injuries and other financial obligations caused by a personal injury incident. If you did not seek legal support before the appeals stage, a personal injury attorney can reverse a negative decision made by a judge or insurance adjuster. According to research conducted by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), slip and fall accidents account for around 25 percent of all workplace-related injuries. They also represent one-third of all preventable deaths.
Slip and fall incidents can unfold at any type of venue that is open to the public, including convenience and grocery stores, as well as entertainment venues such as arenas, stadiums, and movie theaters. Injuries sustained by slip and fall victims range in severity from mild bumps and bruises to compound fractures and long-term whiplash symptoms. Slip and fall incidents represent one of the most common cases handled by a personal injury lawyer. If you sustained one or more injuries as the result of a slip and fall incident, you should follow four steps when hiring an experienced personal injury lawyer. Seek Immediate Attention Regardless of how you feel after a slip and fall incident, the first item on your to-do list involves getting checked out by a licensed physician. As with cases handled by a car accident lawyer, a slip and fall incident can cause injuries that do not develop symptoms for several hours or up to a couple of days, including whiplash, concussion, and soft tissue damage. Without copies of medical bills and a detailed description of your injuries, you have no chance to get an insurance claim approved, much less win a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. Gather Physical Evidence As with a car accident lawyer who collects physical evidence, the personal injury lawyer that you hire builds the strongest insurance claim and legal case possible by gathering physical evidence. However, you can give your personal injury lawyer a head start by presenting some of the physical evidence associated with your case. Start by taking photographs of what you think caused your slip and fall incident. This can mean a photo of a wet spot on a floor and/or an object sticking out in a high-traffic area. You also should speak with witnesses to find one or more people to confirm what the physical evidence tells you. In addition, asking for footage from security cameras can identify the culprit that caused you harm, as well as determine whether the venue where you slipped and fell should be held legally liable for your injuries. File an Incident Report Employees injured by a slip and fall while at work must file an incident report within a certain amount of time. Although you are not under a similar deadline, you should file an incident report as soon as possible after a slip and fall incident. Present all the information you have collected to the owner or manager of the venue, and copy every piece of evidence to ensure your incident report does not leave out any important information by the time the venue owner or manager processes it for insurance purposes. Receive Legal Support The time has come to meet with a personal injury lawyer to discuss your case. Your attorney helps you submit a persuasive insurance claim, as well as monitor it to ensure it receives prompt attention from an insurance adjuster. If you encounter resistance trying to obtain video footage, your personal injury lawyer takes the steps necessary to acquire it by going through the legal system. Your personal injury lawyer also files a personal injury lawsuit against the venue if negligence played a role in you sustaining one or more injuries as the result of a slip and fall incident. It was just another day running errands when Murphy’s Law kicked in. What can go wrong will go wrong becomes true when you get involved in a car accident. However, it turned out to be a fender bender, which brings up one important question.
Is a car accident lawyer necessary if there is only minor fender damage? In short, contacting a personal injury lawyer who specializes in handling car accident cases is the right thing to do for several reasons. Your Car Might Be More Damaged Than You Think At first look, a minor fender appears to be nothing more than an unsightly bump in the fender that a licensed mechanic can hammer out in just a few minutes. However, your car might have absorbed enough of an impact to develop one or more serious issues that you cannot detect at first glance. For example, the impact might have been strong enough to push the suspension out of alignment or decrease the operational performance of one or more safety features. Even for a minor fender bender, one of the first things to do after an accident is to take your car for an inspection by a qualified mechanic. Your Body Might Have Sustained More Damage Than You Think According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), motor vehicle collisions send more than 2.3 million victims to an emergency room each year. After a minor fender bender, you might not feel the need to seek medical attention, but you should because some injuries take more time to develop than other types of injuries. For example, whiplash and a concussion might not show signs of development until hours or even a day or two after a car accident. A car accident attorney cannot help you recover the financial losses associated with medical bills if you do not seek medical attention in a timely manner after a collision. You Need Help Filing an Insurance Claim One of the most important types of legal support that is provided by a personal injury lawyer who specializes in handling car accident cases involves helping clients file persuasive insurance claims. Auto insurance adjusters love it when policyholders do not receive legal support when filing an accident claim. Not only does a car accident lawyer help you submit convincing physical evidence, but you also gain an advocate who closely monitors your claim to ensure it receives the attention that it deserves. Here is important advice to remember: Do not contact your insurance company until after you have consulted with a state-licensed car accident lawyer. You Deserve Compensation Let’s assume your injuries and the damage done to your car turned out to be much worse than you initially thought. How do you recover the financial losses generated by medical bills and the repairs done to your motor vehicle? The answer is by working with an experienced personal injury lawyer who specializes in handling car accident cases. You have two primary types of compensation to request after an auto crash. First, you request compensation to pay off medical and car repair bills. Submitting copies of the bills typically is enough physical evidence to get a car accident claim approved. You also might qualify for noneconomic damages, which include living with emotional trauma such as the symptoms triggered by Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The Bottom Line Regardless of the severity of a motor vehicle collision, your insurance company and the car accident lawyer representing the other party will not be on your side. This means you should hire a personal injury lawyer who handles car accident cases to represent your best legal and financial interests. Although they occur less often than other types of motor vehicle accidents, commercial truck collisions typically leave behind devastating damages. Commercial truck accidents are more likely to cause serious injuries and fatalities. In the case of a collision with a truck, victims inside the passenger car are much more vulnerable to sustaining serious injuries than the driver of the commercial truck. However, some passenger car accidents caused by a truck do not produce any serious injuries. Instead, a car accident such as the one caused by a semi blowout leaves behind a long list of property damages.
If a semi blowout caused car damage, should you call a personal injury lawyer? The answer is a resounding yes. Several studies have demonstrated car accident victims that hire a personal injury lawyer receive a settlement up to 3.5 times larger than if they settled a claim on their own. How Can a Car Accident Lawyer Help Me with a Semi Blowout That Caused Car Damage? After a car accident of any kind, you must follow several steps that can lead down the road to a settlement. However, you cannot expect to complete every step on your own and receive the compensation that you deserve. Hiring a personal injury lawyer to handle a semi blowout case is the right decision for many reasons. Conducts a Detailed Investigation To file a persuasive insurance claim and civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages, you must collect enough compelling evidence to receive just compensation. An experienced car accident lawyer recovers physical evidence, which in the case of a semi blowout, includes photographs of the tread found with the damaged tire. Your attorney captures images of tire tracks, as well as the road condition at the time of the crash. A copy of the official law enforcement report helps determine whether the semi truck driver committed one or more acts of negligence. For support, your personal injury lawyer also interviews witnesses to discover what transpired before, during, and after the truck collision. Helps File an Insurance Claim Although filing an insurance claim is a relatively straightforward process, you might encounter one or more obstacles that leave you frustrated and inevitably, much poorer for the experience. Insurance companies prefer that policyholders file claims without the legal support provided by an experienced car accident lawyer. An attorney helps you navigate the fine print, as well as interacts with the insurance adjuster reviewing your claim to ensure it receives the prompt attention that it deserves. Negotiate a Settlement The last thing an insurance adjuster wants is to get stuck with a large payout. To minimize the risk of losing an appeal, the insurance adjuster processing your claim might agree to negotiate a settlement. Your car accident attorney calculates a reasonable value for compensation by adding up the tangible costs associated with your case, such as medical bills and car repair receipts. Then, your personal injury lawyer takes into account any non-monetary damages like suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Negotiations start when your car accident lawyer submits an initial offer, which the insurance adjuster either accepts or rejects. If the insurance adjuster rejects the initial offer, several rounds of counteroffers can follow until your car accident lawyer reaches a settlement or the claim goes to the appeals phase of the process. Personal injury law covers several types of cases, including car and truck accidents, as well as product liability and medical malpractice. All four of these types of personal injury law cases are considered high-profile cases, as stories about these types of personal injury cases appear regularly on the nightly news and your favorite online news source. However, slip and fall incidents can be just as serious as any of the other types of personal injury cases. The National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI) recently released a study showing that slip and fall incidents result in more than one million emergency room visits each year in the United States.
Injuries sustained as the result of a slip and fall incident range from minor cuts and bruises to a compound fracture of the wrist. When we slip and start to fall, the instinctive reaction is to use one or both arms to brace for the impact delivered by the fall. This makes one or both wrists highly vulnerable to sustaining some type of fracture. Although a compound fracture represents a serious injury with potentially severe health consequences, it is just one type of serious injury that you can sustain from a slip and fall. Other types of serious injuries that result from a slip and fall include whiplash, brain trauma, and spinal cord damage. How Does Personal Injury Law Benefit a Slip and Fall Victim?Personal injury law protects victims of slip and fall incidents by giving them several rights that help them recover financial losses. You Have the Right to File an Insurance Claim When you meet with a personal injury attorney for a free case evaluation, your lawyer explains the process for filing an insurance claim. Without legal representation, the insurance company that you have to deal with might try to take advantage of you. Filing a persuasive insurance claim starts by gathering and organizing physical evidence, such as photos of the slip and fall scene, as well as footage captured by a venue’s security cameras. Witness accounts also play a pivotal role in filing an insurance claim. Before you file the claim form, your personal injury attorney reviews it to ensure you have completed every section with accurate information. Your lawyer also closely monitors the claim to ensure it processes in a timely manner. You Have the Right to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit Filing a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages requires more preparation than the preparation required for filing an insurance claim. Your personal injury attorney must prove another party committed one or more acts of negligence. Proving negligence requires your lawyer to demonstrate the presence of four elements, starting with the element called duty of care. The venue where you slipped and fell owed you a duty of care to prevent you from sustaining one or more injuries. The second element of proving negligence involves showing another party violated the duty of care doctrine. Then, your attorney presents evidence that you sustained injuries as the result of a slip and fall that caused financial losses. You Have the Right to Seek Compensation The primary goal of filing a personal injury lawsuit is to win a favorable legal judgment in the form of receiving compensation. You have the right to seek economic damages, which represent the tangible costs associated with the slip and fall incident, such as lost wages, medical bills, and property damage. Non-economic damages do not come with a price tag, but they can be as financially draining as economic damages. After a slip and fall, you might develop symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) anytime that you walk into a similar venue to the one where you slipped and fell. Punitive damages do not cover financial losses. Instead, a judge awards punitive damages to punish a plaintiff for committing one or more acts of negligence. You Have the Right to Discovery One lesser-known benefit of personal injury law concerns your right to gain access to the physical evidence and witness statements acquired by the other party. The discovery phase of the litigation process grants both sides the opportunity to share information, which helps both parties determine whether taking the case to trial is worth the time and money. During the discovery phase of the litigation process, both parties can try to negotiate a settlement that avoids a costly and time-consuming trial. Getting involved in a car accident can cause one or more injuries, as well as trigger emotional distress issues such as fear and anxiety. Although the aftermath of a vehicle collision can leave you confused as to how to address your injuries and financial losses, you should act with a sense of urgency by contacting an experienced car accident attorney.
The most important reason to enlist the aid of a car accident attorney concerns getting the compensation that you deserve for suffering financial losses. An auto collision can result in medical bills that run into thousands of dollars. Add to medical bills lost wages and the cost to repair property damage, and you might find yourself in a deep financial hole. Working with a state-licensed personal injury lawyer can help you recover financial losses. Here are four other great reasons to enlist the aid of a car accident attorney. Filing an Insurance Claim Insurance companies prefer to process claims filed by policyholders that are not represented by a personal injury lawyer. Without legal representation, the insurance company processing your claim might either deny it or approve a claim valued well below what you deserve. By hiring an experienced car accident attorney, the insurance company processing your claim knows you are serious about receiving just compensation. Your lawyer gathers and organizes the physical evidence you need to file a persuasive insurance claim. Determining the Amount of Compensation Filing an insurance claim and a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages requires your personal injury lawyer to calculate a fair value for compensation. Your attorney combines the tangible costs associated with medical bills, repairs to property damage, and lost wages. Non-economic damages cover the emotional issues that arise from trauma produced as the result of a vehicle collision. Your lawyer calculates a reasonable value for non-economic damages by using a formula that factors in the value of economic damages. Prove Negligence To file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages, your car accident attorney must prove the presence of the four elements of negligence. Duty of care means another party assumed the legal responsibility to ensure your safety. Breaching the duty of care doctrine involves another party committing an act of negligence that caused your harm. The third element of proving negligence involves showing the judge hearing your case that the car accident produced your injuries. Finally, the injuries sustained as a result of an auto crash must have generated financial losses. Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit Before the Deadline Each state has established a deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. Also referred to as the statute of limitations, the deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit in most states is between two and four years. By hiring an experienced car accident attorney, you can rest assured that you will file a personal injury lawsuit before the expiration of the statute of limitations. If you fail to meet the deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit in the state where you live, you can expect the court clerk processing your case to remove it from the judicial docket. |
AuthorSince 1982, the attorneys of Schiff & Associates have provided our clients with quality legal representation in cases of personal injury and wrongful death. Our clients benefit from the combined skills of a powerful legal team. Archives
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