Understanding Personal Injury: 10 Personal Injury Cases Examples
There are a variety of reasons you might need to hire a personal injury lawyer. Perhaps you have a legal situation and you’re not sure if you need one of these experts to guide you.
Well, the good news is that you’ve come to the right place by reading this article. Detailed below are ten common personal injury case examples you should be able to recognize.
You’re not alone in potentially needing a personal injury lawyer, by the way. Consider the following statistic regarding personal injury attorneys throughout the United States. It indicates that in the year 2019 alone, the industry generated $35 billion in revenue.
Keep reading to know if you need a personal injury lawyer for your upcoming court case. Doing so could make all of the difference in whether or not you win that case.
1. Workplace Accidents Are Common Personal Injury Case Examples
The first potential personal injury case to consider is that of a workplace accident. It’s an unfortunate truth that injuries happen while working quite often, especially at some more dangerous jobs. If you’re been injured while you were at work, it might be time to reach out to a personal injury lawyer.
2. Dangerous or Defective Products
It’s also possible to get injured because of a product you buy. Don’t worry, though. Consumers do have rights to certain compensation in these cases.
Perhaps you used a beauty product that had an irritating ingredient in it that gave you a severe rash. Maybe you bought a furniture item that was poorly manufactured and caused someone to get hurt. If something you bought caused any harm at all, reach out to a personal injury attorney soon.
3. Motor Vehicle Accidents
One of the most popular kinds of personal injury cases happens while driving. Motor vehicle accidents of any kind fall into this legal category. For more details about a specific example, check out this lawyer who specializes in motorcycle accidents.
4. Wrongful Death
Another version of a personal injury case has more dramatic consequences. A wrongful death happens as the result of some kind of accident, often while in the workplace. Connect with a legal expert in the personal injury field to determine whether you have an unfortunate wrongful death case in your own life.
5. Premises Liability
Imagine you’re invited to a corporate event at a local park or gathering place. While you’re enjoying yourself, a tree branch falls on you out of nowhere. It’s caused some serious injury to yourself or your loved ones, and now you have a hefty medical bill.
If something caused you any harm while you were on someone else’s property, the case might fall under the category of a premises liability. Talk to your personal injury lawyer to see if you’re entitled to compensation for this accident.
6. Animal Attacks
Similar to premises liability, don’t forget about the responsibility of an animal attack. If someone’s dog bites you without provocation, for instance, you could be entitled to some money to cover the medical bills and trauma.
Not all animal attacks are covered by this compensation, though. For example, if a police dog attacks you while you’re breaking the law, some states won’t offer any kind of compensation. It’ll be up to you, though, to do the research and know your local laws concerning animal attacks.
7. Nursing Home Neglect
If you’re elderly loved one has been the victim of abuse or neglect in a nursing home, you might have a personal injury case.
Be warned, though. You might have to gather evidence and proof of the neglect or harm if you want to win your case.
8. Food Poisoning
Another personal injury case that can be difficult to prove is that of food poisoning. Because food poisoning could be the result of anything you ate within the last 24 hours, a restaurant might not end up liable to provide compensation for their bad food. One good way to prove it was their fault, though, is to gather a bunch of different cases of food poisoning of the restaurant’s recent patrons.
9. Legal Malpractice
Sometimes, it’s possible for a lawyer you’ve hired to misrepresent you in court. As a result, you might have lost some serious compensation due to that lawyer’s negligence or ignorance.
For one thing, that’s why it’s so important to only hire a personal injury lawyer with a reliable reputation. In addition, be sure to do plenty of research to know what to expect as you go through the court system with that lawyer’s representation. That way, you can try to prevent the possibility that you’ll get taken advantage of by him or her.
10. Medical Malpractice
Finally, some patients of a medical professional could be entitled to compensation, such as after a harmful mistake is made during surgery. This could be a personal injury case if medical malpractice can be proven. Work with your personal injury lawyer to see if your case is one that could win in court.
Continue to Keep Yourself Well-Informed About Workplace Injury Case Examples
At this point in the article, you have a thorough understanding of common personal injury case examples. There’s no need to but corners when it comes to ensuring your legal rights are well-represented in a court case. That’s why you’ll take the above guidelines seriously.
Still, there are a lot of ins and outs to navigate when it comes to the country’s legal system. It can be in your best interest to work with expert professionals on the matter. In addition, continue to keep yourself well-informed of legal trends throughout the country.
In fact, that’s where this website can come into play. We prioritize bringing readers like you the latest and greatest trends in business and legal issues.
For that reason, we encourage you to browse through the rest of our website today.
4 Tips for Responding to a Low-Ball Personal Injury Settlement Offer
Following an incident that has caused you personal injury, you have to determine the extent and nature of your injuries and losses. The next step is you, or your attorney if you have sought legal advice, sending a demand letter to the at-fault party, their defense attorney or, more probably, their insurer. The insurance company, if they deem your claim justifiable, will then respond to your demand with an offer.
An insurer will always seek to protect its profitability. Therefore, insurance companies will pay the least amount they can get away with. Ergo, you can expect a low-ball settlement offer that falls short of truly meeting the direct and indirect costs you incur as a result of the injury. How you respond to this unreasonably low offer will be key in whether you’ll eventually receive fair compensation. Here’s a couple of tips on crafting an appropriate response.
1. Keep Calm and Evaluate the Offer
Personal injury, especially when severe, can be a cause of great mental anguish. So when you receive a low-ball offer, it’s easy to get caught up in the moment and almost immediately fire an angry, emotional response. The offer appears almost insulting. On the other extreme, financial distress may compel you to accept the offer without a second thought.
To avoid making these kinds of expensive mistakes, stay calm. Thoughtfully evaluate the offer and maintain professionalism during this high stakes negotiation with the other party. Remember that the other party doesn’t expect you to accept the offer without challenge but rather, are setting the stage for negotiations.
2. Respond in Writing
The low-ball offer may be as a result of the lack of adequate information on your injury and other losses claimed. It’s likely that your initial demand letter accurately covered the timelines around the incident as well as the treatment and recovery plan thereafter. In that case, you don’t need to repeat this information in your response.
Instead, provide updated itemized medical bills and proof of income loss. Mention the emotional points, inability to enjoy your favorite hobbies and other subjective aspects of your injury.
3. Formulate the Counteroffer
If the offer you received is unreasonable, that’s likely because you already have a reasonable offer in mind. Don’t make the mistake of adopting street-like haggling tactics by responding to a low-ball offer with an unrealistically high counteroffer. That will not only make future negotiations very difficult but will have the other party assume that satisfying your expectations could be impossible.
Instead, compute your counteroffer by looking at limits and requirements of insurance coverage, the at-fault party’s assets and data on claims typically paid for similar incidents. You may think you deserve a $70,000 payout but based on your review of these factors, realize that a realistic counteroffer would be in the region of $40,000.
Of course, this initial counteroffer will probably be the first of several that you’ll do as part of your negotiation. The back-and-forth may feel a little tedious but it’s a part of the settlement process.
4. Don’t Settle Before You Have All Required Information
Not all information that relates to your injury and is relevant to your claim will be known or available on Day 1.
Do not accept a settlement offer if you don’t have a complete understanding of not just present costs but also the long-term financial repercussions of the injury. That includes your ability to work (and find work) and any new skills you’ll have to learn to improve your job prospects. Remember that once you accept the at-fault party’s offer and sign the release, there’s no going back to ask for more money or filing your personal injury lawsuit. It’s best that you consult a lawyer regarding whether to settle or try the case.
Apply these tips to ensure you do not accept a low-ball settlement offer when you could get so much more.
What Is Personal Injury Law?
An injury can cause one to lose the ability to work or even derail their life. An injury can take away what most people consider to be an important part of their lives, be it the two aforementioned things or even the ability to associate with their families or coworkers. That said, most personal injuries can be serious and when they happen, one can hire a personal injury lawyer Cleveland to adjudicate for damages on their behalf.
What Is Personal Injury Law?
In most countries, there exists a set of laws that are collectively known as personal injury law. These laws, also called tort laws, allow a person who has been injured to sue in a civil court and get damages in the form of monetary or other compensation for losses originating from an accident, injury or another incident.
The main purpose of the personal injury law system is to offer compensation to the injured party, to allow them to be compensated financially so that the carelessness or intentional conduct of a third party do not ruin their life. Personal injury settlements are formulated in such a way as to ensure the injured party’s life continues as it would have if they did not get injured, even with the cost and pain of the injury factored in.
Situations where personal injury laws and rules apply
Accidents are perhaps the most common situations in which personal injury laws come into play. The reason is that accidents more often than not stem from negligent actions that lead to harm to another person. Examples of these situations include car accidents and medical malpractice.
In certain situations, parties can be found guilty of injuries emanating from defective products. If a product fails, a personal injury lawsuit can be mounted on the basis of the defective product leading to an injury. Defamation lawsuits are not usually considered a personal injury. That said, various countries classify the harming of a person’s reputation as falli8ng under personal injury laws.
Origins of personal injury laws
For most countries, personal injury laws go all the way back to common law rules. These are laws that were formulated by judges as opposed to legislatures as it happens today. When judges rule on a personal injury suit, their ruling forms a binding precedent that other courts in that jurisdiction can use to settle similar cases. This applies mostly to higher courts passing down their precedents to lower courts. When lots of courts in the same jurisdiction apply the rulings of the first judge or higher courts, their collective rulings form “common law”.
Because of its ties to the different jurisdictions, it stems from, common law, and personal injury law, can differ from state to state or even across the country. If you need advice on how personal injury law is applied to your state or jurisdiction, getting in touch with AJK legal should get you the answers you need.
Finally, some legislatures debate and come up with their own personal injury laws through formal legislation and statutory law processes.
Fall Injury: What to Do When You’re Injured on Someone Else’s Property
Did you know that falls are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths? A fall injury is even more serious if you are elderly, as slips, trips, and falls are extremely dangerous for those who are older and have more brittle bones.
What happens if you fall on someone else’s property and are injured? Are they responsible for the fall? It’s important to understand, as you may want to speak with an attorney to determine if the property owner is at fault and if you are entitled to any sort of compensation.
Keep reading to learn more about what you should do if you are injured on someone else’s property.
Seek Medical Attention
If you fall and are injured, seek medical attention immediately, even if your injuries seem minor. What seems like a minor injury at first may turn in to something more serious later. Make sure you keep all of your medical records and any documentation from your doctor or the emergency room.
Take Pictures
This is the time to pull out your cell phone to take pictures of the area where the accident occurred. Try to do this immediately, as you want to take pictures of the conditions before any changes occur (e.g., if there was water on the floor, snow or ice that was not removed, other fall hazards, etc.).
You’ll want photos of the dangerous conditions that resulted in your fall before anyone has the chance to alter the area.
Get Names and Information of Witnesses
If there were witnesses to your fall, get their names and contact information, if possible. If you are hurt at a business, get the information for any employees who witnessed your fall as well. If you hire a personal injury lawyer, they will want to speak to these witnesses
Contact the Property Owner
Whether the fall happened at a business or on private property, it’s important to let the manager or owner know. If possible, have them sign a document acknowledging your injury, and make sure to keep this document.
Don’t Sign Anything
If the property owner or business owner asks you to sign something, do not do it, especially if you’re unsure of what you’re actually signing. In fact, once you retain an attorney, you should not communicate with the property or business owner at all. Let your attorney handle all communication.
Document Everything
Whether it’s medical expenses, photographs, any communication with the property owner or witnesses, document everything in writing. Keeping a paper trail will help your case should you end up in court.
Keep any receipts or invoices for expenses incurred as a result of the injury, including medical expenses, travel to see specialists, etc. If you miss work, document that as well, as you may be entitled to compensation for any expenses.
What To Do After a Fall Injury
If you have been the victim of a fall injury, especially if it happened on property owned by someone else, make sure you protect yourself by following these suggestions after the injury occurs. Don’t compromise any chance you have for compensation.
If you found this useful, be sure to explore some of our other posts.
When to Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer
Many people who have been involved in an accident tend to consider whether they should go it alone with their personal injury claim or rely ona personal injury law firm to help them find a lawyer who is right for their case. While it’s not advised to deal with a case alone, there are some people out there that choose to go down this route. Because of this, they may miss out on many opportunities that come with hiring a personal injury lawyer.
If you have had an accident in the workplace, it’s important that you seek medical help, as well as contact a personal injury lawyer who can act on your behalf and help guide you through the claims process. Knowledge is power, so here are examples of when it’s time to hire a personal injury lawyer.
Degree of Injury
Understandably, a personal injury lawyer is advised for every type of injury, however, if you have encounteredsevere injuries, your lawyer will be the best person to guide you through the claims process to ensure you get the compensation and justice you deserve. As such lawyers will have the knowledge and expertise on personal injury laws, they will be able to assist you with the contact details of medical experts. Not only can these serve as witnesses for your claim butthey can also treat your injuries properly.
You vs. the Insurance Companies
In some instances, you may prefer to settle your case out of court and try and reach an agreement with the other party who was involved in the accident, however, you need to understand that the offer they have proposed to you will not be favorable at all. Obviously, you should try and ask for more compensation, however, after doing so, the experts who are working for the other party will try and minimize the amount of compensation you’re entitled to, therefore, having the right backing behind you is crucial.
Medical Malpractice
If you believe you have been a victim of medical malpractice, it’s crucial that you act sooner rather than later. If you want to file for such a claim, you will need to enlist professionals such as a personal injury lawyer who can guide you through the process. This sort of claim must be filed within a specific timeframe after the accident occurs, and you will also need to consult with your doctor. A medical malpractice claim can drag on for a long period, especially if the other party does not own up to their actions. Your lawyer will need to work much harder than they would in a typical personal injury case, so it’s important that you are well prepared before you make a claim.
Insurance Carriers Conversations
After an accident, it’s only natural that you will have two things on your mind – your medical bills and the potential damage brought upon your property. In most instances, this refers to your car and the car accident you have been involved in. If you don’t have a personal injury lawyer behind you, you run the risk of insurance carriers not paying out those bills, both for property and medical damage.
Temporary or Permanent Disability
If you have been involved in an accident that’s left you with a temporary or permanent injury, it’s advised that you appoint a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. Sustaining such an injury can have a huge impact on your quality of life, with many people having to give up work as a result of their accident. Loss of earnings and having to leave your job are strong grounds for hiring a personal injury lawyer. Only a personal injury lawyer will be able to establish the gravity of negligence, as well as the amount of compensation that can be sought.
Finding a Personal Injury Lawyer
Now you have an idea of situations where a personal injury lawyer can help, it’s important that you seek out a professional who has years of expertise to help ensure you win your case and get the compensation you’re entitled to. Zavodnick, Zavodnick&Lasky, LLC are personal injury lawyers who have over 80 years of experience combined. Based in Philadelphia, the team can help you every step of the way with your claim, helping to keep you up to date with the legal process. Also, make sure that you obtain your medical records, keep a journal of events, and collect as much evidence as possible to increase the chances of you winning your claim.
If you have been in a car accident, sustained an injury at work, or been in an accident that wasn’t your fault, a personal injury lawyer can step in and help you with your case.
Kinney, Fernandez & Boire Shares 6 Tips to Maximize Your Compensation in a Personal Injury Case
The process of instituting a personal injury case begins when a plaintiff acting in private capacity lodges a complaint against the defendant in a court of law. The case is usually filed to seek injury compensation. There are a few important statistics you need to know about personal injury compensation in the US. According to Lawyers.com, the average settlement and court award for personal injury compensation range anywhere from $3000 to $75,000. It is also important to recognize that 70% of personal injury claims end up with compensation.
In most cases, the settlement is normally reached out of court and not through trial. The amount of compensation depends on factors like injury and insurance limits. The severity of injuries is a huge factor when calculating a claim. Cases involving serious injuries normally involve loss of income, high medical expenses, and other stipulated damages. The insurance policy can limit the amount of compensation one can be offered in a personal injury case. Studies also show hiring a personal injury lawyer can increase the amount of settlement a plaintiff can receive.
Tips to maximize your compensation in a personal injury case
A person injured in an accident is entitled to compensation, more so, if the injury is as a result of negligence or carelessness of the other party. The main types of personal injury cases include motor vehicle accidents, workplace accidents, product liability, medical malpractice, and wrongful death. Every year, millions of people across America are injured due to car accidents. The accidents also result in thousands of deaths of motorists, passengers, and pedestrians.
People injured in car accidents and other personal injury cases may be entitled to monetary compensation covering everything from injuries to financial loss and other damages. People injured in accidents often want to know how much compensation they are entitled to receive and how the same can be maximized for their benefit. According to the Halt.org law directory and resource, here are 6 tips that will help you maximize your compensation:
1. Safeguard the evidence
The weight of the evidence is vital in prosecuting a personal injury case. For this reason, it is critical to preserve evidence when you want to make a strong case for compensation. Some of the evidence that can be deduced in court includes photos of the injury and the accident scene. These vital pieces of evidence should be taken immediately after the accident.
2. Fire an experienced attorney
Since personal injury cases such as car accidents, defective products, and medical malpractice are expensive and highly demanding, hiring an experienced personal injury attorney can make a huge difference when it comes to compensation. You can always inquire about an attorney’s past cases, compensation reports and record of success before making a hiring decision.
3. Seek medical treatment
To seek fair judgment and compensation for your personal injury case, you need to get immediate medical attention. The injuries and treatment expenses documented by the medical practitioner will be added in the final compensation to give you an accurate and well-deserved compensation. Treatment for injuries may include post-traumatic stress and physical therapy. Undergoing an extensive treatment plan can help you get bigger compensation.
4. Keep away from social media
When you have an ongoing personal injury case, try as much as possible to stay off of social media. Posting information related to your case could jeopardize your claim because the photos, comments, and videos could easily be used by the defense team. Personal injury attorneys often scour the web to find pieces of evidence that could be used against you.
5. File your case immediately
When you file a personal injury case late in the day, the risk of having the claim denied increases substantially. The cases should be filed in good time when the evidence is still fresh. The quick action will also help you avoid the statute of limitations and other legal impediments.
6. Bypass the first offer of compensation by the insurance company
Insurance claims usually go through the hands of an adjuster who will offer you the lowest settlement or even deny you a rightful claim. Always stay on guard to avoid the common tricks used by adjusters. Before accepting any offer from the insurance company, weigh in to establish if the compensation on the table is reasonable. You can increase the amount of compensation offered by citing emotional damages and the inability to work or operate as you would normally.
Need a local Tampa Injury Attorney!
Because of the intricacies of personal injury cases, it is always advisable to hire an experienced personal injury attorney. Kinney, Fernandez & Boire is a leading personal injury law firm based in Tampa, Florida. The practice specializes in auto accidents, insurance disputes, brain injury, negligent hiring, wrongful death and slip, and fall. In case of a car accident, the lawyer will inform you what will happen if you miss work and who will repair your car and cover your medical bills.
As a standard practice, the Tampa personal injury attorney will review your medical records and investigate the claim to ascertain the details of your case. Some of the damages you may be entitled to include medical expenses, lost wages, and human damages. For a free consultation, get in touch with Tampa personal injury attorney immediately on (813)875-5445. You can also visit the Kinney, Fernandez & Boire website to fill a contact sheet and learn more about the law firm.
What Is the Personal Injury Statute of Limitations?
About 95% of civil litigation claims get settled before making it to trial. This includes personal injury claims. If you have a claim for injury, you need to make sure you file before the personal injury statute of limitations so you have an opportunity to recover for your injuries.
Each state has its own deadline for filing a lawsuit. This is the length of time you have to file your claim, or you’re barred from seeking recovery.
Keep reading to learn more about the statute of limitations for personal injury claims.
Standard Statute of Limitations
Some states have a filing limit of as short as one year, while others have a deadline of three years or more. The exact amount of time will depend on the state you’re filing in.
You can’t choose any state to file in. There are rules about where you’re allowed to file, such as the state you were injured in or the state where the defendant resides. You need to look into these rules to know what state’s statute of limitations applies to your claim.
The statute of limitations clock starts from the day that you experience the injury.
The Discovery Rule Exception
This is an exception to the statute of limitations deadline. Most states have an exception that applies to when you aren’t aware of the injury.
For this exception to apply, the injured person needs to not have known either that they were injured or that the defendant’s actions could have caused an injury. Awareness of the injury or potential for an injury needs to occur after the statute of limitations runs out.
So if you become aware of the injury or potential for injury before the expiration of the original deadline, then the statute of limitations applies.
This situation happens more often than you might think. An example of this is the injury ads you may have seen on tv. They state that you may have been exposed to a potentially injury-causing situation at some point in the past.
They then encourage you to seek out a personal injury attorney for legal representation. The injury is usually caused by exposure to harmful chemicals or a malfunctioning medical device.
Other Ways to Extend the Filing Deadline
Several states offer other exceptions to the deadline for filing. Some states stop the clock if the defendant leaves the state. Then resumes the countdown when the defendant returns.
For this exception to apply, you’ll need to prove that the defendant was gone. It’s best to work with an attorney if you want to apply for this exception.
Another exception is if the injured party is a minor, mentally ill, disabled, or insane. The statute of limitations gets extended for these plaintiffs.
Know the Personal Injury Statute of Limitations for Your State
If you’ve experienced an injury, then you need to find out the personal injury statute of limitations for your state. The sooner you seek out legal representation, the better. Your attorney can advise you on the specific laws of your state.
Check out our blog for more law-related articles that can answer all of your legal questions.
What Can Family Members Do When Their Loved One Suffers a Life-Changing Injury?
Almost every time when someone suffers from a catastrophic injury that changes their life forever, more than just one life is affected as a result of that incident. Aside from the emotional burden, there are often hefty economic issues that accompany such situations and not everyone is as well equipped to deal with all of that as a few are.
On that note, today we are going to take a look at what possible steps family members can take after they have been informed that one of their loved ones has suffered a life-changing injury.
Response and Vigilance
Depending on which stage and what kind of an accident we are talking about here, the actual response will differ, of course. If the family members have just been informed about the injury, the response should be to get to the hospital and talk to the attending doctor. From there, it’s a long road that makes its way through treatment and rehabilitation.
A point to remember would be to stay vigilant and collect all medical documents, which include everything from the doctors’ prescriptions and diagnostic reports to even bills given to you by the pharmacist while buying the prescribed meds. Not only will they be necessary to claim insurance, but there might be more need for all that documentation later on.
Understand, Accept and Prepare
Now, as we are talking about life-changing, traumatic injuries, you need to understand, accept, and prepare for the following.
- Understand what kind of an injury it is (brain trauma, limb debilitation, paralysis, spinal cord injuries, severe disfigurement, etc.)
- Know what the course of treatment would involve and the expected results
- Understand the expenses that will be necessary to follow each avenue of treatment available
- Accept the situation and your own decisions regarding various aspects of the injury management procedure
- Prepare for the psychological, social, personal, and financial effects of the life-changing injury, based on your understanding of the above
- Prepare a list of changes you will need to make, in order to accommodate the new conditions
- Be prepared to make mistakes and correct them along the way
Help them Stay Away from Depression
A life-changing injury is almost always followed up by depression, which is quite natural but can also be another severe cause for concern. Make sure that you keep a close eye on the injured family member so that he/she doesn’t become overly depressed, post the injury.
This is easier said than done, of course, but depression can make a severely debilitated person further degrade mentally and physically, while some may even turn suicidal.
Figure Out If You Can Get a Compensation from the Responsible Party, Where Applicable
Not every accident is someone else’s fault, but most of them are, although it may not seem like it initially. Whether it was a car accident, a truck accident or a workplace accident, if the injured or deceased family member had to suffer his/her ill fate due to someone else’s fault, prepare to take legal action against them.
In case you live in Pennsylvania, or if the family member has suffered his/her injury within the state, you need a catastrophic injury law firm that specializes in working with the state’s directives for personal injury cases. An experienced lawyer knows exactly who should be sued for getting the maximum possible compensation.
Also, being experienced in dealing with hundreds of personal injury cases throughout the years, a catastrophic injury law firm should also be able to tell the family members right away whether they have a good chance of winning or not.
Do keep in mind that in case of wrongful death due to the suffered injuries, whether it’s caused by an accident or medical negligence, the surviving family members are entitled to compensation as well.
Five Questions to Ask Your Potential Personal Injury Lawyer
Whether you have found yourself hurt as a direct result of doing your job, been involved in a road traffic accident, harmed due to the negligence of somebody else, or simply been victim of an unfortunate accident, there’s no denying that dealing with an injury that shouldn’t have happened to is never a great experience. Injuries that occur through no fault of your own are not just physically painful and uncomfortable; they can cause emotional distress and even lead to financial problems in your life if you’re unable to work and have medical bills to pay. That’s why getting a good personal injury lawyer is so important – with the right professional working alongside you, you can improve your chance of getting the compensation that you deserve for everything you’ve been through so far.
Here are some important questions to ask before you decide on a potential personal injury lawyer.
#1. What previous experience do you have?
One of the most important questions that you can ask is about a lawyer’s previous experience. A good lawyer will always be honest with his or her answer, even if that means admitting that they are not as experienced as they could be when it comes to your kind of case. If a lawyer’s past experience isn’t readily offered when you ask, it’s best to tread carefully.
#2. How qualified are you?
Of course, one of the main factors that you deserve to have some peace of mind with is just how qualified your personal injury lawyer is. Don’t be afraid to ask where your Indianapolis personal injury lawyer went to college and which qualifications they have obtained so far. If they are legit and good at what they do, they’ll probably even have their certificates hanging in the office.
#3. What’s your plan?
It’s usually time consuming and not all that necessary for you to go through every single move your personal injury lawyer plans to take when it comes to fighting your case, but you should at the very least be given some idea of the plan in place. Even if you trust your lawyer to do the best that they can, make sure that they are willing to keep you informed throughout the process.
#4. What’s your current workload like?
Enquiring about a personal injury lawyer’s current workload isn’t just a good way to figure out the kind of cases that they normally get hired for – it also helps you determine whether or not you think that they will have the time that you want them to dedicate to your case. Some clients are fine with a lawyer only spending a short amount of time on their case, while others require more. Figure out which one you are before you ask this question.
#5. How much are your fees?
Finally, make sure that you’re fully aware of any fees and charges to expect before you start working with a personal injury lawyer. And, find out how you’ll be required to pay – for example, will you only be charged if your case is won?
Choosing a good personal injury lawyer can be a daunting process, so ask these questions to help you find the right one.
When to Expect a Car Accident Settlement: The Average Auto Accident Settlement Timeline
Approximately 1.25 million people die on the road every day. As many as 20-50 more become injured as a result of a car crash with 225 million drivers on the road.
Each of those 20-50 million is wondering what the auto accident settlement timeline is going to be. From the second you are in a car accident until that settlement arrives, you are wondering when is this going to be over.
Read on to ease some of that burden, and experience peace of mind from knowing you are not alone, and there are ways to speed up that auto accident settlement timeline.
What is the Average Auto Accident Settlement Timeline?
Everyone wonders what the average auto accident settlement timeline is going to be. There is no one answer.
Multiple factors influence the car accident settlement timeline. The easiest way to speed up that timeline will be to hire a car accident attorney. Handling this yourself will slow things down.
Look at these different cases for car accidents and see for yourself that you are not alone. Every situation may be different, but you will feel more comfortable during this process when you realize that many people are going through the same thing as you are right now, and help is available.
Report and Document Early
The smartest thing you can do after a car crash is to document everything as early as possible. Start taking pictures after everything, and collect reports like it’s your job.
Those reports could cost you money if you don’t use them with the insurance company. And, more often than not, collecting those reports for the insurance company will slow down your auto accident timeline.
Collect every police report, weather report, medical report, everything. If you have to collect them later, you eat uptime.
Your Injuries
The nature and extent of your injuries are going to determine your auto accident settlement timeline, as well. How much you get will depend entirely on the extent of your actual damages.
The case will settle faster if the injuries are minor. The more treatment you need, the longer it will take for your auto accident settlement timeline.
Collect every piece of documentation along the way.
Motivation
You never have to worry about the motivation of insurance companies, the most critical variable in your auto accident settlement timeline is you. Your motivation matters.
Insurance companies are always motivated to settle, and never want a car accident to get to court. That is a costly and public problem for them that they don’t want.
But you are motivated as well. But why?
Sometimes people are so motivated to get their money they will take the first offer. Others want the problem to go away and will settle quickly.
Your auto accident settlement timeline depends on your motivation. But taking the first offer isn’t always the best one.
This accident is a traumatizing experience, and you have earned a fair settlement. Be motivated to get what you deserve, and the auto accident settlement timeline won’t matter when that check arrives.
Trust the Experts
When you are going through the auto accident settlement timeline, it’s very easy to feel isolated and frustrated. But you don’t have to.
There is always help available to help you get through this crisis. You need to take time for your emotional needs, and shouldn’t spend it worrying about your insurance woes or the length of your auto accident settlement timeline.
A good auto accident lawyer can help you through this process and make sure that it’s done right, and you get the settlement you deserve. Trust the experts today that offer a free consultation during this crisis.
