Have you been hurt due to another person’s carelessness or an establishment’s carelessness? If so, then you have the right to take action, to seek out the compensation you deserve. Depending on your case, you might be eligible for filing a personal injury claim. This article will help you figure out whether or not your case qualifies and will show you where to go from there.
IMAGE SOURCE: Pexels
What is a Personal Injury?
Personal injury is an umbrella term for any type of offense, intentional or unintentional, that causes harm to a person. Legally, this harm doesn’t have to be physical, but can also be mental, as well as, damage to one’s reputation. Meaning, what falls under personal injury isn’t limited to assault and car and workplace accidents. You can also file a lawsuit if you’ve been harmed by a faulty product, a careless medical professional, or even an advertisement or a statement that intends to slander/defame you. Slip and falls and wrongful deaths (unintended death of a family member due to an establishment’s disregard for safety standards) are also common types of personal injury cases.
What is a Statute of Limitations?
You may have heard the term in a crime show or two before. That’s because it’s quite a common term that stands for the time in which a plaintiff (in this case you) is allowed to file a suit. In other words, time is of the essence according to https://www.brookslawgroup.com/, because the earlier you file your suit, the better your lawyer will be able to deliver results. If your case has exceeded its statute of limitations (depending on each state’s laws), you lose the right to submit your claim, and the longer you wait, the weaker your case becomes.
What to Expect in a Case?
Let’s say you’ve filed a case. What should you hope to get out of it? A monetary compensation. This compensation should cover your medical expenses, property damages, mental and emotional distress, and other consequences, like money spent on wheelchairs and money forfeited while you were/are away from work during your recovery period. There are two ways to get this compensation. The first and most common way is through an early negotiation between you and your attorney and the defendant. This occurs before you go to court and ends in a settlement offer (a sum of money in exchange for you letting go of your right to pursue legal action). The second way is to take your chances and go to trial. If you don’t have a strong case, your lawyer will recommend that you take the settlement. However, if you do, you can confidently take your case to court.
What to Do Now?
-
Medical Check-Up
Let’s say you have a case that qualifies for a personal injury suit, what now? The first thing you need is a medical (physical/psychological) check-up. First and foremost, you need to know how badly you’ve been injured and start treatment as soon as you can. Second, seeking medical help strengthens your case because it proves your injury through prescriptions, bills, test documents, and more. The opposition’s lawyer will try to invalidate your claim any way they can. The longer the time frame is between the accident and your medical check-up, the more it seems like the injuries are either unrelated or simply not that serious.
IMAGE SOURCE: Unsplash
-
Seek the Help of an Attorney
Once you’ve seen a doctor, it’s time to go on the hunt for a suitable attorney, one who is honest, empathetic, and experienced. Honesty is the key to clear communication. Empathy means they will fight for you and not for their share of the money. Experience means better chances for you. They will explain your case to you, gather the necessary evidence, fill out legal forms, and work your case until they’re able to get you the compensation you deserve. All that without you lifting a finger which is the last thing you need to do if you have been injured.
Suffering a personal injury case can seem complicated to navigate, but as you’ve read, the process is quite simple. Seek medical attention, see if your case applies, then go to an experienced lawyer. They will collect evidence to build a strong and solid case, then use that to get you the best compensation they can. First, they will try to settle the matter out of court to save you time and money. If they see that the settlement is far from what you deserve, they won’t hesitate to recommend that they take the fight to the courtroom on your behalf.
