How Does a Personal Injury Lawsuit Work?

Important Information for Pursuing Compensation

A personal injury lawsuit is a complex legal process best left to a licensed, professional attorney. When you experience serious harm or lose a loved one due to another person’s negligent actions, the damages you suffer deserve compensation. Pursuing an award for your damages involves multiple steps that your injuries or loss leave you no time to navigate alone. Leaving your case in the hands of a personal injury attorney can reduce your stress during a very trying time.

What Is Negligence?

Negligence generally means that someone acted without the same level of care a reasonable person would use in similar circumstances. When a person fails to use care, and their actions result in harm or death, they are typically negligent for the damages that result.

A personal injury lawsuit requires proof of negligence. Identifying all parties responsible and intentionally liable for your damages takes time—something not on your side.

If you experienced serious injuries, harm, or a loss due to no fault of your own, contact a personal injury lawyer today.

What Are Some Examples of Personal Injury Cases?

No one expects to experience sudden harm that greatly impacts their quality of life. When someone is negligent, the result of their actions often has a profound effect on others.

Examples of the types of personal injury cases that may constitute grounds for legal action include:

• Motor vehicle accidents: trucks, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians
• Medical malpractice: birth injuries, misdiagnosis, prescription errors
• Premises liability: dog bites, slip, and fall accidents
• Product liability: defective or dangerous products
• Nursing home abuse: any form of abuse or neglect

This list contains just a few examples of tragic yet preventable forms of harm. If you or a loved one suffered unnecessarily due to another person’s careless actions, company, or organization, a personal injury lawyer can help you.

What is the Difference Between a Claim and a Lawsuit?

A personal injury lawyer will attempt to negotiate an insurance company settlement on your behalf. Many personal injury cases never make it to trial. Trials are often both time-consuming and expensive for everyone involved.

A personal injury claim involves a period of intense negotiations for the best settlement possible. There is a chance that your case may go to trial, depending upon the details of your personal injury case. Securing a lawyer with trial experience is a good idea for protecting your best interests.

Representing yourself during your pursuit of possible compensation is stressful and dangerous. Any possible award of compensation is too important to risk pursuing without legal knowledge and experience.

Insurance companies like nothing more than for accident victims to not hire a lawyer. This allows them to get by without paying you the compensation you deserve. Referring an insurance adjuster to your attorney demonstrates your commitment to holding the responsible party accountable for your damages.

What Are Some Types of Compensation I Can Pursue?

If you experienced serious injuries, chances are you cannot work. An especially tragic accident can cause you to lose your career forever, and that is not fair.

Your medical bills begin at the moment of transfer to the hospital. The medical costs you endure and your inability to work due to no fault of your own demand justice.

The following are a few examples of the types of compensation worth pursuing:

• Medical transport to the hospital: ambulance fees, including transport by an
• Medical costs related to ongoing injury needs: therapies, prescription medications, rehabilitation
• Loss of income: missed pay from time spent recovering
• Potential future income: the wages possible, had you returned to your previous employment
• Pain and suffering: the mental anguish that results due to the defendant’s reckless actions

A personal injury lawyer understands how to both build and present a strong case for compensation. Hiring a lawyer can ease your mind and afford you much needed time for other important matters, like your health and family.

Frequent updates and easy to understand explanations are something your lawyer can provide you throughout the process. You are never alone. Let your lawyer carry the burden of your legal case.

What Are Long Term Costs Associated With Serious Injuries?

If you experienced serious injuries, your medical expenses may continue throughout your lifetime. The following examples offer a small view of the complex and expensive world of catastrophic injuries:

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) – The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) list trauma as a major contributor to traumatic brain injuries.

This injury can greatly disrupt normal brain function and result in:

• Cognitive changes: affecting memory and problem-solving skills
• Motor function: poor balance, weak muscles
• Behavioral/emotional changes: outbursts of anger or depression
• Changes in sensation: change to vision, hearing, sense of touch, smell, and taste

When a loved one experiences such an injury, their needs may far exceed your ability to care for them. Seeking the help they need may require placing them in a skilled nursing facility.

Placing them in the care of strangers is never easy yet often necessary for you and them. The around-the-clock care skilled nursing facilities provide come at a tremendous cost. Most facilities average thousands of dollars per month for such care.

A personal injury claim and a lawsuit might secure the funds you need to pay for this care. Not only can a claim and lawsuit hold the responsible party accountable, but it can also provide the care your loved one requires.

Spinal cord injury – A spinal cord injury disrupts the body’s ability to experience sensation and movement. Depending upon the type of injury, a patient may experience limited or no sensation or movement. A spinal cord injury generally results in some form of paralysis.

This type of devastating injury is generally permanent and requires major lifestyle changes. Many patients rely on a power chair and need expensive home modifications to accommodate their chair.

Medical equipment, medications, home modifications, and transportation are expenses that add up over time. Data from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation shows that the costs can easily escalate into the millions throughout a patient’s lifetime.

Medical care for any injury is expensive, and something you should not pay when another person is responsible for your harm. A personal injury lawyer can pursue compensation on your behalf or that of your loved one.

My Loved One Died Due to Negligence. How Do I Find a Wrongful Death Lawyer?

Personal injury lawyers also handle cases involving wrongful death. In some cases, your loved one may not die immediately from their injuries but rather sometime later. The statute of limitations for wrongful death cases generally start the date your loved one dies and not the date of injury.

Your loss’s traumatic experience can leave you with a broken heart and extensive bills, like funeral costs. The unexpected tragedy impacts your daily life, as their companionship and any financial contributions stop immediately.

The time that follows your loss is no time to deal with aggressive insurance adjusters. Worry, stress, and grief can affect your sleep and rest. Making an important financial decision while experiencing multiple emotions may cause you to accept less than you deserve.

A wrongful death claim and a lawsuit are easier if you hire a personal injury lawyer to represent you. Their knowledge of state laws and of how insurance companies operate is often invaluable for grieving families.

How Much Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Cost?

A personal injury lawyer costs you nothing upfront—most lawyers help accident victims by not collecting a fee unless and until they secure compensation. Simply put, if they do not win your case, you do not pay.

Not pursuing compensation can cost you everything. Rising medical costs can make your care or that of your loved one unmanageable and unattainable. This is not fair when another person, company, or organization’s negligent actions harmed you.

Protecting your best interests is imperative, and how a personal injury lawyer can help you. Do not let the fear of affordability prevent you from securing the legal assistance you need.

The contingency basis helps accident victims like you seek the justice they deserve.

What Evidence Can Help My Case?

Photographs and videos of your accident and your injuries can serve as valuable evidence.

Other types of evidence that may assist your lawyer include:

• Police reports
• Eyewitness contact information or statements
• Copies of any media coverage
• Your medical reports and expenses
• Pay information documenting your lost wages

The types of information helpful depend upon the type of accident you experienced. If your injuries prevent you from gathering evidence, ask someone to help you.

Even the smallest amount of information may prove valuable to your case. Sharing as much information as possible with your lawyer can help them build a case for compensation.

You can also help your case by not posting details regarding your accident on social media or with others. A shared social media post can escalate into allegations that the accident was your fault.

When in doubt regarding sharing information, refrain from doing so, or consult with your attorney first. Protecting your best interests requires protecting valuable information relating to your accident and resulting injuries or loss.

How Long Can I Wait to Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer?

To pursue a personal injury claim and a lawsuit, you must act quickly. If you suffered serious harm, seek immediate medical attention. Next, contact a personal injury lawyer for a free case evaluation.

The suddenness of your situation can leave you feeling overwhelmed. Putting off a call to an attorney can cost you precious time for filing your lawsuit. Once you make the call and an attorney accepts your case, you know your case is in good hands.

Referring others, like insurance adjusters, to your lawyer is a tremendous relief. It takes the burden and stress of their constant calls off your shoulders. What you experienced was, no doubt, traumatic and upsetting. Daily phone calls from high-pressured insurance agents should not add to your stress.

Quick action is imperative for pursuing the compensation necessary for the medical care of a loved one. The same is true for cases involving wrongful death. Do not let those responsible go without accountability. Contact a personal injury lawyer today.

Call a Personal Injury Lawyer for Help With Your Personal Injury Case

Look for a personal injury lawyer who will work hard to investigate what happened, why it happened, and who is responsible. Whether your case involves personal injury or wrongful death, they focus on securing the best possible outcome in your case.

You may need a personal injury lawyer who knows how to work with clients in some of the most difficult sets of circumstances imaginable. If you suffered severe injuries or death due to someone else’s negligent actions, time is short for filing your case due to the statute of limitations. Take action and contact a personal injury lawyer now for your free case evaluation.