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Tag: Personal Injury Law

Personal Injury Law: An Overview

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People often come into personal injury cases with grave misconceptions that can lead to personal injury claims being favored on less likely terms or lost entirely. The process of pursuing a personal injury claim is more than just presenting a statement about the injury, how it made you feel and how you expect to recover in damages.

 

Personal injury law applies to any injury that an entity causes another person with the injury due to intent, negligence, or reckless behavior. An action covered by strict liability is also covered by personal injury law. You may pursue claims to recover damages sustained (from medical bills, lost wages to emotional impairment) when these factors are presented: 

 
  • Auto accidents
  • Assault
  • Battery
  • Construction site accidents
  • False Accusations
  • Slip, trip, and fall (unsafe conditions, liquids, snow, and ice)
  • Medical malpractice
  • Product Liability
  • Police Misconduct
  • Infliction of Emotional Distress
  • Physical, Mental or Reputational Injury
  • Wrongfully caused injury
  • Negligence 
  • Special Situations (Recklessness)
  • Intentional Acts
  • Defective Products
  • Compensable Damage
  
 
Before you file a personal injury lawsuit, you must consider whether you have a high chance of winning as not each injury constitutes a personal injury case, and not all lawsuits result in damages. It is because arriving into a settlement may take years in which you may lose more than you can gain.
   

Coverage of personal injury law

 
Personal injury law goes beyond bodily injuries. It can be classified into four groups including physical, financial, intentional, and injury to reputation. More so, personal injury can be a combination of these categories.  

 

Physical injury

 
This is the most commonly associated form of personal injury covering all types of illness, disability, or bodily damage that is caused or worsened by another party’s negligence. Most personal injury cases cover some type of minor to fatal injuries. Bodily injury refers to certain kinds of harm done to the body after an incident including bruises, cuts, burns, nerve damage, and fractured bones.
   

Financial Injury

 
At some point, physical injury can result in the financial loss including medical bills and income loss due to inability to work. Nevertheless, financial injury can take place without physical injury. A financial injury can happen a person’s economic stability or property is threatened or devalued due to another person’s negligence.   

 

Intentional acts

 
You can pursue personal injury claims if someone intentionally harmed you. Cases of assault and battery go into this category.  
  

Damage to reputation

 
When a person’s reputation is compromised, it can have a substantial financial and emotional impact. Defamation and slander fall under this category. Statute of limitations   Plaintiffs have a limited time in filing a lawsuit. This time is called the statute of limitations. Finding the right personal injury lawyer as soon as possible allows you to gain the upper hand. Statutes of limitations are established by law and typically vary according to the type of injury. Many states have certain time limits for different types of personal injury cases. 
 
The period determined by a statute of limitations starts when the complainant discovered the injury or sustained the jury. Alternatively, the statute of limitations starts when the injured have become aware of the injury under the “discovery of harm” rule. You must take this opportunity to find a trusted law firm or legal representation to help pursue a case. As you start pursuing the lawsuit you are no longer limited to a timeframe to present your case.  

 

Personal Injury Damage Compensation

 
The compensation and type of damages awarded to the injured depend on the circumstances of the accident, the injuries, and how the case is settled. The victim may pursue economic compensation and punitive damages although they are obliged to attempt to manage losses brought by the injury. Among these punitive damages include monetary losses (medical expenses, lost wages, household services), physical and mental pain (loss of enjoyment of life, permanent disability, pain and suffering, disfigurement, and loss of the benefits of a relationship due to injury). 
  

Gaining a settlement

 
Personal injury cases are settled in an informal settlement and a formal lawsuit. An informal settlement is a negotiation between the complainant and the defendant. The compensation will be awarded when the verdict or negotiation is reached. More severe injuries are compensated with a structured settlement while minor to moderate cases are settled with a lump sum.   
 
A settlement happens if it is clear to all parties involved that the defendant violated a legal duty and the defendant/insurance company may wish to settle outside of court. In return for settlement, the person injured will have a binding promise not to file a lawsuit over the injury. If the plaintiff doesn’t agree to an outside-of-the-court settlement, they may go to court and file a lawsuit. Negotiations can also happen once the lawsuit is filed and settlement can still take place at any time before the civil case is being handed over to the jury.

Finding a personal injury lawyer

 
The first step you need to do if you’re considering pursuing a case after an injury, accident or incident, is to find a personal injury lawyer. Focus on lawyers with experience representing plaintiffs (claimants) in personal injury cases. Steer clear from insurance company lawyers as may be too used to taking outside the court settlement. They may not fight hard to go after your claim while a seasoned plaintiff’s lawyer can fight tooth and nail to get the best compensation for your injury. 
 
Once you found a law firm, ask which lawyer will handle your case. Discuss your case with your prospective lawyer and ask which certain parts of the case the primary lawyer will personally handle and which parts will be handled by a paralegal.    
 
After you’ve walked through your situation to your lawyer, they may give you an overview of the possible compensation. They will also discuss the difficulty of making the insurance company pay that amount.    It is the time when you discuss the various ways you want your case to be approached and whether your lawyer will go for the approach you wish. More so, bear in mind that you can change tactics and approach in the middle of the case especially when you want to wrap things up or the cost of taking your case through the lawsuit process eats up your finances.