Personal injury is a case in which you have been affected as a result of somebody else’s negligence. In personal injury cases, the victim is paid the money by the person who has caused physical or emotional damage. However, in a personal injury case, the compensation is agreed by both parties according to law. The amount is negotiable and can also be rejected by the victim if they feel it is not worth the damage which has been done.
A personal injury lawyer is a person who is responsible for navigating the client’s case in the courts of law to ensure maximum compensation and fair justice. Personal injury lawyers dive full throttle in the case to pick up all important pieces which are to be presented in the court as evidence to get the maximum claim. There are thousands of lawyers who assist people in personal injury cases to get the maximum settlement.
How to hire a personal injury attorney?
Even if you get sick after eating at a restaurant, you can hire a personal injury attorney to hold the restaurant accountable. If you want to navigate a personal injury case for the first time, you must contact somebody who has hands-on experience of doing the job. The market is flooded with a lot of people who offer their services like lawyers. The first thing you need to be sure about is a person’s experience of work, and secondly, you need to check if he/she has a valid license to practice law.
If you are skeptical about a person’s professional attitude you can reject him/her and move on to get professional services from a company. In some cases, people also conduct a background check on the attorney to confirm the veracity of his/her services. If you don’t hire the right attorney for the job, you could lose the settlement amount.
Following is a list of a few things you need to know about personal injury cases:
- Personal injury is not just confined to car accidents
Most people assume personal injury to be only related to car accidents. Keep in mind, personal injury cases house a vast array of damages that are caused to the victim. According to law, a personal injury case is one in which the victim has suffered from harm due to the negligence of the other individual or party. So if you use a defective consumer product, you could hire a personal injury attorney to scrutinize the firm. Other instances include food poisoning after eating from a hotel, dog bites, unsafe premises, and wrongful deaths. In California for example, victims of utility-sparked wildfires normally have two years to file claims for personal injury and three years for property loss.
- Working with a veteran professional is a must
People who suffer from medical injuries in personal injury cases have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills. Sometimes they often lose their jobs and have to quit working for quite some time. However, a personal injury claim which is led by a veteran professional will not only be hefty in its figures but will also make sure the victim is taken care of till he/she doesn’t recover completely. Working with a professional lawyer means you won’t have to take stress on account of the claim you demand.
- Compensation can be extensive
You should know, compensation in personal injury cases is inclusive of loss of earnings, pain and suffering, past and future medical costs, property damage, and emotional costs. Intriguingly the courts of law added emotional loss in this regard to make sure the victim doesn’t feel as if he/she hasn’t been served justice. Secondly, in the case of wrongful deaths, the compensation may be for the damages along with burial expenses, loss of companionship, loss of financial support and other medical expenses before a person’s death.
- Some cases take a lot of time
Every case is different from the other. In case of personal injuries, most victims are pressured into taking the first settlement which is offered since many are not financially stable to pay the medical expenses. Just before you take up an offer with both hands, it is crucial to know you can always demand more or reject the offer if you believe the money is not worth the damage. In this situation, nobody but an experienced attorney can help you in getting a good settlement. Most cases are settled early but ones where the party declines the settlement amount, take some time to conclude.
- Evidence and time is crucial
There is a certain time limit within which you can file your case of personal injury. Most victims often file the case very late which is why they get rejected by the court. Secondly, the evidence is very important. As soon as you reclaim consciousness after the accident, you should take pictures of your wounds and ask the doctor to make a complete report of whatever the medical situation is. You can also ask the doctor to identify any possible future problems which might result because of the wound. Your attorney will help you in collecting evidence and in preparing everything to demand the maximum claim.
- Insurance company settlement is not always fair
Whenever a personal injury case is registered, insurance companies try their level best to make sure they don’t have to pay a hefty amount against the claim. Keep in mind insurance companies are profit-making businesses. Therefore, they won’t willingly give you a hefty amount as a claim. They will try level best to make sure you don’t get paid whopping figures. However, a well-experienced attorney will take care of your case and make sure justice is served.
- Lawyers experience is crucial
If you hire an attorney who is naive and without hands-on with the job, you might ruin your case. There are many lawyers who offer the same services in the market, but you cannot expect all of them to be the same. So when hiring a lawyer, you should be well versed with the person’s experience of work. If the prospective lawyer has a visible profile on social media, you can check his/her client testimonials to know about the pros and cons of working with this person.
- Every case is different
The complexity and timing of every case are different. Personal injury encapsulates an entire industry of damages that are caused to people. So if you got hit by a car and got your ribs broken the other person might have passed away as a result of the accident. Don’t ever demand a claim after analyzing somebody else’s case. Though the common ground of personal injury is to provide money against any damage, but the ethos behind every case is different.
- Injury lawyers can be very expensive
If you want to make sure you get the best amount as compensation, you will have to hire the best in town. Top-notch injury lawyers have their customized payment plan which differs for every case. Most clients can’t afford a lawyer who charges them by the hour which is why they look for full-time lawyers. If you can afford it, you must hire somebody who has good client reviews and can ensure you about fighting for your case in the best possible way.
- You can lose as well
Filing a personal injury case doesn’t necessarily mean you will win the case. The probability of winning and losing is the same. Even if your case is strong enough, but you fail to produce concrete evidence, your claim could be rejected by the court. Every year, the court is flooded with thousands of cases out of which many cases are nothing but a fake. Therefore once the court is skeptical about your case, your claim might get eradicated the very same moment. Furthermore, if you fail to attend a legal hearing, the judge might acknowledge you as hostile and cancel your file.
When to file a personal injury case?
A personal injury case must be filed as soon as a victim reclaims consciousness and is in a position to recall the events. If you have been affected because of the other party, you must file the case as soon as possible. However, the best way is to recruit an attorney and follow his/her guidance. Secondly, there is a certain limit within which you can file a personal injury case. Once you regain consciousness, you must jot down all the important facts and figures and preserve them as evidence. For instance, if you are a American citizen you can google Los Angeles personal injury lawyer to get a list of all the professionals working in the state.
You will be shocked to learn that more than 5.5 million car accidents happen every year. Out of these figures, almost 2 million are fatal injuries and victims need to be hospitalized for treatment. Over 0.1 million people pass away after having succumbed to the injuries. Thousands of cases languish in the courts where the demand is way higher than the settlement being offered by the other party.
