Pursuing compensation after an injury can help relieve some of the financial pressure you’re likely feeling. Injuries can mean costly medical bills, expenses, and financial losses, leaving you feeling more than just physical pain.
Hiring a personal injury lawyer is one of the crucial steps on the road to receiving maximum compensation for your injuries. Having a qualified attorney on your side can mean the difference between settling for less than you deserve and obtaining the compensation you deserve.
Your actions can also impact the success of your case and help your lawyer achieve a favorable outcome. Taking cautious and calculated steps after your injuries can prove especially beneficial for you and the outcome of your case. Your personal injury attorney can guide you in the right direction, and together, you can work toward achieving a suitable settlement.
Understanding Personal Injury Cases
If you’ve never dealt with a personal injury case, you may be entirely unaware of what a personal injury case is and what it entails.
Suffering an injury at the hands of another leaves you with physical damage but significant financial struggle. That’s where personal injury law steps in.
Personal injury law protects injured victims and gives them a path to recourse. Under personal injury law, you can pursue compensation for your injuries and losses and also hold the responsible party accountable for the actions that resulted in your injuries.
Personal injury lawsuits can arise from many types of accidents, some of the most common including:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Dog bites
- Slip and falls
- Workplace accidents
- Defective products
- Medical malpractice
In all these accidents and situations, the victims suffer harm due to another individual or entity’s negligent or intentional actions.
Personal injury cases are often very involved and require much time and attention. Because of this, it is always best to have a qualified personal injury attorney on your side, as a lawyer can get you the most favorable result.
Compensation Available for Personal Injury Cases
Damages serve to compensate victims for their injuries and other losses. The type and total amount of compensation you’re eligible to receive depends on the details of your particular case. Generally, damages for personal injury cases are either economic or non-economic.
Economic damages relate directly to the accident. These damages are often easier to establish and calculate, as evidence and proof are usually readily available.
They include:
- Past and future medical bills
- Rehabilitation expenses
- Lost wages
- Lost earning capacity
- Property damage
Alternatively, non-economic damages also relate to the accident but are not as easy to calculate. Because non-economic damages represent intangible losses, they can be challenging to prove.
These damages can include:
- Mental anguish
- Emotional distress
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Permanent scarring or disfigurement
Additionally, there is a third category of damages, but these damages are not available in every case. You may recover punitive damages when a case involves intentional, malicious, or grossly negligent wrongdoing. These damages don’t compensate the victim but punish the defendant for their actions.
Determining the value of your claim is undoubtedly one of the most challenging parts of personal injury cases. Luckily, personal injury attorneys have the knowledge and resources to calculate your damages accurately and decide how much your case is worth.
Once your personal injury lawyer knows the value of your case, they can use this information to pursue the fairest possible compensation on your behalf.
Determining the Value of Your Personal Injury Case
To determine how much your case is worth, your personal injury lawyer needs to thoroughly examine your case’s details. Along with their investigation, they must also consider certain factors to decide the value of your personal injury claim.
Your attorney needs to answer several questions when calculating the right amount of damages for your case, including:
- What type of injuries did you suffer?
- How severe are your injuries?
- If you experienced an accident, what kind of accident was it?
- How long will it take for you to recover from your injuries?
- Will your injuries leave lasting effects, including disabilities or psychological trauma?
- Will you need medical treatment for your injuries in the future?
- Have you lost time at work?
- If you’ve missed time at work, what is the total amount of your lost wages?
- Can you return to work as normal once you physically recover?
- What kind of intangible losses did you suffer?
The answers to these and other relevant questions can help your personal injury lawyer decide how much you deserve for your injuries and other losses.
Building a Strong Case by Proving Liability
There are many parts to a personal injury case and various ways for your personal injury attorney to build a substantial claim for you.
Determining liability is critical for personal injury cases. Without this puzzle piece, seeking or obtaining any financial recovery for your injuries is nearly impossible.
A majority of personal injury cases arise out of a theory of negligence. When an individual is negligent, they fail to act with the same care that a prudent person should exercise in the same situation.
Alleging someone’s negligence caused your accident and injuries is one thing, but you must also prove your assertions. To do so, you must satisfy the four elements of negligence.
These elements include:
- The defendant owed you a duty of care
- The defendant breached their duty of care
- The defendant’s actions caused your accident
- You suffered injuries and other losses
For example, drivers must drive responsibly and keep pedestrians safe.
If you’re a pedestrian and a driver struck you with their vehicle, you may have a valid personal injury claim if you can prove:
- The driver owed you a duty of care to drive safely
- The driver breached this duty by engaging in distracted driving
- The driver’s actions were the direct and proximate cause of the accident
- You suffered injuries and other losses as a result of the accident
Your personal injury lawyer can use strong evidence to prove these elements, getting you one step closer to getting compensation.
Establishing liability is critical when pursuing maximum financial recovery after an injury. The better your evidence proves liability, the better your chances of getting the compensation you deserve.
Evidence used to establish liability depends on your case but can include:
- Police and accident reports
- Photos
- Surveillance footage
- Medical records
- Black box data
- Witness statements
- Expert testimony
You can count on your personal injury attorney to obtain and use the proper evidence to prove the other party’s liability for your injuries.
Tips for Getting Maximum Compensation After an Injury
Although you may think the success of your personal injury case rests entirely on the shoulders of your attorney, that is not the case. You can make a substantial impact on your case.
What you do after suffering an injury can have a positive or negative effect on your claim. Considering your actions beforehand can ensure everything you do after your injury gets you closer to maximum compensation.
Seek Medical Attention Right Away
Never wait to get medical attention after suffering an injury. Even if you believe you’re okay, or your injuries are not as severe as they seem, you don’t know the extent of your injuries until you let a doctor examine you.
Experiencing an accident and sustaining injuries can be traumatic experiences. When going through a stressful event, the brain releases epinephrine, also known as adrenaline, to protect the body. This can cause you to feel little to no pain from an injury.
You may not know the extent of your injuries for several hours or even days – or until you allow a physician to examine you and run necessary tests.
To pursue maximum compensation in a personal injury case, you need to know the full extent of your injuries. The sooner you find out, the better.
Complete Medical Treatment
Not only do you need answers regarding your injuries, but you also need to follow through with your medical treatment.
Once your doctor knows the injuries you’ve suffered, they can put you on a treatment plan. Treatment depends on the type and severity of your injuries but can include anything from medication to surgery, rehabilitation, or a mixture of treatments.
Finishing your treatment is critical to the success of your personal injury claim. Absolutely everything related to your injuries should be in your medical records. If you quit treatment without completion, the insurance company or opposing party will of this and question the validity of your claim. This can put your potential compensation in jeopardy.
It’s not worth quitting your medical treatment without completing it, even if you start feeling better and think you don’t need it any longer. If you have any doubts, discuss them with your physician, but never make the unilateral decision to stop treatment.
Gather Evidence and Documentation
Substantial evidence can have a very positive impact on your personal injury claim. As soon as you suffer your injury, try to begin collecting evidence right away. The more evidence you have, the more your personal injury lawyer has to use when building your case.
Evidence for personal injury claims can include:
- Photos and video
- Insurance information
- Witness contact information
- Medical records
- Doctors’ letters
- Medical bills
- Police reports
If you come across any piece of evidence or information you feel may be related to your accident or injuries, keep it and give it to your personal injury lawyer. You never know when something may come in handy, and it’s better to have too much than too little.
Don’t Settle Too Early
It is not uncommon for insurance companies to try to settle your case quickly, and they do this for a sneaky reason.
Immediately after suffering an injury, you’re unlikely to know the full extent of your damages. Therefore, you don’t know how much your case is worth and what maximum compensation will even look like for your case.
Insurance companies know you’re likely unaware of what your case is worth, and they feel you may want to settle quickly and get your settlement money as soon as possible. One of the biggest problems with settling too early is that you’ll likely accept an offer that’s way below what your case is worth. Once you settle, there’s no turning back—you cannot later go back and ask for more money.
Never accept a settlement offer before you discuss it with a personal injury attorney.
Don’t Wait to Begin Working on Your Case—Consult a Personal Injury Lawyer
Waiting too long can be detrimental to your case and potential compensation.
A statute of limitations sets a deadline to file a lawsuit. If you wait too long to work on your personal injury case, you may miss the chance to file your claim, losing your right to pursue financial recovery.
Therefore, you should consult a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible to avoid missing your chance to get maximum compensation for your injuries.
Discuss Your Case with a Personal Injury Attorney Today
Personal Injury Attorney, Jacob D. Lawrence
If you’ve suffered an injury at the hands of another, don’t wait to speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer. An attorney has the skills and resources to manage your case and work toward getting you maximum compensation for your injuries and other losses.
You can count on your personal injury lawyer to do everything in their power to achieve the most favorable outcome for your case. Without the right legal help, you risk leaving significant money on the table and being responsible for your uncovered losses. Do not take this chance – seek personal injury help today.