Personal injury cases arise when someone suffers injuries in an accident that another person or entity causes due to negligence. The amount of time that a personal injury settlement or lawsuit takes depends upon various factors, including the extent of the accident victim’s medical treatment, the seriousness of their injuries, and the insurance company and adjuster you are dealing with.

One of the best ways to expedite your personal injury claim or lawsuit is to retain an experienced attorney to represent you as quickly in the process as possible.

Once you retain a personal injury lawyer in your case, they can enter an appearance on your behalf and begin strongly advocating for your legal interests.

During the initial stages of your case, your lawyer can gather important documents for your personal injury claim and file your claim with the appropriate insurance company. Your attorney can also represent you during all settlement negotiations with insurance company adjusters.

Finally, if litigation becomes necessary in your case, your lawyer can file a lawsuit on your behalf in the court system and handle every aspect of your case, including representing you at discovery depositions, jury trials, or alternative dispute resolution (ADR) proceedings, such as mediation or binding arbitration.

Your attorney will also be by your side to answer all of your questions and achieve the best possible result in your case – in the most efficient amount of time possible. You should have patience, as it can take time for your attorney to obtain the settlement offer you need to cover all of your injury-related losses.

If you suffered injuries in a premises accident, don’t hesitate to contact an experienced Cape Girardeau premises liability lawyer for legal assistance and guidance.

 

Schedule A Free Consultation Today!

Proving the Legal Elements of a Personal Injury Lawsuit

To recover monetary damages as part of a personal injury claim or lawsuit, you will need to successfully prove several legal elements in your case. First, you must establish that the at-fault individual or entity owed you one or more legal duties of care.

For example, if you suffered your injuries in a premises accident, you will need to demonstrate that you lawfully entered the premises and that the property owner had a duty to reasonably maintain the premises for your own benefit – and for the use of other property visitors.

Next, you must establish that the at-fault party violated their legal duty of care in some manner. For example, in a slip and fall accident scenario, the property owner might have been aware of a hazardous condition on their property, such as a spill on the floor, but they failed to remedy or warn about the hazard within a reasonable amount of time.

Additionally, you must establish that as a direct result of the at-fault party’s negligent behavior, your accident and injuries occurred.

Proving these legal elements can be complicated, if not impossible, to do on your own. However, a knowledgeable personal injury attorney can streamline the process by retaining one or more experts who can help prove the elements of your case.

For example, an accident reconstructionist can visit the accident scene, review incident reports or police reports, and draw their own conclusions about how the incident occurred. The accident reconstructionist can also testify as a witness during a discovery deposition or civil jury trial in your case.

Additionally, a treating medical provider can serve as an expert in your case. Medical experts can be helpful when it comes to establishing the causal relationship between the subject accident and your injuries.

If you suffered a lifelong or permanent injury, a medical provider can also state that fact based on reasonable medical certainty.

Types of Injuries that Accident Victims Suffer

Victims of serious accidents may suffer various injuries, depending upon their specific accident circumstances, the body part or parts that are affected in the accident, whether they struck the ground or another hard surface in the accident, and the amount of force involved.

Some of the most common injuries that may occur due to someone else’s negligence include:

• Traumatic head and brain injuries
• Internal bleeding
• Broken bones
• Soft tissue contusions
• Internal organ damage
• Rib fractures
• Jaw, mouth, and teeth injuries
• Eye injuries
• Road rash
• Spinal cord damage
• Full and partial paralysis injuries
• Death

Although it may take some time to treat your injuries following a severe accident, you must complete your medical treatment regimen so that the insurance company does not question the severity of your injuries.

Follow through with all medical provider recommendations and do not stop your medical care until a healthcare provider releases you. Otherwise, the insurance company might claim that your injuries are not severe or that you did not prioritize medical treatment following your accident.

While you finish your medical treatment, your personal injury attorney can help expedite the process by efficiently obtaining documents and assembling them into a settlement demand package for the insurance company to review once you complete your medical care.

Factors That May Affect the Length of a Personal Injury Lawsuit

The time it ultimately takes to settle or litigate a personal injury claim depends upon various factors.

Some of the most common factors that may affect this amount of time include:

• The amount of time that it takes you to complete your medical treatment following the accident, given the nature and extent of your injuries
• The willingness of the at-fault party’s insurance company and their adjuster to settle your claim or lawsuit for a favorable amount of money
• Whether a lawsuit and an extended litigation process becomes necessary following your accident
• The venue (in other words, county) where your personal injury case is pending and the amount of time it takes the court to set your case for a civil jury trial
• Whether the at-fault party’s insurance company is willing to expedite the process by agreeing to one or more ADR proceedings, such as binding arbitration or mediation, rather than a jury trial

While your personal injury case is pending, your lawyer can take the necessary steps to expedite the process, such as by assembling your settlement demand package promptly, aggressively keeping on insurance company adjusters in an attempt to resolve your case favorably, and promptly filing a lawsuit in the court system if the insurance company will not increase their settlement offer appropriately.

Your attorney can also continue settlement negotiations while your case is in litigation, attempting to resolve your legal matter without taking it to a civil jury trial or binding arbitration proceeding. However, if those steps do become necessary, then your lawyer can fully prepare your case for the appropriate litigation proceeding and obtain a favorable and efficient result.

Recoverable Monetary Damages in Personal Injury Claims and Lawsuits

Victims of accidents that result from others’ negligence can recover various types of monetary damages. To be eligible for financial compensation in a personal injury claim or lawsuit, the accident victim must successfully establish every legal element of their underlying claim. If they can do so, often with the help of favorable expert testimony, then they can recover various monetary damages.

The total value of a personal injury claim or lawsuit is very case-specific. Therefore, not every accident victim will recover the same types and amounts of monetary damages.

The total damage award that you receive through settlement or litigation will depend on:

• The specific circumstances surrounding your accident
• The type of accident that occurred
• The nature and extent of your physical injuries
• The medical treatment that you underwent
• The total cost of your medical care
• Whether you suffered a permanent injury in your accident
• Whether you had to miss time from work after your accident

First, injured accident victims can recover the related medical costs associated with their injuries. Additionally, if they suffered a permanent injury in their accident, and a medical doctor determines they may need some type of future care, they can recover those anticipated medical costs as part of their settlement compensation or litigation result.

In addition, if the accident victim had to miss time from work following their accident, they can make a successful claim for lost income – or for loss of earning capacity – depending on their individual circumstances.

In addition to recovering their economic and out-of-pocket losses, injured accident victims can make a claim for all of their non-economic, intangible losses.

Those losses may compensate accident victims for their inconvenience, pain and suffering, mental distress, loss of spousal consortium, loss of the ability to use a body part (such as from paralysis), permanent disfigurement or disability, long-term care costs, and humiliation and embarrassment from visible injuries, such as scars.

Your attorney can determine a ballpark value for your case based on the specific circumstances. They can also streamline the process by helping you make important decisions in your case, including whether to accept a pending settlement offer that the insurance company places on the table or litigate your case in the court system.

Your attorney can further assist you with deciding whether to take your case to a civil jury trial or pursue ADR, such as mediation or binding arbitration, as a means of resolving your legal matter.

Speak with an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer in Your Area Today

Sometimes, people mistakenly think that their case is simple and they don’t need a lawyer. But insurance companies have a lot of practice finding ways not to give accident victims the compensation they deserve.

Having a qualified personal injury attorney on board in your case significantly increases your chances of obtaining a fair, reasonable, and efficient settlement or litigation result.

However, you need to hire an attorney immediately after your accident. Under the state statute of limitations, accident victims must file their lawsuit within five years of their accident date. Failing to do so may result in the court dismissing their case and barring them from recovering any monetary damages for their injuries.

A personal injury attorney in Cape Girardeau can help you through every stage of your personal injury claim or lawsuit. From gathering essential documents in your case to litigating your case to an efficient resolution in court, your lawyer will aggressively advocate for your legal rights and help you maximize your total monetary damage award.