It may happen in any number of ways.
You were minding your own business, not bothering anyone, and then, in a flash, you were being rushed to the hospital. Someone’s negligence brought you pain and misery. If you were wronged like this, don’t wait. Get in touch with competent personal injury lawyers and seek justice.
As an accident victim, going in all by yourself in this mess is never a good idea because there are so many loopholes in the legal system. The responsible parties or their insurance company (or companies), who are responsible for paying you, may try to get away with offering you less than what you deserve.
If at any point you feel like you’re not being treated justly, step back and let a competent negligence accident lawyer take charge..
You're probably confused and have lots of questions, and this article will help clear everything up.
To put it simply, there are some responsibilities that people must uphold in their roles as per the personal injury law. For instance, drivers have a duty of care and must make sure that they’re not over-speeding and driving safely otherwise, too.
If, in any case, you've been wronged in that the other party failed to act as a reasonable person should and you were hurt as a result, then that's "negligence" on their part. You can and should file a personal injury lawsuit and seek the reimbursement you deserve.
A personal injury claim for negligence is based on four fundamental principles:
First, you must establish that the duty was ignored, and second, this negligence is linked with what happened to you. The defendant may try to evade the blame. However, if your case has a solid foundation and you proceed at every step with proper legal counsel, your chances of winning will be higher than otherwise.
Negligence can be any form of irresponsibility that results in some harm (punitive damages) done to you, which could've been subverted otherwise. Technically any form of accident that results from the other party's negligence (i.e., a distracted driver) can make you eligible for a compensation claim.
Even if the incident was minor, it might have caused some losses (even if minimal), you should seek legal consultation at least.
Negligence accidents, encompass tragedies like:
Potentially all types of accidents that could've been avoided if the offender was responsible are included.
To get the reimbursement you deserve from the offending driver's insurance company, start from the moment that disaster struck. It will be agonizing, but keep in mind that you’re doing it to get justice. Record evidence of the accident, take pictures, you may even record a couple of videos, and so on.
Seek the driver and any bystanders' contact information – the latter will become valuable assets as witnesses. Report to the police ASAP, and keep a copy of that police report with you. You should also hang onto all medical bills, keep track of any lost wages or other monetary drains.
The court of law will decide whether the defendant is indeed at fault, but building a solid case is an important prerequisite.
Sometimes, the case may take longer than usual either because the details are a bit unclear or proving the other party at fault (even if they are) maybe not that simple. However, patience is a virtue – hang on, if you build a solid case, it will be worth the wait.
You don't want to be stuck paying out-of-pocket expenses. Assessing the type of accident injuries and severity of the economic and non-economic damages sustained is key to securing a strategic high ground for the legal team on your case:
Negligent accidents can push you into deep financial trouble. The medical expenses, loss of income, and extra expenditures (like hiring someone to take care of the stuff you handle otherwise) can be overwhelming.
These are all the sufferings that cannot be accounted for as easily as the former. You may have suffered physically, especially bone damage (injuries and trauma requiring physical therapy), emotionally, or mentally - even encountered a loss of enjoyment of life.
The accident may also leave you with a permanent disfiguration – a noticeable mark, paralysis, or a disability (sometimes requiring permanent in-home care). Financial compensation for damages under this category is not limited by the $500,000 limit mentioned earlier.
In some situations, the jury may even award you punitive damages in an extremely egregious negligence case.
Overall, victims of negligence traffic accidents receive around $15,000 in compensation as most cases involve only minor injuries. However, in severe cases, the auto accident settlement may be much higher than this. A good or fair compensation offer must cover all possible short and long-term economic and non-economic losses that you sustained.
Your accident attorney will calculate the compensation sum by adding up all of your expenses and then multiplying it by a number between one and five. This depends on the severity of your situation and the possible long-term effects that it may leave behind.
Getting a reliable lawyer to help out with your case is vital for playing your cards right and getting an accurate estimate of your liabilities.
People only have two years to file a claim for injuries against the offending driver, and it is important to report to the police immediately.
This statute of limitations (shortened as SOL) may be extended in some cases. This extension in the statute of limitations is applicable in the case of automobile accidents, claims on faulty products or inadequate healthcare, or wrongful death claims.
In either case, you must not delay the matter unnecessarily. Instead, get in touch with a reliable accident attorney and start developing your case as soon as possible.
While handling a case on your own is a possibility, the chances of getting fair compensation for punitive damages in this case (if any) are slim. Insurance companies, insurance adjusters, and liable parties will often try to avoid trial and may intimidate you into a lower amount for your compensatory damages claim.
Firouzbakht Law Firm is more than ready to help you. We are a group of highly qualified personal injury attorneys with vast professional experience. We will guide and support every client through this whole process, maximizing their chances of winning against a negligent driver or any other offender.
It may be very hard, considering the emotional toll of such tragedies, especially if they involve severe injuries or the death of a loved one, but you must come through this mess and live on.
Don’t worry about paying your personal injury lawyers (the same applies to a bicycle accident lawyer or truck accident lawyer) because top-rated injury law firms like ours work on a contingency basis, meaning that we’ll charge a client only when they've won.
Contact our legal team at Firouzbakht Law Firm for a free consultation session where we'll address all of your questions.