A personal injury lawyer is a legal representative dedicated to help victims of accidents to get the compensation they deserve. The world is a risky place, and sometimes one careless person can turn your life upside down with a single thoughtless action. Whether they are held criminally accountable or not, a personal injury lawyer can help you to be compensated for the many costs of a preventable accident.
Personal Injury Claims
If you are the victim of an accident, you have a lot of difficulties to face during and after your recovery. A personal injury attorney can help you assess how you can recover compensation for the many costs that the at fault party caused.
Are you aware of the vital evidence that expert personal injury lawyers use to secure the maximum compensation? One of the priceless resources that contain the essential proof to support a personal injury claim are medical records. When carefully examined, medical records can reflect the injuries that the claimant in the case under consideration suffered. Medical record review is the process with which the claimants’ intricate medical charts are analyzed. A seasoned medical record review company that performs accurate analysis of the records is contracted to review medical records in personal injury claims. Medical chart review experts comb through the medical records, cherry picking the vital evidence to strengthen the case.
Accidents Have Consequences
However unintentional, a negligent action can cause seemingly endless pain and complication to your life. Even if there is no wrongful death involved, there are many personal injury claims that by rights deserve fair compensation.
Medical Bills
An easy example that springs to many people’s minds is the payment of medical bills. Even if you have health insurance, sometimes the victim’s insurance company refuses to pay, instead suing and forcing the person or company that caused the accident to pay for the client’s injury.
If, on the other hand, you do not have medical insurance, a personal injury lawyer may be your only option to be able to pay for the ensuing medical expenses. These bills can easily run into the tens of thousands of dollars, and much higher in the case of catastrophic injuries.
- A personal injury lawyer who chooses to take your case will meet with medical professionals regarding your personal injuries, getting all the information needed to obtain a favorable jury verdict.
- The personal injury attorney will also go through medical records, building a solid case that proves how many of the procedures and prescriptions were direct results of the accident.
Personal injury lawyers have unflattering nicknames because of their involvement in the immediate aftermath of accidents and injuries, but they serve a vital function in ensuring that victims don’t bear the entirety of the consequences of someone else’s negligence.
Lost Wages
Depending on the extent of your injuries after an accident, you may lose a week of work, or a month, or even longer. A technicality could even allow your employer to replace you, meaning that even once you recover you may need to find a job.
A personal injury lawyer will take all of this into account as they build the case for your compensation. Whether you lose a week’s pay, or half a year’s, or are forced to take a job with less compensation or benefits as a result of the accident, the lawyer will do their best to soften the blow to your finances.
Mental Health
Personal injuries go hand in hand with trauma and emotional distress. Many people who undergo frightening and painful accidents find that they are never the same afterward.
The costs of this trauma are difficult to quantify, but good personal injury lawyers are always willing to try.
- The cost of any therapy that is needed as a result of the accident should certainly be compensated.
- Some accident victims have difficulty returning to work, driving a car, or engaging in other daily activities. Your personal injury lawyer will help you come up with a fair settlement that will account for the monetary value of altered activities and abilities.
- Even if there is no monetary value that can be ascribed to the mental and emotional aftermath of an accident, your personal injury lawyer may feel it is important to recover compensation for the suffering experienced during the accident and during recovery. Your ability to overcome the challenges and continue your daily functions does not make this suffering any less real.
Property Damage
Property is of secondary importance to your health and happiness, but it can still have a devastating impact on your life if your vehicle, equipment or home is damaged during the accident. Most personal injury lawyers will seek to have repairs paid for, or the value of ruined property compensated.
How Personal Injury Lawyers Ensure Full Compensation
If you don’t know where to start in seeking remuneration for your injuries and losses, you do not have to attempt this alone. A good personal injury lawyer will do everything in their power to make sure you recover as much compensation as possible, with the least possible complication and difficulty for you.
Finding a Personal Injury Attorney
Personal injury attorneys tend to advertise aggressively because they want their name to stand out in your mind even when you are stressed, rattled, and afraid after an accident. However, just because you have heard someone’s name on the radio does not mean they are the best attorney for your personal injury claim.
Look through online reviews and local listings to find an experienced personal injury attorney who has had successful cases in your area.
Beginning a Professional Relationship
Most personal injury cases begin with a free consultation.
- Often personal injury lawyers will want you to bring relevant paperwork to your initial consultation.
- This may include medical bills and records.
- The attorney will want to hear the whole account of the accident in detail in order to get an accurate idea of who was the at fault party.
At the end of your initial consultation the personal injury lawyer will have the information they need in order to decide whether the case is strong enough to actually file proceedings under personal injury law.
Filing Suit
If the personal injury lawyer takes your case, the next step of proceedings will be to file a suit. In the mean time the attorney may begin the process of building your personal injury case by gathering evidence and contacting expert witnesses preparatory to having to appear in court.
- At this juncture the attorney will gather evidence like police reports, medical records, and other evidence in order to have a strong case.
Settlement Negotiations
Often, if the other party is clearly at fault, they will be advised by their attorney to try to settle out of court. This is a good outcome for them, without having to go through the stress and hassle of a court case, and if your lawyer is good it can be a good outcome for you as your lawyer will advocate for you to be fully compensated.
A lawsuit can be a long, difficult process and a fair settlement saves everyone from possibly months of hard work. Many personal injury lawyers make settling out of court their goal, and are very good at demonstrating to the at-fault party’s lawyer the strength of the client’s case.
Going to Court
If no settlement is offered the suit will go to court, where the personal injury lawyer will present all the evidence they have gathered to the jury. You will probably be asked to testify as the case proceeds, as will medical experts to help the jury get a full picture of the extent of your injury and suffering.
Winning Your Case
Once all evidence has been presented, a jury will decide whether your case is strong enough to merit compensation, and recommend how much money the defendant should pay you.
- Your lawyer’s compensation will be a percentage of the money that is awarded to you.
- The at fault party, or their insurance company, will have to pay you the amount that the jury awards within a certain time frame. Without insurance the party may have to have their wages garnished, slowly paying your compensation over time.
Personal Injury Lawyer Cost
Personal injury laywers work based on a contingency fee basis, meaning that their compensation depends on you winning your personal injury lawsuit. This keeps them motivated to do the hard work of presenting an excellent case.
Most personal injury law firms charge 33% of an awarded settlement, or 40% if the case goes to trial.
- Your lawyer will work hard for this fee, paying for expert witnesses and other expenses to make the case as strong as possible.
- If you lose your case your lawyer will not be compensated for their time and expenses, so taking on a case is risky for them. While the attorney’s compensation may seem high it is needed in order for them to be able to continue taking cases with no guarantee of success.
The Goal of Personal Injury Law
Personal injury law is a necessary part of the legal system, allowing victims and their families to seek justice when no criminal action can be taken. The litigation process is long and involved to make sure that fair outcomes are reached.
Truck accidents, construction accidents and defective product suits are often defended by the at fault party’s insurance company attorneys. These attorneys are excellent at making sure their clients do not have to pay for injuries, so in order to be compensated you will certainly need legal help. For a case against an individual and requiring smaller award amounts you may be able to take a case to small claims court and represent yourself, but the compensation from such cases is very limited.
It costs nothing to have an initial consultation with a personal injury attorney, and since most personal injury attorneys charge on a contingency basis the suit will cost your nothing unless you win.
If you have been injured in an accident, you owe it to yourself to call a personal injury lawyer today.