A personal injury lawyer is someone who provides legal representation to those who claim to have been injured, physically or psychologically, as a result of the negligence or wrongdoing of another person, company, government agency, or other entity.
Personal injury lawyers tend to be very knowledgeable and have more experience with regard to this area of law, known as tort law. Tort law includes civil wrongs and economic damages to a person’s property, reputation, or rights. Usually handled by these lawyers are cases such as work injuries, automobile and other accidents, defective products, medical malpractice, and more.
Personal Injury Lawyers like to try to handle these cases outside of trial, and they like to settle more often than not. There are many responsibilities of these lawyers to their clients. They must follow a code of conduct set forth by the State Bar Associations to be licensed. These lawyers will try to determine if you or the defendant was held liable for the accident, or damages. When liability is proven, they will ensure that the system of justice will award compensation for your loss.
Automobile Accidents are a typical personal injury claim. If you are hurt by a driver who failed to exercise reasonable care, you are able to file a negligence claim in a “fault” state. Drivers have a duty to use reasonable care to avoid injuring anyone they meet on the road. Negligence reaches far beyond claims stemming from car accidents. It is the basis for liability in most personal injury lawsuits, including medical malpractice. A Car accident lawyer could help you with this suit.
There are other bases for personal injury besides negligence. Strict Liability and Intentional wrongs are others. Strict Liability holds designers and manufacturers liable for injuries resulted from a defective product. With these cases, the injured person doesn’t have to establish negligence of the manufacturer. Instead, you would have to prove that the product was designed in a manner that made it dangerous when used as intended. An intentional wrong is also a basis for a personal injury claim, though rare. If someone hits you, even as just a joke, you may be able to win a suit for battery. If a store wrongly detains you for shoplifting, you can win a suit for false imprisonment. While the defendant can be held criminally liable for their actions, these cases are a civil proceeding in court brought by an individual and remains totally separate from any charges brought by the government.
There is the ability to settle a case. Like I said prior, most car accident lawyers like to settle outside of trial. To settle your case means that you agree to accept money in return that you drop your case against the person who injured you. You sign a release absolving the other side of any further liability. Your lawyer is there to help you determine if this is a realistic settlement offer or if going through with a trial is the best option.
There is a statute of limitation set forth by each individual state. This governs the period of time which you must file a personal injury lawsuit. In some states, you may have as little as one year to file a lawsuit from an automobile accident.
If you miss this deadline for filing a case, yours is thrown out of court.
Medical Malpractice is negligence committed by a doctor, nurse or any other health care provider. To successfully determine if your case is a true medical malpractice case, be sure to tell your lawyer every detail from beginning to end of your visits with the accused medical provider. Damages you may be entitled to could be compensatory or punitive. A compensatory damage can be economic and non-economic. These include financial losses such as lost wages, medical expenses and sometimes life care expenses. The non-economic damages are assessed for the injury itself, physical or psychological harm, such as loss of vision, loss of limb or organ, or even worse. Punitive damages are only awarded in the event of reckless conduct.
Again, there are a statute of limitations set forth by the state, in a common law. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, medical negligence is the third leading cause of death in the US, right behind heart disease and cancer. In 2012 alone, over $3 Billion was spent in medical malpractice payouts. A quick, honest apology may be the ending for the malpractice suit. Insurance companies want to settle outside of court, as they don’t want their name blasted all over the television.
If you feel that you have been a victim of any of these listed above, contact a personal injury lawyer today. There are many all over the United States. Please contact one today. They will help to assess your needs and injuries and help you file the suit. This can be very difficult, and almost impossible to get the compensation you deserve when trying to do this by yourself, so make sure you hire a personal injury or car accident lawyer today.
