You're hurt in an accident, who should you call? Can you really get big money from your injuries, or is that just a dream? We all know that it isn't as simple as that, but we all need to know what our rights are, or what the law is.
How do you figure out who to call to see if you have a case or not? First of all, to win a personal injury case against someone, you have to be able to prove both 1) that the other person was liable for their actions & 2) you have suffered damages from their actions & your injuries.
You need to get some advice from a professional attorney if you feel that this is the case.
But how do you find one? There are two great places to start.
First go to Google and do some searches for Personal Injury Attorneys in your city.
This will give you dozens of qualified lawyers to help you with your case.
Second, you can go to lawyers.
com.
This is a great site that allows you to find attorneys in your specific city, and looking for the area you want.
Plus you can do your research on them right away and check on their credentials from their website.
See if they are advertising that they have won any money for their clients in the past.
This should give you a great starting point to go from.
Car accidents are very common, and also the most common occurrence of a personal injury lawsuit.
To win your case, you need to establish negligence on the other party.
If you are in a fault state, proving the negligence comes by establishing that reasonable care was not displayed by the other driver.
When you get in a car to drive, every driver has a responsibility to exercise reasonable care.
If the other driver injures you as a result of driving recklessly or breaches their responsibility to exercise reasonable care, then you can sue them under the law.
Some states have passed no-fault laws, so make sure that you consult with an attorney to see what the personal injury laws are in your state.
Negligence isn't the only basis for personal injury claims.
Strict Liability is important & a growing area of tort law.
It means that if a product is defective, the designer or manufacturer is strictly liable for any injuries caused by that product.
You don't have to prove negligence here, but you do need to prove the products design or manufacturing process made the product dangerous when used the way it is supposed to.
Intentional wrongs are another basis for personal injury claims.
But the filings of those cases are rarer.
Examples of this are if someone hits you in the face, you might be able to win a lawsuit for battery.
Or if you are suspected of shoplifting, and the store wrongfully detains you, you might be able to win a wrongful imprisonment lawsuit.
Remember, this is civil damages not criminal charges.
You have to be able to prove that you suffered damages also.
Did you lose any time at work? Did you suffer any physical injuries from the accident? Are the nature of your damages large, or did you suffer to a great extent? The law states that you can file suit for your pain and suffering.
But just getting hurt does not automatically qualify you to collect a lot of money.
You still need to prove this to a judge or jury in court, and the court will decide what your compensation is for your losses.
Likely, it wont get to court & your attorneys will come to a settlement.
One thing to ask your attorney is what is the statute of limitations for this type of case? Your attorney will be able to let you know how long you have before it is too late to file a case in court.
It can be as little as one year for an auto accident.
Each state has different laws so be certain to find out so your case doesn't get thrown out of court.