Did you know that 26% of adults in the U.S. have trouble paying medical bills? About 66% of those bills are due to a short-term issue, like treatment for an injury.
If you suffered an injury that wasn’t your fault, you may be able to recover your costs and lost income in a personal injury claim.
That means you’re going to invest a lot of time and energy pursuing a claim. Is it worth it?
Read on to find out if filing a personal injury lawsuit makes sense for you.
Do You Have a Personal Injury Claim?
There are countless types of personal injury cases. You may have a claim if you were injured in an accident or you slipped and fell in a public space. If you lost a loved one due, you may have a wrongful death case.
The first step in the process is to see if you have a personal injury case.
Filing a claim isn’t as simple as saying that you want to sue someone. There are certain thresholds that your case has to meet in order to be valid.
Statute of Limitations
Personal injury cases are decided by the laws of the state where the injury occurred. Every state has a statute of limitations, which is a deadline for you to file a case after an accident. That’s to prevent frivolous lawsuits for something that happened 20 years ago.
The average statute of limitations is two years from the date of the incident. You should consult a personal injury attorney to learn about the laws in your state. You can also view here the causes as well as settlements of cases.
Keep in mind that if you’re close to the end of the statute of limitations, you need to give an attorney time to gather evidence and file the case in court.
Negligence
The barometer that personal injury attorneys and judges use to determine the validity of your case is negligence. The basic question behind this concept is whether or not the person responsible could have prevented the injury.
There are four key elements of negligence. The first element is duty. Does the person responsible for the accident have a duty to care for your wellbeing?
A driver has a duty to drive a car in a way so they don’t injure anyone else. A doctor has a duty to care for you.
The second element is the breach of duty. For example, if a driver had a duty to exercise care and they were texting while driving, that duty was breached.
The next element is causation. You need to prove if the actions or lack of attentiveness caused the accident or injury.
For the last element of negligence, you need to show that there were financial damages suffered from the injury or accident. The damages can be medical bills, loss of income, funeral expenses, or emotional harm.
Hire a Personal Injury Attorney
Do you think that you have a personal injury claim that shows negligence and falls within the statute of limitations?
There are resources for a personal injury claim to help you win your case. Your best bet is to hire an experienced personal injury attorney.
What should you look for in a personal injury attorney? You should hire someone that comes recommended or has a lot of positive reviews online.
They should have experience in your particular case. Some attorneys specialize in workers compensation claims, while others specialize in boating and auto accidents. Reach out to Dugan and Associates for a consultation and some guidance.
Schedule a Free Consultation
Most personal injury lawyers offer a free consultation. That lets you present your case to different attorneys and see if there’s a good fit.
Attorneys also use the time to analyze the case and decide if it’s worth taking or not.
Not all attorneys will take your case. Don’t get discouraged. That’s why you want to schedule consultations with a few attorneys.
Remember that you’re hiring an attorney, they’re not hiring you. You should go to the consultation prepared with documentation and questions.
You should start by asking the attorney what experience they have with personal injury cases. You can follow that up by asking about recent successes.
The top attorneys will have a few cases where they won settlements for their clients. They may say how much they won for clients, but don’t be dazzled by that.
Your case is different, and you should expect different results. You can ask the attorney about the validity of your case and how much you can expect to see in a settlement.
Be sure to ask about the claim process to find out how long it can take until you see a settlement. You should also ask a personal attorney about their fees.
Paying a Personal Injury Attorney
Is the cost to hire a personal injury lawyer a deciding factor in pursuing a claim? You should rest easy and pursue your case.
That’s because personal injury lawyers get paid on a contingency basis. That means they don’t get paid unless they win a settlement for you. They’ll take a percentage of your settlement for their work.
Get Help For Your Personal Injury Claim
Do you have a personal injury claim? There are many types of personal injury cases, from auto accidents to medical malpractice to workers compensation.
There are a number of factors that determine if you have a valid personal injury case or not. You have to file a personal injury claim within the statute of limitations. The key to your case is the ability to prove negligence.
If those things are there, then you need to hire a personal injury attorney to help you with your claim.
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