Dealing with the myriad issues that arise after an accident or injury due to the fault of another person can be daunting. When someone else is the cause of your injury, a “personal injury” case arises. The practice of personal injury involves hiring an attorney to prove the other person’s negligence and your damages, including pain and suffering, lost wages, and medical expenses, and then negotiating a monetary settlement on your behalf. Personal injury is a broad field and encompasses many different types of injuries.
We have a strong track record and our attorneys/partner law firms have secured millions of dollars of settlement on behalf of our clients. You can also rest assured that you will never have to pay us out of your pocket; we handle all cases on a “contingency” basis, meaning we only collect legal fees if we prevail in your case.
Summarized below are the most common types of personal injury claims.
Motor Vehicle and Trucking Accidents
Car accidents happen without warning, and can result in significant injuries, lost income (from missed time at work or missed business opportunities), stress and other special harms (such as missing a friend’s wedding). Our experienced accident lawyers will take the time to understand your unique situation to provide the best representation.
Oftentimes, an attorney is not contacted until a few days after the accident. However, cases can be made or broken based on what you do immediately after the accident. If you ever get into an accident, please remember to follow these 10 simple steps:
- Check yourself and other involved parties for injuries and call 911 to report an accident.
- Relocate yourself and your vehicle to a safe place, if possible.
- Exchange driver information, including insurance card and driver’s license, and verify all documents provided by the other driver(s) are active (i.e. not expired).
- Write down everything you remember because your memory will fade over time.
- Take photos of any physical injuries. Oftentimes, you have large bruises and cuts resulting from the accident that heal over time. Providing the extent of those injuries several years later at trial will be difficult without appropriate picture documentation.
- Photograph all vehicle damage and the scene of accident, if you are able to do so.
- Scan the accident scene for any business cameras or potential witnesses (e.g., resident who may have been watching outside the window, or a store employee who was within witnessing view of the accident).
- Seek immediate medical attention if you experience any pain or discomfort. Oftentimes, injuries do not
- Keep a log of your treating doctors and medical progress.
- Call an attorney who specializes in personal injury law to ensure your rights are protected.
There have been countless cases where evidence is lost or unrecoverable. That is why you should contact an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible after an accident.
Slip-and-Falls on Premises
Every day, people are injured, often through no fault of their own, when they suffer an unexpected slip and fall. Slip-and-fall injuries can be caused by a variety of factors, but usually fall into two categories: permanent building features or temporary conditions. Temporary conditions that could cause an injury include things such as a wet floor, an icy entryway, merchandise left on the floor or a rug that gets bunched up. Permanent building features that can cause injuries include things such as under-maintained, incorrectly built or inadequately designed features, such as stairways that do not meet code, roofs that allow water to drip in a store’s entryway or interior, an uneven floor, or improper floor drainage.
Building and business owners, along with their employees, have a responsibility to keep their buildings safe for those who enter. They must do things such as sweep the floors to keep them clear of debris, shovel and salt entryways, keep parking lots reasonably clear of snow, and place signs that warn of dangerous conditions like wet floors. If a dangerous condition existed, a responsible party was aware of the dangerous condition, and failed to correct it or warn people about it, that responsible party may be liable to anyone who is injured by that condition.
Unfortunately, without the help of an experienced and knowledgeable attorney, people who experience a slip-and-fall injury often face an uphill battle when attempting to recover compensation for their injuries. On top of that, the condition that caused the injury may be fixed immediately after causing someone harm, which makes the claim even harder to pursue if not pursued in a timely manner. Contact an experienced personal injury lawyer today to discuss the facts of your case and to ensure any evidence against the p
Rideshare/Delivery Vehicle Accidents
If you are a rideshare/delivery driver, or if you are injured by one, the insurance rules can get complicated. Oftentimes, these companies (Uber, Lyft Door Dash) provide their own insurance that only applies at select points of the ride. For example, a driver who has his or her Uber app on but has not yet picked up any passenger does not have Uber’s coverage, and instead, must rely on their primary vehicle insurance (i.e. their personal policy). Similarly, with Door Dash, the policy is only in effect when a delivery driver is on an “active” delivery, meaning from the time they accept a delivery request until the time the order is marked as delivered, unassigned or the order is canceled. A common misconception is that these apps’ insurances apply automatically when the app is turned on. This is not true.
It is imperative that you hire an attorney that understands the insurance rules pertaining to Uber, Lyft, Door Dash, and other commercial delivery providers.
Dog Bites
Dog bites often occur because a dog is not properly restrained. Owners are responsible for their pets and the actions of their pets, and if they fail to take reasonable precautions against a dog bite or animal attack, they can be held legally liable for any injuries their pets cause.
Though animals are, most of the time, loving and friendly, a survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that nearly five million people are bitten by dogs every year. Another study by the CDC reports that, on average, 1,000 people seek emergency medical attention each day for dog bite injuries. These frightening statistics demonstrate the physical damage that dogs are capable of.
Dog-bite rules vary by state and govern liability for the pet owners. Contact an experience injury lawyer today if you or someone you know is injured by a pet.
Medical Malpractice
Doctors and other health professionals may have the best of intentions, but all treatment providers must abide by the standard of care that applies to the services being rendered. Patients who suffer harm at the hands of a healthcare professional have the right to file a medical malpractice claim against the doctor and/or the hospital that provided the care.
But proving this negligence can be very difficult, and the insurance companies for these professionals and hospitals will almost always deny any wrongdoing. These claims typically require medical experts and protracted litigation to reach an appropriate resolution. Contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney if you believe you have been the victim of medical malpractice.