You Got In An Accident - Should You Hire A Personal Injury Attorney?
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by: Anthony Flores
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Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 Time: 11:19 AM
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What is the first thing you do if you're hurt in a car accident? Who do you call? You're spouse, or a lawyer? Lots of attorneys advertise that they can get you big dollars in settlements, but what kind of service will you get? Since most of us don't live next door to a personal injury attorney, who do you call? How do you know 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.
There is another basis for personal injury claims. Strict Liability is an area of tort law that is gaining in importance. Strict liability means that if a manufacturer makes a product that is defective, or if it is designed poorly, they can be liable if you are injured by that product. This is different than negligence, but you must prove that the design or manufacturing process of that product make it dangerous, especially when it is used as it was intended to be used.
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.
The second element you need to prove is damages. What type of injury did you suffer, and from what kind of accident? How have you suffered? Did you have a lot of medical bills, did you lose out on money from lost time at work? Can you still work? What is the extent of your damages? All of these things factor into whether you have suffered any damages. You need to prove you suffered damages in court, and just because you are injured, it doesn't mean you are entitled to a guaranteed amount of money. A good attorney will prepare your case for court, even though most of these cases have monetary settlements before actually going to trial.
What is the statue of limitations for that type of case? Every state is different & the time limits you have to file a case are different for the kind of cases you are filing. You have a specific amount of time to file a personal injury case, so you need to know what that is. For example, you might have only one year to file an auto accident case. Once that time is has passed, your case can be thrown out of court.
About the Author
Personal Injury attorney Las Vegas is a highly searched phrase, and the author, Anthony Flores, helps firms be found when searching for it. So when people are searching for a Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer, your firm shows up.
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