Articles Posted in Personal Injury

A lawsuit can be an intimidating affair that is full of emotional and legal difficulties. But with the appropriate strategy, it is feasible to overcome this difficult circumstance and come out on top. This article will go over five essential stages to help you get ready and improve your chances of winning a wrongful lawsuit.

Understanding the Allegations

Gaining a full understanding of the accusations made against you is the first step toward preparing to win a wrongful lawsuit. This calls for a thorough examination of the details of the claims and the underlying legal principles, not just a cursory perusal of court documents. Examine the allegations thoroughly, taking into account the circumstances surrounding their emergence and any possible driving forces. Acquiring a thorough comprehension of the accusations will enable you to design a sophisticated defense plan that aptly and concisely tackles every aspect.

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Car accidents can be one of the most stressful and difficult experiences that a person can go through. From physical injuries to financial repercussions, the aftermath of a car accident can be a confusing and overwhelming time. That’s why it’s important to take the right steps to ensure that you have the best possible outcome. In this article, we will discuss the 10 essential steps to take following a car accident, as well as how a car accident lawyer can help.

What to Do Immediately After an Accident

1. Hire an Accident Records Referral Service

Accident records referral service is a company that specializes in accident reports. They have a well-trained network of people to help you look up accident reports. When you hire an accident records referral service, they will make every effort to learn more about this accident as soon as possible. They have a vast network of people that are looking for accident reports and may have the answer to your question about accident reports for a loved one. They can also ask for the police report on your behalf. You can find accident reports online with the help of accident records referral services.

2. Select The State Your Accident Occurred

While an initial consultation with a personal injury lawyer is used to help you get a professional evaluation of your case, it should also be used to help you evaluate the skills and integrity of the attorney. Since the quality of your lawyer will contribute to the outcome of your case, it’s important to look for the best possible attorney to represent you.

Do You Have Experience Handling My Kind of Case?

When seeking any type of legal advice, the one thing you will commonly hear is that it’s important to seek out an experienced attorney. While this is important, it’s more important to find a lawyer with the specific type of experience you require for the handling of your case. This goes beyond differentiating between a criminal defense attorney and a personal injury lawyer in Lakeland FL or your local area.

Every year, workers suffer from several work-related injuries that range from tendonitis to muscle sprains, and in extreme cases, nerve damage. Human resource (HR) managers, therefore, are required to oversee many tasks to provide a safe working atmosphere for their staff.

The 1970 Occupational Health and Safety Act (OSHA) is in place to ensure workers operate under safe working conditions. The act allows the enforcement of workplace safety policies and helps employers to provide a suitable working environment by offering training and research for everything related to work safety. The following are strategies that HR can use to provide a safe working environment for their staff.

Know the Rules and Regulations

Driving a commercial truck, semi, or big rig poses obstacles that “regular” passenger car drivers do not face. One thing, they’re huge and can be hard to handle, especially on narrow roads that do not accommodate such cars. So, to keep away from accidents, all the truck drivers must take truck training.

For another, their size makes them more difficult to control, which means they can’t react as rapidly as a smaller passenger car to a sudden or unexpected motion. Even yet, truck accidents can cause by either a truck driver or a passenger car driver. When behind the wheel, any motorist must act appropriately and be alert of potential road risks at all times.

Commercial truck drivers are to blame for truck accidents:

(Note: This is a guest submission. Author information is found at the end of his article.)

The law of negligence generally determines a personal injury.  It allows an individual to be compensated for all the losses originated from accidents, incidents or cases caused by the negligence of someone else.

One example of personal injury is when someone was hurt due to a defective product. This instance, however, does not immediately establish the negligence of the manufacturer. Cases about product defect are governed by the so-called legal concept named strict liability.

In 2012, there were over 10,600 road-related deaths in the US for every 100,000 of the population. This meant that there were 33,561 deaths in total and 2.36 million injuries linked to the road. In fact, it’s said that there is a road accident every 14 seconds on average in the US. The most common reasons for road crashes include alcohol, (driving under the influence), speeding and using cell phones while driving.

Reasons for Accidents and Fatalities

While many people are injured or killed as a result of their own actions, many people die or are injured on the road due to no fault of their own. If you are the victim of an accident due to someone else being reckless and not taking enough care and attention while driving you maybe be able to make a claim against them to get the compensation you deserve for the injuries you have sustained. Personal Injury lawyers like us here at Blake & Dorsten P.A from Florida and Thomson Snell and Passmore from Kent in the UK specialise in automobile accidents and can both help you if you need to make personal injury claims.

Every year there are millions of people who are injured in personal injury accidents – on the road, at work, at home or outdoors. And more often than not, they are not at fault for these mishaps, in which case they deserve to be compensated for their agony and loss. Personal injury claims help these victims to achieve this compensation. But before deciding on going about a personal injury claim, how will you evaluate if your claim is worth pursuing? The answer to this key question lies in ‘Damages’. So what are damages? What are the different types of damages? How do you evaluate these damages?

1. Compensatory Damages:

When it comes to personal injury claims, most damages would fall under the category of compensatory damages. Compensatory damages are damages that can be evaluated and monetarily compensated. While it is easy to put a value on some compensatory damages like medical expenses, loss of property etc., it is difficult to put a value on the pain that one has suffered because of the accident. These loses can be categorized as monetary and non-monetary losses.

i. Monetary losses:

Losses that can be easily evaluated and put a price on are called monetary losses. They are relatively easy to calculate based on evidence or indications such as cost of medical treatment, value of property etc.

• Medical expenses:
Almost all claims will cover medical expenses as damages as it is imperative that an injured victim is treated for the injury suffered due to the accident. It not only covers the cost of treatment that the patient already has incurred, but also covers such costs that the patient will be required to incur in future for the rest of his/her life.

• Loss of income:
If the accident has resulted in loss of income for the victim then they can claim damages for the same. It not only covers the income that the victim has already lost because of the accident, but also will cover his/her future income as can be calculated. This is termed as ‘loss of earning capacity”.

• Loss of property:
If the accident resulted in the loss of a physical property such as vehicle or any other item of value, then it can be covered as damages. The value can be calculated based on the cost of repair or fair market value in case of irreparable damages.

ii. Non-monetary losses:

Losses that are physical and emotional and that cannot be easily evaluated are called non-monetary losses. It is difficult to put a value on non-monetary losses and it may considerably vary between victims.

• Pain and suffering:
Most personal injuries involve pain and discomfort and it is imperative that the damages cover this suffering. The damages will cover compensation for physical pain endured during the accident and also during the recovery phase.

• Emotional distress:
Damages will also cover the psychological impact of the injury. This includes anger, fear, loss of sleep, anxiety, frustration etc. that is associated with the injury.

• Loss of enjoyment:
If the injury resulted in the victim’s loss of interest and enjoyment in life such as hobbies or other recreational activities, the damages can cover this.

• Loss of consortium:
Loss of consortium is provided to the spouse who is affected because of the victim’s inability to indulge in the relationship. It includes loss of companionship, loss of affection, loss of sexual relations etc. Traditionally, these types of damages are lightly compensated.

2. Punitive damages:

Punitive damages are intended to punish the defendant for their outrageously careless act that resulted in the injury in the first place. Punitive damages are awarded on top of compensatory damages and are designed to provide some kind of emotional closure to the victim. They can act as deterrents in future. However, punitive damages are not awarded in all personal injury cases and they are reserved for serious acts. Also most states have a limit to the amount that can be claimed as punitive damages to avoid excessive claims on this account. Some common examples of punitive damages are injuries that result from reckless or wanton behavior such the Defendant injuring the Plaintiff in a DUI or a wrongful death case when the Defendant had knowledge of the danger and took no steps to correct same.

It is imperative to be aware of the different damages that one can claim for a Clearwater auto accident lawyer or a Miami personal injury attorney. Also it is important to ensure that the claimant is not negligent on actions that they have to take, in order to mitigate the impact after the accident, as this will have a bearing on the damages awarded.
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You’ve been in a serious automobile accident that was another driver’s fault and you both have automobile insurance. Whose insurance pays for your injuries and the damage to your car? The answer may depend on the state in which you reside.

The majority of states are using what’s known as traditional tort insurance. The driver who is at fault and his or her insurance company are responsible for any injuries or losses that the innocent driver suffers. Sometimes the at-fault driver’s insurance company will pay all of the innocent driver’s accident-related expenses. In other instances, the innocent driver may have to hire an auto accident attorney and sue the at-fault driver to collect the money this driver may deserve.

But a handful of states (like right here in Florida) require drivers to purchase no-fault automobile insurance (sometimes known as personal injury protection or PIP). In these no-fault states, each driver’s automobile insurer pays for its client’s expenses after a car crash. The innocent driver may be barred from suing the driver who is to blame for the accident, or they may only be able to sue in limited circumstances.

Am I in a No-Fault Insurance State?

Nine states require drivers to have no-fault auto insurance. Those states are:

• Florida
• Hawaii • Kansas • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • New York • North Dakota • Utah

Additionally, Kentucky, New Jersey and Pennsylvania allow motor vehicle owners to choose between traditional auto insurance and no-fault insurance. (These are sometimes referred to as choice no-fault insurance states.) If a Pennsylvania driver doesn’t make a choice, then he or she is automatically provided with traditional tort coverage. In Kentucky and New Jersey, drivers who don’t make a selection default to no-fault coverage.

When Can You File a Personal Injury Suit in a No-Fault State?

Drivers in no-fault insurance states are not completely barred from filing personal injury lawsuits in connection with automobile accidents. The state just raises the bar on eligibility requirements to keep the courts from getting clogged by minor lawsuits.

In five no-fault states, drivers must meet what’s known as a verbal threshold. If the accident and its injuries were sufficiently serious–for example, someone in the accident is killed, dismembered or permanently disabled–then a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit is allowed. The states that have a verbal threshold (sometimes known as a qualitative threshold) are:

• Florida
• Michigan • New Jersey • New York • Pennsylvania
In other no-fault states, there is a monetary threshold or quantitative threshold that must be met before a lawsuit is permitted. Those states and their thresholds are:

• Hawaii: $5,000
• Kansas $1,000
• Kentucky $1,000
• Massachusetts $2,000
• Minnesota $4,000
• North Dakota $2,500
• Utah $2,000

No-fault insurance and its rules can be confusing. If you’ve been hurt in a car crash that was someone else’s fault, talk to an automobile accident lawyer today–even if you live in a no-fault insurance state. Your attorney can review the details of your claim, help you understand your state’s laws and determine whether you have grounds for a lawsuit.
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