Being injured in any way is not a pleasant experience, the experience can be very stressful. Not only are you dealing with pain and injury, but you may also be dealing with insurance companies, lawyers, and other parties involved in the accident. Here are some tips to help make the process a little bit easier.
What are personal injuries?
Personal injuries are injuries that occur to a person, as opposed to an object. These injuries can be physical, emotional, or financial, and can often result from accidents or negligence. If you have been injured, it is important to seek legal advice on personal injuries as soon as possible, to protect your rights and interests. This article discusses the steps you should take if you have been injured in a car accident.
How to proceed after a car accident
If you have been in a car accident, the first thing you should do is seek medical attention. This can be done on your own or through your insurance provider. They may want to send you to see one of their doctors, but this is not necessary and it would be best for you to get treatment from a doctor on your own that suits your needs best. After receiving medical attention, keep all receipts and paperwork associated with the emergencies so that they can be reimbursed later if needed. You will also need these documents/receipts when filing for personal injuries and lost wages later on.
What happens now that I’m injured?
A police officer will come and document the scene of the accident. This is important as it provides valuable evidence for your claim. The police report can also be used to determine who was at fault in the incident. If you do not wish to file a claim right away, you may simply want to exchange information with the other party involved so that you have each other’s contact information just in case anything arises later on.
If you would like to hire a lawyer, but don’t want or need any actual legal action taken on your behalf just yet, you might consider hiring a lawyer on a “contingency fee” basis, which means that they don’t get paid unless they win some for you or settle your case. Most of us have never had to deal with the legal system, so when the time comes that we find ourselves involved in a personal injury claim, it can seem overwhelming. However, you shouldn’t let this fact stop you from pursuing what is rightfully yours.
How big is my case?
The first thing you’ll want to do is take a closer look at your injuries and any evidence on hand which shows how they were sustained. Here are just a few examples of the types of evidence you should be looking for:
- Medical records, which can include past injuries
- Claims history with your insurance company
- Doctor referrals
- Damage to your car, if you were injured in a car accident
- Photographs or video recorded at the scene
How to know if you have an injured claim?
First, it is important to understand what qualifies as a personal injury. Personal injuries are defined as “injuries suffered by an individual” and are most commonly associated with car accidents, medical malpractice, defective products, workplace injuries, or animal attacks. Personal injury laws vary from state to state, so you will need to know the specific rules and regulations that apply to your case. For a personal injury claim to be valid, several necessary elements must be present.
Injuries
In general, any harm or illness sustained as a direct result of an accident can qualify as an injury. Even if there are no visible signs of trauma, disabling damage may have been done inside the body without being immediately apparent. The main distinction between injuries and damage is that one requires physical manifestation whereas the other does not. For example, a lump on the head resulting from a car accident would be considered an injury because it has been physically damaged in some way.
Damages
This applies when someone sustains any loss, injury, or disadvantage as a result of an accident. For example, if you are involved in a car accident and sustain injuries because the airbag failed to deploy, then the damages would come in the form of your medical expenses.
What Caused you to be injured
This means that your actions were the cause of someone else’s injury or damage. So for instance, if you were involved in a car accident that caused damage to another vehicle and injured its driver because you drove too fast on black ice, then you would be held liable for their injuries even though it was only partially your fault due to the weather conditions.
Legal duty
There must be an established duty between both parties before there is any liability for damages incurred by one party due to the negligence of another. For example, if you were walking down the street and got hit by a car that swerved to miss someone else, then the driver would owe you damages even if they didn’t have any duty towards you because their duty was owed to someone else.
Time limits
These vary from state to state, but there are usually statutes of limitations that establish maximum time limits which can be covered under personal injury claims depending on the severity of your injuries or type of case.
Once you have all this information together, it’s time to do some research online. If you are interested in pursuing personal injury litigation but aren’t sure where to begin, there are many resources available online including law firm websites, forums related to your specific case/injury type, and even review sites that have reviews written by other people who have been involved in similar cases. Ultimately, choosing the right path is up to you and will depend on what type of action suits your needs best.