Personal injury cases often involve others’ negligence in motor vehicles, like car, motorcycle, and truck accidents. Our law office can only take on cases that need a bodily injury lawyer for severe injuries, and not mere property damage cases. So, if you (or a loved one) were injured, lawyers for injury claim assertion at McArthur Law Firm are standing by.
Other than the ubiquitous car accident cases, injury lawyers work on many other types of defective product cases (which use a strict liability standard), plus personal injury claims ranging from dog bite injuries to slip and fall serious bodily injury or deaths (in some cases).
Accident Injury Law Types. In addition to car, motorcycle, and truck wreck cases, (although much less frequently brought to our personal accident lawyers’ attention), other negligence cases may arise from other causes. These include aviation crashes, bicycle wrecks resulting in severe back elbow, shoulder, head or neck injuries, or mass transportation crashes on a bus or a train or boat or vessel.
Last but not least, pedestrian accidents (usually involving a pickup truck, SUV, or automobile wreck, are highly common. The advent of electric scooters, bikes and skateboards have led to many defective design and unsafe vehicle product liability claims and often have medical treatment bills as high or higher than car wreck cases, where seat belts have restrained a driver or passenger.
Injury Attorney: Personal Injury Accident Lawyers’ Screening of Cases
They might also manage cases related to premises liability at a business such as a hotel, an apartment complex, or a condominium complex. Negligent security or inadequate security in high crime areas may be the source of negligent security “tort law” claims that our Firm will handle. The word “tort” is derived from a French word but has been part of English common law since the 1500s.
While rare, some serious injury slip and fall incidents can lead to permanent disability, head trauma, a broken back or death. The same occasional very severe wounds from animal bites like dog attacks or exotic animal attacks (e.g., chimpanzee) on a person are cases that our Firm may be able to handle.
Other injury claims for cases pertaining to abuse and neglect by personnel or owners at nursing homes or extended care facilities. Furthermore, some wrongful death cases occur as construction accidents, and may be viable even if worker’s compensation is also involved.
In this article, the author may use the term “PI lawyer” or “PI attorney” to describe the injured party’s legal advocate. You should just mentally substitute that shortcut phrase to mean the accident injury lawyer representing the victim of negligent acts of another person, company, or both.
The author may sometimes use “PI law” in discussing personal injury laws and statutes. So, a personal injury lawyer, attorney or litigator seeking full and fair compensation is what a personal injury law attorney does. Our firm currently has eight personal injury law attorneys on staff but will likely be expanding that legal team as our caseload expands.
By making the Georgia Edition’s Cover of Super Lawyers Magazine — for lawyers in ALL LEGAL fields — this makes a statement about our Firm’s Leader, Kathy McArthur. To be voted as one of the best injury attorneys in the State, this sends an important message.
Categories of Compensation for which a Bodily Injury Lawyer may Sue
Individuals who suffer personal injuries caused by others may be entitled to compensation for various damages. Personal injury plaintiffs can receive compensation for medical expenses, loss of income, emotional distress, and more, as identified below. You will need the right lawyers, accident injury experts, if you plan to fight big insurance company litigation teams.
One major component of compensation is usually a client’s medical expenses. In the lawsuit we file, personal injury plaintiffs can be reimbursed for medical expenses such as hospital stays, surgeries, medications, rehabilitation, and therapy. This ensures that they are not burdened with the financial strain of their healthcare needs.
Compensation for lost wages is an important aspect of injury compensation if the plaintiff cannot work. This includes both the immediate impact on loss of income from their current employment and any potential future earnings that may be affected due to long-term disabilities or impairments.
Loss of earning capacity is also considered when determining compensation. If the injury permanently hinders the plaintiff’s ability to earn a living or limits their career prospects, they may be entitled to additional compensation to account for this diminished earning potential.
Loss of consortium and companionship damages can be awarded to compensate for the impact of an injury on a marriage or other long-term personal relationships.
Loss of enjoyment of life refers to the inability to engage in activities or hobbies due to injury, and compensation aims to restore fulfillment and quality of life. Compensation for emotional distress aims to acknowledge and alleviate the psychological suffering endured by personal injury plaintiffs.
Compensation for mental anguish and pain and suffering acknowledges and aims to provide relief for the distress endured by the plaintiff.
Evaluating the Severity of a Claim Before Agreeing to Take the Case
Personal injury lawyers usually work on a payment plan where they only charge the Client a fee as part of the jury verdict award or the pre-trial settlement, if sufficient. Understandably, no personal injury lawyer will take on a case if the Law Office evaluates the case facts and does not don’t think the client will win.
Because hundreds of thousands of dollars can be used to “work up” a serious accident of med mal case, our Firm’s attorneys very carefully limit the cases to those clients with major injuries or a wrongful death claim. By doing this , we remain focused on the more serious claims for which our law partners and associates can expeditiously process these cases.
How Personal Injury Lawyers May Proceed in Gathering Case Evidence
Our personal injury lawyers assess each client’s case differently depending on the type of case. Our personal injury lawyers assess each client’s case differently based on the type of case. For example, in an auto crash case, we may begin by hiring an accident reconstruction expert.
This expert will visit the accident site and the tow yard to examine the physical damage. They will also search for any camera footage from nearby premises that could provide insight into how the accident occurred.
Our personal injury lawyers assess each client’s case differently based on the type of case. For example, in an auto crash case, we may begin by hiring an accident reconstruction expert.
This expert will visit the accident site and the tow yard to examine the physical damage. They will also search for any camera footage from nearby premises that could provide insight into how the accident occurred.
When someone gets hurt, they can collect proof to support their case. This might mean getting a police report or incident report. They might find and talk to witnesses and get their statements. They might also take or ask someone to take pictures of the accident. They might keep evidence like property damage, camera footage, or other proof for the case.
Evidence can prove who caused the accident and how much harm the plaintiff suffered. This may encompass health reports, medical records, invoices, work-related documents, summaries, and damage assessments of properties.
Negotiating with Insurance Companies
Negotiation isn’t a common part of everyday life for most individuals. Nonetheless, personal injury attorneys are accustomed to bargaining with insurance firms.
They can scrutinize the policy specifics and ascertain the highest amount of compensation that might be accessible, depending on the unique conditions of the situation. A personal injury attorney can also manage all interactions with the insurance firm and stop the injured party from taking any action that could endanger their claim, like providing a recorded declaration.
Creating and Sending an Injury Claim “Demand” Letter
After conducting a comprehensive investigation of the claim, a personal injury attorney might dispatch a demand letter to an insurance firm. This letter outlines the accident’s details and requests a specific sum as compensation for the harm inflicted by the defendant.
One word of caution. Since claims have a two-year statute of limitations to file suit. Our legal team typically will not “sign on” to handle cases that have waiting until the last minute, due to the likely loss of critical evidence and losing connections with key witnesses. So, strike while the evidence is fresh, and available to measure and photograph.
Preparing Pleadings when our Macon Personal Injury Attorneys Conduct “Discovery”
The plaintiff’s lawyer can start discovery by asking the defendant for information. They can also interview parties, witnesses, and experts.
In the event that the insurance firm declines to propose a reasonable settlement, the attorney specializing in personal injury might draft a lawsuit against the accused party. This lawsuit outlines the legal justifications as to why the accused is accountable for the incident. Additionally, it specifies the sum of compensation that the client is demanding.
Typically, the accused is given a 30-day period from the date they receive a lawyer injury claim lawsuit to formulate a response.
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To determine if our legal team can take a case, we look at how serious the injury is. This includes severe bodily harm like burns, broken bones, or dislocated joints such as the hip, knee, or shoulder. Our Georgia lawyers also consider cases involving wrongful death caused by someone’s negligence or intentional actions.
Certain customers have suffered blindness (in either or both eyes) or have lost their auditory or balancing abilities. Some are enduringly incapacitated due to cerebral damage, neck breaks, spinal cord injuries, or serious concussions that have changed their information processing abilities.
If you sustain injuries in an accident instigated by another person, it’s vital to have a personal injury attorney by your side. They can balance the scales as the opposing party will likely have legal representation as well. When necessary, your attorney can employ accident reconstruction specialists and investigators to bolster your case.
If your case also has a possible additional lawsuit for medical malpractice, our legal team can also obtain all medical records and bring another personal injury lawsuit to recover compensation. Personal injury accident lawyer Kathy McArthur has trained each and every one of our bodily injury attorneys to know which cases to take and which ones to reject.
More Personal Injury Lawyer Resources
If you’d like to learn more about the different types of personal injury cases McArthur Law Firm handles, read our informative articles below. We explain all the different types of personal injury cases we handle.
- Spinal Cord Injury
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Slip and Fall Accidents
- Parking Lot Falls
- Personal Injury Appeals
- Special Needs Trusts for Personal Injury Settlements and Verdicts
- Personal Injury Attorney Macon GA: FREE Consultations
- Macon Personal Injury Lawyer: Injury Attorneys Macon GA
