Posts tagged ‘Pain And Suffering’

May
26

Alabama Personal Injury Attorney


alabama personal injury attorney

What Should You Do After A Car Accident

If you drive, it is likely that some day you will be involved in a car accident. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that there were close to six million police-reported traffic accidents in the United States in 2008. Almost two million of these accidents resulted in injuries.

Car accidents can involve multiple vehicles, a vehicle hitting a pedestrian, or a solo crash when a car hits a solid object. Numerous factors can contribute to the accident such as alcohol use, weather, road hazards, or loose animals.

These crashes are both traumatic and costly. Many accidents result in fatalities or serious injuries such as whiplash, spinal cord damage, or head trauma. The American Automobile Club reported that traffic accidents cost $164.2 billion annually, or $1,000 per person. This amount is nearly the same as the money spent annually to maintain the nation’s roadways.

If you are injured in an automobile accident, it is important to hire an attorney who is familiar with your state’s laws. You can find a personal injury attorney in the yellow pages or obtain a referral from the State Bar. In most cases, the first consultation is free. Generally, the attorney will charge a contingency fee which means that you pay a percentage of your recovery as legal fees. If you do not win the case, you are only responsible for the costs.

Your attorney will help you obtain a settlement from the responsible party or, if necessary, file a lawsuit on your behalf. He or she will also advise of any benefits that might be available through your own insurance policy in case the other driver is uninsured, or does not have enough insurance to cover the cost of your accident.

Usually, accident victims are entitled to recover the costs of medical care, lost wages, job retraining, and general pain and suffering. In some states, if the other driver was drunk or extremely reckless, the injured party can also demand punitive damages, which penalize the driver for his or her behavior.

Each state has its own laws concerning time limits for bringing a lawsuit, available damages, and whether your own fault may reduce or bar your recovery. Your attorney will discuss these issues during the first consultation and advise concerning the best approach for a favorable settlement. By hiring an attorney, you will ensure that you receive the settlement you deserve.

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Ronnie is currently the lead researcher for Lawyers. He logs various news regarding Lawyers in Alabama and related items.

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May
18

Personal Injury Demand Letter Example


Writing a strong demand letter can significantly increase your personal injury settlements. A well written letter shows the insurance companies that you are organized and that you understand how the car accident claims process work. To write a convincing letter of demand you need to do 5 things. First you need to…

1. Show Who Caused the Car Accident

To get the most money from your auto accident insurance claims, you need to show that the other driver was responsible for your car accident. Even if you were partly responsible for the crash, you need to show that the majority of the blame was on the other driver. The less blame you get for the car accident, the higher your personal injury settlements.

You can show who was responsible for your auto accident by getting:

  • Copies of the car accident report.
  • Statements from witnesses.
  • Pictures of the car accident scene.

Once you have collected this information, you can then reference it in your demand letter. For example, you can write “As it is clearly written in the car accident report, and from the provided witness statements, your insured driver was speeding and collided into the back of my vehicle.”

By citing the evidence you have collected, you are showing that your settlement demands are based on facts. This makes your letter of demand more concrete and increases your chances of getting a high personal injury settlement. The next step is to…

2. Document Your Injuries

Simply saying that you were injured in a car accident is not enough. To make your injury settlement demands stronger, you need to show proof that your injuries are real and serious.

The most credible source of your injuries is your doctor’s medical report. The medical report has a more thorough analysis of your injuries. It describes the details of your accident injuries and may include any medications you were taking to decrease your pain and suffering.

If your injuries are not listed in the medical report, they might as well not exist to the insurance companies. That is why it’s important you discuss all of your injuries, no matter how small, with your doctor and have them noted in the medical report. If you’re not documenting your injuries, you will have a tough time convincing the insurance companies to pay you a high injury settlement.

Once you have documented your injuries you should…

3. Document Your Property Damages

To show the amount of damage to your vehicle, you should include an estimate from a repair shop. Your estimates should include the cost to replace vehicle parts and the cost of labor to fix your vehicle.

In addition to the damages to your vehicle, you can also seek compensation for damages to your personal belongings. This can include things like your:

  • Laptop
  • iPod
  • Jewelry/Watch
  • Cell phone

You should calculate the total cost of damage to your personal property and include it your letters.

4. Document Your Lost Income

If your injuries caused you to miss any days from work, you should include that in your demand letter. To begin you should get:

  • A letter from your supervisor /manager stating how many work days you missed.
  • Copy of your paystub.

In your demand letter, you can then reference these two documents and claim your lost income to be your daily rate times the number of work days you missed.

The final thing you should do is…

5. Read a Sample Demand letter

Reading a sample letter of demand helps you see how all of the above information comes together to form a strong and convincing personal injury settlement claim. This will help you understand the best way to structure your content and which points to emphasize in your letter to increase your injury settlements.

Read this sample demand letter http://www.after-car-accidents.com/sample-demand-letter.html to understand how you should write to the insurance companies.

To learn other helpful tips on writing a strong demand letter read: http://www.after-car-accidents.com/demand-letter.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Asif_L_Shaikh

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Apr
21

Personal Injury Attorney Arizona


personal injury is a category of tort law, or a civil claim. Tort claims are grounded in two elements: liability and damages. Personal injury claims generally refer to instances where an individual has sustained a physical injury (damage) as a result of a third party’s negligence (liability). The cause of the injury can take many forms. The most common types of personal injury claims are automobile accidents, medical malpractice, dog bites, and premises liability (“slip and fall” accidents).

The amount of compensation received for a personal injury claim is always variable because it is based on the particular components of each individual’s claim. Multiple factors are taken into account, including the nature of the injury sustained, whether or not there is any permanent damage, the extent of the applicable insurance coverage, the amount of medical bills incurred, any lost wages, injury related travel expenses, various out of pocket expenses, and pain and suffering. Depending on the location, or jurisdiction, where the injury occurred, the type of recovery available can vary due to differences the statutory framework.

All personal injury claims are subject to a statute of limitations, or a period of time during which the claim can be legally pursued. Once this time period expires, the claim is barred and cannot be brought afterward. If you wish to pursue a claim, it must be done prior to the statute of limitations. The statute of limitations varies depending on where the injury occurred.

Consulting an attorney regarding the specifics of an individual Personal Injury Claim is advisable. An attorney can provide legal advice about how to pursue your claim, including what documents will be necessary to prove your case, the manner in which insurance coverage works, how you can expect your claim to proceed, and what your rights are. Attorneys are able to provide you with the exact statute of limitations for pursuing a personal injury claim in your jurisdiction. Attorneys also have prior experience with these types of situations. Since the average person is not usually familiar with this situation, it is common to have many questions related to your complaint. An attorney is the best resource to obtain answers for your questions. Because all legal cases are different, an attorney can take into account all the unique aspects your situations and provide information tailored to your circumstances.

Personal injury claims are usually resolved in one of three ways: a negotiated settlement (either without filing a lawsuit or after suit has been filed), through formal arbitration, or by a jury trial. The options for available for settlement of a claim may vary based on the total amount of damages sought and the jurisdictions. There are both advantages and disadvantages to each method of resolution. If you retain an attorney for handle your claim he or she will advise you about which methods are available and what is best for your claim. Ultimately, however, any decisions about settling your claim will be yours. Attorneys provide a resource and an guide to help you navigate your personal injury claim.

If you’ve suffered a personal injury in Arizona, contact a seasoned trial attorney at Petersen Johnson Law Firm. Experienced personal injury attorneys, we will make sure you are justifiably compensated for your injuries. At Petersen Johnson, we get paid only if we successfully collect on your claim. We also front the expenses associated with your claim, including, but not limited to, the police report, expert witness testimony and copies of your medical records and bills.

The typical fee charged by most law firms in Arizona for personal injury cases is 33.3%. Our fee is only 25%.

If you live on the west side, be sure to contact their Phoenix west valley law office at 602-650-1200. Hablamos espanol

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kay_Zeeh

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Nov
05

Personal Injury Pain And Suffering


Lets take a look at the aspects of personal injury pain and suffering. In a personal injury lawsuit, a defendant is not only responsible for paying medical bills, but also for pain and suffering, lost wages and the loss of one’s ability to enjoy life. While this seems like it can be arbitrary numbers, personal injury lawyer Charles Flaxman who is with Flaxman Law Group based in south Florida, explains how one attaches a monetary amount to something so seemingly esoteric.
It seems that medical bills are rather easy to quantify as they usually have a dollar amount at the bottom. But isn’t it extremely difficult to monetize one’s pain and suffering or ability to enjoy life?

It is partially correct that medical bills are much more straightforward to prove in court, but medical bills are still not as simple and easy to prove as one might think. The defendant’s side will argue that the treatments do not relate to the accident, or that they were the wrong type of treatment or any other sort of other argument that will try to lower the medical costs that they will have to pay. Still, numbers from a hospital bill for a specific treatment are by far more hard and fast than pain, suffering and loss of one’s ability to enjoy life and work.

While pain and suffering are far more subjective, we do have means to monetize and prove damages. There are precedents set from previous cases which we refer to and also basic questions we ask to attach a price tag. The way to quantify pain and suffering, or even embarrassment, is to ask the right questions to the jury and to the plaintiff: How much would you pay me to not take away the ability for you to walk for the rest of your life? How much would you pay me so you won’t have back pain the rest of your life? How much would you pay me to not put a horrible permanent burn scar on your face?

From there, we try to quantify it. Each case is different, of course, but we use a number of tools and experts who are professionals at this exact system who try to attach a number. They use various tools and algorithms that help them get as close to the mark as possible. There is a mortality table, which uses a variety of factors to make an estimation as to how long this person will live so we can calculate years of life expectancy.  Doctors can advise the jury as to how much pain or how badly this particular injury damages a person’s ability to enjoy life. An economist might be able to calculate how much money this person might have made in the next 30 years based on his career given data he is familiar with as well as the economical climate and forecasts.

We try to quantify it as best we can. There is no exact science to this skill, but rather, it is an art. While there are certainly precedents set and experts who can advise, in the end, it is subjective and can vary vastly from case to case. The bottom line though is that I have 37 years doing Personal Injury Law

and I usually know about what a person can get for a specific injury and that is what we try to aim for. A surgical knee tends to go for $40,000 to $75,000 for example. I can usually listen to the client, get a basic understanding of the circumstances, and give a ballpark figure. If we do sign with the client, then we start getting into the details as to how much exactly we should seek in damages.

In the end though, unless we settle, which happens in probably 90% of cases, it is up to the jury to decide. Once it goes to trial, there is no right and wrong and there is no fair or unfair. Whatever the jury decides is the correct amount and that becomes the law.

Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/law-articles/personal-injury-lawsuits-how-to-value-pain-and-suffering-1333687.html#ixzz0qp3lLKaZ
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

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Oct
28

Personal Injury Accident


personal injury Accident
In case you get wounded or harmed in an accident, you would, in all likelihood, want to find all the information you can get about personal injury compensation. This may be comprised of settlement for pain and suffering and for medical bills and lost wages. It is hard to file a claim and get a settlement by yourself. That’s why you need to hire a personal injury attorney. This article will present the four fundamentals of any injury compensation claim in addition to contact information for a great law firm that will be able to help you.

The first element integrated in many compensation claims is settling medical costs. Under this category would be the emergency room fees incurred at the scene and other hospital costs incurred thereafter. A no win no fee lawyer will charge you for rehabilitation and follow up appointments that will usually be conducted. There are times when rehabilitation of injuries takes an extended period of time for it to be completed. Make sure that your settlement covers all present and future expenses.

Other injuries are simply more complex than others, making healing more difficult and thus take longer. For example, an amount for pain and suffering experienced may be incorporated in a claim for back injury compensation. In a back injury, the outcome may be chronic pain that can be very difficult to deal with in the future. Chronic discomfort can lead to depression and other physical and mental issues. If you are experiencing chronic discomfort caused by an accident, you are entitled to more settlement that considers the pain and suffering you’re going through.

Your injuries can also hinder you to work again. Most people find it hard to pay for their hospital bills even if they have disability pay form their employers. No one must experience financial difficulties due to an accident that was not their wrongdoing. As such, compensation solicitors factor in lost earnings when they seek an accident injury compensation claim for you. If the accident has left you with injuries that prevent you from returning to work, you may be allowed to seek compensation for the loss of future income.

It is commonplace to see victims of car crashes applying for personal injury claims. A doctor’s assessment of the victim’s present and future injuries will be made sure by a car accident lawyer. Car accident claims usually consider the possibility of physical and mental disorders arising from the accident. This ensures that the victim is covered for all medical expenses, both current and future.

A personal injury lawyer will ensure that all the aspects of your work injury compensation claim are seriously looked into. To assist you in filing a claim, you must contact an expert law firm immediately after you suffered from an accident. Doing this will help ensure that you get the remuneration you need and are worth of.

As a person looking for personal injury lawyers melbourne you should visit that site. Learn more on the topic of compensation lawyers melbourne.

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