What It’s Like to Work with a Personal Injury Lawyer
If you were seriously injured because of the negligence or willful act of another but have never worked with a personal injury lawyer before, you may be feeling uncertain about what it would be like to hire an injury attorney for help. Let’s start with why people hire personal injury lawyers.
Why do people hire personal injury lawyers?
It is common for injured victims to attempt to negotiate a settlement with the insurance agency themselves. This can be difficult when it isn’t completely clear who is liable for the accident (or how liability should be shared), when the insurance company is refusing to offer a fair settlement or when an uninsured motorist is at-fault for the accident. Injured victims hire personal injury attorneys to fight for a fair injury settlement on their behalf. Often, this means tough negotiating with the at-fault insurance company. A local personal injury attorney is best suited to navigate the negotiations because they know the laws in your state, what your case is worth and how to overcome objections by the defendant’s insurance company. In rare cases, claims go to trial for resolution and your personal injury attorney handles this process as well.
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What Types of Evidence Are Gathered for Personal Injury Cases?
A personal injury claim is filed to recover damages for people who were injured because of the negligence of another. Cases involving serious, long-term injuries can yield large settlements but even with less serious injuries people can recover substantial damages for medical expenses and lost wages during recovery. A lawsuit brought by a personal injury lawyer is also a way to hold the negligent party responsible for their behavior. Common types of personal injury claims include wrongful death, motor vehicle accidents, pedestrian accidents, and medical malpractice.
If you have spoken with a personal injury lawyer and they have agreed to take your case, the attorney will begin moving through the steps of a personal injury claim; beginning with gathering all relevant documents and evidence.
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What Duty of Care do Business Owners Owe Their Customers During a Pandemic?
Under premises liability law, businesses owe their customers a duty of care. This was always true, but there are added duties during COVID-19. On a practical level, a business owes their customers a duty to keep them safe on the business premises. If a customer is injured or becomes seriously ill because the business owner failed to meet their duty of care by acting negligently, the injured party may be able to sue to recover damages. For example, if a customer contracts Coronavirus after visiting a business that was not following safety guidelines, they may be able to file a personal injury claim.
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What are Independent Medical Examination Personal Injury Cases?
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The Importance of Witnesses in Personal Injury Cases
If you were injured in a car accident or other personal injury scenario like slip and fall because of the negligence of another, you may be wondering how you are going to pay for your medical bills and make up lost wages while you recover. You may even be facing permanent disability and the prospect that you may never be able to work again. The best thing to do is speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer who can explain your legal rights: you may be able to recover damages through a personal injury settlement or jury award.
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When to Sue for A Traumatic Brain Injury
Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are responsible for many deaths and permanent disabilities every year. TBIs are typically caused by a violent bump, blow, or jolt to the head. In some cases, an object penetrates the brain such as a shard of glass from a windshield and causes a penetrating head injury that disrupts normal brain function. Symptoms of traumatic brain injuries include physical paralysis, chronic pain, sleep issues, loss of hearing, loss of control of bowels or bladder, headaches, lost sense of taste, and seizures. The list of potential health issues goes on from there.
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What is Personal Injury Law?
Personal injury is a legal term that describes a mental, emotional or physical injury to the body, as opposed to an injury to property. A personal injury lawsuit is a type of tort lawsuit under civil law where the person bringing the suit (the plaintiff) has suffered a personal injury and is suing the person(s) who injured them (the defendant(s)) to recover damages for their injuries. In most cases, a personal injury attorney is retained by the plaintiff to handle the action.
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What is Defamation and Does It Fall Under Personal Injury?
Defamation or defamation of character means that someone made a statement that injures another’s reputation. A written statement is called “libel” and a spoken statement is called “slander.” Defamation is a civil wrong so it does fall under personal injury laws. In some cases, a person who is defamed is able to sue the person or organization who defamed them in order to recover damages, just like in other personal injury claims.
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What is Duty of Care in Personal injury Law?
Most personal injury claims center around the negligence of the defendant in order to establish the defendant’s fault for the accident. And yet, the very first element in a successful personal injury claim is showing that there was a relationship that created a “duty of care.” It would be helpful to understand what is a duty of care, how it relates to negligence and some examples of when a duty of care is owed.
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What is False Arrest and Can I Sue for Damages?
An arrest is when a person is apprehended and taken into custody; it requires probable cause. A false arrest is when a person is held against their will or taken into custody without consent or a legal justification. When a person is falsely arrested, they may be able to bring a civil claim for damages under tort law. Note that many false arrests are carried out by store managers, mall security guards and others who are not police officers.
A false arrest is considered an intentional tort, which means that the accused knew of and wanted the consequences of their actions.
If you were the victim of false arrest, contact an experienced local personal injury attorney. The lawyer can review the details of your situation and discuss your legal rights. If the attorney takes your case, they will work to negotiate a fair settlement or jury award for your damages.
Proving an intentional tort
Intentional act:
In order to prove an intentional tort, the plaintiff will need to show that the defendant’s conduct went above and beyond simple carelessness or negligence. It must be proved that the defendant intentionally restrained the plaintiff.
Awareness of confinement:
In order to recover damages, the plaintiff will need to show that they were aware of the confinement at the time it happened. Defendant’s may argue that the plaintiff was too intoxicated or drugged to be aware of being confined. Note that the plaintiff does not need to know that their arrest wasn’t legal when it was happening but if they consented to be arrested because they thought it was legal, they will not be able to sue to recover damages for false arrest.
Was there a legal basis for the arrest?
A defendant will attempt to prove that there was a legal basis for the arrest they made, such as reasonable suspicion of a crime being committed, or a warrant or court order. This means that a reasonable person in the defendant’s position would have had cause to believe that the plaintiff was committing a crime before they arrested them or that they had a legal warrant/court order for their arrest.
Can police officers be sued for false arrest?
In Washington State, “A police officer is immune from liability for false arrest and false imprisonment when he acts pursuant to and in accordance with a statute he reasonably believes to be valid.”
This means that in order to sue a police officer for false arrest, a personal injury attorney would have to prove that the police officer knew or that a reasonable police officer would have known that the arrest was not in accordance with a valid statute.
Seek the help of a personal injury attorney
If you or a loved one was injured because of the negligence of another, contact a personal injury lawyer to discuss your legal rights. Let an experienced injury attorney fight for the full compensation that you deserve. It is not uncommon to receive a settlement from the insurance company that is five to ten times larger with the help of a lawyer. Call the personal injury lawyers at Tario & Associates, P.S. in Bellingham, WA today for a FREE consultation! We have been representing residents of Whatcom County, Skagit County, Island County and Snohomish County since 1979. You will pay nothing up front and no attorney fees at all unless we recover damages for you!
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