The Personal Injury Law Process

If you’ve been a part of an accident or slander case, you’re going to want to meet with a personal injury attorney to determine if your case has legal basis.  The most important part of a personal injury lawsuit is who was at fault for the accident.  For example, another driver, a company that manufactures a faulty product, or a newspaper that prints false information.  The personal injury attorney will determine what kind of damages can be filed – not only in terms of medical bills for an injury, but also for emotional upheaval, and for lost wages due to the accident.

Though a personal injury attorney can’t promise a cash settlement upfront, it’s the attorney’s job to determine if the case is winnable.  It is the plaintiff’s job to provide as much information as possible in order to complete the claim.  While an attorney will try to gather information – such as witnesses, medical reports, police reports, and the like – the client should be a proactive part of this process by supplying pictures, extensive contact info, a detailed explanation of the case, and more.  This can actually save the client money, as some of the legwork for trying the case will have been done ahead of time.

The personal injury attorney’s job is also to determine if the damages are truly a reflection of the accident, as asking for too much in damages can risk damages being rewarded.  If the damages are reasonable and fault has been determined, a personal injury attorney will take your case forward.

All in all, there are a number of variables to consider, so it is important to contact a San Francisco personal injury lawyer as soon as possible if you believe to have a viable claim.

Personal Injury Law and Defamation of Character

People don’t often think of defamation of character or libel cases as falling under “personal injury.”  Unsurprisingly, the perception is that the injury must involve bodily harm.  If this were the case, there would be far fewer personal injury cases brought to fruition, as “injury” can apply to a number of different issues, including emotional abuse and slander.  As slander can often lead to monetary loss, these cases can have a large settlement.

What is Slander?

1. A false statement about another person.
2. The statement is published leading to broad consumption – i.e. a person can’t just insult another person, the defamation can be accessed by other people.

Note that slander does not have to be broadcast or put in print.  For example, if someone lies about job performance leading to termination, this is a form of slander, even if it was done in private.  Examples of defamation include:

• An untrue statement about a person’s health.
• An untrue statement about a married person’s chastity.
• An untrue statement about a person’s professionalism.
• An untrue statement about a person committing a crime.

The burden of proof rests on the accuracy of the statement.  If the statement is proven to be true, it is harder to claim defamation.  A personal injury lawyer will also help determine the monetary conception for a defamation case – such as lost wages, both present and future.  In some defamation cases, emotional anguish can also be figured into the proceedings, which is why “injury” has such a broad definition and does not only apply to bodily harm.

Personal Injury Law: Negligence and Torts

Personal injury law is separated into two main categories: negligence and intentional torts.  Negligence refers to any accident that was due to someone else’s negligence – be it a manufacturers defect or personal negligence, as in the case of a care accident.  If any resulting injury is a result of your own negligence then you will not have a valid case.  Other negligence cases arise out of malpractice claims and a lack of proper maintenance – such as slipping and falling on a floor in a business where there is no caution sign.

The fault of the negligent party is paramount, in addition to the severity of injury.  For example, slipping and falling on the floor of a business may be due to negligence, but no claim can be made if there is no outright injury.  Faking these injuries has a very shaky legal basis and will not lead to a completed claim.

Intentional torts, on the other hand, are injury resulting from intentional aggression.  The difference between tort and negligence is that there does not necessarily have to be evidence of an injury.  If someone had the intent to cause injury, this is enough of a legal basis to file a claim.  There is an overlapping area where tort and negligence can cross paths.  If someone is hurt due to certain types of negligence, it can possibly fall under tort legislation.  The most common tort cases are for child abuse, general assault and battery, and defamation of character.  For the latter case, the injury is not physical, but results in financial or emotional harm.  “Emotional distress” needs firm grounds in order to win a settlement.

Basics of Car Accident Litigation

Yesterday, we talk about general steps you should take whenever an accident has occurred that is not your fault.  Today, let’s discuss automobile accidents specifically, as these compromise a majority of personal injury claims.  These tips are helpful for you to be prepared if you ever have the misfortune of getting into an auto collision:

Stay at the scene.  You should never leave a scene of an accident until the police arrive, write out a full report, and declare that it’s OK for you to leave the scene.  This police report will be vital for determining damages later.

Be careful with injured people. Do not make a bad situation worse by administering unnecessary care to an injured person.  You may believe that you are helping, but it can sometimes cause more harm than good.  If you are not a licensed professional, call for an ambulance immediately and report the number of injured and nature of the injury.  You should seek medical attention for yourself as well and have this documented.

Get as much information as possible.  In addition to getting information from the other driver, you need to get information from witnesses as well.  Not everyone will volunteer this information, so you should conduct interviews with those in the surrounding area and get their contact information.  Taking pictures is also highly advisable.  With today’s cell phone technology, it’s easier than ever to document the scene of a crash.

Do not admit fault to anybody.  If you’re looking for witnesses to the crash, you should remain objective about what has happened.  Ask, “What did you see?” not, “Did I do wrong?”

Personal Injury Claim Basics

Yesterday, we talked about how frequently there are accidents in the U.S.  While a great many of these do lead to personal injury settlements, some do not, if there is no cause for a settlement.  Basically, if someone else is at fault for your injury, there is cause for a settlement.  If you were the cause of your own accident then you are not eligible for a personal injury claim.

Additionally, the severity of the injury has to come into play.  If a product scratches you, this is not a reason to file a claim.  A personal injury claim should be filed when there is gross negligence on the part of a manufacturer or individual that results in dramatic physical harm, requiring medical attention and payments.

With any personal injury claim, it is important to have as much evidence as possible. Wounds heal, so it is a good idea to take any relevant pictures of the incident and the results.  Filing a police report is also important, as this will come up during the claim.  An emergency room or doctor’s visit is paramount to have a professional medical assessment as part of your personal injury claim.

You should even think about writing down as much as you can remember about the experience.  Your memory will fade with time, and a traumatic experience can often lead to memory loss and/or distortion, so quickly record what happened so you can reference this material later.

These are important steps because you will likely go through these steps before you even meet with a San Francisco personal injury lawyer.  A lawyer will no doubt ask you to take these steps, but in the case of medical attention, a police report, and photographs, it is important to document these things as soon as possible.  If you are unable to document the process due to injury, have someone you know complete the process.

Introduction to Personal Injury Law

Personal injury lawyers may sometimes get a bad rap – called “ambulance chasers” by some – but that is only a small subset of actual personal injury attorneys.  In true fact, hiring a personal injury lawyer is common, as there are hundreds of thousands of legitimate personal injury cases a year.  While there are some people who try to profit by suing a business or company for unfounded reasons, there are many more people who need a personal injury attorney for legitimate reasons.

Here are the facts about personal injury.  These are unsettling figures, but they are a fact of life.

• 31 million people a year visit emergency rooms because of an accidental injury.
• Car accidents are the leading cause of death for people under 34 years of age.
• 600,000 people a year are injured due to bicycle-related injuries.
• A dog bites a person every four seconds in the U.S.
• There are 200,000 playground accidents a year.
• Almost 50% of car accidents involve alcohol.
• There are more than 10,000 accidental injuries an hour.
• The most common injury for older people, children, and certain occupations, such as construction work, are falls.

That’s just a few of the many statistics associated with personal injury. All of these issues aren’t the result of a faulty product or somebody else’s fault, but a majority are.  If you have been the victim of an accident, it is well within your right to contact a personal injury attorney.  Why suffer through financial loss when you’re already suffering through injury?  Given the frequency of accidental injuries in the U.S. and abroad, you’ll know that you’re not alone.

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