Accidents happen without much warning and can change your life in an instant. Adults, children, the elderly; everyone is at risk of suffering an injury in an accident. Your child can become seriously hurt in a swimming pool accident. While traveling on a road trip, you can get hit by a truck or another car. Someone’s dog can come up and bite you while you are enjoying a hike in the woods.
Whatever the case, some accidents can cause you to experience serious injuries. When you suffer serious injuries from these accidents, you can seek compensation from the party responsible for your accident in a personal injury claim. For more information, please contact a abogado de lesiones personales.
When to hire a personal injury lawyer
One of the questions that you may ask is when you should reach out to a personal injury lawyer to help you. Maybe you want to reach out as soon as possible, but your injuries prevent you from doing so. Maybe you want to wait until you have the full knowledge of each damage you want compensation for until you reach out to a lawyer. Perhaps you have the temptation to try to file a claim yourself before you seek legal help.
Generally, the sooner you reach out to a personal injury lawyer, the better for your case. There are several ways that a personal injury lawyer can help your demanda when you hire them from the very beginning. Moreover, you never want to begin a claim on your own without legal help. Doing so risks making mistakes or saying the wrong thing that can jeopardize your entire case.
The following are many reasons you should never wait to consult with a personal injury attorney.
Filing the claim by the statute of limitations
A personal injury lawyer can help your lawsuit by filing it within the statute of limitations. The statute of limitations is the period that you have to file a lawsuit against a particular party. If you file past the statute of limitations, the defendant’s lawyer can request that your lawsuit be thrown out.
You also want to file the case while the facts are still fresh. The later you wait to file your lawsuit, the more challenges you might face in obtaining evidence. A abogado de lesiones personales can ensure that your claim and all of the required paperwork are filed at the appropriate time.
Fighting off insurance adjusters
Another benefit of hiring a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible is having someone who can fight off the insurance adjusters on your behalf. When you file a claim, you will have to face off with the insurance adjusters for your compensation. Because insurance companies want to avoid paying out as many claims as possible, some will fight dirty and try to poke holes in your case.
One practice that insurance companies take part in is to call victims and request that they release copies of their full medical records to the adjusters. Insurance adjusters know they have no need for your entire medical history but try to trick you at your most vulnerable moment to give up confidential information. They then use your records to identify pre-existing conditions that can minimize your claim.
Your personal injury lawyer can prevent this scenario and others from happening. When insurance adjusters know a lawyer represents you, they tread lightly. They are more hesitant to use certain tactics on you. With a personal injury lawyer in your corner, you can entirely eliminate the communication between you and the insurance adjusters.
Gathering the strongest evidence for you
Your personal injury lawyer can gather the best evidence to support your reclamar. You may not be familiar with the different types of evidence to present or how to find and obtain it. A personal injury lawyer can use their experience to identify the necessary evidence. Your personal injury lawyer can also reach out to a network of different resources and gather the strongest evidence possible for your case.
Handling negotiations with insurance adjusters
The more involved your personal injury lawyer has been from the beginning, the better they will be at negotiating on your behalf. When it is time to negotiate with insurance adjusters, your personal injury lawyer will know exactly what you are requesting and why you are requesting it. Your lawyer also knows how to counter arguments parties will make against you. Your lawyer will know the right facts to use to better explain why you deserve total compensation for your injuries.
Personal injury accidents
In civil law, you have the opportunity to file a lawsuit against a person or organization that causes you to experience a personal injury in an accident. Such accidents cause harm to another person due to negligence. Negligence must be the cause of the injuries, and injuries must result in damages.
Some examples of common accidents in injury claims include:
- Accidentes de moto
- Accidentes de tráfico
- Premises liability accidents
- Muerte por negligencia
- Mordeduras de perro
- Accidentes de camiones
How do accidents happen?
Whether your accident is a truck crash or a premises liability accident, each accident and personal injury happens due to another person’s negligence. The defendant in a personal injury case must have engaged in a specific negligent act that caused harm to another person.
For example, in a slip and fall claim, the property owner fails to properly maintain their property or establishment. In a traffic crash, a driver is often negligent by speeding or distracted driving and causes the crash.
How is negligence determined?
In a personal injury claim, you can prove negligence by proving:
- Duty of care. The defendant must be legally responsible for providing reasonable care to the plaintiff.
- Breach of duty of care. The defendant’s actions must have violated the duty of care they owed the plaintiff. If a defendant fails to provide reasonable care to the plaintiff, that breaches that duty of care.
- Causation. The defendant’s breach of duty of care must directly cause the plaintiff’s accident.
- Damages. The plaintiff must have suffered damages due to the defendant’s actions.
Common injuries suffered in accidents
The type of injuries from personal injury accidents can vary widely. Some accident victims are fortunate enough to walk away with moderate injuries that heal with treatment and time. Other people are not as fortunate.
Depending on the type of accident and other factors, you can suffer from spinal cord injuries, lesiones cerebrales, crushed bones, amputations, and other catastrophic injuries. Whether the injuries you endure from your accident are temporary or permanent, you will have to take advantage of different types of medical services, which are costly.
Damages you can recover in a personal injury lawsuit
There is no such thing as an inexpensive accident. Whether it is the property damage done to your vehicle or the physical injuries you suffer, you will likely incur some damage. Some common damages include medical expenses, lost wages, emotional distress, pain and suffering, property damage, and more.
Gastos médicos
The serious nature of your injuries may cause you to rely on medical devices, pain medications, and ongoing medical care. These medical expenses can add up quickly.
Salarios perdidos
Recovering from your injuries may require taking additional time off from work. Taking this time off from work can cause you to lose out on the income you usually earn. You might also not return to the same earning level in the future.
Angustia emocional
Your accident might be so traumatic that it affects other areas of your life for years. The stress from your accidente and injuries can cause you to experience mental disorders like PTSD and anxiety.
Dolor y sufrimiento
Depending on the nature of your injuries, you can experience monumental amounts of physical and emotional pain. Your body may never be the same even after receiving medical assistance for your injuries. You can experience acute or continuous pain on and off for the rest of your life.
Daños materiales
The defendant’s actions might have caused serious damage to your personal property. This can include damage to your vehicle, electronics, or other valuable items.
¿Quién puede ser responsable en caso de accidente?
Varias partes pueden ser responsables de su accidente y lesiones. Las partes que pueden ser responsables dependen del tipo de accidente ocurrido. En un responsabilidad del producto accidente, usted responsabilizaría de sus lesiones al fabricante del producto defectuoso. En un caso de accidente de tráfico, podrías responsabilizar de tus lesiones a un conductor negligente.
Dependiendo de otros factores de su accidente, usted podría responsabilizar a más de una parte por sus lesiones. Por ejemplo, si alguien te causó lesiones mientras trabajaba, su empleador podría compartir la responsabilidad.
Pasos de una demanda por lesiones personales
Cuando decida solicitar una indemnización por sus lesiones, este es el camino que puede seguir su caso. Los pasos incluyen la presentación de una reclamación al seguro, la presentación de una demanda, la fase de descubrimiento, asentamiento, mociones previas al juicio y el juicio.
Presentar una reclamación al seguro
La mayoría de la gente empieza por presentar una reclamación al seguro de las partes responsables. Usted puede presentar una o varias reclamaciones, y querrá que su abogado se encargue de este proceso desde el principio. Hablar con las aseguradoras puede ser arriesgado, así que permita que un abogado se encargue de todas las comunicaciones.
Presentar una demanda
Si no puede llegar a un acuerdo de conciliación con la compañía de seguros, puede pasar a presentar una demanda. Su demanda comienza cuando su abogado presenta su reclamación oficial ante los tribunales. Una vez iniciada su demanda, el demandado dispone de un plazo determinado para responder a su demanda. El demandado también tiene la oportunidad de contestarle si así lo desea.
Fase de descubrimiento
El siguiente paso en su demanda es la fase de proposición de prueba. Es el paso en el que ambos abogados tienen la oportunidad de intercambiar todas las pruebas y la información que piensan utilizar en el juicio. Ambos abogados deben presentar todas las pruebas solicitadas dentro de un alcance razonable. Este paso es también donde usted puede tener que participar en una deposición.
Conferencias de conciliación
El siguiente paso en su demanda es la fase de conciliación. Antes de que se celebre el juicio, su abogado y el del demandado tendrán la oportunidad de negociar un acuerdo. Si se llega a un acuerdo, aquí terminará el pleito.
Cuestiones prejudiciales
Las peticiones son solicitudes que los abogados presentan ante el tribunal para obligar a otra parte a realizar una determinada acción. Durante las mociones previas al juicio, su abogado y el abogado del acusado tienen la oportunidad de presentar pruebas o solicitar que ciertas pruebas sean excluidas del juicio. Algunas mociones pueden incluso solicitar que el juez decida el caso basándose en las pruebas presentadas hasta ese momento.
Ensayo
Este es el paso en el que ambas partes tienen la oportunidad de presentar sus argumentos más sólidos ante el tribunal. La mayoría de los casos no llegan a juicio, aunque algunos sí, por lo que debes prepararte para esa posibilidad.
Tendrá la oportunidad de presentar toda su información y pruebas ante un juez o un jurado. A continuación, el acusado presentará su versión del caso. Ambos abogados harán sus alegatos iniciales y finales y, en última instancia, dejarán el veredicto en manos del juez o del jurado. Dependiendo del resultado del juicio, también tendrá la oportunidad de presentar una apelación si no está de acuerdo con la decisión del tribunal.
Busque la ayuda del abogado de lesiones personales adecuado
Cuando busca una indemnización por sus lesiones, quiere asegurarse de que su caso está en las mejores manos posibles. Un abogado experto en lesiones personales es la mejor persona para tener en su esquina. No hay un solo paso de su demanda que un abogado de lesiones personales no pueda realizar por usted.
Cuando la negligencia de otra persona le ha lesionado gravemente, necesita un abogado experto en lesiones personales a su lado. En lugar de dejar su indemnización en manos de la suerte, déjela en manos de un abogado que no se detendrá ante nada para ayudarle a obtener el resultado deseado. Nadie debería salirse con la suya causándole daño a usted o a su familia. Póngase en contacto con un abogado abogado de lesiones personales para discutir su caso hoy.
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