If you or your loved one had to suffer injuries as a result of another party’s fault, negligence, reckless conduct, or wrongdoing, you have the right to seek compensation. Unfortunately, the process of receiving compensation can often be challenging and overwhelming. The assistance of a personal injury lawyer can help with the process. Here is a comprehensive guide to pursuing compensation for personal injury claims.
What Is a Personal Injury Claim?
The objective of a personal injury claim is to recover legal damages from the party that caused the injuries. The type of accident that leads to personal injury include car accidents, public liability claims, work injuries, and total and permanent disability.
Compensation for personal injury can be for physical and psychological injuries. For example, if someone suffered mental anguish, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, or other mental health issues, they can seek compensation for that. Physical injuries include lacerations, broken bones, soft tissue injuries, traumatic head injuries, and several types of physical injuries or ailments. In some cases, personal injury claims can also be filed for damage to reputation.
How Does a Personal Injury Claim Work?
While every personal case can be unique and have its specific circumstances, there are some typical steps for the claim process.
Getting Medical Attention
One of the first steps in a personal injury claim is to get medical care. If you want to get compensation for the injuries, you are going to need some proof. You may need to submit receipts of your medical expenses such as emergency care, surgery, or rehabilitation. If you don’t get the medical care, the opposing party can use this to prove that your injuries were not serious enough to need medical attention and, therefore, do not deserve compensation.
Hiring a Legal Representative
While you are not required to hire a lawyer, most people choose to have a lawyer to maximize their chances of getting fairly compensated for their injuries. In the initial consultation, the lawyer will assess the facts of the case to guide you on the best legal court to action.
The lawyer will typically ask you questions about how the accident happened, who you think was at fault for the accident, what injuries you suffered, the expenses or damages you had to bear, and if you have been able to gather any evidence. After listening to the details of the case, they should be able to guide you on whether your injuries qualify as a personal injury claim or whether you need to seek compensation through other legal routes.
Determining Liability of the Personal Injury
One of the key steps in a personal injury claim is determining the liability of the accident. For example, if you slipped on a wet floor at a shop, the personal injury claim would be against the cleaning contractor, retailer, or other party responsible for the accident. Similarly, employers can be held liable for workplace injuries, or restaurants could be held liable for allergic reactions or food poisoning. There could be multiple parties held liable for the accident.
To establish liability, you need to prove that the defendant owed you a duty of care and that their negligence or wrongdoing resulted in a breach of this duty. In addition, you need to demonstrate that the fault of the defendant caused you the injury.
Serve Notice of Claim
To seek compensation for your injuries in a personal injury claim, you need to serve a notice of claim to all involved parties to inform them of your intent to file a claim. In most cases, the notice is delivered by a court official, professional process server, or law enforcement officer.
Settlement Negotiations
Both parties may want to engage in negotiations to settle the case. If the defendant accepts liability, they may present with an offer for settlement. You can negotiate their settlement amount. Your lawyer can help in negotiation processes and calculate a fair value of your damages. An experienced lawyer will assess the merits of your case to guide you on whether you should accept the settlement offer or whether the amount is unreasonably low for you to accept the offer.
Taking the Case to Trial
If no settlement is reached, the case goes to trial. Most personal cases are settled before trial; however, if you feel the opposing party is not offering you an acceptable amount, then you have the right to take the case to trial. Your attorney can present their argument and evidence to prove why you deserve the compensation you are asking for. Click here to learn more.