Personal Injury Settlements Tips

A personal injury case is one in which a person is a victim of injury. The injury could be caused by a vehicle accident, medical malpractice, slip and fall injuries, dog bite injuries and a host of other injuries to your person.

If you or a loved one has been injured, even if you are not sure you have a case, you should contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. The State of California has a statute of limitations – a time frame in which you can file your personal injury case. In addition, though you may think you are not hurt, there are things that may manifest later. A lawsuit needs to be filed so that you may recover if an injury manifests after a year. Common injuries that may not be noticeable at first include back injuries suffered in a vehicle accident or a slip and fall accident. If you or a loved one has been injured in some way, contact Ledger & Associates for a free consultation at 1-800-300-0001.

Not all personal injury lawyers take all types of personal injury cases – there are many types of personal injury lawsuits. Motorcycle accidents and truck accidents are just a few of the types of personal injury cases that some law firms avoid.

Truck and motorcycle accident cases usually involve circumstances that are more complex than passenger vehicle accident cases. These cases also require that the attorneys in the firm have extensive experience when dealing with them. Often, there are extenuating circumstances involved with trucking accidents and motorcycle accidents because of the nature of the vehicle. The attorneys at Ledger and Associates have the experience that you need in these types of accident cases, whether you were unfortunately at fault or if you were the victim.

Personal injury law is based on two principles: negligence and intentional acts. Negligence involves an individual causing harm that does not intend to cause injury. Car accidents (if a person is not breaking the law), slip and fall accidents and medical malpractice accidents are generally considered negligence. Intentional acts causing injury are also known as torts. Tort law covers personal injury cases such as assault, battery, child abuse and defamation of character.

If a person is injured at work, he or she can typically claim worker’s compensation. An injured person may collect additional compensation if a third party caused the injury. For example, if a person is injured by a piece of machinery operated by a different company or a subcontractor, the injured person may be able to recover worker’s compensation in addition to compensation from the machine operator and/or the company.

A personal injury attorney has experience in trying and settling cases dealing with negligence and torts. A tort is a wrong that is intentionally committed against another person. Many personal injury lawyers specialize in one form or another of personal injury law – some lawyers only do medical malpractice, some handle vehicle accidents and some do only slip-and-fall type accidents.

The firm of Ledger and Associates has six locations throughout California. Each office is staffed with experienced personal injury lawyers and legal staff that can help you with your specific case. If you or a loved one has been involved in any type of personal injury accident, contact one of our personal injury lawyers as soon as possible, even if you think you may not have suffered an injury. Often, injuries can manifest at a later date. California has a statute of limitations – this means that your personal injury lawsuit must be filed within a certain amount of time after the date of the incident. Do not take a chance on losing out of compensation to which you may be entitled.

A personal injury attorney represents people who have been injured in an accident. Injuries can happen through negligence or because of intentional actions on a person. Each type of personal injury law (negligence and torts) has its own set of rules for compensation. A personal injury attorney will make sure you get all of the compensation you are entitled to – either through settlement of your case or through a judgment awarded at a trial.

In vehicle accident cases, there are many people involved. In addition to the plaintiff and defendant, insurance companies often have representatives on both sides. Also, each party will most likely have an attorney.

Each side may also have witnesses. A personal injury attorney helps bring all the information from all of these people together in order to ensure you get just compensation. Depending on the nature and the scope of the accident, there may be many witnesses with many documents, including medical and police accident reports. Personal injury law firms have specific tools to help them organize and present all of the evidence in an organized order. If the case does not settle and goes to trial, a personal injury attorney will know when to present each piece of evidence in order to best represent your interests.

If you have been injured, whether in a vehicle accident, dog bite case, slip and fall or your injuries were caused in some other way (for example, work related, accidents with machinery), you should contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible.

A personal injury lawyer can look at the known facts of your case and tell you if you should be entitled to an injury settlement. In order to get an injury settlement, you will need to file a lawsuit against the person or company that caused the injury.

Sometimes, the compensation offered by the defendant is not acceptable, or they simply refuse to offer compensation. At this point, you will not receive a settlement, but the case will be heard in front of a judge. The court will then determine if you should receive a judgment against the defendant. The court will also determine whether the amount you requested is fair and equitable. Once the final judgment in the case has been entered, the defendant is obligated to pay you via the terms outlined in the ultimate decision.

An injured person can get a settlement or a judgment in a slip and fall case. It helps to have pictures of the area and the substances slipped on, so if possible, document the scene, indicating any “wet floor” or other warning signs, or lack thereof. Also, immediately notify the property manager.

Slip and falls can also happen outside or in a private home. Request to be taken to a medical facility to be checked out, even if you think you are not hurt. Injuries can manifest at a later time, including hours and days later. As soon as you possibly can, contact a personal injury attorney. The State of California has a statute of limitations, two years for most personal injury cases. However, the so-called “discovery rule” allows a suit to be filed within a reasonable period of time after the injury has been discovered, or should have been discovered.

It’s important to note that not all slip-and-fall incidents and injuries call for a lawsuit. The law does not protect carelessness in individuals. If you trip over an exposed pipe in a building, ask yourself if a reasonable person would expect that pipe to be there. Accidents on wet floors pose similar questions: Were there warning signs? Would a reasonable person exact caution when walking on the floor? Did or should the owner, manager, or employee of the location know the situation was dangerous?

Much of this is based on common sense and reason, which are very hard to quantify. There are a few ways to help determine “reasonableness,” including:

• For how long was the situation dangerous?
• Was their sufficient time to correct the problem?
• Does the object that caused the accident have a legitimate reason for being there?

Some degree of carelessness is the root cause of many personal injury accidents, and determining the extent of a party’s carelessness is the crux of any lawsuit. While there is no scientific method for determining carelessness – and by extension, fault – there are indicators that help guide liability.

Should the injured person have expected some degree of injury potential or danger in the given situation? If so, did they exercise proper precautions?

If the injured person is determined to have acted carelessly, how much did that contribute to the accident?

Comparative negligence is a rule used to determine percentage of fault and in turn, amount of compensation. If an injured person is found to be 10% at fault for their injuries because of careless behavior, then their compensation is reduced by that same 10%.

For example, Driver A is involved in a head-on collision with Driver B. Driver A may be entitled to compensation because Driver B crossed a double line and caused the accident. However, if it is determined the Driver A was driving at an unsafe speed at the time of the accident, the court may say Driver A is 10% responsible for the accident, reducing monetary compensation by 10%.

If you or a loved one was injured in an accident, you may be entitled to compensation. Depending on the type of accident, you may be entitled to compensatory damages and punitive damages. Compensatory damage is a monetary award that compensates the injured party for losses and damages because of the malfeasance of the responsible party.

Compensatory damages include medical bills (past, present and future), lost wages, lost future wages and compensation for property damage. Compensation may also include a monetary award for pain and suffering, loss of lifestyle, embarrassment, disfigurement, loss of emotional support and loss of companionship.

Punitive damages are awarded to the plaintiff if it’s determined the defendant committed a heinous act against the plaintiff, causing damages (intentional injury as opposed to negligence). A personal injury firm, such as Ledger & Associates, can help you recover damages that are due because you or a loved one was injured in an accident.

A California personal injury law firm handles many different types of personal injury including car accidents, truck accidents, airplane accidents, boating accidents, train accidents, slip and fall accidents and medical malpractice cases.

The California personal injury lawyers have many years of experience with settlement negotiations and litigation. If a defendant (an individual or an insurance company) does not present an acceptable settlement, we have the resources to take your case through litigation. We will use these resources to get the best possible outcome we can for your case.

Most accident cases involve insurance companies, which makes it difficult for an individual to succeed in representing him or herself in settlement negotiations. The insurance company will offer the lowest amount it thinks it can get away with offering. This leads to litigation if the insurance company will not budge off a low offer.

A Los Angeles personal injury lawyer is experienced in settlement negotiations and—in the event the defendant does not have a fair offer—litigation. Most people think of medical malpractice when they hear the term “personal injury lawyer,” but a personal injury lawyer represents people who suffer injuries from all manner of accidents, including vehicle accidents, slip and fall accidents and product liability matters.

If a personal injury involves an automobile, unless one or more parties are uninsured, insurance companies and their attorneys will be involved in the lawsuit. In a multi-vehicle pileup, for example, a five-car pileup, there will be upwards of five insurance companies involved in the lawsuit. This means that a minimum of six copies of pleading must go out each time something is drafted for the court. Navigating this document-intensive process without a skilled and knowledgeable attorney by your side is not recommended.

Even if your insurance company provides an attorney for you, you should retain your own Los Angeles personal injury lawyer, as the insurance company’s attorney is looking out for the insurance company's best interest, then your best interest.

From the time you retain a Ledger Law California personal injury attorney, the attorney works on your case, making sure you get the best outcome possible in a personal injury settlement. Many personal injury cases do settle, but in the event that a case does not settle, be comfortable knowing that Ledger Law attorneys have many years of experience as litigators.

A California personal injury attorney uses medical experts and accident scene recreation experts to ensure a case is succinctly made. During settlement negotiations, if the defendant does not come to the table with a fair offer, the California personal injury attorney will stop negotiations and bring the case to litigation.

Expert witnesses (medical experts and accident scene recreation experts) are retained to testify at the trial. A settlement is typically preferable over a trial simply because a quick settlement keeps legal fees low. Litigation is very expensive because of the time the attorney must take to prepare the case and the expert witnesses for trial.

The best personal injury lawyers have experience in settlement negotiations and litigation. An attorney who has experience in settlement negotiations can easily switch gears and move into litigation mode if settlement negotiations break down. They have many years of experience in personal injury settlement negotiations with individuals and insurance companies.

Most attorneys prefer to negotiate a fair settlement for their clients. "Winning" a case through settlement means that there is much less stress on the injured. It also means that the injured may receive his or her settlement money faster than if the case goes to trial.

The best personal injury lawyers also have access to expert witnesses. Expert witnesses include medical experts, accident investigation experts and accident scene recreation specialists. They put this information to use during settlement negotiations and litigation (should settlement negotiations break down) to get the best outcome possible for the plaintiff.

The best personal injury lawyers are also able to disseminate the information presented by the expert witnesses so that in the event of litigation, the lawyers can ask the appropriate questions and receive the answers needed to prove the case.

The best personal injury lawyer has experience in settlement negotiations and litigation tactics. He will also have experience working with insurance companies. Often, the plaintiff hires the best personal injury lawyer in addition to the personal injury lawyer the insurance company provides so that the plaintiff is ensured of someone representing his or her best interests. An insurance-appointed lawyer looks out for the best interests of the insurance company first, then the plaintiff.

The best personal injury lawyer also works with many different personal injury cases such as vehicle accidents, truck accidents, aviation accidents, boat accidents, train accidents, medical malpractice, slip and fall accidents and product liability accidents. He also understands some aspects of criminal law—if a defendant caused injury due to heinous behavior such as drunk driving or running from the police, the plaintiff may be entitled to punitive damages due to neglectful or criminal behavior.