Personal injury lawyers cannot take every personal injury case that they are presented with. As much as they would like to help all of the people who seek their help, there are not enough hours in the day to accommodate every case. For that reason, personal injury lawyers put the case up against a specific set of factors to determine if they should take the case or not. There are several different types of practice areas at a law firm, and it is possible that your case may not fit into the personal injury category, but into another. This would be determined by the legal professionals evaluating your case.
Evaluating a Personal Injury Case
The majority of personal injury cases involve the negligence of a defendant that caused an injury in some form to the plaintiff. What people do not understand is that this is not the only form of personal injury case that can be handled by personal injury attorneys.
Strict liability is an area of tort law that has grown in recent years. The basis of strict liability is not to hold the manufacturer or designer negligent but to prove that a product was manufactured or designed in a way that made it dangerous when it was used as intended.
The other form of personal injury cases is intentional wrongs. Cases involving intentional wrongs are one of the more rare forms of personal injury case and involve when someone does wrong to you intentionally. For example, if someone plays a practical joke on you and you end up injured. You can sue them for battery.
Establishing Liability
The first question that has to be asked when evaluating a potential personal injury lawsuit case is:
“What did the defendant do wrong to cause injury?”
In some situations, the answer will be an easy one. Other times it may be a little harder to establish the wrongs done by the defendant. The lawyer also has to look at the actions of their potential plaintiff in the situation.
One of the largest reasons a personal injury lawyer will not take a potential plaintiff’s case is because after reviewing their case, they find that the potential plaintiff caused the accident that led to the injuries. In these circumstances, there is no way that a personal injury lawyer will sue someone else for the damages you caused.
Extent of Damages
A personal injury lawyer will require all the information about your claim at your consultation. Items you may want to include are any police reports and medical records that were obtained after the accident. To help your case, you need to make sure you are following the proper procedures after an accident. Once a lawyer has this information, they will carefully review your case. The more supporting documentation that you have, the better.
Personal injury lawyers also have to assess whether you are filing your lawsuit within the statute of limitations set forth by the state you reside in. A statute of limitations is the period of time in which you have to file a lawsuit against someone after an accident occurs. Each state has its own rules regarding this, but most have a statute of limitations that span two to three years after the occurrence.
Financial Outcomes
One of the misconceptions about personal injury lawyers is that they are greedy and expensive. The thing to remember about working with a personal injury lawyer is that they are not paid by the hour like a defense lawyer. If your case does not win, your lawyer isn’t getting compensation. From a business perspective, it would not benefit a personal injury lawyer or their client if the case was not going to win. This is part of the reason why the lawyer will evaluate the case and potential outcomes.
Not only does a personal injury lawyer have to look at the plaintiff’s case, but they have to see if the defendant has the means of paying out a settlement or judgment. In cases where the defendant does not have insurance during an automobile accident, a lawsuit may not get much accomplished regarding compensating personal injury or property damage.
Personal injury lawsuit compensation can come in the form of a direct judgment or a settlement. A judgment occurs when a judge orders the defendant to pay a specific amount for restitution as a result of a personal injury lawsuit. Settlements often occur before ever reaching a judge. A settlement is an agreement made between the defendant and the plaintiff on an amount for damages. You will often find settlements when lawsuits involve an insurance company.
State Your Case
Another misconception you will find circulating about personal injury lawyers is that they don’t care about their clients. Don’t allow a false statement like this to deter you from seeking legal counsel on a case. The founder of TorkLaw, Reza Torkzadeh, is quoted on the law firm’s website saying:
“At the end of the day, the most important thing to me is protecting my client’s rights.”
Personal injury lawyers see their clients and their cases. They don’t look at a client and see dollar signs. When you seek the counsel of a personal injury lawyer, you do not have to be worried that they are only after the money from your case, they do care about you. Being a personal injury lawyer is about making sure justice is served for those who have been wronged.
TorkLaw offers its knowledge base free of charge for potential clients. The knowledge base is a compilation of all the information the lawyers at the firm have gathered over their years working with personal injury cases.
You can use this knowledge base part of their website to learn more about your rights as a personal injury victim. Even if you are unsure whether you have enough evidence in your case, you can still call for a free case evaluation. TorkLaw is available anytime to answer your call to help you receive the compensation that you deserve for your personal injury.
