Go to special information
on auto accidents
Injuries can occur anytime and anywhere. If you have suffered physical or emotional harm because of another person’s or company’s negligent or reckless acts, or failure to act, you can file a claim against the party or parties at fault. You may be entitled to recover monetary damages for pain and suffering, lost wages and payment of reasonable medical expenses (both present and future).
If your claim cannot be settled, you must prove in court that you have been injured by another party’s acts to win a personal injury claim.
Personal injury victims are called plaintiffs. Parties accused of causing harm are called defendants. A tort is a legal wrong for which the law allows money damages as a remedy. There are several different types of tort claims for which a lawsuit can be filed, including:
- Negligence is failure to exercise the standard of care required by the law to protect others from an unreasonable risk of harm. A defendant may be found negligent even if the act that caused a harm was not intentional. On the other hand, a defendant may claim that the plaintiff was also negligent and contributed to his or her own injury, or that the defendant knowingly assumed a certain amount of the risk related to an injury. Buying a lift ticket at a ski resort would be an example of knowingly assuming the risk of injury inherent in skiing. The term “standard of care” generally means the conduct and behavior of a reasonably prudent person under the same circumstances.
- Absolute liability, also referred to as strict liability, means liability that is imposed upon a defendant regardless of negligence or fault. Absolute liability typically exists for persons or companies who control activities or produce products that carry an inherently great risk, such as, for example, explosives manufacturing, ownership of dangerous animals, or operation of a skydiving business. Also, employers generally are strictly liable for occupational injuries to their employees, regardless of the inherent risk associated with the type of work performed.
- Intentional torts are intentional acts or failures to act that result in harm to another person or damage to another person’s property. Examples include assault, battery, trespass, false imprisonment, fraud, libel, slander, and intellectual property infringement. While the first few of these acts may be prosecuted criminally, it is also possible for a victim to bring a separate civil lawsuit to recover damages.
Physical personal injuries for which damages may be awarded can include disability, loss of limb(s), permanent scars and disfigurement, and loss of any of the five senses. Emotional harm can include embarrassment, mental anguish, the loss of love and affection, emotional trauma and loss of enjoyment.
As you can begin to see, personal injury is a complex area of the law, and it is vital that you seek guidance from a competent attorney. Also, personal injury claims are subject to a statute of limitations, which means that a victim has a limited time period during which he or she may file a lawsuit. It is important that you consult an attorney at the earliest possible date if you believe you may have a valid claim, so that you can protect your legal rights. We do not charge any fee for consultations of this sort.
Automobile Accidents
You may be entitled to recover monetary damages for pain and suffering, lost wages and payment of reasonable medical expenses (both present and future) if you have been injured as the result of an automobile accident. If the person who caused your injuries does not have insurance, or if his or her insurance is not sufficient to cover your damages, you may be entitled to collect uninsurance or underinsurance coverage from your automobile policy or a family member’s automobile policy.
What should I do? If you or a friend or family member are involved in an automobile accident, including injury as a pedestrian, try to obtain as much information as possible about the vehicles and drivers involved. The police accident report usually includes vehicle descriptions, driver names, addresses and license numbers, vehicle owner names and addresses, and insurance carrier names.
You should also make notes about relevant facts, ideally as soon as possible after the accident, including:
- weather, time of day, available light and traffic conditions
- road conditions, road construction, and defects such as potholes and faded lane lines or turn arrorws
- obstructed signs or obstructed/malfunctioning traffic signals
- names and phone numbers of potential witnesses
- types and degree of apparent damage to each vehicle
- apparent severity of injury to all other persons involved, including any treatment sought or received from paramedics at the scene
- direction, approximate/apparent speeds and positions of the vehicles.
And while this may seem obvious, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible even if you are not experiencing severe injury symtpoms. The combination of shock, adrenaline, normal delays in the onset of muscle soreness and other factors may mask a serious injury. Immediate professional medical attention can prevent you from aggravating a masked injury and help speed your recovery.
Contact your insurance agent or call your insurance company’s claims reporting line, ideally the same day the accident occurs. If you do not have a copy of your current coverages, ask that a copy be faxed, emailed or mailed to you as soon as possible.
We strongly recommend that you do not sign any insurance company documents related to your accident before consulting with an attorney. We do not charge any fee for consultations of this sort.
