Many injury victims know that they need to rely on qualified legal counsel after they are harmed in a workplace accident or other type of accident situation-- but not all of them understand some of the major reasons why it pays to get qualified legal representation on your side.
If you are looking for the services of a personal injury lawyer, here are some of the things that these attorneys may help you to consider when you sit down to go over a case:
Statutes of Limitations
The rules for many types of personal injury cases, including some types of worker's compensation case, involve a statute of limitations. The statute of limitations means that there's a limited amount of time in which a person can bring a claim or pursue a case. The other thing that's important here is that statutes of limitations change according to the state where the case is being brought, and other critical factors.
For instance, while injury victims typically tend to have a number of years to file a claim, this could change if the individual is suing or filing a claim against certain government parties, such as a municipal government.
Injury Documentation
There's a reason why qualified personal injury attorneys stress the importance of timely, impartial and qualified medical evaluation. The medical consultations that injury victims get need to be impartial, so that they don't lose ground when doctors who may be hired by their employers or other parties downplay the extent of their injuries. But the medical evaluation also has to be timely, so that it can catch the actual physical evidence of what happened in an accident.
Obvious Hazards Statutes
Other kinds of local and state laws also have an influence on how personal injury cases work out.
In some cases, the hazards involved in the case have to be obvious -- for example, if a plaintiff and his or her attorney can show a pattern of negligence, because of a clear and present hazard, they may be better off in court. But in some cases, just the opposite is different, and this is where things get confusing. In some jurisdictions, there may be ordinances or laws that show defendants may be less culpable because of an obvious hazard -- one excellent example is when there clearly is a sheet of ice on the ground in the winter. But why would third parties be less liable because of an obvious hazard? Part of the legal philosophy here is that for some extremely obvious hazards, those who visit a state or area should understand the dangers and take steps to prevent being harmed.
Personal injury lawyers can help clients with all of these tricky considerations and more. They will do the necessary fact-finding research to support a case. They will counsel their clients every step of the way, and they will make sure that their best interests are supported in court. To learn more, contact a professional like William D. Hochberg.
Share31 July 2015
When I was injured in a slip and fall accident a few years ago, my family and friends had a hard time relating to the things I was going through. While some people thought that my decision to file a lawsuit was frivolous, others were under the impression that I would walk away as a millionaire. Their lack of personal experience with this type of legal problem left me feeling alone during one of the most difficult times in my life. That is why I decided to start this blog so that accident victims from all over would have somewhere to come to get the information and support that they need. I truly hope that this page can be that place for you.