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A Personal
Injury Story
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The crisp winds of fall brush by your face,
it is Sunday morning, and you are feeling REAL good.
Strolling down Main Street, you are mesmerized by the beauty
of the quaint architecture. Several steps more, and
disaster! Looking elsewhere, you trip on a broken sidewalk,
tumble down with a huge thud. The ambulance comes, takes you
to the hospital, a storybook Sunday turns into a complete
nightmare. Was the City negligent by not fixing the
sidewalk? Who is going to pay for your lost earnings while
you are healing? A situation like this requires an
experienced attorney, who will evaluate the facts, and
determine whether a personal injury action should be brought
forth. Specifically, this requires the expertise of a
Personal Injury Attorney.
In the above scenario, there is a very good chance an
attorney will secure you more monetary compensation than you
can do for yourself. Personal injury, however, is a
specialized field that requires a qualified personal injury
attorney to handle the case.
Before you contact an attorney I suggest you prepare the
following documents:
1) Write down as much as you can about the accident itself,
your injuries, and any other losses (such as wages) you've
suffered as a result of the accident.
2) Make notes on anyone who may have seen the accident, or
whom you may have spoken to, or who helped you.
3) Go back and try to gather evidence, pictures, eye witness
statements, any other information, or materials that may
help your case.
Once you establish whether it was a result of negligence, it
is in your best interest to file your claim as soon as
possible. There are time limits if you plan on suing a
government, or municipality. Each state has their respective
statutes of limitations, so check with your own state on
this one.
Personal injury victims with a strong case should not have
to pay any out of pocket expenses. Any attorney worth his
salt will take on a personal injury case on a contingency
basis. This means that the attorney will cover all expenses
during the trial, and take his fee as a percentage of the
recovery. Typically, this ranges from 1/3 to 1/2 of the
total damages. The best place to find the appropriate
personal injury lawyer, is through referrals. Ask friends,
or relatives, professional lawyers who do not specialize in
personal injury cases, however they should guide you in the
right direction. In addition, most local bar associations
have referral services in which the names of lawyers are
available, arranged by legal specialty.
As with anything, prevention is the best medicine. Try to
avoid situations that could be potentially dangerous, or
harmful. In the rare cases when this is unavoidable, be sure
you follow the appropriate procedures, and don't be
intimidated by insurance companies, or government agencies,
hire a personal injury attorney, and receive the
compensation you deserve.
About the author:
by: Ted Roxan
Dr. Jay B Stockman is a contributing editor for Personal
Injury Online, and has extensive experience with Personal
Injury cases. For more information, please visit our
http://personal-injury-attorneyonline.com/Personal
Injury Forum |
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