Accidents happen all the time, which is why our Nashville personal injury attorneys can help (includes brain injuries).
Frequently, no one is to blame for a mishap that leads to serious injury. Poor weather, loss of concentration, or unstable shoes causes someone to slip, trip, and fall, twisting an ankle and breaking a wrist. The mishap was caused by the victim’s own negligence. Even though this is frustrating, the individual must carry all financial burdens which an accident like this often entails, such as fees for physiotherapy and having to cancel a holiday. When there is someone to blame apart from the injured party and the consequences are severe, a personal injury lawyer should become involved.
Personal Injury
What is a personal injury? This could be the result of an automobile collision, being struck when crossing the road, or being harmed when a vehicle malfunctions resulting in broken bones, head injury, or more severe physical consequences. Where personal injury lawyers are concerned, the situation involves two parties: one claiming injury as a result of the other person’s actions or negligence; the other denying this claim or trying to reduce the pay-out when his negligence is without question.
Where Does Personal Injury Happen?
It can take place at someone’s home, in a rental property, at the mall, or in one’s car — anywhere. An individual has suffered because another party failed to warn him of risks or failed to notice risks such as uneven pavement, wet floors, faulty electrical wiring, or anything else which leads to injury. You often see signs around malls showing that the floor is wet because, were someone to slip on the floor and that sign was not present, a law suit could be instigated as a result. Property owners can only hope that individuals will be reasonable, not go running to a lawyer at the first sign of trouble. Unfortunately, that is what a lot of consumers do these days.
The house cleaner going to her employer’s property might trip on loose paving stones of which she was unaware, or be injured by tripping on a decorative pot near the front door which she did not see because of poor lighting. These are issues of negligence, and if the employee was sufficiently injured, she will ask her employer to pay these costs. If he refuses to do so, she will have to consult a lawyer to obtain compensation for lost wages and medical bills.
Legal bodies do not always have to become involved, but people usually defend their own best interests. They do what they can to avoid financial consequences, even when they know the injured person is right.
What a Lawyer Decides
If you happen to believe your situation warrants legal action, take this opinion to a lawyer. Arrange for a consultation (often free of charge) so the lawyer can determine if you have a strong enough case to work with. Select someone from the internet or yellow pages, a lawyer who has successfully handled many cases of personal injury. He should have won most of those cases and his clients should have received substantial compensation.
He will ask if you tried to settle the dispute with the other party. He might wonder if you signed anything waiving repayment for lost earnings or medical fees. A concern he has is that many individuals try to get money they do not deserve, and though it is up to the other party to arrange legal representation on his own behalf, taking a case without grounds leads to consequences.
One is that a lawyer’s reputation is tainted. If an insubstantial dispute even makes it before a judge, that judge will have choice words for the lawyer who should have shown better judgment. For the lawyer whose case is not strong enough, his client pays out but gets nothing in return. He will not be writing a testimonial. More importantly, even if a client is wrong, a very good lawyer is capable of winning and causing distress to an innocent defendant.
What Kinds of Personal Injury Does a Lawyer Represent?
As far as the law is concerned, injury refers to bodily, emotional, or financial damage. A blow to the head after being hit by a car, thrown through the air, and landing several feet away will result in several weeks off of work recovering from concussion or, worse still, permanent brain damage. Remembering the event leads to many nights of lost sleep as the accident plays over and over, causing insomnia, depression, and the loss of a job or marriage.
Relatively few Americans enjoy the benefits of long-term sick pay or returning to their job months after first being injured. Most people live day to day or week to week, relying on every pay cheque. There is no leeway in their lives for illness or injury. They make money when they work and go hungry when they do not. For self-employed people this is particularly true, specifically in one or two-man operations.
Should the injured man or woman accept this situation or look for reparations from the person or persons responsible? As far as the law is concerned, there are many good reasons to seek financial justice for losses resulting from an accident which was someone else’s fault.