Every year in the United States nearly 400,000 personal injury claims are made. These can cover a whole range of accidents, whether they take place at home, on the go, or at work.
However, this doesn’t mean that all personal injury claims will be successful. In order to make a successful claim, you need to know exactly how injury laws work to support you for this, you can consult with Voss Law Firm for assistance.
In that case, you’re in the right place! Read on to find out five injury laws you need to know about before filing your personal injury claim.
1. You Have a Time Limit to Make a Personal Injury Claim
One of the first things you should know about how to file an injury claim is that there is a deadline for filing your claim. This is in line with the statute of limitations and varies depending on where you are filing it and when you discovered your injury.
In some states (such as Kentucky or Louisianna), you only have one year to file a personal injury claim, while other states (like Maine) allow up to six years. It is important to note that this countdown begins from the time that you become aware of your injuries. So it doesn’t necessarily start when you first suffer the injuries.
If, for example, you are injured in a car accident then you will have a certain period of time from the date of the accident. This is because you should discover your injuries quite quickly.
However, certain injuries take longer to become obvious.
For example, asbestos poisoning can take decades to show up. If you were exposed to asbestos 20 years ago, you can still make a claim once your injuries.
In this case, your deadline for filing a lawsuit begins from the date that you discover or should have discovered your injuries.
2. No One Can Force You Into a Deal
A lot of insurance companies and parties involved in personal injury accidents will try to avoid a claim by offering you a deal. However, it is important that you consider this carefully with help from injury lawyers.
Injury laws exist to protect you from being exploited after an accident and mean that no one can force you into taking a deal. Keep this in mind and, if you feel that someone is putting pressure on you to make a deal, get support from a legal expert.
3. You Can Win a Case in Two Ways
There are two ways that you can win a personal injury case. You can settle out of court or appear in court and have your case decided by a judge.
The majority of injury cases are settled out of court. This is when your lawyer and the other parties involved come to an agreement on how much compensation you are entitled to without help from a judge. In accepting an out of court settlement, you also agree to pursue no further legal action against the responsible party.
If you and the responsible party cannot agree on a settlement, then your claim may go to court. In this case, a judge will hear the evidence for and against your claim. Based on this they will then decide on the outcome.
4. You Must Establish Negligence
One of the most important things to do when making a personal injury claim is to identify who is responsible for your injuries. Often, this means establishing negligence on their part.
Negligence just means that a person or company did not perform fulfill their duties properly, which resulted in your injuries.
For example, if a doctor prescribes an incorrect treatment, which results in you becoming ill, this is negligence. Equally, you can sue a highway maintenance company for negligence if a lack of road signs causes an accident.
In some cases, it may be difficult to determine whose negligence lead to your injuries. An injury lawyer will be able to explore all the possibilities and find out whose negligence lead to your injuries.
5. You’ll Need Evidence to Support Your Claim
Once you have established negligence, you need evidence to support your claim. This evidence can prove who was at fault in your accident and demonstrate that it wasn’t your fault.
There are lots of different things you can use as evidence including:
The type of evidence that will support your case depends a lot on how you were injured. For example, auto accident injuries are much more likely to be recorded on CCTV and will be recorded by the local police. In comparison, finding evidence for injuries that occurred a long time ago is more of a challenge.
Thankfully, the best injury lawyers will take on the responsibility of looking through our case and gathering evidence to support it. They have plenty of experience searching for evidence, so know exactly where to look for it. This means that you can focus your energy on recovering from your injuries.
Get Help Understanding Personal Injury Laws
When it comes to filing a personal injury claim, knowing which injury laws are on your side will make all the difference to your case. Keep these in mind and, with a good lawyer on your side, you can’t go far wrong!
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