Do You Have A Personal Injury Case? The Basics

When you are injured, it can be difficult to battle the insurance companies, struggle to pay hospital bills, worry about your job, and try to pay regular monthly bills. Filing a lawsuit at the same time may feel completely overwhelming. Let these simple tips help you decide if you have a personal injury case. 

Time Constraints

You should be aware that personal injury claims cannot be sought after a certain period of time. The amount of time varies by state, but most states do not allow a suit to brought after 2 years from the date of injury. If you feel you have a case, do not put off speaking to an attorney, such as those at the Law Office Of Regina Walsh Adams, as you could unknowingly allow too much time to pass. 

Negligence

For a personal injury claim to move forward in a legal proceeding, negligence of some kind must generally have taken place and be provable. In a broad sense, this means that a party disregarded standard safety measures, and as a result you were injured. There are many types of personal injury cases ranging from medical malpractice, to auto accidents, or even vicious dog attacks. Employees may be injured on the job due to safety hazards, or a customer may be injured by a defective product. 

Who's at Fault?

In some personal injury claims, the injured party fails to file a lawsuit simply because they aren't sure who is at fault. An example of this would be a medical malpractice claim, where a person was injured in surgery. Is the hospital at fault, or the surgeon? If you aren't sure who is at fault, don't let that keep you from speaking with an attorney. Often, establishing whether an organization or an individual is at fault can be challenging and varies according to each situation. 

Types of Torts

Personal injury cases generally fall under different categories. Intentional tort means that the action which caused injury was committed on purpose. An example of intentional tort (or personal injury) is someone beating or assaulting another person. Strict liability is another type of tort, which occurs when harm was not intended, but occurred despite precautions. An example of strict liability would be a truck with toxic materials crashing, and the chemicals spilling on a person. Although no harm was intended, it obviously occurred as a direct result of the chemicals. 

Personal injury cases can be complex and require a great deal of time and effort. If you suspect you have any type of personal injury case, the best course of action is to speak with a qualified attorney who specializes in your type of injury.