Getting into an accident that someone else caused can be an extremely upsetting experience, and will only be made worse if your injuries are significant and have a major impact on your life. After you have been injured and your medical bills start piling up at the same time that your income takes a major hit, you may find yourself panicking about how you are going to handle all of these financial burdens. Luckily, tort law provides victims a clear path towards compensation in certain situations; however, you will need to know whether or not you actually have a case before you move forward with seeking damages from the responsible party.
The best way to determine whether or not you have a personal injury case is to consult with an experienced personal injury lawyer who can help you make sense of your situation and understand the correct path forward for justice. Visit Lee, Gober & Reyna, PLLC at their website in order to request a free initial consultation so that you can get specific advice during a conversation with an experienced legal professional. In the meantime, take a look at some of the factors that will help you determine whether or not you have a case.
Did someone else cause your accident?
The first thing that you will need to determine is whether or not someone else is responsible for the accident that you were involved in. This could be a car accident, a slip and fall, medical malpractice, or any other number of situations where someone else was expected to act in a certain way to avoid causing harm to others, and failed to do so. This is known as a duty of care, and a failed duty of care is the first indication that your accident may be covered under tort law.
Were you injured as a result of someone’s negligence or recklessness?
If you are able to establish that the other party did, in fact, cause the accident, the next step is to determine whether or not you were injured as a result of this failure to keep you safe. If you were not injured, it is unlikely that you will be able to seek compensation for anything, since a personal injury case seeks compensation for measurable damages that a victim suffers. However, if you were injured, then you will be able to calculate your measurable damages with the help of an attorney.
Have there been measurable impacts stemming from your accident and injuries?
The “measurable impacts” that you will need to calculate do not just consider economic impacts such as medical bills or lost wages. In fact, compensatory damages are divided into two parts: economic damages, and non-economic damages. Economic damages provide you with compensation for measurable financial losses and costs, but non-economic damages provide you with compensation for other impacts of an accident, such as the pain and suffering of an injury.
What do the legal professionals say?
Whether or not you are able to say with certainty that each of the aforementioned details is present in your situation, the most important thing to do is to speak with an attorney. Many law firms offer free consultations for personal injury cases so that the victim can understand their options clearly and quickly. When you speak with an attorney, they will be able to ask you specific questions that get to the heart of the issue so that you can decide the most appropriate course of action together.
