After being the victim of a car accident, a dog bite, a slip and fall accident, or some other type of negligent action, you’ll be within your rights to file a personal injury claim. Doing so could help you recover any damages you suffered as a result of that negligent conduct.
But is it really worth filing a personal injury claim? And how can you tell?
The Basics of Personal Injury Claims
Let’s start with the basics of personal injury claims. If you were injured as a result of someone else’s negligence, meaning you were harmed because of their irresponsible actions or inactions, you’re legally entitled to compensation for any damages you suffered. To prove this, you’ll need to show four separate elements, illustrating that the defendant owed you a duty, that they breached that duty, and that their breach of that duty caused your injuries; you’ll also need to show the extent of those injuries.
With the help of a personal injury lawyer, you can put together a clean case, presenting evidence in a lawsuit against the defendant. The legal process can be tricky to navigate but your lawyer will help you through it. It’s very likely that your personal injury case would settle out of court, meaning you and the defendant would negotiate a mutually agreeable settlement payment period, but if that doesn’t work, you’ll go to court and resolve the matter there.
The Potential Benefits
There are several potential benefits associated with filing a personal injury claim.
Most cases will settle out of court. After several months of negotiations, you and the defendant should be able to reach an agreeable amount that can compensate you for things like:
- Medical expenses. The most obvious type of damages you can collect is reimbursement for medical expenses. After you were injured, you probably went to a hospital, or at the very least, you attended one or more medical appointments. You may have incurred other expenses, such as costs associated with physical therapy, prescription medications, and follow-up appointments. All of these expenses are compensable, and your defendant will need to pay them if they’re liable for your injuries.
- Other losses. The defendant may also be responsible for paying for other losses you incurred as a result of this injury. These include things like lost wages from being out of work, property damage, and more.
- Pain and suffering. You may also be able to collect damages for your pain and suffering. This is a somewhat subjective matter, but defendants are still responsible for compensating plaintiffs for what they felt and experienced.
- Punitive damages. In particularly egregious cases, a court may also assign punitive damages to the defendant, penalizing them for their misconduct.
If you incurred significant expenses as a result of the injury you experienced, you owe it to yourself to seek compensation.
The Drawbacks
There are some drawbacks to consider, however.
- Time. It often takes more than a year for a personal injury case to be resolved. If negotiations are protracted or if you end up going to court, it could take even longer. If you’re worried about dealing with this matter for an excessive length of time, and your expenses were relatively minor, it may not be in your best interest to move forward with a lawsuit.
- Stress. Legal matters are also stressful. You’ll probably need to engage with your lawyer on a regular basis, updating your negotiation strategy and providing new evidence wherever appropriate. Your initial settlement offer may be much lower than you expect, and if you go to trial, you’ll have a whole new class of headaches to deal with. Not everyone wants to deal with this, especially for relatively minor injuries.
- Money? Some people are reluctant to move forward with personal injury lawsuits because they believe lawyers and trials are expensive. It’s certainly true that legal matters can be expensive, but most personal injury lawyers don’t ask for any money upfront, and will only collect money from you if your personal injury case is successful. Lawyers may refuse to take on your case if they believe you don’t have grounds to win a settlement, and you’ll owe your lawyers money if you do win a settlement. However, being light on cash is not a good reason to avoid pursuing this type of claim.
So, does it make sense for you to file a personal injury claim? Personal injury cases come in so many varieties that it’s impossible to say for sure. But if you’ve been injured as a result of someone else’s negligence, you should at least contact a personal injury attorney to see what they have to say about it and decide whether it makes sense to move forward.
