Navigating a personal injury after an accident can be a bewildering and stressful situation. There are injuries and doctors bills to take care of, lawyers to deal with and insurance companies to navigate. There are countless questions that come up and often seemingly few places to get answers you can trust. If you’re facing the aftermath of an accident and don’t know where to turn, this article can help. Keep reading to get answers to some of the most frequently asked questions following a personal injury accident.
What is Personal Injury?
Personal injury is a civil law concept that aims to remunerate victims for injuries to their person or even character. That means a claim can compensate someone physically harmed in an accident, but also someone who is a victim of a social wrong. This article will focus on personal injuries that involve a physical accident.
Who Do I File Against?
There can be several potential targets of a personal injury suit, ranging from the producers of a defective product to the driver of a motor vehicle. The key is that their careless or negligent actions resulted in your injury. It’s best to contact a personal injury attorney to review the details of your accident and learn who all might be reasonably held responsible.
What Do I Need to Prove?
The key element of winning your personal injury case is proving negligence on the part of a manufacturer, doctor, motorist, or any number of other parties. Once your attorney has decided who to target, you will need to work to prove a few things in court:
- That the defendant had a reasonable duty of care to the plaintiff and failed at it
- That their actions directly caused your loss or injury
- That their actions resulted in clear damages
How Will a Claim Impact My Insurance?
A personal injury claim can result in a large settlement that can help with bills. But it can also generate new bills in the form of higher insurance premiums. A personal injury claim on your auto insurance record, can raise your rates if you were at-fault in any way. So if you are in an accident, it’s critical to work with insurance adjusters to prove you aren’t at fault.
A personal injury case can impact your life in countless ways, from increasing bills to leaving you with lasting injuries. Contact a personal injury attorney soon after your accident to ensure you know all of your options.