Filing a personal injury claim is a significant decision that can have an impact on your physical recovery, financial future and emotional well-being. Whether you have been injured in a car accident, a slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall accident, a workplace incident or another situation involving someone else’s negligence (carelessness), it is critical to assess several key factors before going ahead and filing a personal injury lawsuit.
Severity of the Injury
One of the most important factors in a personal injury lawsuit is the extent of your injuries. If your injuries are minor and do not require medical treatment or result in lasting harm, a formal claim may not be necessary. However, if you’ve suffered injuries such as broken bones, head injuries, spinal cord trauma, internal injuries or permanent injuries that have led to short-term or long-term disability, then pursuing a personal injury lawsuit may be essential to recover the costs associated with your treatment, ongoing care and loss of quality of life. Even injuries that seem minor at first can worsen over time. So as the first step, it is important to undergo a thorough medical evaluation after any accident. The best thing to do is hire an experienced personal injury lawyer right away to protect your rights.
Medical Expenses Incurred as a Result of Your Injuries
Personal injury lawsuits are often filed to recover out-of-pocket medical costs. These expenses may include, but not be limited to, emergency room visits, hospitalization, surgery, prescription medication, physical therapy, medical devices, follow-up care, rehabilitation, etc. If you’ve incurred significant medical expenses due to your injury, or if you are likely to need long-term medical care, a personal injury lawsuit may help ensure that these costs are covered. In many cases, even if you have health insurance, you may still face co-pays, deductibles and treatment limits, making a personal injury lawsuit a financially necessary step.
Loss of Income and Earning Capacity
If your injury has forced you to take time off work — or worse, has permanently affected your ability to earn a living — filing a personal injury claim may be necessary. You may be able to receive compensation for losses including lost wages and benefits, loss of future earning potential, missed career opportunities or inability to return to your previous occupation, pain and suffering, permanent injuries, etc. Documentation such as pay stubs, tax returns and letters from your employer can be used to establish these losses. In cases involving permanent disability, expert witnesses like vocational rehabilitation specialists may help quantify the long-term impact on your career and finances.
Pain, Suffering and Emotional Distress
Personal injury law also allows for compensation for non-economic damages, commonly known as “pain and suffering.” These damages compensate for losses such as physical pain, emotional distress, loss of life’s enjoyment, trauma from the incident, etc. Though these losses are more challenging to quantify than medical bills or lost income, pain and suffering are very real consequences of serious injuries. If your quality of life has significantly declined because of your injury, this factor can be a powerful reason to pursue a lawsuit.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident or pedestrian accident, or if you have lost a loved one in an auto accident caused by a negligent (careless) driver, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you. For over 53 years, our skilled accident attorneys have established a proven track record of helping injured victims get fair compensation for their losses. We recently recovered $5,600,000 for a bicyclist who was hit by a van, and $2,550,000 for another victim of a truck accident, and $3,000,000 for a pedestrian who was hit by a car, and $2,000,000 in a hit-and-run accident, and the full $1,000,000 insurance policy for a pedestrian who was hit by a truck, and $4,625,000 for a driver who was in a car and was hit by a van, and $2,500,000 for a man who fell through an improperly secured hole. Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases. Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496).
WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys‘ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury, lead poisoning and medical malpractice cases including, brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) and cerebral palsy cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com
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