Pursuing A Personal Injury Claim With A Lawyer
Personal injury is more than just one field of law. When pursuing a personal injury claim, it could be more than just one issue. It also has more than just one definitive side. For example, plaintiffs and defendants. However, we are going to be discussing the plaintiff side. Therefore, what is personal injury law and how do you know if you have a personal injury claim?
There are so many issues that fall under personal injury, from slip and falls to assault cases. Along with varying laws in different areas. Wherever this incident happened is where you file a claim. For example, if you were in a car accident in Maryland, but you live in New York, a personal injury lawsuit would be filed in Maryland. Needless to say every U.S. state has its own set of laws.
The Broad World of Pursuing a Personal Injury Claim
Pursuing a personal injury claim can happen after many different incidences. There are three main categories that we are going to discuss in this blog which may fall under personal injury law. To start, personal injury law can be intentional acts or personal attacks against somebody.
Intentional acts would be for example, assault cases, sometimes criminal law cases, or intentional car accidents — if the party at-fault was found to purposefully plan the “accident” —. These cases are anything but accidents. The evidence in these cases prove that the at-fault party had harmful intent to hurt the injured party. Sometimes this case also leads to emotional distress. However, there are times when emotional distress is the only injury after an incident.
Pursuing a personal injury claim could be due to emotional damage and stress. A physical injury may not be a part of the equation. Emotional damage issues can range from defamation or slander to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Regardless of the specifics, incidences as such ruin someone’s image and/or mental health. Oftentimes, emotional damage can come with an accident.
Furthermore, injury law can derive from an accident. This would fall under dog bites, car accidents, slip and falls, workers’ compensation, product liability, medical malpractice, among others. An accident was something that’s not supposed to happen or had no intent behind the act. This is very different from an intentional act of personal injury. However, one piece that all of these have in common is what they involve… an injury.
The Key Word in Personal INJURY
One of the common denominators when pursuing a personal injury claim is that there was some sort of injury involved. Hence the name personal injury. Whether a physical injury (involving outer damage or an inner sickness) or emotional or sometimes both. Even though intentional acts, emotional damage and accidents fall under personal injury law, law firms specialize typically one or multiple of those categories.
It goes to show that personal injury law is a very broad term. If you are looking to pursue a personal injury claim, we suggest you ask yourself, was it an injury of some sort? Afterwards, break down the incident and figure out how the it happened. Then do some research on what you should do in your circumstance and what law firm not only practices in that specific field along with if they practice in the state/territory you were injured. Moreover, figure out who is liable and responsible.
Who is Responsible for Causing the Injury?
Another common factor that personal injury incidences have are who’s involved. There should be another party who is responsible or liable. Another word you could use for responsible is negligent. More or less, somebody to sue. When it comes to personal injury law, insurance companies are oftentimes involved as well.
When another party is at-fault, they should be held financially responsible. This happens through the insurance company because they are the ones who end up paying for damages. However, insurance companies don’t always compensate for a fair amount. It’s unfortunate but that is why we encourage even talking to lawyers because they should know how to handle the insurance companies. If you are also thinking about pursuing a personal injury claim, remember that laws in some U.S. states require there to be a party involved who is clearly at-fault.
Most areas in the United States compensate the injured party even if they are partially at fault. However, in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. there is a term called contributory negligence, which may prevent that. Even if you are a small percentage at-fault, you may not receive compensation for injuries. The law is very complex. That’s why we encourage getting legal help. Sometimes you never know for sure until you ask.
How Lawyers at Malloy Law Offices, LLC Work On Pursuing a Personal Injury Claim
We talk a lot about hiring an attorney, but where are you supposed to start? Our team offers free consultations in case you are unsure. Sometimes you just need to make sure if you have a personal injury case or not. We will be honest with you whether or not you have a case. Our firm values honesty and education. That’s why we discuss topics like this. However, if you want to know more specifics about your case, contact us: (202) 933-1918. Personal injury law may not be straight forward but we will be.