New Jersey Injury Lawyers BlogPersonal Injury — How to Tell If You Have a Case
English: Barking Dog (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
You may be entitled to recover damages through a personal injury lawsuit if the injuries you have suffered are due to the negligence of others. Laws governing personal injury cases vary by state and the lawsuits themselves can be complex. The following provides some information on evaluating your personal injury case, but if you need a personal injury attorney who is experienced in such matters, contact Ragland Law Firm located in Lebanon, NJ.
Personal injuries have numerous causes: vehicular accidents of any kind (car, bus, boat, motorcycle), falls, defective products, industrial accidents, certain medical procedures including childbirth, and even dog bites. The key to distinguishing between an unfortunate accident and a personal injury case is whether or not the accident was caused by the carelessness or negligence of another party.
Negligence is the failure to act the way a reasonable person would under specific circumstances. For example, a reasonable person may keep an aggressive dog leashed and muzzled, whereas a negligent person may let that dog roam free. A person bitten by the free-roaming dog could possibly have grounds for a lawsuit. Other examples of negligence include reckless driving, failure to repair and maintain property, distribution or sale of knowingly dangerous or faulty products or drugs, failure to provide adequate warnings and/or instructions for products, failure to carry out proper medical procedures, and failure to protect against industrial accidents.
Certain circumstances can complicate a personal injury claim. For instance, not all injuries are physical or visible. Internal injuries that limit mobility are not as obvious as the loss of a limb, nor are mental and emotional damages. Additionally, it is not always easy to pinpoint fault. Sometimes fault is shared and sometimes the party ultimately responsible for conditions leading to the injury is difficult to determine. Because of these complexities, it may be advisable to seek legal advice when pursuing a personal injury lawsuit.
Once it is determined the accident resulted because of negligence, an attorney will look at the following:
• Can the party responsible be identified? If so, can responsibility be proven?
• Can the cost of the injuries you suffered be substantiated? Substantiation of injuries would include medical expenses (i.e., medicines, doctors’ fees, hospitalizations, treatments, and therapies), lost wages, and property damage. If the cost of the injuries can be substantiated, are the damages suffered significant enough to warrant a lawsuit?
• Are you committed to seeing the lawsuit through? Personal injury lawsuits often take months, if not years, to settle and, as such, require a commitment to follow through.
If you need assistance evaluating whether or not you have a personal injury case, you should contact a lawyer that has experience with situations involving injuries and accidents. If you are located in Hunterdon County or the surrounding area, you will find tenacious lawyers at Ragland Law Firm conveniently located on Route 22 in the westbound lane, minutes from Route 78 and Route 31.
