Indiana Personal Injury Lawyer

7 Things You Should NEVER Do During a Personal Injury Case

Personal Injuries, Personal Injury Information No Responses »

Oct 062011

If you find yourself involved in a personal injury case, there are many things you need to know to help protect your rights and ensure you get the settlement you deserve from a skilled accident attorney. And, no matter who is at fault, there are certain things you should never do.

There are likely many questions circling in your head – Who can help me? Is it okay to talk with friends about my case? Do I need to gather evidence, or will the insurance companies take care of it? Don’t worry, my friends. We’ve got you covered. All of these answers and more can be found below in our list of things you should never do if involved in a PI case.

Don’t assume someone else will gather the evidence – If there is any evidence to back up your story, find it; don’t assume your lawyer or the insurance companies will do it for you. And, even if they do, it’s always best to have more than you need rather than less. You should always do the following:

Take photos of the scene of the accident. If you were injured in a car accident, take photos of your injuries, the damage to the car, the current weather conditions, and even the pavement. Look especially for moisture or tire tracks that may help give more insight into your story.
Journal about your injuries. If you’re experiencing recurring pain from the accident, be sure to journal about this daily. Be specific in how your body feels, how long the symptoms last, and note if you missed out on any activities due to your pain. For example: “I missed my daughter’s piano recital because my back was in too much pain – I couldn’t get out of bed.”
Record witnesses – If there was anyone nearby your accident who can help fill in the details of what happened, ask them. Write down their name, contact information, and what they saw. Their testimony could later be used in court.

Don’t talk about your accident – The opposing side’s insurance company is out to find out as much as they can about you and your accident, and exactly what happened that day. Personal Injury lawyers recommend you don’t talk to friends or coworkers about what’s happened to you. Why? It’s a small world – you never know who knows who.

Don’t talk to insurance companies without first talking to your lawyer – As mentioned above, the opposing side’s insurance company will try to prove you’re at fault instead of their client. The more information they can gather from you the better. So, if they call you before you’ve had a chance to consult with your lawyer, politely decline and say, “I’ve been advised not to answer your questions at this time.”

Don’t play off your injuries – Your doctor needs to know exactly what happened to you in order to best diagnose and treat you. Now’s not the time to be macho and pretend you’re much stronger than you are. It’s very important (for both your health and settlement amount) that you get fully healed during this time.

These are just a few of the many tips for making it through a personal injury case. Each of them can help you take great strides toward the settlement you deserve.

Finding the Cause of Gas Explosion to Determine Injury Liability

News & Articles, Personal Injuries 1 Response »

Sep 092011

Gas explosions have the potential to cause serious injuries to people in close proximity. What legal recourse does a victim have if the negligence of another was the reason of this accident? The first thing a victim needs to do is get in touch with a legal practitioner to understand the right approach to the compensation claim.

Investigating the incident to ascertain the cause is of primary importance. Without this, you may not be able to determine liability for the injuries, and fail to sue the right entity. This may make it impossible to get the compensation that a victim requires to handle the financial setback he/she suffers.

Any accident resulting in gas explosion injury may have different causes. It could be a domestic accident or one in an industrial or agricultural setting. The cause plays an important role in the liability. If the accident was the result of improper handling of some equipment, the individual handling it, and the supervisor, may be the liable one.

On the other hand, if a defective piece of equipment led to the gas explosion and your injuries, the manufacturer or seller of the product was liable for this. A competent lawyer has the necessary knowledge, expertise and resources to investigate the accident, determine the cause, and find the liable entity against which to file the case.

Understanding the Possible Damage Recovery for Your Burn Injuries

News & Articles, Personal Injuries No Responses »

Jul 222011

Any injury is a cause of concern. With increase in the severity of the injury, the concern increases too. This is the reason burn injuries are some of the most traumatic experience for the victim. If the incident causing the injuries was the responsibility of another, you need to get a lawyer to recover damages.

What can you recover for your burn injuries? Here are the possible categories of compensation available for victims and their dependants.

General damages: Medical costs, wage loss, costs for using household help and such others are available for all kinds of injuries. Your lawyer knows how to assess the damages and calculate the recovery amount with the help of the experts.

Specific damages: For burn injuries, particular damages would include any medical treatments you may need later, e.g. plastic surgery, skin grafting, rehabilitation care, adjustment to disfigurement, and so on.

Non-economic damages: Calculating this requires help from a good Injury Lawyer. Pain and suffering, trauma and distress, loss of consortium, problems with adjusting to new lifestyle and so on are in this category.

Punitive damages: If your injuries were a result of another’s gross carelessness, you may also get punitive damages for this. The objective is to punish the individual or organization for its negligence.

Five important things if you slip/trip and fall at a business:

News & Articles, Personal Injuries, Personal Injury Information No Responses »

Apr 042011

Five important things if you slip/trip and fall at a business:

1. Determine what caused the fall (take a picture). “I don’t know” doesn’t prove anything.

2. Get witness names, addresses, and phone numbers. “Some lady helped me up but I didn’t get her information” is no help.

3. Report the fall promptly to management. Otherwise, how do you prove your injury happen there?

4. Seek prompt medical treatment if injured. “I thought I would get better in a few days so I didn’t get medical treatment” also calls into question whether you got hurt there at their business.

5. Have a lawyer contact the business promptly to request that video surveillance be preserved.

Remember – it does not matter what happened; it only matters what you can prove happened. The business is not liable just because you fell on their property but you must prove it was their fault. Many cases are lost within minutes of the fall because evidence was not preserved.

Slip and Fall Accidents

News & Articles, Personal Injuries, Personal Injury Information No Responses »

Mar 242011

Slip and fall accidents are one of the more common causes of emergency room visits. They are sometimes the result of the lack of attention on the part of the victim. That said, many of those accidents are due to negligence on the part of a property owner or someone other than the victim. Thousands of such accidents occur in cities throughout the country, but growing metropolitan areas like Indianapolis may have more than its share. If any slip and fall accident occurs because of a negligent property owner, the victim has the right to contact our Indianapolis injury lawyer to see if there are grounds to file a civil lawsuit and recover compensation.

Filing Personal Injury Lawsuits
Once a victim has retained an Indianapolis injury lawyer, and that lawyer has found evidence of negligence causing a slip and fall accident, the Indianapolis injury lawyer must determine who is at fault. There are a number of possibilities:
• The owner of the property responsible for maintaining it
• The manager of the property who is responsible for its maintenance
• The renter who is considered the possessor of the property and is responsible for maintaining it
• An owner who rents their property, but has hidden dangerous conditions that the renter is unaware of
There may be a number of other special circumstances that an injury lawyer in Indianapolis can discern to determine the appropriate party to name as a defendant.

Visitor Safety
Not only must the defendant be determined, the conditions under which the visitor entered the property may be important. There are generally four types of visitors for which an owner has varying degrees of responsibility:
• Invitees may include customers for which an owner or possessor owes a reasonable degree of safety
• Licensees and social guests come to a property for their own purposes and take responsibility for their own safety
• Trespassers enter property illegally and the owner has no responsibility for their safety

These lines can be blurred on some types of property and for some types of visitors, so it is important to consult experienced Indianapolis injury lawyers to learn who can file suit.

Slip and Fall Compensation
Injury lawyers in Indianapolis can also determine the appropriate amount of compensation and damages a victim may seek. That amount varies for each injury; however, the compensation victims and their injury lawyers may seek often falls into these basic categories:

• Medical expenses
• Lost wages
• Compensation for pain and suffering
• Legal costs
• Punitive damages for willful negligence

In addition, Indiana is a state that bases personal injury awards on comparative negligence. Indianapolis injury lawyers must prove the relative amount of liability each party had in a personal injury case. Awards are typically based on the percentage of liability proven by the injury lawyer. Because of these and other complex elements, Indianapolis injury lawyers are vital to preparing a successful lawsuit and carrying it through the civil court process.