It is an unfortunate fact of modern life that sometimes, people will get injured during the course of their workdays or lives, whether from drunk driving, distracted drivers, faulty equipment, poorly maintained roads, or even animal attacks from pets. When a car crash injures someone, or when a piece of faulty construction equipment causes an injury, or if a person trips or slips at the workplace and gets hurt in the fall, this means that a premise liability case can be made, and the injured party can seek legal and monetary compensation from the at-fault party. A premise liability case can be difficult to undertake alone, so a victim is encouraged to hire and make use of personal injury lawyers when such an incident occurs. What are examples of such injuries, and what can a personal injury law firm do about it?
Hazards
Any number of things may happen at the workplace or in private life that result in a personal injury claim being necessary. The road is a common place; drunk driving, distracted driving, maintenance issues in cars, and bad weather can all cause a collision between cars and trucks, day or night. Drunk driving is when a person is impaired by a high blood alcohol content (BAC) in their bloodstream, a serious crime, but almost as often, distracted driving can cause an accident, too. This is when a driver is preoccupied by an electronic device (often a smart phone) or the car’s radio, and this driver does not see where he or she is going or where other cars and trucks are. Bad weather such as heavy rain or snow can limit visibility and make the roads slick, and in winter, ice on the roads can make sliding very common, even if the drivers are not drunk, on drugs, or distracted with cell phones. And at work, premise liability can often be just around the corner. At construction sites, open flames, falling items, dangerous fumes or particles in the air, or oil, paint, or paint primer on floors can create a significant slip and fall hazard, and many people are hurt every year from simple slipping and falling. Other manual workers such as those in factories or wildlife conservation workers may face hazards. Even pets can cause a premise liability claim, usually a bite from a large dog, or even a case of mauling. After any of these incidents, from trucking accidents to slip and fall cases, a person can take this case to court, or at least launch litigation.
Reaching a Settlement
A person who suffered premise liability injuries can make a case as soon as his or her health recovers. A person making their cause should probably not do it alone, however, and get an attorney to help them. For one thing, the injured person is probably not thinking calmly or objectively, and is emotionally riled. An attorney, however, has the objective and clear thinking needed to carry out litigation effectively. What is more, if the injury, such as an amputated leg or spinal injury, prevents the person from doing paying work in the future, this financial impact can be calculated by the attorney, and this is often a huge factor aside from the medical bills themselves.
During a case, whether for drunk driving or construction mishaps, the victim may have trouble if the at-fault party’s insurance company acts in bad faith and refuses to give all or even any of the settlement money, and this can stonewall a lone person. An attorney, however, will have the experience and legal skills needed to break through this barrier and find a fair settlement. Similarly, if multiple parties are involved, finding a fair distribution of settlement money, and knowing who to blame for what, can be complicated, and in most cases, only a legal representative will know how to untangle such a situation.
Finding legal help means searching for a law firm, especially one that deals with the victim’s particular case such as drunk driving or construction accidents. The victim can get consultations with the lawyers there (with or without a fee) and find someone whose skills, experience, and personality are deemed trustworthy by the client. Together, they can build their case and start litigation, and even take it to court if need be.
