When you suffer damages from an accident, you should retain a personal injury attorney to ensure that you pursue maximum compensation from the insurance company or the person or entity at fault for your injuries and other damages. How do you know which personal injury lawyer to call? If you suffered severe injuries, you likely don’t have the time or energy to interview fifty different attorneys; your injuries hurt, and you just want to get this task out of the way as soon as you can.
As you look at a personal injury attorney’s website, you will see that most list which types of cases they handle. Most personal injury lawyers handle vehicle accidents, slip and fall cases, dog bites, and workplace accidents. When you choose an attorney, make sure you choose someone with experience handling cases similar to yours.
Car Accidents
After a car accident, you could suffer anything from minor cuts and scratches to catastrophic injuries depending on the size of the vehicle that hit you and how it hit you. Most personal injury attorneys handle car accidents, but you need to choose someone who has several years of experience, especially if you have serious or catastrophic injuries.
Truck Accidents
If a truck hits you, you need an attorney with extensive experience in handling truck accident cases. Oftentimes, accident victims sustain catastrophic injuries, including spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries. The attorney you choose should have experience in determining loss of earning capacity, future medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other damages.
Additionally, most truck accidents involve commercial vehicles. Often, more than one defendant will bear liability for your injuries. Your truck accident lawyer should have extensive experience in handling multiple defendants, whether you try to settle or have to litigate your case.
Motorcycle Accidents
When a vehicle hits you while riding your motorcycle, you have a significantly higher risk of suffering catastrophic injuries simply because other vehicles weigh significantly more than a motorcycle. Additionally, motorcyclists do not have the protection that other vehicles offer. You have to rely on leathers, helmets, and boots, and only if you have the proper PPE for riding a motorcycle.
Many riders ride in shorts, sneakers, and short sleeves, especially during hot weather. Because of the injuries you could suffer, even if you wear the proper PPE, your personal injury attorney should have extensive experience representing those with serious and catastrophic injuries.
Slip and Fall Accidents
A slip and fall accident could cause minor injuries or severe injuries, depending on the circumstances. Often, the defendant is a commercial entity, though sometimes, the defendant is an individual.
Slip and fall accidents can be difficult because you have to prove the defendant was negligent. For example, if you slip and fall on an icy walkway, when does the property owner become negligent in not cleaning the walkway? During the storm? Six hours after it stops snowing?
If you slip and fall in a grocery store because someone just mopped the floor, does the establishment bear liability? Did someone put out a “Wet Floor” sign? Could you see the sign? An experienced slip and fall lawyer will investigate the case to determine whether the person or entity’s actions or inactions constituted negligence.
Accidents That Cause Traumatic Brain Injuries
Any accident could cause traumatic brain injuries car accidents, truck accidents, slip and fall accidents, pedestrian accidents, playing sports, and even dog bite accidents. In some cases, you could recover quickly from a traumatic brain injury. In other cases, the injury could affect you for the rest of your life. Your traumatic brain injury lawyer should have experience handling both types of injuries so that you obtain maximum compensation for your circumstances.
Premises Liability
A slip and fall case falls under the umbrella of premises liability law. In most cases, a property owner owes a duty to visitors to ensure that visitors remain safe while on the property. However, some exceptions exist. For example, if you go to the drag strip to watch or take part in drag racing, you often have to sign an insurance waiver that states that you cannot sue the owner of the property if you sustain injuries.
Four-wheeling parks have a similar waiver. Some campgrounds also have such a waiver. However, if you visit a retail establishment, you expect to feel safe. The property owner should have plenty of lighting if the business is open after dark and should make visitors aware of any dangers that exist on the property. Otherwise, the owner could bear liability for injuries that you suffer.
Additional Cases
Other cases that a personal injury attorney might handle include dog bite cases, accidents that cause catastrophic injuries, pedestrian accidents, drunk driving accidents, and wrongful death cases. Texas refers to catastrophic injuries as incapacitating injuries, though the category includes severe injuries, such as broken legs. Generally, a catastrophic injury will affect you for the rest of your life.
Drink driving accidents also have their own set of circumstances, so you need to retain a personal injury lawyer with experience representing victims of drunk driving. The defendant could face charges in criminal court in addition to the case you file against him or her, but the criminal case will remain entirely separate from your civil case.
Wrongful Death
Any type of injury could cause death. If a person or company’s actions or inactions caused the death of a loved one, and the court finds that those actions or inactions constituted negligence, you could recover compensation for your losses.
In most cases of wrongful death, you can recover:
- Medical expenses that your loved one incurred because of the accident.
- Pain and suffering, including emotional distress.
- Loss of companionship.
- Loss of consortium.
- Compensation for funeral, burial, and/or cremation expenses.
- Compensation for some after-life expenses, such as probate court filing fees.
If you recently suffered injuries or lost a loved one in an accident, contact a personal injury attorney for a free case evaluation.
