 | Personal Injury Attorney Lafayette Louisiana - Here are some of the best tips to get through the personal injury claims and win the complete compensation you deserve.
Personal Injury Attorney Lafayette Louisiana - Prepare a detailed medical report Make regular visits to your doctor, and make notes of any medical issues you face. Take notes of all the symptoms, at talk about how these symptoms are affecting your day-to-day life. Even a small symptom as 'backache' could be stopping you from hold your little children in your arm or operate on a computer at work. Also take lots of picture and videos as these will help your personal injury lawyers convince the jury of the trouble you had to go through due to the defendant party. Images and videos leave a much deep impact than textual evidence therefore store pics of every step after the accident. Be it your injuries, damage to your property, or your visits to the doctor's. Details like these matter a lot and affect the amount of your compensation money. Log receipts of related transactions If you had to bear any expenses due to your injury make sure to do things: a) Pay using checks, not cash. b) Ask for receipt and keep it safely in a folder. Even expenses like paying someone to do household chores or mow your lawn for you while your were recovering from the injuries can be compensated. Any non paid absence from work can also be reimbursed, IF you make sure you get it documented from your workplace. Other financial losses like a lost job or promotion that you couldn't accept can also be presented in court as long as you keep collecting proofs. Look for witnesses and get their details You should try to find as much as witnesses you can & have their contact details with you safely. Don't rely solely on police to do this, in many cases if the accident looks pretty simple they won't even take ask the witnesses for any statements. It'd be unfortunate when months later insurance companies deny paying you quoting lack of witnesses as you don't have any means to contact them. Don't Talk to Anyone About your Claim: At all times keep in mind that ever since you make a personal injury claim defendant's insurance company will start collecting information about the incident, and try to use this info to prove you wrong in court. So besides your lawyers or doctors don't ever give any sort of statement or remark about the incident. Most important of all the things, do not settle before all the symptoms caused by the accident go away, except the permanent ones. Why you might ask, here's the reason when you settle and the insurance company writes you a check you're made to sign-off a R.O.C. agreement. By signing the legal release you're terminating any liability between you and the defendant.
Personal Injury and Bicycle Claims
The United States of America is one of the wealthiest nations on Earth, but it is also one of the heaviest nations too. With the number one killer of American's being heart disease, we would have less fatal heart attacks, fewer cases of morbid obesity, and less instances of heart disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol if our citizens were more inclined to engage in physical activity.
Some of the time honored forms of exercise involve walking and riding a bicycle, both activities which commonly take place alongside motor vehicles. Sadly, a certain percentage of pedestrians and bicyclists will get struck and seriously injured by a moving car or truck this year. It's unfortunate to think that people who are out riding a bicycle to improve their health or to save the environment from harmful emissions will lose their life in the process, but it can and does happen each and every day. Bicycle accidents are an unfortunate fact of life and they claim the lives of both children and adults alike. Often times a bicycle accident is the fault of the motor vehicle driver. They can happen when they fail to observe a bicycle rider who was riding in plain sight, or when the bicycle rider was in their blind spot, or if they were impatiently tailgating the innocent bicyclist. All of these scenarios can spell disaster for the bicycle rider, causing serious or life-threatening injuries to them. Even when a bicyclist follows all safety precautions, when they follow the rules of the road and when they wear a helmet, they can still be struck by a negligent driver. A vast majority of bicycle accidents are caused by driver distraction, and driver distraction can happen on so many levels. The driver could have simply had their mind elsewhere and failed to notice the bicycle rider, or they could have been texting while driving. Other times the driver could have been picking something up off the floor, or they could have been reading a map. Some of the more serious examples of a driver causing a bicycle accident involve drunk driving. Bicycle riders are especially susceptible to being involved in a drunk driving accident because they are small, and a drunk driver might not see them. If you or a loved one were injured in a bicycle accident by a negligent driver, or if you lost a loved one in a bicycle accident, then you should contact a personal injury attorney to further discuss your case. Bicyclists can suffer from broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, internal injuries, spinal cord injuries and even death when struck by a motor vehicle. It will be up to an aggressive attorney to ensure that you receive just compensation for your injuries sustained in the accident.
Questions for a Brain Injury Lawyer
A lawyer represents victims of both traumatic and non-traumatic brain injury caused through the fault of another. During his first meeting with the clients the attorney answers a lot of questions concerning brain injury lawsuit and the legal process in general. Here are some commonly asked questions:
1. How can a brain be injured? In the United States, injury caused by a trauma is the leading cause of death for people under 45. In fact traumatic brain injury is suffered by an adult or child every 15 seconds. The most common causes are vehicular accidents, falls from heights and injuries while playing sports. Direct trauma takes place when the head strikes the steering wheel of a car, or a person is thrown through a windshield, head first. Brain injury lawyers have also represented victims of construction accidents where the worker falls from a certain height, sustaining brain injury. Less known cause of injury is a Shaken Baby Syndrome, where the trauma is indirect, in that severe shaking of the baby can profoundly damage his delicate nerve cells, causing irreversible brain damage. 2. What symptoms other than concussion and dizziness should we watch for? A lawyer knows that less obvious symptoms of injury are difficult to detect but can be just as dangerous in the long run. Here are some examples to watch out for:
3. Can brain damage be caused by lead poisoning? Millions of children throughout the country, especially those living in substandard housing, may be at risk for lead intoxication. Everyone knows how inquisitive young children can be, especially when they are toddlers, roaming the house, putting things in their mouth. At that early age any amount of lead in the blood is harmful to the child's brain and may cause permanent injury. Peeling paint chips that the child puts in his mouth can cause lifelong mental retardation and the lawyer will carefully review your case to see if the landlord failed to live up to the established housing standards in maintaining your premises. 4. Can hypoxia be caused during trauma at birth? The short answer is "yes", but of course the answer may depend on several factors, thus it is important for the injury lawyer to review the entire record of the newborn and his mother, especially records of labor and delivery. Review of the records will alert the attorney to any signs of distress that the newborn may have exhibited during birth and the physician's response. If an emergency C-section was indicated but not performed, as in cases where a resident was in charge of the delivery (residents are not allowed to perform c-sections) and the infant suffered brain damage due to lack of oxygen, the lawyer may advise his client that there is a viable brain injury lawsuit to be instituted on his child's behalf. An injury lawyer can explain applicable statutes of limitation for starting a medical malpractice lawsuit against a negligent doctor that may have caused the injury.
Should I Hire A Personal Injury Attorney
Personal injury law is that area of law that covers individuals who have been injured either physically or psychologically out of another person's, organizations or entities negligence or carelessness. Personal injury law is a vital tool in our society because it serves to hold people financially and legally accountable for irrational conduct or behavior.
It would be unfair to citizens as a whole, to not be legally protected from reckless or negligent behavior. If there wasn't a punishment system set in place, people would have more freedom to injure other people, and this practice would spell disaster for society. Accidents are accidents, and in some cases a person will not face imprisonment for a mistake that caused bodily injury to someone else; however, when a person cannot be criminally prosecuted for an accident that caused the death or injury to another, in many cases they can face a civil lawsuit instead. A civil lawsuit can hold a negligent party, financially responsible for their errors in judgment, or for their reckless behavior. Civil lawsuits are extremely important for accident victims, for they afford them the ability to obtain compensation for their losses. People can sustain serious and life-threatening injuries in a wide variety of unfortunate circumstances. They can be seriously injured or killed in a car accident, or they can be injured or killed in a workplace accident. People can incur injuries on private property, such as from a dog bite or attack at a private residence, or they can be injured in an elevator in a commercial building. A person can break a hip when they slip on a wet floor at a retail establishment in a slip and fall accident, or they can be killed in an amusement park accident. Unborn babies can suffer from oxygen deprivation from a birth injury suffered in a hospital at the hands of unprofessional medical staff, or a patient can die on the operating table when a surgeon makes a deadly mistake. All the above examples would fall under personal injury law, and these types of victims may have legal grounds for a personal injury lawsuit. Although people can often times accept a settlement offer from an automobile insurance company, or from a manufacturer, when people represent themselves, they normally receive a much smaller sum than if they had a personal injury attorney involved. A lawyer will have both the experience, and the legal background necessary to estimate what your claim is worth. They will be able to judge how long your convalescence may be, how much your past and future losses are likely to be, and they will be able to unearth other areas of your life that may suffer from your injury. Unless you have an extensive legal background, it's nearly impossible for an average person to realize the full extent of their claim. Furthermore, a qualified attorney will have experts in different fields at their disposal if they need more detailed estimations of how much money you will truly need to help with your recovery. Accident victims do not owe anybody, especially the person or business that hurt them anything. They owe it to themselves and their family to get as much money as possible so they can focus on healing and recovery. If you or a loved one were injured, or if you lost a loved one in a wrongful death, then please take a moment to discuss your case with an experienced and qualified personal injury lawyer without delay.
Neck and Back Injuries After An Automobile Accident
After an automobile accident, victims can end up with painful neck and back injuries that require considerable treatment. Here are some frequently asked questions regarding these injuries.
Question: What is the best treatment for whiplash, is it chiropractic treatment or physical therapy? Answer: There is no single best treatment for all neck and back injuries. The key to rapid recovery after a whiplash injury is to restore the muscles, ligaments, and vertebrae back into proper alignment, with restorative strengthening and range of motion treatments. Some people respond better to chiropractic therapy, while others respond better to physical therapy. There is a considerable overlap in the therapies that are performed with the two treatment modalities. If therapy is not working after a few weeks or a month, tell your doctor that you are considering switching to a different type of therapy. Do not continue any therapy that does not help you get better especially if it makes you worse. Question: Can neck and back injuries after a car accident ever be really serious? Answer: Absolutely they can, about 10% of the time neck and back injuries from whiplash cause painful symptoms which may last for years and even a lifetime. The most common cause of long term or lifetime pain is a protruding disc or a bulging disc in the neck or back. Discs are like rubber shock absorbers between the bones in the neck and spinal column. At the time of impact in a car accident, the head slams down word which can actually force the soft, inner jelly part of the disc out through a weak part of the disks hard rubber like covering. If the disc pushes against the nerve, numbness, tingling in the arms or legs, and potentially extreme pain in the neck and back may result. Question: How do I know if I have an injured disk? Answer: There are two main tests available to show whether or not you have a bulging disk in your neck or back. One is called a CAT scan, the other is known as an MRI. If you do not respond to therapy, usually the doctor will order one of these two tests. MRI stands for magnetic resonance imaging. It does not involve radiation such as is seen with a CAT scan or plain x-rays. Do not sign a release from the insurance company until you are all better and your doctor is sure you do not have a bulging disc that may last the rest of your life. If you sign an insurance company release and your doctor later does an MRI and discovers you need back surgery, you will have to pay for that surgery! Question: I was rear-ended and I didn't have any pain at the accident, however I woke up the next day and I couldn't move my neck. Did I just sleep on it wrong? Answer: Often neck and back injuries don't hurt until the next day or even days late later, because after a car accident almost all of the victims go into some stage of shock. This leaves a general sense of numbness throughout the body.
Occupational and Work Accident Injury Claims
In this article I want to address work accident claims and some of the issues that your solicitor will want to know in order to effectively prosecute a successful claim on your behalf against your employer.
One of the biggest concerns expressed by injured employees that come to see me for help is the possible repercussions, if they were to pursue a work accident claim against their employer, on their continued employment. Many of these fears however are largely unfounded, because the reality is that claims for personal injury claim aren't dealt with by the employer but by the employer's Liability Insurers. When an employer receives notification of a potential claim, the details of that claim are simply passed on to their insurers, who manage the claim on their behalf. If you're contemplating a work accident claim for ill-health or injury, your solicitor will want to understand the background to the accident and the nature of the tasks that you carried out in order to assess the likely cause of the accident and whether there is sufficient evidence that the employer was at fault. Your solicitor will therefore require information about your employment and your employer, such as the size and location of the business, the nature of the work that it carries out, the number of employees it engages, the nature of the tasks that you undertake and details of the process which gave rise to the accident or incident for which you're seeking compensation. Once your solicitor has a good understanding of the working environment, he will want to know details of the accident itself. If it was machinery that you say was at fault that caused the accident, it will be helpful to draw the relevant piece of machinery so that your solicitor has a visual representation of what you say caused the accident. Add annotations to the diagram to explain the process and explain why you say the machinery was at fault with your explanation of what you think could have been different that would have avoided the accident. Only when your solicitor has a clearer picture of the workplace and any relevant equipment, can he begin to unravel the likely cause of the accident or the ill-health and what or who was responsible for it. Witnesses are always very important in accident claims not least in relation to work accidents involving issues of health and safety. Try to identify at an early stage whether there are any suitable witnesses. A witness may not necessarily be a person who witnessed the accident, it could be someone who can provide useful information about the system of work, or a known hazard in using a particular piece of equipment. A shop steward or perhaps a safety representative may be good witnesses to the accident. Consider any person that has or may have useful information to give that may shed further light on the particular hazard that caused the injury. Your solicitor is likely to want photographs of the accident scene and any relevant equipment. Bear in mind it may take some time for your solicitor to arrange to have photographs taken of the accident scene and any relevant equipment. In part this can be due to delays in obtaining agreement with the employer's solicitors on a date and time that the solicitor's photographer can attend the employer's premises. On occasion, such permission is refused. If so, an application will need to be made to the court to get a court order for inspection of the work premises. Naturally, this will take time. Given that there may be a time delay between the accident and your solicitor obtaining photographs of the scene of the accident, if there is any doubt or concern that changes will be made to the workplace by your employer, it would be prudent that you or a work colleague take photographs as soon as possible in order to preserve evidence. Your solicitor is also likely to want to make other inquiries in in order to ascertain whether there is any other evidence that would corroborate the accident. This could be such things as entries in an accident book, first aid records, any accident investigations carried out by your employer or perhaps entries made in a complaint book. It's important therefore that you let your solicitor know of any documentary procedures adopted by your employer that may assist you in your claim so that he may specifically request copies of such records at the earliest opportunity. As you will appreciate, there is undoubtedly a lot of information required by your solicitor in order to build up a case. In addition, workplace accident raise statutory issues of health and safety that can be very complex cases to run. It is therefore imperative that you seek out the services of a solicitor that specialises in work accident claims since a general personal injury solicitor may not possess the requisite knowledge and experience to deal with the particular nuances and challenges of work accidents.
Childrens Injuries
As a parent, you know how much time and energy it takes to keep a child safe. Keeping a child safe from undue harm can be a full time job. Unfortunately, we can't always be there when our children are at school, at summer camp, or riding the bus. Parents cannot control everything that happens to their children all of the time.
This very loss of control is what makes every parent nervous. We fear for our child's safety when they are not in the safety of their own home. We worry about them being struck by a car or drowning in a pool or at the beach. We fear they will be involved in a car accident, or they will experience serious side effects or allergic reactions from their medication. The worry truly never ends, even when they go off to college or marry the wrong person. When our children are injured in an accident and our worst fears are confirmed, it is a devastating experience to say the least. No parent should ever have to watch their child suffer or worse, get killed in an "accident." Sadly, childhood injuries and accidents happen every day, in all sorts of settings. A small child can be viciously attacked by a friend's dog, or they can drown in a backyard swimming pool. An infant can die from SIDS at day care, or they can be seriously injured from severe oxygen deprivation due to a birth injury. Our children can be seriously injured or killed at the hands of someone we trust, such as a caregiver or a day care facility. Whether the child was killed because of day care negligence (as in a drowning) or from day care violence and abuse, it's terrifying. There's no consolation in knowing that your child died needlessly due to circumstances beyond your control. Young children are frequently killed in car accidents which are the leading cause of death among small children. They can also be killed in a pedestrian accident while they are walking down the street or in a parking lot. Children can be run over while riding their bike in a bicycle accident, or they can be killed by an ATV or tractor on a farm. Children are susceptible to a myriad of injuries, aside from mere accidents they can be seriously injured or killed due to sexual abuse or physical abuse, which are probably the most sinister of all. Young children do not have the maturity or brain development to understand the full extent of their injuries. Children's injuries often times have life-lasting effects on the child. These injuries can not only cause physical injury and emotional injuries, but they can cause serious psychological damage as well. If your child was injured or killed by another adult, they deserve to seek justice against the responsible person. Anyone who threatens the health and safety of a child should be held accountable for their actions. You are urged to contact a personal injury attorney to discuss your case!
Recovering Damages For Catastrophic Injuries
Catastrophic injuries are not minor injuries that heal in a short period of time. Instead, they are very serious injuries that require extensive medical care over a period of time. They can have profound and startling effects on a victim's standard of living and on their livelihood.
Catastrophic injuries are products of unfortunate accidents. They can be caused by a surgery gone terribly wrong, by a car accident, a pedestrian accident, or a workplace accident. People can become seriously injured by an act of violence, or they can be injured at a place where the victim felt safe, such as at an amusement park or at a water park. Even a neighbor's friendly barbeque can turn into a tragic event when the family dog attacks an innocent child or when a child drowns in the backyard swimming pool. Catastrophic injuries can lead to permanent loss or function of a body part. They can cause amputation injuries, permanent blindness, deafness, paralysis, permanent brain damage, developmental delays in children, permanent nerve damage, an inability to bear children, and much more. Regardless of the type of accident, a serious injury will have an extensive impact on the victim's ability to live their life to the fullest. Some of the most common causes of catastrophic injuries are traffic-related accidents, pedestrian accidents, medical malpractice, birth injuries, dental malpractice, premises liability, and intentional wrongdoing or violence acted out against a person. In any case, when catastrophic injuries are caused by another person or corporation, they should be held legally and financially accountable for any pain, heartache and devastation they cause to the victim and their families. Although no amount of money will ever erase the event, nor will it guarantee that you will ever fully recover, it can help ensure that you receive the best medical treatment available to you and it can help your family meet its financial obligations in the present, and in the future. It would be a great tragedy for you to be forced to suffer the emotional, financial and physical ramifications of someone else's deplorable behavior. A civil lawsuit can not only help you move forward from this tragedy, but it can help bring the responsible party to justice so that nobody else will get hurt. Take action now by contacting a personal injury attorney who can help you through the legal process of filing a claim against the responsible party.
What to bring with you to a personal injury attorney meeting...
1) Accident Report(s) - Bring any copy/copies of the accident report you filed with the police and the insurance agency. This will help your attorney better understand the events surrounding your accident, and will enable him/her to build your case properly.
2) Medical Reports - If you went to the hospital after the accident, were tended to by an ambulance, or saw a chiropractor, you'll need to bring in records of these appointments and documentation of your condition immediately following the accident. 3) X-Rays & MRIs - You'll want to bring copies of your X-Rays, MRIs, etc. so the attorney can see the injuries sustained and also prove to your insurance company that you are indeed hurt. 4) Previous Medical History - Any history of injuries sustained or medical conditions diagnosed prior to the accident will need to be documented. 5) Doctors' Contact Information - You'll need to provide names, phone numbers, fax numbers, addresses, and email addresses to any of the doctors that have treated you for your injuries. They can offer powerful testimonies to your condition. 6) Eye-Witness Contact Information - If there were eye-witness reports of your accident and you have contact information for them, bring it with you. The more evidence you can provide, the better. 7) Auto Insurance Information - You'll need to bring documentation of your auto insurance so the proper claim can be filed. This also includes the claim number for your case and who's handling it. 8) Your drivers' license, social security card, and vehicle registration - You'll need these forms of identification throughout the process of filing an auto accident injury claim. 9) Evidence of your physical condition prior to the accident - Are you an athlete? Did you partake in physical activities such as running or weightlifting prior to your accident that you can no longer do because of specific injuries sustained during your accident? You'll want to bring documentation of these activities, including photos and videos, if possible. Personal records and awards will also help. 10) Written testimony - You won't need this initially, but having a written testimony about how the car accident has impacted your life will help your attorney and the insurance companies involved understand your condition. 11) Mileage log of doctors' appointments - You can be reimbursed for gas mileage accrued to and from doctors' appointments. Bring documentation of these appointments with you when meeting with your attorney. You'll also want to submit this information to your insurance company.
How A Personal Injury Attorney Can Help If You Were Involved In A Drunk Driving Accident
Statistics show that serious injuries sustained from drunk driving accidents can have implications for victims and their families for the rest of their lives. Some drunk driving accident victims suffer such severe injuries that they no longer can care for themselves and require round-the-clock, daily care from nurses and family members, as well as rehabilitative therapy. Perhaps you were able to recover from your injuries, to an extent. You don't require round-the-clock medical care, but you can no longer work or are limited as to how much you can work. Your quality of life has been impacted severely. You can't sit for longer than 30 minutes at a time. You can't imagine a day without back or leg pain. Your personal relationships, including your friendships and your marriage have suffered. Perhaps you are a college student who cannot attend school full-time any more because the course load is too physically draining, or because your short-term memory is still affected by the accident. Perhaps the highly-sought independence you once had as a college student, living on your own in the dorms has been taken from you because you need help getting around the house and need to be closer to doctors and your concerned parents. Do any of these scenarios sound familiar? Whether it's you or a loved one, you deserve to be compensated for your suffering and the impact the accident has had on your life. That is why it is advised that you contact a personal injury lawyer, particularly an attorney with experience representing the victims of drunk driving accidents. A personal injury attorney can work with your insurance company, doctors, and therapists to ensure you're receiving the proper medical care, particularly when insurance companies are looking to cut corners any way they can. An attorney can see that you're compensated for the pain and suffering you and your loved ones have endured, and see to it that you're cared for in the future. An attorney can also see that you're compensated for lost wages and future lost wages because of your inability or limited ability to work. Most of all, a personal injury attorney can advocate for your rights and seek justice for you during a very turbulent time in your life. Most of the time they don't collect money unless you do, which means you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by contacting one.
8 Steps To Finding A Personal Injury Attorney After Your Car Accident
You've just been involved in an auto accident. You're scared, terrified, and hurting. The police report, calling a tow-truck for your vehicle, filing an insurance claim - it's all a blur. The last thing you want to be thinking about is the daunting task of finding a personal injury attorney.
But it could mean the difference in thousands of dollars in settlement money - money to assist you in your recovery and compensate you for your hardship. Here are some tips on what to look for when searching for a car accident lawyer. 1. Find an attorney who specializes in car accidents. Personal injury law is a huge industry. There are personal injury lawyers everywhere, but not all of them specialize in auto accidents. Finding a lawyer who specializes in car accidents will not only help you obtain a proper settlement but will also ensure you're receiving the proper medical care during your recovery. 2. Don't go with the attorney whose face is plastered all over billboards and television commercials. Sure, you'll be going with a well-known firm, but nine times out of ten, it won't be the attorney that's representing your case. 3. Find an attorney who is accessible and available. Large firms are often times difficult to reach. You want to be sure you're speaking directly to your attorney whenever possible, not a clerk. Communication is key to ensure everything is correctly documented and no corners are cut. This also means finding someone who is local. 4. Find an attorney with proven experience in helping car accident victims. Ask prospective attorneys for references, if available. Ask around. Referrals are far more valuable to you as a potential client than commercials and billboards. 5. Don't know anyone who has worked with a personal injury lawyer? Check Google Reviews, as well as reviews on Facebook. Social media can be a valuable tool in finding reputable places, but also be weary of former employees who may badmouth a law firm or phony reviews. 6. Familiarize yourself with the laws pertinent to your state. Florida, for example, is a no-fault state, which changes the landscape of filing claims. These means it's imperative you find an attorney who practices personal injury law in your state. 7. Find a lawyer who is compassionate to the nature of your situation and who will work with you. This means someone who will explain the process of filing a claim and also operates transparently so you understand every step of the process. 8. Contact an actual lawyer, not a lawyer referral service. Your fees will likely be higher and you won't necessarily get the quality representation you need.
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