Personal Injury Lawsuits: Hiring a Lawyer

If you’re having heart issues, you don’t schedule an appointment with a foot doctor. The same logic applies to hiring a lawyer after a serious car accident. If you or a loved one was hurt in the collision, you probably shouldn’t call your tax attorney for help. You should contact an experienced attorney specializing in personal injury law.

What is a personal injury lawsuit?

A personal injury lawsuit is defined as an injury, be it physical or emotional, an individual receives from another person. These injuries can occur on a sports field, in a vehicle, at a place of business, or at the individual’s place of employment. Pretty much any place that any number of us frequent each day. The lawsuit is brought to seek payment for lost wages, pain and suffering, and medical bills. Essentially, in a personal injury case in Missouri, all the plaintiff is asking for is to be put to the position he or she was in before the injury–there is certainly no windfall.

Some of the injuries considered a “personal injury” are:

• vehicle accident
• slip and fall
• dog bite
• exposure to toxic chemicals
• workplace injury (including carpal tunnel)
• defective products
• medical malpractice

The statute of limitations on filing a personal injury lawsuit in Missouri is generally two years. This is the amount of time that an injured party has to file a lawsuit for his or her injuries. Two years seems like a long time, but in reality it is not, and it is wise to start planning a case immediately. Many states have statutes of limitation of up to five years, so in reality, the system is set up not to favor the injured, but the defendants. Usually, this time limit will start counting down from the time of the injury or incident. Sometimes, if the injury is not realized until after the incident, the countdown may start from the discovery date instead. In any event, the computation of the time period for the statute of limitations is a very important issue that should be considered in every case.

Personal Injury Law is Complex

Some people may think, “car accident cases are easy, any lawyer can handle them.” This is wrong on so many levels. Personal injury law can be quite complex. For example, if you were involved in a multi-vehicle collision, there are could be multiple insurance carriers that need to be contacted to determine available coverage and which party is liable for the harms caused by the wreck. There is vital evidence that mus tbe collected and you can be quite certain each insurance company involved is going to have a defense attorney ready to try and minimize your claim.

What if the driver who hit you does not have auto insurance, or has minimal coverage? A general practitioner may not understand the nuances of uninsured and underinsured motorist law. What about potentially stacking your medical expense benefits? Again, this is where hiring an experienced Norfolk personal injury lawyer pays dividends.

Lawyers are not “one-size-fits-all.” In fact, most attorneys are specialists. When a lawyer specializes in personal injury law, it means they spend the majority of their days representing injured folks in their time of need. They understand how to negotiate with claims adjusters and are not afraid to take your case all the way to trial.

Reputation Matters to the Insurance Companies

If you file an injury claim with an insurance company, even your own insurance company, a component of their evaluation of your claim may be the experience and success rate of the attorney you hired. If your lawyer has a track record of taking cases to trial and getting large verdicts, that is likely to play a factor in the insurance company’s calculus for whether to settle your claim or not. This is why hiring a highly experienced Kansas City car accident lawyer is such a tremendous benefit. The attorneys at Northland Injury Law have over 45 combined years of experience

It is evident that there is far more to personal injury than many people realize, so if you have questions about bringing a personal injury lawsuit against someone, please call (816) 452-1800. We offer a free consultation, and would be happy to discuss with you how we can help.