legal-advice Archives

Brain Injury Claims: A Step-By-Step Guide To The Filing Process

Accidents causing personal injury can be devastating for the victim and their families. And while all personal injury claims are complex, those pertaining to brain injury can be incredibly challenging. This is primarily because brain injuries are usually difficult to diagnose, with symptoms that may surface months after the accident.

Not to mention the life-altering nature of brain injuries that may lead to enormous medical bills and trauma. Thus, seeking compensation for brain injury cases is often necessary for victims. However, most victims are usually unaware of the filing process for personal injury claims. This article briefly guides the claims filing process for brain injury victims.

Medical Records:

The first step to filing a brain injury claim begins with thoroughly getting examined for your injuries. This is a critical step because your medical records are primary evidence in backing damages and loss. Regardless of your immediate symptoms and the severity of your injuries, seeking medical attention is crucial for two reasons.

First, in some instances, the full extent of your injuries may not manifest until a few days later. Defendants can attribute later injuries to other incidents or accidents to avoid compensation. It is easier to associate new symptoms with the accident if you have a medical record. Second, defendants can claim your injuries were not serious, to begin with, if you decide not to take immediate medical help.

Legal Assistance:

If your injuries are severe and you wish to seek compensation, you must file a personal injury claim. However, before preparing a claim notice and contacting the insurance providers, getting an initial consultation with an attorney is recommended. This will allow you to better understand your case, injuries, and potential compensation.

Your lawyer will also assist you in strengthening your case by conducting thorough investigations of the accident. Working with a professional familiar with local laws and TBI cases is essential for the best results. So, if you sustained injuries in the San Francisco Bay Area, get in touch with a San Francisco brain injury lawyer for a consultation.

Serving The Notice:

Once you have documented all the evidence and medical records, it is time to proceed with the claims process. To begin the process, your attorney must inform the defendant’s insurance provider of the accident and the injuries. You must also clearly state your intentions of filing a compensation claim.

Also known as the “service of process,” you must send a demand package when informing the defendant’s insurance providers. This demand package includes all evidence, a theory of liability, and a demand for settlement based on calculated losses.

Settlement Negotiation:

You can expect the defendant’s attorney or insurance provider to take some time until they refer back. The defendant’s legal team will go through all the information provided by you and calculate the estimated compensation for the damage.

This is an essential step since it can dictate the pace of your settlement. Depending on your injuries and shared responsibility, the insurance provider will likely offer a payment. Ensure you have a lawyer to consult when discussing since insurance providers are infamous for offering low-ball settlements.

Litigation:

Most initial settlement negotiations are unsuccessful. If both parties fail to reach a settlement, the plaintiff will have to file a personal injury case in court. Filing a personal injury lawsuit initiates a discovery phase where both parties investigate each other’s claims. Involved parties may choose to mediate and settle once again before going to trial.

Final Thought:

It is rare for personal injury cases to go to trial. In most scenarios, involved parties decide to settle through mediation. However, in cases where no settlement is reached, the jury is entitled to pass a verdict on the compensation.

Helpful Tips For Coping With A Loved One’s Wrongful Death

Losing a loved one is never easy. It takes you through a spate of emotions, and each day may seem like a stretch. The coping process is even more complicated when a loved one has suffered a wrongful death due to the negligence or mistake of an entity.

It may take time, but you must get behind the idea of never having that person around. For a better perspective on this unfortunate situation and how you can seek closure with the help of a wrongful death lawyer , here are a few tips to help you cope with a loved one’s wrongful death.

Prioritize self-care

Put yourself first, which means taking care of yourself throughout the grieving process. Getting over the sudden loss of a loved one will take time, and you need to give yourself that time.

Take care of yourself by exercising, eating healthy, and getting enough rest. Avoid abusing alcohol or drugs, as most people tend to develop alcohol dependence while grieving the loss of a loved one.

Establish a support system

The right support system can help you cope with the loved one’s wrongful death in a healthier way. That is why you need to establish that support system and allow it to help in times of need.

This support system can be your family, friends, partner, or coworker. If needed, you can also take the help of a therapist to get the help you need to start afresh.

Take your time

Getting over the wrongful death of a loved one is not easy. Therefore, you need to give yourself that time to process everything and put things into perspective. Time is the biggest healer, and that is what you need to understand.

Every day is going to be different. Some days will be easy, and you will be at peace, whereas others will be more difficult to deal with. Through each day, you need to give yourself time. Take a few days off work to get your life together.

Get out of the old routine

The loss of a loved one is a huge one, and if they have been a significant part of your life, your everyday routine would be associated with them. You cannot carry on with the same routine without feeling a void in your heart. By establishing a new routine, you can be more accepting of the change, and acceptance is a huge step in the grieving process.

Start by indulging yourself in new activities to take your mind off the ordeal. Learn new things, find new hobbies, and focus on your personal and professional growth.

Getting closure with wrongful death lawsuit

A wrongful death is subject to the neglect or mistake of another entity. Thus, you and your family deserve compensation for everything you have lost due to someone’s wrongdoings. It also provides the closure and justice you and your family deserve.

If someone in your family has been a victim of wrongful death, you can find closure and justice with the help of a wrongful death lawyer. You can move forward and file a wrongful death lawsuit. The wrongful death of someone often brings emotional and financial strain on their family members. With a wrongful death lawsuit, you can seek compensation for the same. Remember that you must file a wrongful death lawsuit within two years of the victim’s death.

Conclusion

A wrongful death lawyer may help you get compensation in no time, but coping with the death of a loved one can only be done by you in your own time with the right mindset. It will take effort, but you must start afresh and figure out your next move.

Coincidence or Negligence: Assigning Blame in Incidents of Wrongful Death

In the wake of sudden tragedy, we often find our thoughts to be flooded with questions of why? How could this have happened? How could it have been prevented? You start picking apart the little details, trying to find the exact moment when things went wrong, where they reached a point of no return. Eventually, all the little issues might start to stack up and point back to one answer–one thing that could have allowed for the crisis to be averted. You realize that the incident really could have been prevented if only the proper precautions were taken.

If this is all sounds familiar, you might be the victim of a wrongful death or injury, and this very situation is a lot more common than you might expect. In fact, accidents are the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, behind heart disease, cancer, and covid-19. There are approximately 300,000 cases of accidental deaths and 400,000 personal injury cases reported annually in the U.S. If you or a loved one are a part of this number, it’s important to know what you’re entitled to.

Car Accidents

If you’ve ever been afraid of flying, then surely you’ve heard the saying that you’re more likely to die on the way to the airport than on your flight–and it’s the truth! Road-related accidents are so common, in fact, that you have at least a 30% chance of ending up in a fender-bender each time you get behind the wheel. Of the almost six million car crashes that occur in the United States each year, approximately 40,000 result in a fatality–with roughly 1200 road-related deaths each year in Chicago alone.

The top causes of car accidents in the United States include; driving while under the influence, driving while distracted, and otherwise reckless driving. What do these causes all have in common? They are all rooted in negligence. Each time a person gets behind the wheel, they are taking on the responsibility of keeping others safe by following all traffic laws. If a driver does not fulfill their duty of safety and their negligence causes another person’s death, then they could find themselves subject to a wrongful death lawsuit and be forced to give financial compensation to the victim’s family for any medical bills, lost wages, and additional pain and suffering.

Medical Malpractice

Many people get nervous anytime they have to go to the hospital, and this fear is certainly justified given the fact that medical errors are found to be the cause of nearly 100,000 deaths each year, making up almost 10% of annual deaths in the United States.

One of the top errors reported in medical malpractice lawsuits is misdiagnosis, where a doctor simply reads a patient’s chart incorrectly and fails to alert them of a serious health condition. The doctor could be held negligible for the patient’s death in this case because were it not for their failure to correctly diagnose the patient, then the patient might have survived. Another common cause of medical malpractice-related fatalities is surgical errors, where a doctor makes even the tiniest mistake–maybe improper sterilization, maybe a knick in a vital organ–that changes the trajectory of the whole procedure and causes the death of the patient.

If someone you love suffers from a wrongful death at the hands of their healthcare provider, you should consider filing a wrongful death lawsuit against their practice. Doing so could earn you and your family financial compensation for any pain and suffering that you experienced, and could also help to prevent any other families from facing the same tragedy.

Worker’s Compensation

No one expects their regular 9-5 work day to end in tragedy, but the possibility is entirely real. If you lose a loved one in a workplace incident, you are entitled to benefits through the workers compensation program. However, these benefits only cover a fraction of the victim’s lost wages, without even beginning to provide compensation for the pain and suffering that you face as a result of losing your loved one. If you suspect that your loved one’s employer failed to comply with safety regulations put in place by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), you should file a wrongful death lawsuit so that you can receive the full compensation you are entitled to. Filing a wrongful death lawsuit could also help to reinforce the importance of safety in the workplace and could prevent another family from having to go through the same heartache of losing a loved one to employer negligence.

5 Things to Look for When Selecting a Law Firm

If you are facing criminal or civil charges, you might be scared or worried. You know your life can change dramatically if you lose a lawsuit or the jury finds you guilty of the crime or crimes of which the law accuses you. You might end up in jail, have to pay a fine, or other penalties.

That’s why you need to locate and hire a lawyer that can do the best job of fighting for you. There are always plenty of law firms, but it can be tough figuring out which one to pick, including options like Rapid Legal Lawyers Townsville that can provide you with the professional assistance you need.

In this article, we’ll go over some of the ways you can determine whether a law firm is the optimal choice for your particular situation.

Five-Star Reviews

When you’re trying to select a law firm, in many respects, it’s the same as if you were selecting an electrician, plumber, painter, or anything else along those lines. You can look for online feedback for any service or individual that you’re considering hiring.

One thing you can do is to go on their website. Any reputable law firm will have a website these days, no matter how small or large.

There, you should see things like an “About” and an FAQ section, but you should also see some prior client feedback. These should be glowing reviews from real clients.

If you see several that sound encouraging, that should make you feel better about hiring this law firm. If you see virtually no five-star reviews, it either means the firm does not have much experience or couldn’t come up with any positive feedback to feature on their site. Either way, that means you’ll probably want to go with someone else.

Expertise in Many Areas

As you’re focusing on one particular law firm to see if you want to hire them, you may decide to go with a firm that only deals in one area. However, many potential clients feel like they want a law firm with expertise in several lawsuit varieties.

For instance, you might want to talk to a law firm that defends clients accused of DUI or vehicular crimes. You may want one that knows about violent crimes such as assault.

Perhaps you need one that deals with white-collar crimes like fraud or embezzlement. Maybe you require one that often defends those accused of sex or drug crimes. Or one that has experience in various types of vehicular accident such as this abogado de accidentes de motocicleta. Whatever the case might be, be certain your law firm knows all about defending clients who face the charges with which you’re dealing.

If you’re looking for the best law firm in Atlanta, GA, there are a few key things to keep in mind. First and foremost, you’ll want to look for a law firm with a strong track record of success in your specific area of legal need. You can research law firms online, read reviews from past clients, and ask for recommendations from trusted friends and family members. Additionally, it’s important to choose a law firm that offers transparent and competitive pricing, as well as open communication throughout the legal process. Look for a law firm with experienced attorneys who are responsive to your needs and who will work tirelessly to achieve the best possible outcome for your case. With these factors in mind, you’ll be well on your way to choosing the best law firm in Atlanta, GA for your legal needs.

Organizations and Publications

There are also different organizations and publications that rate the top law firms in a city, state, or even the entire country. If any of these have recognized the law firm at which you are looking, the firm will probably feature it on their website, since these are accolades it makes sense for them to mention.

For example, the Preeminent Lawyer’s Bar Register might list them. The National Association of Distinguished Counsel might rate them highly by percentile.

You can also look for the American Trial Lawyers Association to mention them. The American Society of Legal Advocates is another good one.

The more of these organizations that say this is a credible, respected law firm, the more comfortable you should be in hiring them.

High Profile Cases and Clients

Law firms also gain notoriety when they represent celebrities who stand accused of crimes. If the law firm at which you’re looking can say they’ve represented some big names in business, TV, the movies, etc., you might want to hire them for that reason.

Look at the most high-profile lawsuits in which they have involved themselves. If they’ve gotten some huge clients off the hook when someone accused them of a crime or brought a civil case against them, you should feel confident based on that.

Forensic Science Knowledge

You can also hire a lawyer or short-list a law firm if you see that they employ or can call upon forensic science experts. Often, it’s forensic science that can exonerate you.

Your law firm might use infra-red mass-spectrometry and gas chromatography. They may use urine, breath, and blood alcohol tests, or bodily fluid and serology tests.

They may use latent fingerprint technology, computer forensics, or ballistics. The more scientific processes they have at their disposal, the more likely it is that they can convince a jury of your innocence.

If you see all this from a law firm, you’ll know they can represent your best interests.