Do you have a personal injury case?
You may have a case if the careless or negligent actions (or inactions) of another person or entity leads to injury of your body or mind. Some examples of potential personal injury cases include an automobile accident, a construction or other workplace accident, harm caused by use of a consumer or industrial product which turns out to be dangerous or unsafe, your landlord neglecting the condition of a porch handrail which breaks causing your injury, or your neighbor whose pit bull with an history of biting humans and escaping mauls your child .
Sustaining a personal injury can be devastating, and affect all aspects of a person's life. When someone is injured, whether in a car accident, slip and fall accident, or work-related accident, everything in his or her life can change. Injuries often result in multiple surgeries, prolonged physical therapy, disability from engaging in work, study, and the enjoyment of life, and financial catastrophes of large medical bills and loss of income. Recoverable damages are generally classified into two categories: (a) economic losses such as lost earnings, loss of earning capacity, and incurred medical expenses and (b) noneconomic losses such as pain, suffering, disfigurement, loss of consortium, and loss of enjoyment of life.
Robert Burns, a "People's Lawyer", is dedicated to obtaining fair compensation for personal injury victims.
In order for damages to be sought, an injury need not be physical. Cases that involve being subjected to extreme emotional distress or violation of civil rights may entitle you to damages. In the case of a death within a family, surviving family members can recover damages for loss of the decedent's love, consortium, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, moral support, training, and guidance as well as for funeral and burial expenses, loss of the decedent's financial support, household services, and gifts.
Even in personal injury cases involving only minor injuries, you may still be entitled to substantial monetary damages. In addition, in cases of fraud, malice, or oppression, punitive/exemplary damages can be recovered to punish the wrongdoer and to set an example for others temped to act similarly.
There is an increasing use of mediation and arbitration as a means of resolving personal injury claims. During the past several years mediation has become one of the most widely used methods of arriving at a reasonable settlement of personal injury claims, especially in claims that would be the most expensive and difficult to litigate to a jury verdict. When approached effectively, it ends the claim or litigation without any further costs to the client; when it fails, the injured individual proceeds to use the regular procedures of litigation through arbitration and even a jury trial without any penalty. Additionally, mediation is an extremely cost-effective procedure that could save all parties enormous amounts of money in litigation expenses. Non-binding arbitration, especially when the parties accept the outcome, also has savings in time and money but usually involves a lot more time, preparation, and expense than does mediation. There is increasing use of binding arbitration, i.e., where there is agreement at the outset for the outcome to be binding, especially in medical-malpractice cases.
Robert Burns, a "People's Lawyer", has decades of experience successfully representing personal injury victims for financial compensation for their personal injuries. If you find yourself needing a lawyer regarding a personal injury case, contact Robert Burns today at (619) 223-0441 or by e-mail at RobertBurns@OBLaw.com. |
