PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY
If you’re injured in an accident and want to file a personal injury lawsuit, you’ll probably have two big questions: (1) How much is my case worth? (2) How much does a lawyer cost?
The short answers are (1) it depends on your injury; and (2) with a contingency-fee lawyer, there’s no fee unless we win for you. But that’s just the start.
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Why File a Personal Injury Lawsuit?
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How Much Is My Personal Injury Case Worth?
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Compensation (Damages) in a Personal Injury Lawsuit
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Types of Personal Injury Cases
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What Your Lawyer Does in a Lawsuit
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Your Role in a Lawsuit
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Steps in a Personal Injury Lawsuit
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What Is a Personal Injury Settlement
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How Much Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Cost?
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Statutes of Limitations for Cases
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Personal injury lawsuits serve a crucial role. When you suffer an injury that someone else caused, you could be left with massive medical bills, lost wages, and other expenses that shouldn’t be your responsibility.
The change to your life could range from an inconvenience to something you’re not sure you could crawl out from. Either way, that’s why personal injury lawsuits exist: You, the plaintiff, can hold the negligent person or business accountable and get the compensation you deserve and need.
Contact a contingency-fee attorney today if you’ve been injured and want to file a personal injury lawsuit to receive compensation.
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HOW MUCH?
You could be wondering how much your personal injury case is worth. The value of your case depends on a few key factors: the circumstances of your accident, the severity of your injuries, and limits on insurance coverage, among other things. The primary driver behind case value is how much the plaintiff could get in the damages, including:
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Past medical bills;
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Future medical bills;
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Lost wages;
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Loss of earning capacity;
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Loss of consortium; and
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Pain and suffering
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Some of those considerations might not have a clearly articulated value at first. However, based on our attorneys’ past experience, they could offer an estimated case value after assessing your medical records, police records, statements, and other evidence, such as the progression or regression of your physical and mental state after an accident. The whole picture can provide a window into what to expect from a personal injury lawsuit.
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Your lawyer and the lawyer’s legal team are at the front lines of your fight to get the compensation you deserve in a personal injury suit.
First, they will assess your case to best determine how to fight for you. They will:
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Gauge the depth and breadth of your injuries and the negligent circumstances involved;
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Investigate the scene of the accident;
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Question witnesses;
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Request documentation;
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Work with medical experts;
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Review documents, photos, and videos; and
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Work with experts who can reconstruct the scene of the accident
That’s not all, though. They will use all of that information to go head-to-head with the defendant’s attorneys to get you the best compensation possible. Oftentimes this happens in a settlement meeting, but if the big corporation or insurance company won’t budge, our attorneys are trained, experienced, and ready to go to court. (Whether in a settlement or at court, we’ve been able to win compensation many times over the defense’s initial low-ball offers.)
WHY HIRE A LAWYER?
A personal injury settlement occurs when your attorney and opposing counsel come to agreement on the damages you’ll get to cover medical bills, lost wages, and other expenses. Your actual settlement amount will vary depending on a host of circumstances, including your level of injury, the type of accident, your employment situation, and what sort of bills you’ve incurred as a result of someone else’s negligence. Your attorney will fight for you at no upfront cost with no hourly fees, but will take a reasonable fee from your final recovery.
The process isn’t instantaneous: Your attorney won’t take the first offer, but will instead go back and forth with opposing counsel to get a dollar amount that is suitable to your circumstances. Once the parties agree on an appropriate amount, it can take up to six weeks to get your money.
Settlements Aren’t Taxable — Most of the Time
Settlements in a personal injury lawsuit aren’t taxable under state or federal law. There are some exceptions depending on the nature of the claims — if an emotional injury claim didn’t arise from a physical injury, for example. Your attorney will help you clarify specific tax questions.
Most personal injury cases settle, especially when companies see that they’re going up against us. DOUD, SMITH & WAGNER has the resources, track record of success, experience, and talent to bully the bullies, and insurance companies and other parties know this. So they are often more than willing to give our clients what they need and want. We’ve been at this for decades and have seen it all, and use that to your advantage.
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