Knowing Your Legal Rights When It Comes to Personal Injury

Personal injury cases are among some of the most common legal cases that occur every day. They can happen to anyone, at any time, nearly anywhere, which is why they occur so often. In fact, in any given year in the U.S., there are up to 2 million personal injury claims. Of course not all of these ends in lawsuits or end up in court but many do.

It is useful to know what your rights are in a legal sense if they do end up in court or result in a lawsuit. There is much to know about personal injury cases, and unless you are a lawyer, then this information will help.

Right to Legal Representation

First and foremost is your legal right to have a lawyer/attorney represent you. To deny this would be unfair and thus injured people can receive legal aid through many forms. The legal firm of Pius Joseph makes it pretty clear how important a lawyer is, especially as stated if you have no prior legal knowledge.

Based on the fact that you are reading this it might be the case that you need help and legal representation is the way to go. Private firms are a popular option but you can also be provided state or government-appointed legal aid if you cannot afford it. In a general sense, one of the first things you should do is seek out a lawyer.

Insurance Claims

When it comes to personal injury cases the need for insurance companies becomes apparent. In many instances, you have a right to insurance coverage. Most workplaces or jobs will help compensate you for damages if proven that the incident was legitimate (i.e. Not caused deliberately to defraud your work/insurance company). This is one right that you have, but it depends on your situation.

Insurance claims can help expedite the process of receiving the money you need to pay for the injuries. Medical bills can climb if the injury is a particularly serious one, such as a car accident. So, in the sense that you have rights to insurance claims, this is certainly applicable. Insurance is often one of the ways to get compensation that many people lean on.

Damages

The right to recover on damages changes from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but the idea is the same. The damage done to yourself, your property, medical expenses, hardship, and lost wages are among the damages that fall under your rights for a claim or lawsuit when dealing with a personal injury case. These damages are subject to some investigation, for obvious reasons.

In the same way that an insurance claim is subject to scrutiny, some instances of damage to property or through bodily harm must be proven. Damages done to property can be appraised to determine how much value was lost through the incident. Things like a car crash will be investigated to determine the legitimacy of the value of the damage.

As you can see, much of the damage that can occur ranges in the form it takes, from physical to emotional damage, much of this can be covered. This, of course, depends on if evidence can be provided.

Limitations of Lawsuits/Claims

One right that many do not know, and should immediately, is that certain places or jurisdictions have a limitation on how long you have to make a lawsuit or claim. It usually depends on the two factors of when the injury occurred, wherein a claim can be made, and when someone of some standing could be made aware of this (lawyer, medical professional, employer, etc.)

Knowing that there is a limitation on how long you have to make a claim is useful for those who suffer from long term injuries, which might be made worse by medical care. In the most obvious way, a claim or lawsuit may go without justice for you because you did not know you only had a certain amount of time to make it known and take action.

Personal injury cases, as stated earlier, is one of the most common types of a legal claim or lawsuit. Injuries occur often and they sometimes cannot be avoided, while other times, they are acts of intent. These injuries usually result in the same types of outcome – damages.

These damages can come in multiple forms from the physical or seen to the unseen in emotional damages. You have legal rights in the pursuit of justice or fair compensation concerning personal injuries and the ones listed here are among the ways you can reach those goals.