Filing a personal injury lawsuit against a negligent or reckless person (or company) is an effective way for injured people to get the compensation they deserve. However, for many people, the process associated with this road to compensation and justice may be unclear or even intimidating. To clear up some of these uncertainties, below, we have outlined some of the most common questions that pop up when people are considering filing personal injury lawsuits.
If you have additional questions that are not answered here or are ready to get more specific information regarding your situation and case, you are welcome to contact the Littleton personal injury lawyers at Bahr and Kreidle.
Q: How do I know if I have a case?
A: When someone or some entity has injured you (and/or damaged your property), you will likely have a personal injury case against them. For example, when another driver causes a car accident, you likely have a car accident case; or when the premises of a property have not been kept safe by the owner and you are injured, you likely have a premises liability case.
Knowing when negligence has caused your injuries may not always be obvious, and proving the specific negligence in your case can be even more challenging (especially if you are going up against an insurance company or corporate lawyers who are trained to try to shut down personal injury cases).
As a result, if you are wondering if you have a case or are ready to seek professional help proving your personal injury, contact an experience lawyer to ensure you get the best outcome to your case.
Q: What is negligence? How do I know if this was part of my accident?
A: Negligence, a term that is inherent to personal injury claims, specifically describes the failure of some party to act in a reasonable manner to protect other’s safety. In other words, a party is considered to be negligent when (s)he/it does not do what a reasonable person in a similar situation would have done to protect others from the risk of injury.
Although some forms of negligence may be obvious (like, for instance, in the case of drivers being drunk and causing accidents), determining when negligence has caused an accident and injuries may not always so clear-cut – especially when there may be multiple negligent parties involved in an incident.
Q: How soon after an accident or injury should I talk to an attorney?
A: The sooner, the better. In Colorado, you legally have two years from the date of your accident or injury to file a personal injury case; in other words, there is a two-year statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits. However, not waiting until the last minute to get your case started can be critical to helping you build the strongest possible claim and obtaining the full amount of compensation you deserve.
One of the reasons for this is that the sooner you start working with a lawyer to get your case going, the more likely it is that you will have more evidence available to support your case. This is because, in general:
Our upcoming second and third parts of this blog will provide some more answers to frequently asked questions about personal injury lawsuits. Be sure to check them out!
Are you ready to learn more about your rights? If so, our Littleton personal injury attorneys urge you to meet with us for a free, no obligations initial consultation.
Since 1983, our lawyers have been fighting on behalf of injured people and aggressively standing up against injustice, inequality and intolerance. We know how serious and devastating the impacts of personal injuries can be, and we know that many injured people depend on settlements to get the medical treatments they need. That’s why we are committed to being here to advocate injured people’s rights, help them hold negligent parties responsible and ultimately get them the highest possible awards for their injuries and losses.
To set up a meeting, call us at (303) 794-7422 or email us using the form on this page.
