Before filing a personal injury lawsuit, it is normal to have some reluctance. What if you do not have a strong case? To find out the strength of your case, you need a personal injury lawyer. Here are some common questions that cause doubt in personal injury plaintiffs.
What if you are at fault?
Fault matters in personal injury law. Often, fault comes up when you are discussing car accidents. Sometimes, a car accident is not the fault of one person, but both drivers. For instance, you may have been speeding when a drunk driver collided with your vehicle. While you may have some fault, odds are, the drunk driver has a larger percentage of fault. In some states, what matters is the percentage of fault. You may receive a percentage of your settlement due to partial fault. This all depends on the negligence laws in your state.
What if you had a pre-existing condition?
If you had a pre-existing condition, it will not hold you back from filing a lawsuit. While you cannot file a civil suit against someone because of an injury that he or she did not cause, you can file a lawsuit when the accident exacerbated a preexisting condition. You will have to determine how the injury affected you before the accident and how it changed after the accident.
Insurance companies will try to pay as little as possible. They will scour through your medical history and try to find evidence that the accident did not impact your health. If this sounds overwhelming, it is exactly why an experienced attorney is crucial to the process. He or she will know how to fight the insurance company.
What if you have future damages?
When you sue another person for damages, you are suing them for the amount that may make you whole again. This means that if you have an injury that will require future treatment, you will include those costs into the lawsuit. To compute future costs may be difficult. You will have to work with an attorney, an economist and an accountant to try to predict what the future costs will be. These costs may include medical expenses, pain and suffering and lost income.
To file a civil lawsuit can be an overwhelming process. The above questions will not exclude you from a personal injury settlement, but you will want a personal injury lawyer to help you deal with the complexities of the case.