If you experienced some form of bodily harm at the hands of another, you may hold them responsible in a personal injury lawsuit regardless of whether they meant to cause harm. Speaking with an experienced attorney is your first step toward fair compensation.
Beginning a personal injury claim can be confusing, and our team of attorneys can help you through this process. We need to assess evidence and damages before filing a formal complaint and serving notice of the case to the defendant. There are various kinds of personal injury cases, as the field is very broad. Our dedicated team has handled numerous claims, including car accidents, construction injuries, and painful slip and falls. While some try to handle their legal claims independently, this is not the best idea. It is important to speak with an experienced attorney who can help you through your case and get you the compensation you deserve.
Our personal injury lawyers at Howe Law are available for a private case review for no charge if you call (844) 876-4357 and schedule a meeting.
How Do I Start a Personal Injury Claim in Spring Hill, TN?
Beginning a claim for personal injuries might initially sound simple, but it is far more complex and time-consuming than many realize. While filing the case might only involve submitting some paperwork to the court, the preparations we must go through can be intensive and take some time.
Assess Evidence and Damages
It is best to get started on our evidence as soon as possible, as evidence has a nasty habit of disappearing. For example, we might find a lot of useful evidence at the accident scene, but this evidence might be lost once the police clear the scene away.
A good way to preserve evidence from the accident scene is by taking photos and recording videos. If you could not do this because you were injured, we can look into any nearby security or traffic cameras for footage of the accident. Our personal injury attorneys can also talk to witnesses and review the police report for any other useful information law enforcement might have uncovered.
We must also review your damages and calculate an accurate value of what your compensation should be. Some damages are directly tied to money you lost because of the accident. Calculating these damages might be as simple as adding up costs and bills. Other damages are more subjective. For example, you can claim damages for your physical pain and psychological distress, but these experiences are ultimately not connected with money. A jury has the final say.
Draft a Complaint
Our next step is to draft a formal complaint. The complaint is the legal document filed with the court to kick off your case against the defendant. Many details about your case and claims for damages must be included. If it is not, it could be rejected by the court as an insufficient pleading.
First, we need details about the parties involved in the case, especially you and the defendant. The court must know who is involved and their role in the accident. Obviously, you cannot sue someone without naming them in your complaint. You must also include information about how the accident occurred and how the defendant played a part.
Next, we need to include your allegations of the defendant’s wrongdoing. How were they negligent? Were they speeding before causing a car accident? Did they fail to make their property safe for guests before you were injured? In short, we must specify what the defendant did or failed to do that directly caused the accident.
When making allegations, we need evidence to back them up. We do not need enough evidence to prove your claims entirely. We only need enough to show the court that your claims have merit and are not baseless.
We must also inform the court about your damages when we file the complaint. This might seem odd since damages are not awarded until the end of the case. Even so, we must account for all your damages and explain what we demand as compensation.
Serve Notice
When we file the complaint, we must serve notice of the case to the defendant so they have time to respond and file their answer.
According to the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure § 4.01, notice must be served by someone not a party to the case. This could be almost anyone as long as it is not your or your attorney. Many legal service providers exist who can do the serving. The server must be at least 18.
Under Rule § 4.04, service must be made to a competent adult or the defendant personally. We cannot serve notice on a child or someone without the mental capacity to understand what is happening.
If the defendant cannot be located or is purposefully evading the notice, notice may be served by leaving documents at the home or usual abode of the defendant with someone of suitable age and discretion who also lives there.
Notice may be served to an agent of the defendant authorized by law to receive it. For example, the defendant’s attorney or even someone who works for the defendant may receive the notice and be trusted to pass it along promptly.
If suing a minor, you may serve notice upon the defendant’s parents or guardian. If suing a business, partnership, or incorporated entity, you may serve notice to an agent authorized or appointed to accept it on behalf of the organization.
Different Types of Personal Injury Cases in Spring Hill, TN
Our team has experience with a wide variety of personal injury cases. Among these cases are slip and fall accidents. These fall under the umbrella of premises liability cases and can be very serious. People sometimes brush off slip and fall cases because they do not think they are serious, but the opposite is true. People might experience fractures, neck injuries, brain injuries, or even spinal cord damage depending on how and where they fell.
Auto accidents are another very common kind of personal injury case. Whether your accident involved standard cars, large trucks, delivery vans, motorcycles, or other vehicles, we can help you get fair compensation.
Our office also works with plaintiffs injured in construction accidents. Construction zones are very risky places to work. Even though a plaintiff might have been as careful as possible, some other negligent person might still cause a bad accident. Faulty tools and machinery are also common concerns on construction sites.
Contact Our Spring Hill, TN Personal Injury Lawyers for Guidance and Support
Our personal injury lawyers at Howe Law are available for a private case review for no charge if you call (844) 876-4357 and schedule a meeting.
