Accidents often lead to injuries, which then lead to expenses like medical bills or missed time at work. If you find yourself in such a situation, contact a lawyer and ask about filing a personal injury case.
Many accidents and physical injuries are grounds for personal injury lawsuits. A few common examples include construction injuries, defective products, and vehicle collisions. It is important you hire a lawyer who knows how to handle your specific claims. After your injury, you should document the scene as best as you can and call for help immediately. Your injuries might be tangled up with high costs for medical treatment and expensive property damage, among other things. You might also be dealing with great emotional and mental distress. To prove your claims for these damages, we need evidence to meet our burden of proof.
Our Knoxville, TN personal injury attorneys of Howe Law may be reached at (844) 876-4357 for a free, private evaluation of your case.
Different Kinds of Personal Injury Claims in Oak Ridge, TN
It can be hard to navigate your personal injury claims if you do not fully realize the specific nature of your claim. Personal injury law can involve all kinds of claims and a myriad of bodily injuries inflicted by negligent defendants.
Many, if not most, personal injury claims are related to unfortunate accidents. Even though the defendant in your case might argue they never meant to hurt anyone, they should still be held accountable for the damage they caused.
Some common examples of personal injury claims in Tennessee include auto accidents, product liability claims, and premises liability claims. Each of these examples is unique. Product liability deals with injuries caused by faulty goods and products, while premises liability deals with injuries sustained because of hazardous conditions on someone’s property. Our personal injury attorneys have experience with these specific claims and others and can help you get fair compensation.
While personal injury cases tend to focus on bodily injuries and related costs, you may also claim other damages. For example, many people claim the value of the property or personal belongings damaged during the accident.
How to Handle a Personal Injury Case in Oak Ridge, TN
If you find yourself injured because of someone else’s negligent behavior, your first step should be to call for help. In some cases, calling for help is the obvious choice, such as after a serious auto accident. However, many people disregard their injuries or worry about paying for medical care, so they avoid getting the help they need. Do not do this. Get checked out by a doctor as soon as possible.
If possible, document or record the area where your injuries happened. This might involve whipping out a camera and snapping pictures, recording videos, or simply taking notes of important details. Often, when accident victims leave to get help, the accident scene gets cleared away, and important details and evidence are lost. Your recordings might be incredibly important and shed light on how the accident occurred.
While waiting for help, you should exchange information with others at the scene, including the defendant and potential witnesses. It can be easy to become hostile in these situations, especially if the negligent party shows no remorse for hurting you. Even so, remain calm and politely ask about exchanging contact information. Do the same with others in the area. We need names and contact details to find the defendant later, and witnesses can be hard to find if we do not know their names.
Injuries, Damages, and Compensation in Personal Injury Cases in Oak Ridge, TN
Since accidents and injuries involved in personal injury claims are so varied, it makes sense that damages also span a broad spectrum. While major cases with severe injuries might make news headlines, even minor injuries deserve fair compensation. Do not hesitate to speak to an attorney.
Personal injuries may range from mild to extremely severe. Broken bones, cuts, scrapes, soft-tissue injuries, and other injuries that often fully recover are very common. Many plaintiffs also claim more catastrophic injuries, like spinal cord injuries that cause paralysis, brain damage that hinders cognitive functioning, or other injuries that cause long-term or permanent complications.
Bodily injuries often lead to costly medical treatment. The more extensive your medical care is, the higher your bills will probably be. Not only can you claim the cost of current medical bills, but you may claim future medical expenses if your injuries require ongoing or long-term care.
We should also assess how your injuries and the accident affect you psychologically. Not everyone bounces back from a serious accident, mentally speaking. Many people are left with residual feelings of fear and panic. They might feel extremely violated that someone else was able to hurt them. Depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other psychological disorders are not unheard of. While these experiences might not come with a monetary cost, they still should be compensated.
Many people find themselves unable to go back to work after an accident. For some, working is physically impossible because of their injuries. For others, they cannot work in the face of extreme psychological distress. In such cases, plaintiffs may claim the value of their lost income.
How You Can Prove the Defendant’s Negligence in Your Oak Ridge, TN Personal Injury Case
We must use our evidence to establish the defendant’s negligence. In the legal realm, negligence is defined by 4 important elements: duty, breach, causation, and damages. Our evidence should sufficiently establish each element.
Duty refers to the defendant’s legal obligation at the time of the accident. If you were driving, the duty might be to drive with reasonable safety under the circumstances and follow the rules of the road. If you slip and fall on someone’s property, their duty might be to properly maintain the premises for guests’ safety. Evidence to establish duty might involve proof that the defendant was behind the wheel or that they own the property in question.
The breach is how the defendant violated their duty. This varies from case to case and is often unclear at first. A traffic citation issued after the police investigated a crash might be evidence of the defendant’s breach of their duty to drive safely.
The element of causation is the link between the breach and your injuries. We need proof not only that the breach occurred but also that it was the direct cause of the accident. Finally, we need proof your damages are real. Medical records can be very helpful in this regard.
If You Are Hurt, Our Oak Ridge, TN Personal Injury Attorneys Can Help
Our personal injury attorneys of Howe Law may be reached at (844) 876-4357 for a free, private evaluation of your case.
