Personal Injury 101: When Should You Hire a Personal Injury Attorney?
A personal injury attorney is an attorney who can help you with personal injury cases. A personal injury is generally any injury that someone suffers due to another party’s negligence. People suffer personal injuries to their bodies, their minds, and even their emotions. Nonetheless, just because you were in an accident or your health care provider made a mistake does not automatically mean that you need a personal injury attorney. For example, if your injury does not meet the Florida serious injury threshold, you probably do not need to hire an attorney.
Considering your injury’s seriousness is not the only way to gauge if you need to hire a personal injury attorney. It would be best to consider other factors, such as whether you incurred any damages after sustaining the injury and whether you or someone else is responsible for your injury. Carefully read through the following parts to understand when you need to hire a personal injury attorney.
Hire an experienced Naples personal injury attorney if:
- You Sustained Serious Injuries
After suffering an injury, ask yourself two crucial questions.
Question 1: Following the injury, did I require extensive medical care?
Question 2: Following the injury, did I miss work?
If you required extensive medical care and had to stop going to work for some time, you could confidently say that you sustained serious injuries.
Under Florida law, serious injuries include;
- Permanent loss of a crucial bodily function
- Permanent scarring
- Significant and permanent disfigurement
Hiring a personal injury attorney is crucial if you suffered a serious injury. Opposing parties will always work hard to dispute claims to avoid compensating the victim fairly. Therefore, you need a personal injury attorney to help you build a strong case.
An injury that keeps you from going to work can have a lasting negative impact on your life. Even if you fully recover, you have the right to receive fair compensation and hold liable individuals financially responsible.
- You Incurred Actual Damages
In Florida, you need to prove damages to the court to receive compensation for your personal injury. If you suffered actual losses due to the liable party’s negligence, you need to hire a personal injury attorney who can ensure you receive fair compensation. You can seek compensation for various damages. Some of the recoverable damages in Florida include;
- Lost wages
- Medical bills
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of earning capacity
- Domestic help
- Another Person’s Negligence Caused Your Injuries
A plaintiff is entitled to receive compensation in a personal injury case in Florida if another party’s negligence was solely responsible for their injury or if another party was at least partially responsible for their injury.
As long as you are confident that another party’s carelessness or negligence played a role in causing your injury, you need to hire a qualified Naples personal injury attorney to assist you with your case.
In Florida personal injury cases, when a plaintiff is partly responsible for their injury, the total compensation they are entitled to is usually reduced. The total compensation is usually reduced because Florida is a comparative negligence state. Courts reduce a plaintiff’s compensation by the percentage of fault placed on them.
- The Liable Party’s Insurance Company Presents You With a Quick Settlement
One crucial piece of advice personal injury attorneys will always share with their clients is that insurance companies are out to make money. After you sustain injuries due to another party’s negligence, it is expected that the liable party’s insurance company will work towards convincing you to settle for a certain amount during the early stages of your recovery. No matter how tempting an offer seems, it would be best if you did not accept it.
Immediately you receive a settlement offer from the liable party’s insurance company, seek the help of a personal injury attorney. As long as you believe that you have a strong case, do not let an insurance company trap you. Moreover, you cannot know if the settlement offered to you is fair during the early stages of your recovery. At this point, you do not know how much the full treatment will cost, and neither do you know the full impact of the injury on your life.
Contact a Naples Personal Injury Attorney Today
Failing to hire a personal injury attorney when you need them can make you lose out on obtaining fair compensation. Without fair compensation, it will be difficult for you to cater for your bills and other damages. To receive help with your personal injury case, contact a Naples personal injury attorney at The Law Office of Marc L. Shapiro, P.A., today at 239-649-8050.
