You’ve been injured. You suffer a severe injury in an accident where someone else made a  mistake. It might have been turning on a red light … giving you the wrong prescription … letting a damaged property stay open to visitors … even slipping and falling in a store parking lot. If you suffered injury, you deserve some help. Almost in every case, you should hire an experienced personal injury lawyer.

Why hire a lawyer?
Well, there are numerous reasons. You get more compensation. You get legal protection. You get the chance to prove, in court, that mistakes were made. You can right a wrong. You can get the insurance coverage you paid for. Your lost income can be covered. Your relationship with your spouse can get help. There are more reasons for both hiring a lawyer and filing a lawsuit, but let’s leave it at that.

When Not to Hire a Lawyer
When you have a minor claim. If you slip and fall, sprain an ankle, ice it for a few days, and are back to normal in a week, is filing a claim really worth it? If you get hit while driving, and you suffer a minor injury, something which gets you in and out of the hospital in hours, you again don’t always need a lawsuit. While there is room in personal injury law for certain kinds of claims, if the injury is minor, if little harm was done, it may be a waste of time. Make this decision with a lawyer, even if it’s only a few consultations.

Dangers of Settling Early
If you do suffer injury and liability is clear, in the majority of cases the lawsuit is settled. This is because it saves the insurer – or person who made the mistake – a long, drawn out legal battle which can cost even more. However, they might visit you in the hospital, or give you a call, trying to negotiate a settlement when you have no legal representation. You can usually see right through it; say nothing. If they want to settle before you get a lawyer, ask yourself why, why are they afraid? If you get a lawyer, it boosts your injury claim considerably. That shows you’re serious.

Dangers of Court
You can’t win in court without a lawyer. What many insurers and defendants are afraid of is proof, witnesses, and experts. Therefore, they will do their best to avoid court, where a settlement and added legal fees can bankrupt them. Remember, if you hire a lawyer correctly – by using the pay if you win philosophy – going to court won’t be a worry. If you go into court without a lawyer, you are making a critical mistake. Ask yourself if you know the first thing about what happens in a court room for a injury claim.

Settling on a Lawyer
Setting goals for what you want for personal injury compensation is good, as are your goals for hiring a lawyer. Since the personal injury process can take many months if not years – until you get better from your injury, or when the full scope of the injury is confirmed – you need not rush into hiring a lawyer. Be critical, look for experience, try negotiating, and start taking steps when you are ready.

You get hurt, hire an effective lawyer, file a lawsuit, start negotiating, and then the business or person you are filing the claim against files bankruptcy. This does in fact happen. But with this blog post, you’ll know some crucial rules – such as the fact that usually bankruptcy does not cancel a personal injury claim  – and get some strategies for getting your compensation.

Who Files Bankruptcy?
According to legal resource Nolo.com, when a person or business files Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you may lose some rights to your money. Also according to this legal resource, if the business files Chapter 7, and you have a personal injury claim, you have options for getting your money.

How can you get your compensation?
You still have your rights. There is no loophole for a business to be allowed to file bankruptcy and avoid punishment for mistakes. For example, if an insurance company refuses to pay your claim, then attempts to file for bankruptcy, you may be able to intervene in the bankruptcy with some legal help. There is a lot of legalities to understand here, namely whether wrong doing was committed. According to Nolo, this is a “malicious behavior” which can be open to interpretation.

When should you file your lawsuit?
You should still go ahead and file your lawsuit. There is no guarantee that the bankruptcy will go through. If you file against a business which is still running, typically they simply pay for a settlement – which is why settlements are so common in personal injury lawsuits – and you can move on. You should therefore file for your claim as soon as you understand your injury.

Will you lose your claim?
This is where the legal process gets complicated. If you won a large lawsuit against a person or entity, they will not always have the option of bankruptcy. For example, bankruptcy can only be filed so often, so if they recently filed, and your injury happened after, they would have to wait years before filing again. That helps you.

You will not always necessarily lose your claim. The best thing you can do is get proper legal representation. An experienced personal injury lawyer is best for situations where you’re worried your claim will either fail or never be paid. If you are unsure about the personal injury legal process, or how bankruptcy might affect you in some other way, choose an experienced lawyer. He or she can consult with you, negotiate for you, protect your rights, and protect your future. If you have a defendant wanting a fight, get someone who can help you win the battle.

What kind of claims call for a personal injury lawsuit? More than you might think. And you may be wondering why you have options when injured, or what your rights mean when you walk into a court room. This blog guide can help.

Do you have a claim?
A useful legal resource for lawyers, experts, and “newbies” is Nolo.com, who recommend you file a claim in four scenarios. You suffer a permanent injury. You or a loved one may be incapable of walking correctly for six months to permanently. You suffer from medical malpractice. An incompetent doctor or hospital makes crucial mistakes and it costs you. You suffer a severe injury, such as loss of sight, because of a car accident or fire which should not have occurred. Finally, in a world full of science and technology, sometimes “toxic” problems, such as dangerous gases or some other contaminate, can lead to major injury or death. In all of these examples, there is room for discussion on when a claim is worth pursuing. You should never make this decision alone; get a lawyer’s help.

You Have Rights
As a citizen of the U.S., as a worker, as a parent, as a safe driver, as someone who puts trust in a hospital, you have rights and they must be protected. It may sound like the Bill of Rights, but the point is that you have rights and sometimes you have to protect them. Often enough, it will be you, not someone else, making the decision for a lawsuit. You should make an educated decision by reading pieces like this one and consulting with a lawyer.

Who should you hire?
You have the option of literally thousands of lawyers pretty much anywhere in the country. Your options are many, but they are not all equal. Not all lawyers are capable of helping you. You want someone who specializes in personal injury, perhaps even has direct experience in your situation – if you were in a car accident, accident law is important. You need someone who has the time to help you, not a lawyer who passes the ball to his or her second. And you want someone who is willing to work on the “no win, no fee” philosophy, where if they lose, they get nothing, and if they win, they get something.

How much?
How much can you expect from your personal injury settlement? It’s a critical question, one we’ve went over before. This depends on how you act legally. If you settle out of court, it may be a “win, win” situation, where you can avoid a long legal battle. On the other hand, you may get more in court. Most lawsuits are settled out of court, and if you get the opportunity, consider it a gift. However, make no legal decisions without an experienced lawyer. There is always room for negotiation.

Do you work on the “no win, no fee” philosophy?
You rarely want a lawyer to handle your case for a regular fee. You want the “no win, no fee” philosophy, where if you fail to settle or win, the lawyer gets nothing. This gives incentive, and saves you from going through financial turmoil if you cannot pay.

How long have you been a personal injury lawyer?
You want to know how long this lawyer has specifically handled personal injury cases. You want a lawyer who specializes in personal injury law, not someone who handles general cases of all types.

What cases do you typically handle?
If your lawyer has never handled a case like yours, such as a medical malpractice, take that into consideration. If you have to choose a lawyer who has specifically worked on similar cases, that is more valuable than someone who has never handled anything like it. While this does not necessarily rule out the lawyer, you do want someone with relevant experience.

How much do you charge?
How much of your final settlement – when using the “no win, no fee” philosophy – will the lawyer take? Protect yourself by having this in writing. Your lawyer is paid with the settlement money, and some charge different rates. While someone who charges more is not necessarily more experienced, often that is the case. Typically you’ll pay between 25% and 35%, depending on the length of the case, if it’s settled or not, and how complex it is.

What settlements have you given clients?
You want to know whether this lawyer has a history of winning personal injury cases, especially ones like yours. If they have actual dollar amounts, that can show you how valuable this lawyer is.

How many current clients do you have? How much time can you invest into my case?
These are two related questions: you want to know if this lawyer is overbooked, and to see how much time they can spend actually representing you. A personal injury lawyer may have a lot of experience, but lacks the time to be effective in your case.

Will you refer my case to others?
Some lawyers have whole teams, such as other lawyers and paralegals, taking an active role in your case. You do not want this to put the lawyer, who you hired based on his or her experience and ability, on the sidelines. Therefore, get upfront info on how much of the case they will be personally handling.

Who can help you most?
The person who can likely help you most be may often be your doctor. You may just want to get better. On the other hand, there is cause for considering a lawyer, someone who can help settle your case while you get better. Though few cases begin until all medical problems are defined – hopefully when you can leave the hospital – there is nothing wrong with considering legal representation early.

Who is at fault?
Liability is important in personal injury lawsuits. Perhaps the most damning evidence – for or against you – comes from a police report. An officer may decide your case, especially if he or she uses witnesses to the accident and gets statements. On the other hand, in cases of medical malpractice, proof is in the results of what happened, and your lawyer needs to take action.

Submitting Your Claim
Insurance companies will process most car injury cases, giving you a number, and then handing your case over to a claims adjuster. The claims adjuster will decide on any damages you deserve. However, there are many cases where your lawyer can make an immediate impact in how much financial compensation you get.

What will insurance cover?
You need to know what the insurance company will cover. Typically, your medical expenses are covered. This too changes from case to case.

How much compensation?
There are many factors beyond simple medical expenses when claiming injury. You might have lost time at work, or be incapable of performing the same job. You might have went through some severe pain and suffering, which can greatly increase your compensation. Your lawyer can give you a fair estimate. Few cases are exactly alike, but you make the decisions, not the person or entity at fault, for what you deserve.

How much damages should you get?
If you suffered property damage, such as to your car, it’s important to get this covered. Though much less important than medical expenses, car damages are a reality.

Negotiate a settlement or go to court?
Should you settle the personal injury claim before you go to court? This all depends on the nature of the accident. Sometimes, you may get a fair offer to settle a case. Say you or a loved one goes through a medical mistake causing major pain and suffering; the initial settlement offer may be much less than you can get. In any situation like this, make no decisions alone – use your personal injury lawyer.

What if you can’t settle?
There are some lawsuits you simply cannot settle before court. Though most personal injury claims can be settled prior to court, sometimes you are too far apart to agree on a number. In these cases, your lawyer is invaluable. If you go to court, he or she is in charge of ensuring you get proper compensation.

Where can you find a lawyer?
You can find personal injury lawyers at your State Bar, online, through referrals, and sometimes by opening the phone book. Online you can get the most information about the lawyer via his or her website. A lawyer is critical in maximizing your claim and ensuring you are treated fairly, so take your time.

There is a case for not settling out of court. Sometimes the offers you get are not fair at all. Though most personal injury lawsuits do settle out of court, sometimes your best choice is to fight for proper compensation. It may mean you get more. But there are advantages to settlements as well.

You Lower Your Lawyer Fee
Your personal injury lawyer will get his or her cut only if you win (if you hire a lawyer who has a “no win, no fee” philosophy). But, if you settle out of court, lawyer fees go down. It makes sense: your lawyer spends less time in court, less time making a case, less time preparing, and therefore his or her costs go down. You can expect about 25% of your settlement to go to your lawyer. If you go to court, it can be higher, at about 35%.

You May Get More
If you settle, there is a chance you’ll get more money than if you go to court. The judge may decide for you, but not give you the amount of compensation you wanted. And since your lawyer fees will go down, you stand to save some money there. If you feel the settlement offer is too low, consult with your lawyer in order to make the decision. The point is not to always avoid going to court, but to get more compensation.

You Save Time
If you go to court, the case can take years. If you settle, you may get a lump sum or monthly payments in  matter of months. If you are in a a tough financial situation, settling may provide the money needed. On the other hand, you may be able to get much more if you go to court.

Proper Medical Coverage
If you’re getting huge medical bills, settling before court can protect you financially. Medical costs for major injuries can cost you tens of thousands of dollars. If you need specialized medical attention, a settlement may help you pay for it;.

You Get Future Financial Protection
If you cannot work ever again, you deserve a high settlement offer. Even if you only miss some work, say a few months, it can hit your pocket book. Or if you have continued medical problems, that too can hurt you financially. Whether you settle out of court or go to court and win, both protect your future.

You Can Move On
If you want to avoid lengthy court battles, medical bills you can’t pay coming in the mail, and a lot of headaches, settling allows you to move on from this accident. If you were hurt and someone else is at fault, it need not be a long process. If you simply want to move on instead of fighting court battles for months if not years, a settlement is smart.

Lawyer Only Wins When You Win
First and foremost, you want a personal injury lawyer who follows the “no win, no fee” philosophy. This is a great incentive for an experienced lawyer to help you. If you cannot get a lawyer to take your case, that may mean it’s not a winner. On the other hand, if many are willing to take on your case, that means they’re willing to spend more time and effort in getting results.

Finding Evidence and Witnesses
A good personal injury lawyer allows you to focus on getting better. If you were hit by a car, for example, and suffered serious injury and suffering, often the last thing on your mind is getting a huge settlement. However, who saw the accident, what the police report says, what evidence of injury there is – a lawyer is invaluable in finding these, proving fault, and helping you get proper medical help and compensation.

Negotiating Out of Court
Most personal injury lawsuits with clear proof and liability do not go to court. That makes hiring a lawyer experienced in negotiating very important. The defendant, the person at fault, will often want to settle before you set foot in court. You may even get some immediate offers. However, there is always room for negotiation, and you can almost always get more than your initial offers. But it takes a lawyer to negotiate.

Winning in Court
If you do go to court – not common but it does occur – you likely will have no idea on how to handle  the process. If you have no experience in court, your changes of winning are minimal at best. If you hire a lawyer without the knowledge and skills to win, it may cost you money as well. An experienced personal injury lawyer can help you decide both if you should accept an offer and how to win in court.

How much do you pay?
Typically an experienced personal injury lawyer will take about 25% of the final amount if you settle before court. If you go to court, lawyer fees will be more, making it closer to 35%. Both are very fair. If you get a $25,000 settlement, you might pay $6,000 to $8,000 to your lawyer.

How to Make the Decision
How do you hire the right personal injury lawyer? You can look up many experienced lawyers at the State Bar of your state. You can also find many online. The key point is to go beyond just a few searches; look at experience and rates of several lawyers prior to making a decision.

While some consider forgoing a lawyer, accepting a settlement, and avoiding a lawsuit, you have a right to proper compensation, and your personal injury lawyer protects that right.

While accidents and injuries occur every every minute of the day, it’s important to note your legal protections.  Sometimes the injury does not occur to you. That makes it important to also understand your spouse’s legal options if he or she is involved in an accident, suffers injury in the work place, suffers after a medical mistake, or for variety of other reasons.

Do you have a claim?
You don’t know if you have a claim without looking deeper in what happened, who holds liability, what injuries your spouse suffered, and finally by consulting with a lawyer. If your spouse suffers a minor injury – twists an ankle or something else with little pain and injury – the claim is likely not worth the time and effort. If you end up owing tens of thousands of dollars for medical expenses, and liability is clear, you definitely should consider your rights.

Liability can be proven in a variety of ways. If the police report shows your spouse made little to no mistakes and the other drivers holds liability, that can be a major point in identifying your right to a lawsuit. If a doctor makes a clear mistake, gives your spouse the wrong medicine or advice, and this causes injury, you have legal protections. Bad as it sounds, the more your spouse suffers, the worse the damage, and the clearer the liability, the more value the claim is. On the other hand, this is quite important: you both deserve financial compensation, much more than the basic expenses.

What are the first steps?
This all depends on what happened. You always want a personal injury lawyer to look over your case, but before that, make sure your spouse is healthy, record as many details on the event as possible, record expenses and expected expenses, and find any possible evidence.

Get Better
Your spouse may not be in the best shape to take a major role in the case. If the accident causes whiplash, a relatively common event, you might take the lead role in helping him or her get better mentally and physically.

Get Witnesses and Experts
You might also take a more active role in putting together a case. With a personal injury lawyer’s help, you can collect evidence, find witnesses, and use experts, all to make a better court case.

Who can help?
Rarely do personal injury lawsuits go to court: most are settled before that. While you may want to be in total control of the lawsuit because of your spouse’s injury, you should immediately consult with an experienced personal injury lawyer. He or she will work for any money you get. If you lose, the lawyer should get nothing. If you win, the lawyer gets a fraction, usually 25% to 35%, depending on whether the case goes to court or not. Let a professional handle the case and your chances of a high settlement are great.

You’re hit by someone who doesn’t check his blind spots while driving, or a work accident leads to a major injury, or you simply slip, fall, and break your leg in a store parking lot. Injuries happen every day, and while that may seem scary, remember your rights when an accident occurs. If someone is at fault, if you suffer severe physical and/or mental injury, if you get billed for $20,000 by the hospital, you have a right to compensation. We went over some of the common injuries, but let’s go into more detail.

Car Accidents
There are thousands of car accidents every day. The numbers can be scary. And remember every state gets hundreds of injuries and deaths related to drinking and driving. There are many who simply should not be on the road, or are busy texting and forget to stop. These things happen, and if you get hurt, you have legal protection.

Slip and Fall
Slip and fall injuries are also very common. If you are in a northern state, ice is a reality. And everywhere it rains is potential for a slip and fall. Simply because you made the wrong decision to step on ice, water, or an object, does not mean you have no legal claim. The owner of the property should have kept the grounds safe.

Hurt At Work
Being hurt at work can be somewhat fuzzy, as in some jobs, such as construction, you are taking some risks by accepting the job. However, once again your rights come into play. No matter your occupation, there is almost always a chance for some sort of accident, whether it’s from falling or some other hazard. You may feel odd suing the company who signs your paycheck, but sometimes you must.

Medical
Medical malpractice, our final common personal injury case, is also something you may feel odd about. After all, the hospital was trying to help you. But if they give you the wrong medicine or botch an operation, mistakes which simply should not happen, it’s important to know your rights. If it can be proven a competent doctor or nurse would not have made the mistake, you have a right to sue.

Can you win?
You always have a chance in a personal injury lawsuit. The clearer that liability is, the better chance you have of winning. Usually, if the evidence is against them, insurers and defendants will offer you a settlement out of court. Few personal injury lawsuits go to court, especially when fault is clear. But you do need a lawyer.

Who can help?
You may just take the first offer and forgo hiring a lawyer. That’s your choice, but you may not get an initial offer, or you may be able to get even more money out of this settlement. You simply do not know the value of the claim; an experienced personal injury lawyer does. Fees are minimal when you consider how much you stand to get for a serious injury.

How were you injured?
To get you started, in order to see liability, you must first be able to prove injury. If you suffered little injury, filing a lawsuit may be a waste of time. If you suffered serious injury, it’s time to consider legal action. Be clear on how you were injured by getting as much details on the accident as possible.

Who’s at fault, or holds more liability?
Once you know your injury is severe enough, you have to ask who’s at fault. This question can be more complex than you might think. If you walked in front of a car going on a green, you might have trouble proving definite liability. It might be both driver and you hold liability. Liability is crucial. Witnesses, any evidence, and the police report can all influence the decision on who’s at fault.

Are you going to miss work?
If you were hurt to an extent where you will have to miss work, it’s time to consider proper compensation. If your injury is severe, and you will miss work, it’s time to consult with a lawyer. If you, for example, can never work the same job again, the claim could be quite high.

Do you have high medical bills?
If you have spiraling medical bills, even if fault is on both sides you should get some compensation. Usually you will have legal protection if you receive high medical bills you simply have no way of paying.

What were the long term physical and mental effects?
If you cannot work for a long time, you may also lose the ability to do other simple things. You may not be able to go for walks or jogs for some time. You may be confined to a wheelchair. Sexual relations with your spouse may suffer. It’s important to ask this question as long term physical effects can lead to long term mental effects.

Do you have evidence?
What evidence proves fault? Are there witnesses? These questions are critical. If you have trouble proving fault, a lawyer may be better able to help you.

What have you said to the defendant and any lawyers?
Before you even hire a lawyer, you may get some questions from the defendant, sometimes an insurer, and often their lawyer. You should say absolutely nothing until you consult with your own lawyer. Sign no documents, agree to nothing, and say nothing verbally. An experienced personal injury lawyer, an officer, and a judge should be the only people you speak to. And if the defendant is offering you a settlement, do not take it without consulting in detail with your lawyer.